65/0038R Restoration process

[JasonH]

Ok.  I'm back.  Yes I did totally seal the dash back side and edges.  Lettering added.  However my alignment was not ideal.  I needed to apply them a bit lower from the opening than I did.  Not too bad though.

Here is a shot of the dash and Interior... almost "finished".

As you can see I need to finish the door panels.  I should be working on those this month.  What is not too visible is the electrical system.  I decided to assemble up a mechanical Half-bridge for the window motors.  Their function is much more efficient when they are allowed full voltage direct from the source.  Plenty of space to mount the relays right above the speaker hole.

Speaking of the electrical system  I did use a cheaper pre-assembled wire harness kit.  I should have just made one up from scratch.  The Kit used wire with a cheap grade of insulation that made for a very thick wire harness after build up.  It also had single colour coded wire with writing of what function the particular wire served. It ended up being more trouble than it was worth.
 I guess they write on the wire to make it easier for the total neophyte.  I had other complications regarding thick wire insulation... I will get into that in a minute...

[BDA]

Looks great! The small alignment issue will not concern me. Congratulations!

[JasonH]

Thanks BDA

Next time I'll take more consideration.  Whaddya think of the steering wheel?  My thought is that It doesn't work with the interior looks wise, but it is great in the hands and the flat bottom makes it much easier to clear the knees!

[JasonH]

Crap... I shrunk the photo of the backside of the dash too much.  Harder to see the details.
   In keeping with the concept of a quick removal of the dash I build in 3 Deutsch connectors to carry all the signal and power requirements of the dashboard electricals.  Attached here is the photo of the harness plugs (well... the two to the right)  This is where experience (the lack of) with dealing with a higher spec. part (the Deutsch connectors) vs. a lower spec wire.  The Deutsch connectors have accommodation for two different diameters of wire insulation for a given gauge of wire.  Well... the cheaper spec. wire had a thicker diameter wire insulation than the Deutsch connector was designed for.   Making a mess for me to get the wires to insert into the plugs.  These plugs are designed to have the wires easily removed with the proper de-pinning tool.  However, with this cheaper spec. wire removal/modification will be impossible. Additionally I did make a few mistakes (at the plug) which will make for confusion in the event of fault diagnostics.  Also I didn't use the Deutsch crimping tool... I used my generic tool and it did not crimp it to the level of precision the Deutsch tool would do.
 
   In addition to the "cannon plugs" (as my helicopter mechanic friend calls them)  You will see a black box, and a switch with an orange backing.  This is an intermittent wiper system taken from the 90's Ford F-series pickups, Broncos, and vans.  I picked this up (from the dealer) years ago and had it installed in my TC.   Amazingly enough it happened to hang around all these years to be installed into this car after I parted the TC.  You would never know that the car has intermittent wipers by looking at the dash!  Super cool factor... For me anyway.

As you can see the lack of detail/variety of colour coding will further exacerbate any future troubleshooting.  I will be consolidating my build notes so that a future owner can at least have some idea behind the method to my madness.  However, on a positive note the fuse box uses ATM mini fuses and this 20 fuse module nestles perfectly behind the tunnel cover out of sight, but is relatively easy to access!

[BDA]

Thanks BDA

Next time I'll take more consideration.  Whaddya think of the steering wheel?  My thought is that It doesn't work with the interior looks wise, but it is great in the hands and the flat bottom makes it much easier to clear the knees!

There is a bit of a "fight" between the modern steering wheel and the classic (antique) interior. On the other hand, if it makes you more comfortable, that would be important. I have the stock wheel in my car. I would prefer a smaller diameter and thicker wheel but I can't see the water temp gauge otherwise. Maybe one day, I'll decide that I don't really need to monitor the water temp that closely and get a racier wheel but the stock wheel has advantages so I'll keep it for now. I guess that's a long way of saying it's your balance between aesthetics, form, and function.

As for your wiring mods, I think the plugs are a great idea. Anything that makes the wiring less of a mess is a good thing. Many years ago, I read about a guy who did a similar thing. I don't think I ever saw a picture of what he did but from what it sounded like, he had one big plug that all the wires of the dash went to so unplugging that one one plug allowed him to pull the dash out. Your setup seems pretty similar. Having had to work on my dash wiring and other things attached to the dash (access the wires for the emergency flasher switch, attempt to take the broken windshield washer pump off the dash, install a second radio, etc) anything that allows you to take the dash off easily is a good thing.

[dakazman]

  You did a great job Jason 👍👍, you did what I’m still cooking up. Did you also add a cannon plug to the front and back sections for faster repairs? Example: dash removal?
Dakazman

[JasonH]

Dakazman.
   No. I didn't do the firewall. I decided against. I couldn't see how to position the connection point where it would be hidden, and be accessible.  On the engine bay side there is a tight angle (hard to get a hand in there to unplug), and on the cabin side (I felt) it might be hard to bury under the cover. 
I would be interested in seeing what you come up with. 

Oops!  I think I misunderstood you.  There are 3 plugs for the wiring.  The 4 screws that hold the panel.  The 2 nuts that hold the support brackets to the door light switch. 2 bolts for the dash to tunnel.  The 2 bolts for the steering column.  Remove the wheel and the dash is out.  The pad floats above the support that the demister assembly is now bolted to.

Hope that answers your question

[dakazman]

   Jason,
Thanks for the answer. From what I see from other pictures of members cars are that the harness is entering the engine compartment on the right lower center of the firewall. I am finishing up my entire firewall So changes may be made easier now , then as you stated as very tight. I will when I get back to my wiring board.
 
Your picture also showed me where to bring my speedometer cable up. Have you looked into using electrical lacing cord on your harness instead of tie raps? There are many videos online showing how to tie .
There are also many other benefits over tieraps.

Dakazman

[JasonH]

Dakazman
Ooh.  Thanks for the tip.  Never heard of electrical lacing cord.  I'll have a look.