New Member, asking for affirmation & help

[Booty.B.Bouncin]

"duplicate" pictures, for clarity... kind of... It makes sense to me OKAY!
Originally I thought I could just splice at the green circle, upon further examination, the red circles are duplicate plugs, so I think I would need to move my edits to the loom up to the purple circle. I'm not going to go splice and dice without chasing cables, but I'd really hate to have to turn around and pay someone to build me a custom harness for hundreds of $$$$

 

[Shadowrider6661]

I enjoyed reading your post, I don't envy all the work still ahead. I can guarantee this, when all is said and done, it'll be worth the time and effort you put into it. I've had my 97 for almost 11 years now and will never get rid of it. This truck has never gotten stuck anywhere, its gone through a river up to the headlights without a snorkel (not the smartest thing to do) without a problem, and its the best mud truck I've ever driven. I use it to maintain the roads where I live, the mud gets deep here and I built a custom road drag to keep the roads drivable. So, enjoy the time and effort you're putting into it. When it's finally done, you'll be grinning from ear to ear with a pride that's indescribable.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

Splicing wires shouldn’t be a problem, just take your time with it, solder and heat shrink everything. Or get the heat shrinks that have a solder ring in them and do it one step with a heat gun.

 

[Booty.B.Bouncin]

View attachment 55356

Thank you for the words of encouragement! That's one hell of a contraption you got there! I'm definitely looking forward to finishing this build. I keep running into things making me want to bang my head against the wall, but that's what I get for not doing ALL of my homework, and getting a different model year!

 

[Booty.B.Bouncin]

Splicing wires shouldn’t be a problem, just take your time with it, solder and heat shrink everything. Or get the heat shrinks that have a solder ring in them and do it one step with a heat gun.

I've got the heat shrink, and access to solder. I was thinking about picking up some of those crimp connections with the heat shrink, or something along those lines too. My current problem is do I re-use the connector that came with the '00, or get a new connector... I'm a little worried about just making one continuous franken-harness for the cab, I'd like to keep everything as modular for the future as possible.

 

[Booty.B.Bouncin]

A couple teasers of what I put myself up against. Since everyone loves some pictures to go with threads!

This is the '00 I bought as a donor

 

[Booty.B.Bouncin]

This is the 4.0L '97 that sustained a gnarly t-bone without frame damage. I took this picture after I spent hours and hours of prying, kicking, screaming, and crying, before finally breaking the door free. I took a walk around video, but apparently can't upload a video to the forum.

 

[Booty.B.Bouncin]

Neked '97 chassis

 

[Booty.B.Bouncin]

I'm getting damn close, I can smell it! Going to have to make & fabricate a few things the the coming weeks, but she's coming along, none the less. Here's the almost straightened '00 cab sitting (not yet mounted) on the '97 chassis

 

[Shadowrider6661]

It looks like you're getting into the groove with the build. All you need to do is keep moving forward, a little at a time might be slower, but its also worth it. As for your finished work, I know it'll be outstanding. Keep posting your progress !

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

I've got the heat shrink, and access to solder. I was thinking about picking up some of those crimp connections with the heat shrink, or something along those lines too. My current problem is do I re-use the connector that came with the '00, or get a new connector... I'm a little worried about just making one continuous franken-harness for the cab, I'd like to keep everything as modular for the future as possible.

Ford used a lot of the same connectors for a lot of years, I try to use factory connectors as much as possible anymore, sometimes that means popping out the pins from one plug to put in a different plug or if I have to I’ll put Weatherpack connectors in, but I also do some boat wiring so I always have stuff like that on hand. Use whatever connector is needed. I totally agree with modular, I mean I hope not to have to do major reconfiguring in the future, but years ago I put a 7 pin plug on my F-150. I didn’t do weatherpack connectors back then and being worried about corrosion I ran the wires hard and routed through a hole in the bumper. Now the bumper needs replaced and it has to all come apart. A connector or two would have been easier.

 

[09fx4guy]

You have taken on one heck of a project. Great work so far!

Take your time with the wire splices, and add connectors where you may need to, even if you have to buy one of those deutsch connector kits.

Now if I may suggest one thing, while you have all of this apart, address ANY rust / corrosion issues. Doing and painting / coating on the frame or underbody is much easier when it is all apart and there is no wiring or components in the way. If you are going to do this, you might as well make sure it is done 100%

It looks like the frame you have is relatively solid, so even if you cleaned it off good and put some sort of coating on it, it will last you significantly longer. Eastwood (Rust Encapsulator and Internal Frame Coating) and Rust-Bullet make some good stuff. Hell, you can even use Fluid film on some of the hard to reach areas without too much fuss. I know in my area, rust is the main enemy with all of the salt and brine used on the roads in the winter.

 

[rumblecloud]

Really liking where you're at with this project. Making me feel like pulling the bed off mine and getting after the frame and a bunch of other stuff.
Keep posting pics