47k mile GN

Thanks for the update Steve, May I ask what prompted a concern about the rear end? I recall seeing the earlier pics of your gear mesh markings. I am use to detecting the noise on the road under float/load, were you able to simulate this elevated on the rack? Or was it the result of loading in gear when the drive train transferred power back? Good detective work on the alternator, the first thought I had was the alternator light in the dash cluster, understand when they go, no charge...Casper has a fix for that I believe.
 
Casper fix is already on the car. Scott wanted that regardless of if it was needed or not.

Rear was noisey on decel/coast. Both on the road and rack.
 
A little inconspicuous powdercoat scraping and the alternator charges without a special cable!:)
 
Lots of progress yesterday. Started by re setting pinion depth on the rear. It is quiet on the rack(was not before). Gotta let the driveway dry up somemore before a road test.

Guages are all hooked up. Wires are all tucked in their own looms for easy servicing or removal. Not sure I would put digital guages on an analog car though.

Alky kit is all wired up. Gotta figure out why low alky led is inop. Everything else works. All connections soldiered.

Got some issues in the cluster I need to work on today, as well figuring out why the radio is inop.

Rear seat bracing and a new 3rd brake light if I get that far as well.

Ok..ok..gotta go get to work.
 

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Few more pics.
 

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Alky kit is all done. Found the wire at low level sensor not connected..probably a cold soldier joint. I added a connector and that fixed it right up. Cleaned up and labeled everything under the drivers side and put up the hush panel. Labeled the wire behind the glove box as well. This stuff can all be removed with no evidence at a future date.

The radio presents a new set of issues. See pics. I ordered some pigtails to fix that mess so that will be later in the week.

Went for a ride before lunch to test out the rear for noises. Still have a slight coast whine on decel. Gonna go back into it a mess with the pinion one more time. This is a Yukon Gear set, it has an agressive cut so it just maybe a little noisey.

The car is a beast it will bust'em 60mph roll
 

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Got the seat braces and new 3rd brake light in.

Got the rear end squared away. Took .005 more outta the pinion did the trick.

Got some back country roads driving in. Gave it a bath when I got home. At this point I need to get the pigtails so I can hook up the radio and see if it works. And dig into the dash cluster somemore.

Tune is pretty close. Alky comes in a bit too soon so I need to tweak the turn on point.
 

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This car is so fast the drivers side winshield moulding blew off!
 

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I am so impressed with your attention to the interior detail, as you have already shown with the big ticket items. I am always challenged to take such a mass of wires and put some sort of semblance of order to them. Great work on the wiring raceways..as well as the spade connectors and ring connectors, this can be a point that most compromise, but you did not.
I can share a perspective as this is my world with respect to having a wiring labeling machine and using velcro to secure devices in a retrievable way. Congrats on resonating the rear end into tune. Nothing more aggravating than to listen to a rear that is not set right. Listening to that distracts from every thing else. I applaud your perseverance.
If there was a trophy in here to present to your wife, I would click the button. You have obviously been focused. Steve, I am getting excited about the 87 Habu...however I want to insure that Steve has recharged fully.
 
I am so impressed with your attention to the interior detail, as you have already shown with the big ticket items. I am always challenged to take such a mass of wires and put some sort of semblance of order to them. Great work on the wiring raceways..as well as the spade connectors and ring connectors, this can be a point that most compromise, but you did not.
I can share a perspective as this is my world with respect to having a wiring labeling machine and using velcro to secure devices in a retrievable way. Congrats on resonating the rear end into tune. Nothing more aggravating than to listen to a rear that is not set right. Listening to that distracts from every thing else. I applaud your perseverance.
If there was a trophy in here to present to your wife, I would click the button. You have obviously been focused. Steve, I am getting excited about the 87 Habu...however I want to insure that Steve has recharged fully.
Ahh no recharge needed bring on the 87 Habu, another fresh pallet. Get your ideas ready. I was thinking of you when I was wiring them up..lol.
 
One note I forgot was...there was broken glass under the back seat, possibly from the theft would be my guess.
 
I am staying focused on Scott's 47K GN at this time, and I am getting a 'boost' out of your reaction to that which you are experiencing during testing, as the sum total of this end result is certainly stirring up some excitement. I like the fact that you are getting resolved regarding future builds and the combo that may prove worthy of the Grand National legend. The winning combo to me is simply durable power that is the result of a solid blueprint build, yes, while edging on an 'overbuild', ends up dialed back into a reliable package just waiting to flex it's potential. If you are 'one' with these cars, you can tell at idle what lies behind the veil. Thanks and keep up the awesome work.
 
Here's the latest batch of issues I found in the dash. Left turn does not light up, brake light does not work, high beam light intermitant, alt socket is flakey. Looks like the printed circuit board is not making good contact with dash connector at cluster. Speed o face is a little offset as well and trip ODO no workey. Someone has been monkeying around in this dash before. I am gonna fabricate a 1 off custom harness for the cluster using the Caspers connector that will plug into the dash connector. I will soldier wires directly to the sockect themselves using the board only as the retainor for them. Screw holes not holding good tension so no doubt this is the only relaible fix. Gonna be pretty labor intensive.
 
Few random pics they dont so much other than a mess.
 

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Today is cluster day. I have the end that Caspers sells that mates with C1 dash connector. All wires soldiered to the little tangs on grey sockets. Most wires match factory colors. And all are labeled for easy tracing if needed in the future. All new long life 194 bulbs. Kirban LED kit for dash backlighting. Enjoy the pics. All circuits tested and now time to soldier to the connector strip.
 

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Heres what 30yrs of corrosion looks like.
 

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Heres the variety of sockets in the cluster. I used only the grey ones in front. The others do not have the tabs to soldier onto.
 

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All done and reinstalled. Every stickin bulb works on this dash! I think it is time to get this thing to my work for some finishing touches.
 

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Having been there yesterday, and observing these pics of your work just a day later, I cannot deliver the appropriate words to convey my applause to what you have accomplished in just over 24hrs. I do not shower this kind of accolades without justification. I work in electronics and pride myself in detail that others may not see. My standards are high, and I am my own worst enemy when it comes to satisfying myself with anything other than maximizing the situation.

Job well done Steve. You are truly the 'Rembrant of this 47K GN canvas'. Sure the GNX type of dash would have been awesome, but that which is more awesome to me is the 'flight of the Phoenix magic' you have performed on that dash. To those of you following this build and thread, Steve has reached in and reversed almost 30 years of degraded electronic connectivity, and what appeared to be someone trying to install a bulb on the left turn signal and chewed up the printed circuit board, and brought it back to life. Those LED bulbs are awesome..but what is more awesome to me is the TLC put into the detail of the wiring jumpers and harness. What Steve has done, is taking something that 99% of people would never see, and done it in such a manner that his most severe critic would have nothing other than kudos to profess. I can think of no one other than yourself that I would want to take my 87 Astro Roof GN to the next level. Thanks for letting me be part of the ride. What a beta platform leading into what we will do with mine.
 
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