Crusty's 75th Annv PW #1590 build/mods adventure

[Crusty old shellback]

Figured I'd start a build thread. Have a few ideas going on in my head of what I want to do. We will see how they pan out.
2021 75th anniversary edition power wagon in Delmonico Red Pearl. Only factory option was the bed group.

Current list of mods.
AMP power steps.
35x12.50R17 BFG KO2
Magnaflow muffler and delete the ugly resonator. Black tip.
Ceramic window tint.
Kenwood VHF radio I use for off road racing support.
Soft tri fold bed cover.
LED light bar?

One thing I'm going to try and figure out is how to mod the factory rock sliders and use them with the AMP power steps. That may be a big chore from my initial looking at the sliders.

More to follow.

My canvas.

 

[Crusty old shellback]

OK, so I've started on the AMP power step install. Found out I'm missing 3 of the 4 backing plates. So have to wait on those.

However, that gave me some time to go over the install. In the engine bay, they tell you to ziptie the computer to a big wiring harness. While I was under the hood looking at it, I saw that there are 2 bolt holes with captive nuts already in them, right on the back side of the battery box. HMM, looks like a spot I could mount a plate for the computer.

So I dug thru my bolt collection and found that a m6 1.00 x 25 will fit the hole. HMM.



So I ran to Lowes, grabbed some new bolts, velcro and a piece of sheetmetal.



And I started measuring and cutting the sheet metal and drilling holes.





I also removed the "ramps" on the bottom of the computer so that it would be flat and easier to put the velcro strips on.





I then mounted the newly painted plate on the side of the battery with the new bolts. I did not mount the computer yet as I didn't want it under the hood with no wires connected to it and have the plugs open. But I did set in on there and all seems good. Once I get the missing brackets in, I'll continue the install.

 

[Crusty old shellback]

So from the advice of some members on here, I decided to get a screen protector for the 12" Uconnect screen. Went with the matte finish one to reduce the glare. Install was straight forward. Simple directions to follow and all needed supplies were included. I got mine off Amazon and it arrived in a few days.

 

[Crusty old shellback]

Fixed the ugly resonator that was in the wheelwell. Went to my exhaust guy today.
Wound up cutting the pipe right at the input to the resonator. Then cut the pipe off the other end. He welded in a section of straight pipe to replace the resonator. Then we trimmed the end section and put on a nice black tip. He welded it in with the pipe raised several inches so now it sits up close to the fender like it should have from the factory.

Looks like it should have from the factory. Sounds a little louder at idle. I cant tell and difference from inside the cab, and no drone.
I like it. I'll paint the pipe black with some BBQ black paint when I get the chance.

 

[Crusty old shellback]

Took her in for some new shoes. BFG KO2 35x12.50R17.
Tried putting the spare in but I'm going to have to pull the heat shield to get it to fit. No big deal I think since I dont have the resonator there anymore.

Up on the lift waiting. I'm surprised a bit by how much drop there is, even with the sway bar connected.



Side by side comparison between the Goodyear and BFG.




First tire mounted.



All ready for the road. Just need to clean the tires now. I do notice the height difference when climbing in the truck.

 

[Rockcrawlindude]

In

 

[Crusty old shellback]

So I had a little issue getting the spare BFG 35 up in its spot. Seem it was hitting on the heat shield in the front.
So today I took out the heat shield and my handy dandy angle grinder with a cutoff wheel and made a little modification.





Now the tire fits nicely with a little finessing when cranking her up.

 

[Brewbud]

Nice. I would love to be able to fit a 37 that way.

 

[Crusty old shellback]

Put my personalized plates on the truck. When I get back from vacation, I want to order them in the black W/gold letters.

Baja Fools. Race support party crew.

 

[Eatonpcat]

Jimmy Buffet fan?

 

[Crusty old shellback]

Yep.
Also 21 years active duty Navy. And riding Navy ships for the last 20 years after I retired. 41 years a Sailor/Pirate.

 

[Crusty old shellback]

Ok, so I tackled the AMP research power step install today. Unfortunately, the steps just barely clear the pinch weld as they pass by it, so I cant see any way to also install the factory sliders at this time.

