Aaron's 76 Type LT Project

8 minute(s) of a 383 minute read

I decided to get some self-fusing tape and in the words of my wife...this stuff is fabulous! Good call to those who suggested this stuff.

I got the larger wire loom in and re-taped the harness where it goes through the firewall. I started re-taping the joints I un-taped when I was doing some wire re-routing.



This is one of the re-taped joints, which isn't totally done yet. This self-fusing tape is strong and has a nice look.

I also decided to start putting the brakes on because....why not??

The front brakes are 13" (1.25" thickness) Coleman rotors with Wilwood hats. The calipers are US Brake F88i quad-piston. Keith @ Custom Works modified the original hubs to accept this brake setup. If these things stop 1/2 as well as they look then I should be good.

4-2-2016

I got the rear brakes installed after some hiccups, which were my doing. I am running 11" one-piece Wilwood hubs and the center hole was too small for the axle flange. I got the center holes on the brake hubs increased once and it was not enough so I had the holes increased a second time and it did the trick. I had to shim the driver side e-brake assembly/caliper bracket ~1/16" outward so the caliper was centered properly.

All four brake assemblies are now installed so the next steps are the form the brake lines and install the e-brake cables. I will likely install the exhaust before the e-brake cables so I know what I need to do to clear the exhaust.

Here's the e-brake assembly/caliper bracket



Here's the brake assembly installed. The calipers are US Brake, like the front.

4-3-2016

I need to shorten a few of the wires on the LS harness which means I had to order some Metri-Pack terminals and seals. In the meantime I started wrapping the other wires in Painless ClassicBraid. The intersections are wrapped with black self-fusing tape (did I mention this stuff is awesome?).

I still need to secure the wires to the fuel rail, firewall, etc.

4-4-2016

Yeah, the more I looked at the plastic loom the more I wanted to do something else to dress up the wires. I saw someone else who installed the Power Braid and that was the motivation I needed. I liked the flat, cloth-like appearance of the Classic Braid.

4-9-2016

I got most of the engine harness wires shortened (O2 sensor wires, CAM wire, alternator wire), the crank wire lengthened and the wire braid installed. I cannot do anything at this time with the fuse block wire or the MAF wire, so I will move to the cabin and mount the ECM and get the gas pedal and diagnostic plug wires shortened and situated.

I zip tied the wires to the fuel rail for now but it actually looks better than I had thought it would. I will see if I need to secure it any further with wire clamps. I will definitely secure some other wires using wire clamps, especially the wires along the firewall.

4-19-2016

So I decided I did not like the factory fuel rail and went with some aftermarket Holley rails for a cleaner look. I need to run the lines, but will wait until I run the main fuel lines to do that. I also ditched the intake cover for now, which I think looks much cleaner. I am looking at some coil covers to complete the look, but that is not urgent. It will be something clean and black.





I decided to swap the upper leaf spring shackles with the Delrin kit, which some others advised to do since I am running the composite leaf springs. I also decided to install some bolt-on coilovers on the front, which I will get done soon. The A-arms are ready for me to install the coilovers. The reason for this change was the changes I have made since the original suspension plan has lightended the front end a lot, so regular coil springs and Koni shocks would probably mean the front end would sit too high.

This means I am going to sell my coil springs (SBC version from Custom Works) and my Koni shocks (all 4) if anyone is interested They have 0 miles on them. I was re-painting the Koni shicks in black since red clashed with the black theme, but otherwise they are brand new shocks.

4-30-2016

I got the engine wiring harness mounted inside the cabin, got the ECU mounted and got the HVAC evaporator mounted. I wrapped the wire loom with anti-rattle pad from Second Skin Audio. This was a bigger PITA than I had expected, but I am glad I got it done. I used "nyloc" nuts and lock washers to make sure these things don't come loose later. I got some stainless steel wire loom clamps off ebay to hold everything in place.

I had to get a few more wire terminals so I can shorten the gas pedal and install the starter solenoid wire.



I am going to tackle the fuel system next. I bought a gently used Rick's Tanks fuel tank from another member on the site for the LS. It was made for the 75-81 and has the width has been reduced for a mini-tub, which I am not doing. So I will have a little smaller fuel tank (like 18 gal). It already has a Walbro 255 in-tank fuel pump. I am looking at one option for the venting system, which I will know more in a few weeks.

5-14-2016

I've been piddling around but wanted to share a few pics of some pic-worthy work.  

I got the fuel tank pump and sender unit wired up at the tank so I can get the tank installed and plumbed.



I had to swap out the lower control arms so I could use coil overs. I went ahead and swapped out the upper control arms with some adjustable SPC arms.