An overhead console I made for my van 46 years ago.

[@toomanytoys]

That van had a perforated light color hardboard headliner, not the cloth type, so it was easier to deal with. The console stood proud of the headliner, offset with spacers. The very forward edge of the headliner was cut back for access to the pillars for wiring and more room. So, there was a 1/2 to 3/4" clearance between the console and headliner, and from the seating positions, a shadow from the console. It looked pretty cool, hanging in the air. People often asked how it was mounted. If I had taken a picture of it in place, I don't know where it is.

[@The_Wood]

Very well done, sir! Well done indeed! 👍👍

[@toomanytoys]

Thank you kindly!

[@Adrenacyde]

A close Family member had a 197x Ford SuperVan. Very fond memories of road/camping trips. Something about those older vans...

[@toomanytoys]

Yep, did a lot of camping in mine, too.

[@danaschoen432]

Back when I was a young GI, I was stationed at Vandenberg AFB. I had a friend who was an "Instrument Tech". Vandenberg as you might know is a Missile base, so Instrument Techs were a thing . This friend of mine was heavily into this sort of stuff as a hobby as well. He plied it on an Angela Panel Truck he owned, I think from the late 50s. He shoehorned a Pinto 4 popper in it (just barely). That little engine seemed so immense in the front of that little truck. That was cool enough, but from plans he got out of Popular Electronics he built a complete set of digital gages. This was in 1980, we were barely past Nixie tubes! The feature that I was even more impressed with was a 5 button digital lock and a push button start. It would be another 40 years before Detroit would come that far. My friend was truly ahead of his time Seems you were as well.

[@toomanytoys]

This was more of a 50s setup with all the relays and resistors. Backlighting was off with the engine off, full on at engine start, and 1/2 light when the headlights were turned on. Terminal strips all across the back.

[@Itsa_Mea]

It's funny the things we save. Thanks for sharing.

[@toomanytoys]

Oh, I've got older stuff than this, Pete. I still have my West Bend 610 2-stoke Kart engine from before I was a teenager.

[@SlwRpr]

Hey i was right there with ya in time. Ah the 70's and radio shack, even though i went in a different trade. Good job on the console way back then. I found your video's looking for differences of dielectric grease and contact grease

[@danaschoen432]

Jack. I have started my tear down. I found your post on one of the forums and downloaded the relevant books. They are proving to be invaluable. So thanks for putting those up. I am however still looking for something else. These trucks are now getting fairly "long in the tooth" as they say. As such they have had a lot of hands in them. This leads to a number of the plumbing and wiring clips, anchors, tie downs coming up MIA as well as the plumbing and wiring itself getting a little degraded and misrouted. My intention is to replace as many of these items as I can. When I reassemble my engine, I'd like to return the plumbing and wiring to as close to OEM condition as possible. Also I want to ensure that ALL of the bolts end up back in the right place. That said, if you could make recommendation for a book that will provide details on all of that I would be most appreciative. Once again, thanks for all the work you do on the channel.

[@toomanytoys]

Thanks, Dana. I also used the Ford manual, which you can find as a DVD on eBay. For many of the little clips and such, I used the site ClipsandFasteners.com. For laying the harness, I took many pictures of my 2003 before pulling them, and the lay is different depending on the year, and sometimes half year. If you Google for the 6.0 bibles by year, there are some details in those. i.e., "2003 Powerstroke 6.0 Bible". Besides that, I've Googled "2003 Powerstroke 6.0L" images and found occasional details.

[@jahcure04]

have any pictures of it in the van ?

[@toomanytoys]

Possibly, but don't know where. I've been into photography for over 55 years; have all my negatives and slides all the way back, and mass quantities of albums in storage at a few locations.