Heres a few details that may help others.
For the wiring harness, you can see how I mounted the AMP computer in a previous post above. I used some heavy duty velcro and I think it's going to work.




For the wiring itself, I drilled a small hole in the plastic cover at the base of the windshield. I also cut a slit from the hole to the edge. Pulled the push fasteners and tucked the wiring for the passenger side up inside that tray. Looks much cleaner.

 

[Crusty old shellback]

For the trigger wire going into the cab, it was a royal pain. Had to cut the rubber boot a bit, get the wire run thru, then did my best to tape it all shut with electrical tape.




I connected the power and ground to the power block on the battery.










Electrical all buttoned up.




For the wire runs under the truck, when you get under it, you will see a button plug that holds the back of the fender well liner on the cab. I just pryed it out, ran the cable behind it, and put the plug back in. Ran the wires on top of the frame with the factory wiring.

 

[Crusty old shellback]

For the brackets, first you have to drill out the old rivnuts. You need a short big drill bit, a 90% drill attachment. You will also need a rivet tool later. Also a flexible magnet works great to pull the rivnuts out of the body when they drop.
You can get them at harbor freight if you dont have one. Cheap and will do the job.








Drill out just the face of the rivnuts and use the flexible magnet to retrieve them from inside the body.

 

[Crusty old shellback]

Next you will mock up the support bracket, rivnuts and then try to hold it all in place while you drill the hole for the small rivet that will hold the bracket it.


Once done, you then put something on the bracket incase you drop it inside the frame, you can retrieve it. Then mock up everything again with the rivnuts in and install the small rivet to hold the plate on the inside. Work with it and make sure its tight against the inside of the body.

 

[Crusty old shellback]

Do not bend the tab in yet, it's done after the rivnuts are installed. Set up the rivnut tool. There is a little lip on one side, it goes up against the rivnut. When tightening, keep the rivnut tight against the body. I did about 2 full turns, then it got a little easier to turn. Once it was snug, I switched to my torque wrench to finish the job. Pay attention, its 110 inch pounds, not foot pounds, so make sure you have the correct torque wrench.

 

[Crusty old shellback]

Mounting the brackets is pretty straight forward. Just follow the instructions for placement. You have to use a open end wrench, nothing else will fit up in there.
Just slightly snug up the 4 bolts on each bracket. You have to adjust them in a later step. Dont ask me how I know.
Next you will put the step on, again do not tighten them up, just almost snug. Then you will need to take a soft mallet and tap the step at the back end. You want to push the step as far forward as it will go. This is so it will clear the back pinch weld. It should look like this.


Once that's done, tighten the 4 Allen head screws that mount the step to the bracket. Then you will step/bounce on the step at each bracket. This is to set the bracket so the step will clear the pinch weld when retracted.


Once you do that, raise the step and make sure it clears. A slight rub should be ok. If it's more, bounce again.
Once you are satisfied with it, you want to try and put some weight on the step as you tighten the pinch weld bolts. Then tighten the main bolts in the rivnuts. Cycle the step again and it should be good.
Just follow the rest of the instructions, its fairly simple, other than drilling for the top rivets.

 

[Crusty old shellback]

The steps tuck up under the truck really nice.
The issue with running both the steps and the factory sliders, is that the bottom of the sliders is about 3/4" lower than the pinch weld.
The steps just barely clear the pinch weld. So as the steps close/open, they would hang up on the sliders.
The issue I have now is that the body on the bottom/pinch weld, looks unfinished. The bed side and the front fender have a black plastic that covers the bottom edge and looks clean. I'm not sure if there is a dress piece for the cab, if there is, will it also hang too low and interfere with the step?

 

[Crusty old shellback]

Factory sliders




AMP step

 

[Crusty old shellback]

So today I went ahead and connected up the lights for the steps. Not wanting to do any drilling, I started seeing if I could run the wires thru the drain hole plugs. Low and behold, I found a way. There is a hole between the two layers that it took a bit to get a solid wire thru so I could pull the wiring thru with, but it works.






So I drilled a hole in the rubber drain plug, ran the led wires thru the hole, then soldered on some extension wires to reach the wire loom. Connected them to wire loom and wrapped everything in electrical tape. Everything works good.