Helpful advice for installing new skid?

[03Viper]

I have never dropped the skid out of my Viper before but I am expecting the FAST M20 Airwave to be delivered in a day or so. In an effort to prepare for the install I am wondering what the most common mistakes / most helpful hints people have to share to make this install an enjoyable one? I am sure every brand of skid install has its own subtle issues associated with them but I would be interested to hear the things that you have done that either ruined your weekend or made your day.

 

[Sledsquatch]

Space, have lots of space to work around. I did mine in a single wide garage with two machines, two work benches, motorcycle, freezers, compressors, and all the garden tools and other crap you can find in a garage. It was painful having to jump over stuff just to get to the other side. Now, I gotta find space my buddies other machine since he bought a '64 Impala SS Pro Street with a 400 shot and needs to store it in his garage.

 

[Zom]

I just installed the airwave in my '04. My biggest problem was removing the front brackets. While removing the right side bracket, I screwed up & drilled into the coolant hose. That was a very time consumming mistake.

The best way to remove the rivets is to punch out the centers, then drill the head off.

Read the directions a couple times before you start. The instructions leave a lot to be desired, so reading through it a couple times will help.

I installed the compressor next to the battery, on the footwell. I had to move a relay out of the way, but I found that to be the spot that would work best for me.

 

[Whammy]

Those brackets are cheep, 4 bucks or so. I left my brackets in for when I sell the sled, I'll put my old skid back in.. You might want to keep that skid for your next sled....