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Isn't that a bad thing? You want to make sure your wiring can handle that much current, or else your wires will get hot, and you run a risk of fire. Even on top of that, if you have a wire that is too thin and you push too much current through it, you'll lose voltage to resistance. Some things you woulnd't notice that much of a difference, but for things like lights, they will get darker the lower voltage.

I nearly always use 12 gague. I think most of the stock wiring in the LUV is 16 gague, so I would reccomend keeping in 15A fuses, unless you have added some of your own circuits. If they are blowing, then you have either overloaded a circuit, or you have a short somewhere.

This chart is about car stereos, but it's the same information when it comes to anything car electronic.


Remember, Amps = Watts/Volts. (or Volts * Amps = Watts). So if you have 4x 100Watt off-roading lights, that convets to 33.3 Amps. So as long as my ligts can use 16ft of wire or less, I can put them behind 10gague wire for best performance.

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-1979 LUV 4x4

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'78 1.8L 4-speed Fleetside

The only thing more beautiful than a sunset is a sunrise.

Use relays for higher current loads. Check this out.

http://www.offroaders.com/info/tech-corner/reading/automotive-wiring.htm

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75 Luv, 350 V8, TH350, Camaro rearend. New 1975 Luv Step side. Stock for now.
Grandmaster of the "Shade Tree" way.. I can't see the yard for all the cars. Come on down and we will sit on the porch and watch the grass grow.

I've rewired just about everything under the hood because it was really a mess when I got it and used heavier guage wiring and I'm running a 50 amp alternator so it's not likely to cause a problem. Plus when I replaced my bed, I replaced all of my wiring under there with heavier guage too.

I hate electrical gremlins and I know darn well that on any vehicle this old, the wiring is going to be all FUBAR'ed from it's previous owners and old age, so that is SOP with me on any old vehicle I restore or fix up.



You're kidding, right?

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'78 1.8L 4-speed Fleetside

The only thing more beautiful than a sunset is a sunrise.

Haha! that reminds me of the time I went to the cruise strip and revved my stock engine next to a corvette Little did he know our race was "see who can go the slowest!" and I won! He shot right on past me!

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-1979 LUV 4x4

Sorry to start off-topic discussion, but Taz, did you use a kit to do this, or did you get spindles of wire to do it with? I have a bunch of added electronics and circuits alongside with the stock wiring (I have a 100Amp internally-regulated alternator, Power Inverter, Stereo & Subs, And off-roading lights, soon going to add an electrical fan to replace the mechanical fan). It was all done with either 8 gague or 12 gague wiring. I've also added handfulls of mechical relays all over the place. I'm trying to decide if I want to replace all the stock wiring with new stuff, but I'm afraid that will be very expensive, as well as very time consuming.

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-1979 LUV 4x4

I have a rack filled with spools of heavy guage wire in 8 different colors, and I just rolled out whatever I needed, grabbed my wire strippers, my soldering gun, my wire cutters, some shrink wrap, several roles of electrical tape, and attacked my wiring when I got my truck all stripped down to just the cab and the frame. This wasn't my first time at bat with an old vehicle, and I've learned the hard way about old buggered-up worn out wiring harness gremlins.

It may be a bit time consuming and tedious to do it all by hand, but I guess you just have to ask yourself:

"Why is there never enough time to do it right the first time - but always enough time to tear it all apart later and re-do it?"

And me personally, if I want flames around my truck, I prefer that they are fake ones that are painted on...lol

And fulla, I don't street race in town in traffic, (that's how innocent people get killed) so that stuff doesn't work on me. But I have embarassed the hell outta a few fart-can Hondas and other dumbass looking ricers that were trying to crowd me as I was getting on to the freeway...lol They just get this real dumb look on their face when I grab a lower gear, when they hear the secondaries kick in, and they listen to my exhaust roar while watching my tail lights pull away from them...lol

I've had my glory days at the track, and paid enough tickets when I was younger - so now I just try to behave. (In a Tijuana cab driver kinda way...of course.)

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'78 1.8L 4-speed Fleetside

The only thing more beautiful than a sunset is a sunrise.

The Rollbar/off-roading lights are my favorite part about my LUV, even though I can't use them on public roads (although, I do plenty of country driving late at night, but with the lights on, you can't even tell it's night time!)

Now for the secret, I built my roll bar out of a bed frame and a crappy welder! I was doing a service project for some place and I spotted it in the dumpster. My buddy pointed out how it was a little too long for my bed, but he said he had a welder and we could make it work.

It is funny the looks we get from people. They'll make a comment about my roll bar, then I'll tell them it was built out of an old bed frame. Then they laugh and say it does resemble one.

All my pictures are on my computer in kansas, or else I'd post some good ones of the roll bar.

