Wanting to add factory power locks

[cheezeburger79]

Hey yall i have a 1979 chevy c30. I want to add factory power locks and power windows but i dont want the dumb fob i want to actually keep it old school. Can anyone please give me a direction of how i can do this.

 

[Grit dog]

Find a donor truck, or prepare to spend probably the same amount of time but waaay more money starting from scratch.
IMO not worth the hassle. May as well just find a pw/pl equipped truck.

 

[Matt69olds]

It’s an easy but time consuming swap. I did it many years ago on my 81 GMC.

The original power door lock setup on the early trucks used a 5 wire switch. It was much more difficult to wire and troubleshoot if problems occurred. It’s difficult to explain how exactly the circuit works, but basically pushing one door lock button used the opposite switch to complete a circuit. Lots more connections, lots more contact points, lots more potential for failure points. There is no way I would every consider using the 5 wire setup!!

My solution: I used a door lock relay found in most 90s to early 2000s GM vehicles. The switches only use 3 wire (orange: power, light blue: lock, white, unlock) the blue/white wires are triggers for the relay, which simply switches the polarity to each door lock acuator.

I used actuators from a later truck, they are much smaller, don’t require nearly the current to operate, and a very common to GM vehicles. Your local salvage yard probably has 50 cars that used them. The actuators are common, the mounting brackets are unique to the vehicle.

 

[grummy]

Well, you can..... Like others said, find a donor harness and all the parts. But frankly, you really gotta ask if it is worth the effort ? The wiring is usually combined with the power windows, so you have to separate that. Then you have to have the holes in the door panels and the OEM switches.

An amazon kit I installed was about $25. Yes, it comes with the wireless remote,,,, BUT, you do not have to use it. It has a "master" side, where you just lock the driver side manually and the passenger side also locks. I love it. But I also love having the remote. I get in the house at night and wonder... did I lock the truck ? Doesn't matter. I just hit the remote and I am a happy truck owner.\

But, too, dont forget you need the door boots to do it right, and if your truck does not have them, you really have to pull the doors to install the boots properly. I dragged my feet on that aspect, but one day I was in a "NIKE" mood... "just do it".... And I am glad I did !

 

[Finkaire]

Ordered the truck without power windows, without adjustable steering wheel, without cruise and without power locks. Power locks are the only regret!

 

[Cdncarnut]

I bought a used set of doors with power windows and locks along with all the switches and wiring to the under dash harness.
I then went to the wreckers and found the under dash harness, which I pulled myself.
I was lucky enough to find a cruise control unit in the same truck...
All bolts, brackets and wiring.

 

[Bronze Knight]

I’ve done this on my K30, as everyone here said it is a bit of work, but really not to bad. You find a donor truck and you spend a few hours gently pulling apart the wiring for the locks and doors. You will need to depin the connectors to get them pulled back through the tuck and rubber boot and out the door. So you need to document what color wire goes where on the connector.

You will also need the window regulators, power lock actuators and lock rods power window motors (should be attached to the regulators) and you may need the glass as well. I forget what year the change was but some of the early trucks had thicker glass, if you have the thick glass you’ll need a similar year (or earlier) window regulators or you’ll need the thinner glass with their era regulators.

Installing it in the truck is rather easy. I took my doors off one at a time, drilled out a hole for the wire, put the new regulator in, drilled a hole in the truck body. While the door was off I also ran a string to use to pull the cables through the body. Once you have the door ready you’ll need either something to rest it on or someone to hold it while you either rivet or screw the rubber boot onto the truck frame and remount the door. Once that’s done to both sides you just have to connect the wireing to the fuse box and you’re good to go.