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This was the scene earlier in the week  ...when i started to wire up these!  KC's Cyclone V2 rock lights! I have wanted to put a set of rock lights in for years and never got around to it. Im glad i waited as long as i did though, because this kit is awesome. It comes packed with 6 lights:  Up close, theyre nice pieces:
It comes with a pretty nice install kit too: Amongst some of the hardware are these M8 button heads to hold the lights in place. I elected to use rivnuts instead of the lock nuts, to make the install easier:
Up front, im just outside the core support body mount:  In the middle, Im on this body support just outside the frame. Im not thrilled with the way its mounted, but it puts the light where i need it  And then for the rear, im in the rearmost body structure, just behind and outboard of the shackle hangar:  As for the wiring, i only used part of their kit. The wiring itself is nice, but a bit short for a fullsize rig. Would work fine for a short wheelbase rig like a jeep or zuk. Anyways, i was able to use their harnesses for 5 of the 6 lights, and then i ran my own wires for the 6th since it was too far away. I did use their fuse holder though. I kind of liked the idea of having a separate fuse for each of them just in case i damage one, and it simplified the wiring under the hood:  They want you to power this directly from a switch in the dash, but i had a spare relay in the aux fuse box i added under the hood, so i used that to power everything  Conveniently, i also already had a spare set of wires run to the dash to trigger said relay, so it was just a matter of adding another switch to the dash, and connecting the existing wires   That stuff is boring though, lets see how they look!    Im diggin it! Its kinda funny how the taper of the rear bumper causes it to cast that hourglass shape out back, but theres nothing i can do about that. I think this is gonna work out great, i guess we'll find out next time we're on the trail after dark! Alright we're trying this YT thing. I recommend watching Joe's video, he's got a pretty good overview of the day in his: Heres the highlights from running the trails at AOAA with Ox, Darre & Joe. It was a rough day for me with issues with the water/meth injection on the drive up, then sinking the bronco in a mud pit and stalling it, and wrecking the alternator as well. Everybody else did fine! Got some cool pics though. I shot some video as did Darrel, so there should be some good videos to watch soon at least! Weve got a wheelin trip planned for this weekend, so what better time than to quick cram in an update to the front suspension! Enter one set of Bilstein 7100s:  We're also swapping from the standard 80-97 F250/350 shock mount, to a set of Rough Country dual shock mounts for a Superduty:  So lets get the old tower removed:   But wait, what's this?  Crack in the frame! It was far worse than it looked. But i got it all ground out from top to bottom, and all welded back up, which meant we could get the upper mount installed:  ...and shocks!  ...and done!  Barely noticeable, but makes a huge difference on the road. Nice and firm without being stiff. Definitely what this big heavy truck needed, and just in time to test it out this weekend! Never got to take the 88 for a test drive. I got the headlights all set and roughly aimed, with a plan to drive it to work one night and then adjust the headlights to get a good pattern. But when i went to turn the key, nothing happened. Well, thats not true. Something happened. The column broke! Im going to give you the abridged version: the ignition lock cylinder actuator rod broke.  Fortunately, Dorman makes a replacement, which is actually pretty cheap on Amazon. Unfortunately, replacing it requires the complete disassembly of the steering column:  While i was in there i figured its now or never, and i replaced the turn signal/hazard switch mechanism.  i spent a couple days cleaning up parts and slowly disassembling/reassembling the column, but all is now well, and the column is back where it belongs!  I do have around 80 pics of the process, so the plan over the next week or so is to get them all resized so i can put together a full gallery of pics on how to completely rebuild the column. Got tired of the junky OEM style headlamp housings i have on the 88. Also, the lens fell off the passenger side turn signal housing! So i had to replace those anyway.  Went digging around and some some decent looking replacement housing sets on Amazon so i figured why not? And ordered em.  As expected, theyre typical cheap-ish china made housings. They didnt include the lower adjuster gear box so i had to swap that over, and the yellow zinc coated studs are total junk so i swapped them for the ones off my original housings (black in the pic)  Aside from that, they seem decent enough. I bought another set of Hikari LED headlights because i have them in every other vehicle i drive, and they work very well.
Finished and installed, they look pretty good:
   They look pretty good, and while i havent driven it yet, i was aiming them at night and the light output is much better, as is the beam pattern. |
