MAJOR MILESTONE: Wiring in the Cab is Complete!

Hello Gray Ghost Fans!  How exciting!  All of the wiring in the cab is done!  That means that the gauges, lights and switches are installed too!  It's been a long, difficult road for sure, and getting those gauges installed was no easy job.  But they are in and let me tell you, they look fabulous! So, without further adieu, here they are:

Speedometer

Quad Gauge

(Gas , Water Temp, Oil Pressure and Volts)

Holy Cow, do they look good!  These gauges are by New Vintage and are their "Woodward" series. They have the look and feel of the gauges from the series prior to mine (the art deco series). Nevertheless, I think that they look right at home in my dash.  Here's a shot of them together:

Here's a shot of my modified radio delete plate installed in it's permanent location:

Now you can really see what I was talking about in the post about creating it.  The bolts that permanently hold it in place are where the radio knobs would have been.  They have the special tab that fits into the slot in both the dash and the radio delete plate and keeps them from spinning when you tighten them up.  I really like the layout with the bolts, indicator lights and 3100 emblem.  It's not the way that Chevrolet did it, but I like it.  Here is the layout of the whole dash:

So, a couple of things...no the dash isn't completed yet.  The gaping holes are where the speaker grill goes, as well as the ash tray.  Both are long since restored and waiting in the basement. However, before I can install them, I need to get some kind of black paper (or paint some thin cardboard black) to sit behind the speaker grill.  Since I'm not installing a radio, you would be able to see through the grill without a speaker in place.  The heavy gauge black paper is how Chevrolet dealt with the issue, so that's how I'll do it too.  Once I get the paper, I'll finish installing the speaker grill, ashtray and finally the glove box door and lock.  After that, I'll put the steering wheel back onto the steering column.

In addition to the gauges and lights, I also installed the turn signal switch and the tachometer. Hopefully everyone remembers when the Starfire joined the 3100 team.  If not, you'll have to go back to 4/5/2015 to read that post!  As I noted back then, this tach is set up for an 8 cylinder engine, so it will show fewer RPM's than the engine is really turning, but I don't care.  It's more for show than for go.  I always shift based on engine sound, not what a tachometer is showing me. I've been doing that since I started driving and doubt I'll be changing anytime soon.  Here is the famous, 1961 Starfire tachometer installed in it's new location and all wired up.

To mount the tachometer, I used an Autometer universal gauge mount.  I was able to use an existing hole in the dash as a mounting hole, so no new holes were needed.  I put a slight angle on it so that it is easier to see from the driver's seat.  The keys are far enough away so that they won't hit it when we are driving!  Now how cool is that?!?  Automotive styling today sucks in comparison to the past!

Pay no attention to the wires to the left.  It does look a bit like a rat's nest under the dash, but I did say in an earlier post that I wasn't cutting any wires down with this installation.  It is still my intent to one day do a frame off restoration.  If I do that, it is also my plan to re-use this wire harness.  At that time, I would do a proper installation and cut each wire to the correct length.  If I had done that now, I would likely come up short on some of the wires then, as I'll have to make a few cuts to remove the wire harness for the frame off effort.  So for now, it's a bit ratty and I'm good with it.

Here is the final shot of this post and it shows everything, including the tach and the turn signal switch:

I have to say that I'm very pleased with how it all turned out.  It at least looks pretty good.

None of the "front of the truck" connections have been made yet and that is on purpose.  I don't want them in the way during the engine swap, so I'll just gather them up and tape them out of the way. Next time out, I'll go around the truck and make sure that there are no loose (as in still unconnected) wires that could cause a short.  Then I have to add the battery ground cable.  After that, I'll temporarily bolt on the tail lights and then, it's time to actually put a battery into the truck and start testing each of those circuits!  Of course, I'll have the fire extinguisher handy, just in case.  To be safe, I'll only add one fuse at a time and see how it goes.

That's all for now.  Quite a bit of progress in a short bit of time.  I hope you all like it as much as I do. Leave a comment to let me know what you think!