'55 Chevy LS1 / T56

[andrewb70]

Great work.



Can I suggest using one of the Bussmann smaller panels instead of the loose relays and fuses?

Andrew

[JMG-63]

Andrew, thanks for the tip. I'll dig into it and see.

[andrewb70]

Andrew, thanks for the tip. I'll dig into it and see.

Browse at your own risk...

https://www.waytekwire.com/products?...bution&sc=1369

Something like this:

https://www.waytekwire.com/item/4634...TMR-Mini-Fuse/

Read the data sheets carefully as there are different versions that vary by layout and power buss configuration.

Or one of these:

https://www.waytekwire.com/datasheet/LiveWire_38530.pdf

The 3-way mini relay holders uses very robust metriPack 630 terminals, but that is probably overkill. The 72 position one would work nicely for all your fuses and relays.

Andrew

[JMG-63]

Andrew,

Browse turned into several hours of research, downloading and printing some 150+ pages of info and compiling a buy list for Waytek. How I never knew of these is beyond me but so thankful for the tip. Much appreciated.

Jeff.

[andrewb70]

Andrew,

Browse turned into several hours of research, downloading and printing some 150+ pages of info and compiling a buy list for Waytek. How I never knew of these is beyond me but so thankful for the tip. Much appreciated.

Jeff.

Glad to help Jeff. If you ever have questions, feel free to PM.

Andrew

[JMG-63]

One Bussman panel courtesy of Andrew's tip of the month.

Bought one semi-wired as I doubt I could pull off as nice a splice on a 4 to 1 setup. Came with a 150amp inline fuse as well as the bag of goodies. I have separate orders out for relays and additional connectors.

Burned a new top plate on the CNC Plasma and the car is none the wiser.

This setup is way way nicer than my 6 piece conglomeration. Once Thanksgiving is out of the way I can get back to wiring up this car.

Andrew, thank you for the tip - we actually bought a fully wired version to test out on our large truck builds at work.

[ryeguy2006a]

I have that same one in a box ready to install this winter. Look forward to seeing more progress on this build.

[rat_rod_russell]

The electrical panels are awesome! Its the details like electrical and plumbing that really set good detail work apart. Keep it up! And congratulations on getting back to the basics. I've got a 55 I'm about to go nuts on that's going to be a lot of fun as well.

[JMG-63]

Still in wiring hell. I'm my own worst enemy though because I've never done this before and I want it to be safe, clean, serviceable, and hidden.

Spent some of the holiday weekend routing wires for the front harness and finding ways to hide them from sight. Drilled holes in the front splash shield and radiator support. Installed a grommet on the firewall for the pass thru and not shown is the finished panel for the Bussmann box.

I guess I made some progress but still have a long way to go. The wires inside the splash shield will be fully wrapped and clamped. These pics were taken early Saturday so I'm actually further ahead than this.

[andrewb70]

One Bussman panel courtesy of Andrew's tip of the month.

Bought one semi-wired as I doubt I could pull off as nice a splice on a 4 to 1 setup. Came with a 150amp inline fuse as well as the bag of goodies. I have separate orders out for relays and additional connectors.

Burned a new top plate on the CNC Plasma and the car is none the wiser.

This setup is way way nicer than my 6 piece conglomeration. Once Thanksgiving is out of the way I can get back to wiring up this car.

Andrew, thank you for the tip - we actually bought a fully wired version to test out on our large truck builds at work.

I am glad to have contributed to your newly upped wiring game :-)

The 150 fuse is probably not necessary, but it won't hurt anything. I am assuming the Bussmann panel that you got has a built in power distribution bar built in. There are several ways to wire that in, depending on how you want it to operate.

Andrew

[JMG-63]

Wiring got put on hold for a combination of weekend work, a few holidays and a bare metal dashboard.

Needed to get my dash finished before I could move ahead with completing the wiring. For those not familiar with tri-five Chevrolets, the dash is all metal. Makes it easy to do some low cost customization like welding seams shut and enlarging the glovebox opening. Did the enlargement by welding the glovebox door and ash tray together to make one big opening. Relocated the glovebox light switch bracket from what was the center of that opening to the far left side and finally got the dash in primer. Tomorrow I will hopefully shoot some satin black. Once it dries I can install all my new trim and switches.

I like the semi-finished look of it in primer and am excited to eventually see what it will become in a few more garage days. The picture in my head is awesome.

The computer for the LS1 is peeking out of the right side of the glovebox opening - it took some doing to get it in there but it fits perfectly on the brackets I made.

Not a very 'pro-touring' like set of tasks or exciting for anyone except me but a necessary step along the way to getting this car wired up and drivable.

[JMG-63]

Dash is painted, assembly has started and wiring is in full force (for a novice that is).

Dash is painted with a satin black to keep the glare under control. Positive battery cable received a good dose of overkill in the routing and protection department.

[JMG-63]

Lots of activity since my last posting. January??

I now have a complete set of working lights, dash harness is complete, finishing off my instrument cluster harness, and am crossing items off my to-do list with a vengeance.


The hidden harness along the inner fenderwell and inside the radiator support is completely wrapped and run thru rubber grommets.


The headlights are upgraded Daniel Stern H4's, all other bulbs are upgraded as well. Way way brighter than anything from '55. Every single light works, dome, courtesy, clock.


I'm getting close so I even got it registered and am getting California vintage black plates assigned - the big old style!


Still a ton of work to do.

[1sikride]

Lol trade ya for my LSA chevelle ��

[Motown 454]

Nice beautiful chrome on those tail lights! back ups nice and bright What bulbs did you use?? I love the car.

[JMG-63]

The bulbs are from Ron Francis. They are from his Brite series. Used a full set everywhere. Way brighter than auto parts store generics. The have single and dual filament.

[JMG-63]

Moving along with finalizing the wiring. Wrapping and clamping it in place for hopefully the last time, well, until I ran out of wrap on Saturday.

Decided to mock up my seat bracket and get that one step closer to a first drive. Cut the parts on the CNC plasma and welded it up at home. Built like a damn battleship but I only need to do it once. As soon as I drill the floor and bolt it down I can rip it all apart again and clean, paint and detail the brackets and sliders. Seats are from a '65 Thunderbird.

[JMG-63]

Had some quality garage time this weekend.

My wire wrap got delivered in time to finish up the under dash harness. Every wire is or will be covered and clamped in place. Ultra time-consuming but I'm pretty pleased with the results.

The first pic was taken through the opening for the gauge cluster, the second shows the rear harness and dimmer switch harness.

Yes, for you younger guys, the dimmer switches used to be floor mounted. Old school.

[JMG-63]

I'm going to call this "WHAT THE FLOCK?"

Because I widened the glovebox opening I needed to fab up a custom box. Easy enough. Computer mount on the rear, ok.

My downfall was thinking I could easily "flock" the inside to resemble the factory offering. Flocking is what you'll find on the inside of nice wooden jewelry boxes - basically glued in shredded fibers which are available in a variety of colors. I chose black and picked up a kit on Amazon.

Well, its not as easy as the youtube videos. I gave up after two tries and a lot of cursing. Shot it with black paint and paintable undercoating for texture. Good enough for something most folks will never see.


The four holes are for the LS fuse box, the single hole is for the programming button for my speedo on the gauge panel. The panel I have is the one shown - not my car.

[JMG-63]

Its been a while and the car is inching closer to its maiden voyage out of the garage.

The wiring project is 99% complete - once the front fenders go on I can call it done. Wired up the instrument cluster and installed yesterday - the dash is looking pretty nice. Time to paint the steering column and install that.