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I finished my American Autowire Update kit!!! (not without help) It wasn't as bad as i thought and following suggestions from the group helped tremendously, thanks All said and done i had 2 big problems: my blower motor would not work on any speed and dome light/brake light fuse kept blowing when power was applied. I added courtesy lights under the dash and the instructions say to double the wires, into a series 56male terminal, from the connector that runs to the dome light back to the drivers side courtesy light.... now i have the crimpers from AAW and i did a pretty good job on the other terminals but apparently i cannot get these right. long story short i just used the factory wiring connectors in the dash harness for the console courtesy lights plugged it into the underdash lights and all works great!!! Blower motor 😒 would not work on any speed. After a good time every wire under the dash i reached out to JFT69z.... huge help!!!!! After a great discussion and some well needed knowledge on how the system works i was armed with some troubleshooting steps. The last thing Joe said was "does the motor WORK, is it bad?" Well of course it works, i bench tested it before i painted it and put it in. Got 12v to the motor it didn't work, ripped the fender off pulled motor out and found the ground was bad on the motor frame. Cleaned the paint off reattached the ground terminal and it works like a champ! My point to all this rambling is this: Installing a complete wiring harness, in my opinion, is a huge undertaking. When something does not work I look at the WHOLE thing thinking so many things to check and totally overlooked the the basic troubling shooting steps. Instead of thinking there is a thousand connections i just made which one is wrong, think smaller, basic steps first and it becomes so much more manageable. Secondly, ask for help before you go crazy!! AAW has a fantastic tech support and this forum is outstanding! Best $25 i've ever spent!!! tons of knowledge, experience and willingness to help perfect strangers!!! Thanks again to Joe for his help on a Sunday afternoon, he could've been watching football, but he was on the phone with me!😁👍

I have no clue, Willie. I just pulled the first GIF that caught my eye on an app on my phone after searching “street fight”. I just now searched “dancing banana” and this is one of dozens that came up. Maybe Rob and Joe can learn some new moves …

I'l have to put down my beer and cigarette, I'll be like a fish outta water 🤣

The Big Big show!!! Nice going Rob!!!!

Did Dennis get hair extensions ? I already got the ponytail 🤣

I don’t think anyone would want to see a bunch of old farts in a cage. I don’t think it would be as entertaining as what Glen posted. Unless the use of canes would be allowed as we knock out dentures.

It was an absolute pleasure talking with you Terry, and thanks for the update on the wiring job. No doubt, it's a big job wiring up a complete car, but with the AAW kits, at least they have a quality product, very good documentation, and their support staff are very helpful if needed. The standard practice of "Check the obvious first" theory is usually a pretty good place to start, especially after making so many changes, like you did. As you said, it's easy to go in many directions after doing that though. I'm just as guilty sometimes, but getting back to the basics like checking for power at the device, fuses, etc may help eliminate chasing in the wrong direction, and zero in on the problem/solution. Glad it worked out for you. Now, go and make reservations for the hotel room at Carlisle like we discussed 😁. After attending one of the events, I guarantee you'll have an even greater appreciation for this forum and group of people. Once I attended the first one, there was no looking back, an absolute game changer meeting these people in person.

You’re right Willie. Somehow I don’t see that happening. The fun will continue for another year. At least. lol. 😂

FYI, don't use solid copper spark plug wires with PERTRONIX ignition system or that will cause it to fail! Probably nobody here uses solid copper spark plug wires but I wanted to pass this along.

I have seen early cars without the 2nd body mount you mention Dennis. May be only early Baltimore cars??🤔 Big Red is a Sept of 69 build, but Flint plant. Has both mounts and had the rubber isolator cross member. 4 speed cars had the it directly bolted to the frame cross member. As you know the ones with the isolator rust badly inside. It MAY have been changed for a Chevelle style (direct to frame).

Guess I wasn't specific 🤣 Don't think I'll get away with using my Monte registration on the truck this year. So YES the plan is to bring the imaginary Monte this year 🤣

We can set aside a part of the Carlisle hotel parking lot with a MMA style cage, for the evening entertainment...

So it's actually a "Flintstone" car ?

Fantastic! If you need any help at all or have any questions, don't hesitate to call. We'll help you any way we can.

I'm working on it! Lol

Thanks Tom. This is a Flint car. I figured as much on the crossmember. Hmmm maybe this was originally a 4 speed car. There’s not enough floor left to tell though. Lol.

Not really. I’m getting much to old, and sore, to be doing this anymore. lol. I was too lazy to take the plow off the tractor and put on the forks so I carried it. I guess I’m not so smart either. 😝

That a boy Mark, then they cant tease you anymore!!!

Already booked the hotel, registered for my showfield pass's, but I know ya'll have heard that before 🤣

Carrying that section of frame 1500 feet may have been pointless. But the idea was ok. lol.

Ran across this and thought I'd share

He was talking about the car, not you.

Hey Mark, Just from what I've heard at local cruise events, the general opinion is to change all the ignition components if you're upgrading.... That way you're sure to get parts that are made to work together and give you the best results. Less chance of something burning out and damage the rest of the system as well. I'm sure there are different opinions based on personal experiences, but this made sense to me. Scott.

Looking Great!! Looking at the taillight areas reminded me of when I had my 71 (non SS) repainted in the 80's the area used as a reflector for the light bulbs was sprayed black, like my car. When all finished I noticed the taillights and turn signals did not look as bright as they did in the past. I removed the lenses, saw the black paint, sprayed that area white and the problem was solved. Just thought I would mention it for anyone else who is interested. I wonder if silver was used when built? I remember spraying flat black on the lower area of my black 71 Monte. You can't really tell since my car is all black, but I tried to keep most things correct.

I was refering to what his wife used to stab him to death with..... But that would work too.

I’ve only been a member for about 6 months so I wasn’t aware of your project until these most recent posts. Now, about 2 hours later I’m up to date and looking forward to future progress reports. Awesome awesome work by both you and the others involved. Great media coverage too.

You are more than welcome. That’s why we are here. We are all learning daily from one another, that’s the beauty of this group.

I want to give a big shout out to Dennis Tretter and Dan Janes for sending me pictures and helping me make sure that the black areas specific to a 71 SS were painted correctly. Not to mention all of the other tips and pointers that they've helped me with. Being a part of this club has been a huge value and benefit. 😎

Preliminary cut just to get rid of the garbage. lol. I’m just playing with this by the way. Most likely not going to happen. Seeing if I can make something useful out of junk. lol. 😂

Here are the links to my YouTube channel videos if you'd like to see the action.

You do realize you’re the instigator that started all this. It will be met with severe and harsh punishment

The only color I would believe didn't have the lower black painted from the factory is black. All other colors do not look right without the black. Its on my "to do" list for "Big Red".

Since my Monte is in hibernation having some time to work on the Cougar. Ya know, all those little things that always take a back seat to other priorities 🤣 Its on jack stands because I'm replacing the 2 negative battery cables ya bunch of haters 🤣 Had a primo detailer ( he's done some of my friends MUCH nicer cars) do a test patch where I burned the paint with a car cover 😡So he's coming back Monday&Tuesday to cut/buff detail the whole car exterior 😁 Not one of my finest moments 🤣

Correct, its hilarious 1 🤣

I have torque thrust, black with polished alum lip

As always, Thank You Rob for always keeping on top of things and also keeping us updated. Hard to believe it's nearly a new year already, and then Carlisle will be here before we know it. Can't wait 🙂.