My 1980 SWB Project Truck

[slammed79]

On the efi conversion, I've always liked the look of the Holley Ramjet system,  and I think edlebrock makes a few different styles.

[1980c10]

The truck is back in the garage, dash is out and waiting for the new gauge set to arrive. I replaced the master cylinder as it was leaking. At the moment I am working on the park brake cables. The current set up runs them between the frame rails and is not currently hooked up. this set up doesn't work sith the new custom exhaust hydraulic clutch, five speed and crossmember moved back. I am going to run them down the outside of the left fram rail.
Some year c10's had this set up originially. So if your truck has this set up please post back that it does and post year and other specs. If you have any photos or possibally can take some please post them as well. I am looking for mounting locations and anywhere they may pass through a frame rail etc. Any help is much appreciated.
Also this round I will be adding cruise control and should have more details on the set up I will use later in the week. Oh and new weather stripping for the window tracks and who knows what else. This type of stuff seems to snowball a little. 

[bake74]

Also this round I will be adding cruise control and should have more details on the set up I will use later in the week.

     That will be interesting on the set up and how it turns out, I will be watching this one.  Been tossing around the idea with my 74 though I might do something different.

[1980c10]

Bake; I have the cruise set up kit, but I am getting the guages in first. They are almost done. I have looked over the cruise set up and its a pretty simple set up. there is an electronic servo about the same size as a beer can. a 2' ish cable comes out of that to the carb the rest is wiring and a switch. Wiring goes to the speed sensor, brake light swich, nuetral safety switch, tach, cruise switch.  It is a nice set up and doesn't run off of vacuum. I will probably have the speedometer shop guy set it up though as he'll do it for about $100 and I won't lose money taking a day off to do it. the kit was 319 if I remember right. Also I'm sick of wiring at the moment.
Pics to follow when it is all done.

[bake74]

     That would be great, would love to see how it turns out and any thought you have on the kit.

[heavychevy91]

I also would love to hear what you have to say about the kit. I have been wanting cruise for a while now.

[1980c10]

The new VHX guages are in and they are nice. So nice to know what the engine is doing. They fit the dash really well. Seems a little tricky to calibrate everything but I was a little short on patience today. Just need to spend a little time with them when my mind is fresh. Pics to follow
This is the cruise kit here;
http://www.bought4less.com/bought4less/250-1223-ff80818125d407420125fb89c0a21636-p.html

[1980c10]

here are some preliminary pics of the guages;



The bezel is just resting in place in the pics, however you can see they fit the bezel very well.
In the middle pic you can see where the two switches are to be mounted(to left of the headlight switch).
I did get the hang of how to calibrate the guages and make various adjustment and change settings.
There are a lot of nice options on this guage set.
-I can adjust for the backlighting to be on during the day time and what brightness as well as a different setting for when the lights are on. Which make the available dimmer just more convenient.
-My blinkers show up in the speedometer, the originial blinker spot and the digital part of the speedometer.
-high beam indicator, cruise on indicator, brake on indicator.
-on the computer or whatever its called has a spot I can put a wire to hook up to a shift light(that I would install how and where I would want it) i can set it at whatever rpm i want it at.
-The 1/4 mile timer is awesome. 1st push the button, 2nd it wont start until the speed sensor reads 0 and after it reads a number again, you can watch the timer in the dash and it stops as soon as you've gone the 1/4 mile. I imagine the 0-60 is the same.
I hope to get some video soon of the readouts etc. Anyway the quality surpassed what I expected and thanks again capt.
I did give dakota a call with a question on using my speed sensor already on my 5 speed and they answered the phone right away, were very knowledgable, and told me exactly what to do.
My only complaint is the 160 mph speedo should be 120. However I can live with it. Oh and the lense is just a little too reflective. However I am very picky.
So the vhx gauges come with my full recommendation and if you do; buy them here.

[bake74]

     Well that is awesome, thanks for the write up and approval.  I wanted to put those in my truck build, now I am for sure.

[1980c10]

A couple of other thoughts on the gauges;
Why not put the shift light in the tach?
The installation probably took about 4x's longer than I had originially thought it would.
A lot of wiring, I liked the harness and plugs provided for the sensors.
Also plan a location for a shift light if you have a manual trans. I don't know where mine will go yet but I will set it at 5400 rpm which will be the max shift point.
The red guages match my red interior very well.
I may add the dimmer option but have other things to tackle for now. otherwise to adjust the brightness of the gauges the truck needs to be shut off and key turned back on and it requires to go through the programming options then turn the key off and then you can restart the truck with the gauges set where you want them.

[1980c10]

So the cruise control is in thanks to the local Speedometer shop guy who really came through. The cruise works perfectly and probably better than any cruise I have had in any vehicle. When I set the cruise it stays at the speed perfectly like I never took my foot off the gas. It is very smooth when I hit the decel and accel switches, I pretty much can't feel it. He set the adjustments to prevent surging and over acceration very well. To his credit he has probably done 100's of these set ups. Anyway; if you use the link a couple of post back for the cruise kit; I used the #3020 switch. The switch has a nice feel and works well, looks clean and factoryish.
He did end up mounting the servo on the firewall below the wiper motor. I wasn't to thrilled to have it where it could be seen but I let him convince me that it would be better to keep it safe and dry. Pics will be coming here soon but I want to finish a couple of more things on the truck first.
btw this kit is designed to be used with a speed sensor, but if don't have one there are adapters.

[cvbear]

Those gauges look great, you have done a very nice job on the installation. 

[Captkaos]

There is a warn section in the dakota, can you not use it for the shift light.  I am only asking, can't remember about that portion of the gauges,  Been playing with to much wiring the last couple days,

[1980c10]

There is a warn section in the dakota, can you not use it for the shift light.  I am only asking, can't remember about that portion of the gauges,  Been playing with to much wiring the last couple days,

I haven't had a lot of time to mess with it lately. It may be that it is set up for both a display in the gauge itself and an additional aux. light.