One of the biggest hurdles of converting Project Pile House from “garage art” to an actual running, driving vehicle is putting some wiring into the vehicle. I’m running a carbureted small block Cheverolet V8 (SBC) so there is little to make the truck run and move under its own power, but some wiring is needed to make it street legal. I’m a member of The H.A.M.B and although my truck isn’t 100% “traditional” (thank you Ryan and crew for making a “Traditionally Styled” forum) I’m happy to be an Alliance member. The “Alliance” is a group of forum members that pay to join the network of Alliance Brands that support the DIY Hot Rods and Custom world and the H.A.M.B. . In return being a member gets you killer discounts on Alliance member products and you feel good knowing you’re supporting a business that is truly one of you. Where am I going with this? I decided to buy a 8 circuit universal wiring harness from Alliance member Rebel Wire to give Pile House some electric power.
The harness comes nicely labeled and laid out with a simple wiring diagram to setup your hot rod, custom, or street rod. I took apart the bundles of wires and loomed everything as I wanted for my truck and spliced all my connectors onto the associated engine and transmission wires so I could get the truck to fire. With the wiring all laid out I realized I needed to make a small bracket to hang the fuse box from that was out of the way, but serviceable. I decided to make a simple small bracket and share the steps here.
I started by measuring the fuse box and deciding how far I wanted it to stick out from the kick-panel of the truck. I then drew up a design with measurements I could follow along the way. I then took one of the 12”x12” 20 gauge aluminized sheet metal pieces out of the Eastwood Patch Panel Sheet Metal Kit and laid out my measurements on the metal. Finally I cut out the square of metal I needed with the Electric Shears.
Now that My metal was cut to size I mounted the Versa-Bend Metal Brake in the vice without the removable front leaf. I lined the metal up with my first line and made the first bend. I then flipped the part over and made the second bend to create the “step” in the part. I then did the same on the other side and I now had my stand-off bracket for the fuse box.
The last step was to allow the fuse box to mount to the bracket and permanently affix the bracket to the truck. I marked out the mounting holes for the fuse box and drilled small holes with the Eastwood Pneumatic Drill. I then marked and drilled 4 holes in the bracket and plug welded them to the side of kick panel on the driver side of the cab using the Eastwood MIG 135.
With everything welded and drilled I mounted the fuse box in place using some sheet metal screws. I now had the fuse box out of the way for driving and an easy way to check and change fuses if need be. Now that the fuse box is mounted and the drivetrain wired, I was able to test fire the engine and finish assembling the accessories on the engine. Pile House is fast becoming an actual vehicle again and I can’t wait for warm weather to cruise it around!
-Matt/EW
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