X 3 on the more strands on the wire for the same final gauge. You will have to look at what your needs are from a coloration standpoint. Typically, grounds are black (or green, depending on how you were trained). Hot into the switch is red. Always place the switch in the HOT wire, NEVER the ground. Use relays where you need to to keep the current carrying low on the switched lines.
Establish a pattern for how you want your wires to be laid out from a color and be consistent. You should also get the stick-on labels that you wrap around or shrink wrap onto the wire in various places in order to identify the wire on both ends as well as in the middle. Yes, this adds cost, and time, but will REALLY make it easier when you have to diagnose a problem.
Maybe you can use one color for the low-amp wires to control the relays and red for the hot high amp power to and from the switched side of the relay.
Black, red, dark blue, light blue, yellow, green, magenta, brown.
If you look at the EWD's, you may see Mr. T already has a pattern that is being followed.
As for the frame, would there be an advantage to removing the body since you've already taken apart the ENTIRE TRUCK? What's another 12 bolts? It will make the access to the frame repairs much easier. The only disadvantage is the realignment of the door and body mounts once it's all straightened and fixed. But that should seem easy compared to what you've done thus far.
A proper weld repair on each of those cracks is to grind out the booger welds done previously, straighten the frame, tack weld the joints, then weld the cracked area in welds that are full-penetration welds where accessible. Don't burn over the tack welds. Start at the tack and weld away from it. They should then grind down the surface of the welds flush and then place a patch plate over each of the joints in a size that does NOT conform directly to the frame lines and is slightly smaller than the area being repaired. The patch plate should have radiused corners (approximately 1" radius or larger). Then STITCH weld the patch plate over the repaired area and stitch weld in a 2" long on 3" centers all the way around the plate. This will make a line of welds that are 2" long with a 1" gap or something to that effect. Never start a stitch weld on the edge of another piece or where two pieces are already welded because that creates and area of high stress and it will re-crack. If you had a channel frame, you would use a patch plate of one size on the inside of the frame and of another non-matching size on the other. This is to distribute the Heat Affected Zone (HAZ) of the weld and the two plates won't act like a "Can Opener" and cut the frame at the same point. The patch plate must be stitch welded because that allows the locked in heat stress to be in multiple places and be less of an overall effect. The best way to do the stitch welds is to back-weld toward the previous weld. Example: weld left to right 2". Gap 1". Measure over 2 more inches. Start from that end and weld to the left 2". Also move around on the welds so the metal has time to cool in between welds. (The real best thing is to pre-heat the material to about 600°F, and slowly lower the temp overall, but that is impractical here.) I am going to take a guess on the correct wire / rod to use here (because I don't know the alloy properties of the frames) and say that a 7018 rod or wire would be your best bet. The problem, is that wire (rod) requires a clean joint, flat, horizontal welding position which means turning the truck upside down to do it correctly since the cracks are mostly on the bottom.
On areas that are cracked up into the frame, but don't terminate at an edge, drill a hole at the END of the crack prior to welding. Then fill the hole with weld as the finish point. This allows the heat stresses to hit a circle rather than focus on a point. (Probably about 1/4" diameter or slightly larger.)
Inspect all the welds when done. There should be NO holes, undercut, or porosity (gas bubbles due to contamination) in the welds. If there are, that area must be ground out (not off---OUT) and re-welded.
Sandblast and Monstaliner accordingly.
Convert all dimensions to mm.
Sorry, I'm always long-winded. Not like Scottryana who is direct and to the point, and very accurate.
.... 2.5 ton....guess it will be enough......yes??