One thing to keep in mind though, is you will need a bigger alternator than stock if you plan to use the lights. I have 100Amp alt that can sustain 14 volts on idle, however, when I turn on the lights, my voltage drops to 12 on idle (I can still push 14 if I'm moving though). I believe that stock alternator is 35-45 Amps depending on wether you have AC or not. I have 4x100Watt lights, which equates to 33 amps, or 1/3 of my 100A alternator's capacity.

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-1979 LUV 4x4

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'78 1.8L 4-speed Fleetside

The only thing more beautiful than a sunset is a sunrise.

I wanted to get a train horn off ebay and mount it to my roll-bar, but who knows if I'll ever actually do it. They're not cheap.

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-1979 LUV 4x4

LOL Scenario: Coming to a train track, Uthe, (after installing his train horn), blows his horn to tell somebody to get moving faster. Unfortunately, the driver of the car in front thinks the train is coming and stops on a dime. Better watch out Uthe! A train horn would make people stop in a panic. Ha ha. Or maybe if you got behind one of those cars with a bumper sticker that read: "In Case of Rapture this Car will Become Unmanned", then the driver might open the window and holler, "What about me?!!

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'78 1.8L 4-speed Fleetside

The only thing more beautiful than a sunset is a sunrise.

whats all this talk of oil catch cans with bigger cams. Ive never needed one. Also as a side note the under side of my hood and entire freakin engine bay will never rust...

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1980 LUV 4x4, going under re-construction...

Lmao!

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'78 1.8L 4-speed Fleetside

The only thing more beautiful than a sunset is a sunrise.

J/K...lol

A cam can be custom-designed By Delta Cams to match whatever you want it to accomplish for your engine. There are a lot of variables involved in choosing exactly what lift and what duration will work for your needs. I'll just leave that to them - they are the experts. So if you wanna know about Cams, I'd highly recommend you giving them a call (use their toll-free number if necessary), and talk to them. They are nice folks and I'm sure they will have no problem answering any/all questions you might have.

As for puting a new cam in a used head - you should have a manual around handy so that you can make sure that your head, rocker arm assembly, etc. is still in decent enough shape to install the cam into it. I personally always check the spec's, inspect everything for allowable tolerances, and visually inspect everything else before I install a new cam. Also, I always use plenty of good quality cam assembly/installation lube, and re-adjust my valve clearances before I start my engine up. Then I turn my idle up high and let the truck run for about 20 minutes or so to break in the cam. Then after a few days of light driving, I check my valve clearances again, adjust them again if necessary, and change my oil and filter.

As for the pin that aligns the cam with the gear - I've seen first hand what happens when the pin snaps or comes out and the cam stops spinning while the engine is still running, and it aint pretty. Unless of course you really enjoy looking at holes in piston tops, and all-bent-to-hell valves....lol

So obviously you want the pin in there snugly, and you want to make damn sure you tighten the gear down on the end of the cam to the proper torque specs. The manual explains that all in detail, and the guys at Delta Cam will install a freh pin in your new cam and make sure it is in their snug. So if you get a cam done by them, I personally wouldn't worry too much about it.

So far, I've never had one fail or had any other problems with one yet. And Idoubt if lasthas much to dowith that. If I was lucky, would I have been born this ugly and poor?

LMAO!

You and me in the same bar drinking together fulla is probably not a very good idea...lol But thanks anyway.

See what happens when you are trying to type and talk to the wife at the same time? That should say:

" And I doubt if luck has much to do with that."

Sorry for the double post but my edit time ran out before I spotted that. Any staff member can feel free to copy/paste that in and then delete this.

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'78 1.8L 4-speed Fleetside

The only thing more beautiful than a sunset is a sunrise.

I would just like to thank all who contribute their experience gained wisdom to this site. My 79 LUV croaked about a hundred miles from home a few weeks ago. After trying all the usual fuel related stuff, I sprung for the Weber 32/36, rather than buy a new vehicle. What a difference! (The *Hitachi was running rough, anyway.)
I did have a problem with the Weber running out of gas until I opened the fuel pressure regulator to 3.5 psi. I had started out at 2.0 psi.
I can see a problem plugging the fuel return if the gas cap is sealed/pressurized, so for now mine is open. I intend to put a small breather-type filter on the end to keep the crud out, but let the air flow in, to prevent creating a vacuum in the gas tank.
I do have one problem to try to figure out. After going up a hill at full throttle (in a LUV, is there any other way?) something is sticking wide open for a short period when I reach the top and release the gas pedal.
Now if I could just get my wife to let me do an engine rebuild and electronic dizzy, I would have a (relatively) hot running machine.
Thanks again for all your input.