Over Thanksgiving weekend I got going on the wiring and after a bit of back and forth it runs like a top.
I replaced the old rusty fuel pump.
And then had to figure out how to make a 2001 fuel rail that has a return work with a 2004 pump that does not need a return.
In hind sight, I should have just used a 2001 fuel pump but the 2004 pump which has the internal regulator works too I just capped the return line on the fuel rail. In the future I will likely get a better looking intake. I never like the Vortec engine covers in the Jeep. Its too Chevyish.
Once the fuel issue was fixed I laid out the harness and started plugging everything in.
Its easier to do this with the cab up in the air and out of the way so I pulled the fenders and steering and up it went.
While doing this I measured up the front passenger side bedskirt and there is enough room over there to fit the battery so I built a little frame and mounted the battery to keep it out of the engine bay and move a bit of weight towards the back.
I will be getting a new top post style battery but the old Chevy one works for now. I hate those screw in terminals that Chevy uses. I had to add an additional ground from the engine to the frame for starting. The other major engine to ground strap is on the far side of the engine so when I started it the first time after moving the battery, most of the power was going through a small ground wire that started to smoke. Oops.
To make the new fuse panel I ordered a custom build it yourself style panel. It now has 4 fuses for the injectors, 1 for the coils, one for the trans, and one for the ECM. There is an ignition relay that turns all the keyed stuff on and one relay for the starter. It will get a relay for the AC compressor and one for the ABS when those get installed.
The last thing I worked on was the brakes.
I bought a prebent stainless steel hardline kit that will make this a lot easier. Unfortunately, I put the core support mounts right on the frame where the lines used to go so ill have to reroute the front ones a bit.
I really just laid out the new lines and mounted the ABS pump where it goes. There is a lot left to do for the brakes. I have all new hoses and pads and such. I am reusing the rotors and calipers from the 60k mile Chevy chassis they are all in decent shape.
With the engine now ready to run I am hoping to get the brakes all set up in the next few weeks and hopefully take the Jeep for a spin around the yard sometime before the end of January but I planned on the engine running by June and that obviously didn't happen so we shall see.