The Great Pumpkin - '71 Duster
Work has finally begun on the wiring. I was dreading it because it's going to be a big project but I just needed to make a move on it. Long way to go but I'm glad I started on it.
First step is obviously figuring out where the individual components will be located. This includes the main harness and fuse box, EFI module, relay block, ignition box and all the associated wiring for those things. Unlike the Sniper which has the ECU in the throttle body, the Terminator system ECU is separate. It's "better" because the throttle body is basically a 4150 carb body and there are less wiring connections to the ECU in the engine compartment. This helps to reduce chances of RFI which can really mess with the program.
Problem with this is that the connections still need to make elsewhere which can be a task with limited space under the dash. It's also good to have things in close proximity so you're not running wiring all over the car. Starting this job from scratch requires some diligent planning because even if I "just made a panel" I'd still need to make sure the wiring was not being strained and all the various harness breakouts will easily reach their termination points. No lie, it's a pain in the ***. There's a lot of laying on my back looking up at the underside of the dash trying to visualize where stuff could be installed.
To get things going, I went for the low-hanging fruit and made a panel for the fuse box. Yeah, I'm losing the glove box but I never use it much anyway. I'll have to keep my reg and insurance cards somewhere else now I guess. There's no ballast resistor or stock-type voltage regulator on this car anymore either so no need to keep three of each in there.
Came out OK and it's solid. Took several hours to make it though. One day I will get my bandsaw working so I don't have to cut stuff with a 4" grinder anymore. I need a better metal brake too because for anything other than say a .062" sheet, the 30" HF unit is marginal at best. Did fair on drilling the holes but despite boxes and boxes of hardware I couldn't find four of the same 10-32 machine screws. Doh!
Here's the first attempt at making an under-dash electrical panel. It's clear that this is going to require some doing to make it all work nicely. I mocked the components up upside-down to get an idea of how things will be in the car. The plan is to bridge it across to the firewall with a 90ยบ bend at the firewall side and attach it to the blower motor delete plate bolts that stick through inside. The top is the ignition box, the red thing is an MSD solid state relay and the other box is the Terminator X ECU.
Also took some other measurements to see where all the completed harnesses will end up. Fortunately there's not much else under the dash (no radio, no climate stuff etc.) so it shouldn't be too bad to make things sanitary.
More to come.
Work has finally begun on the wiring. I was dreading it because it's going to be a big project but I just needed to make a move on it. Long way to go but I'm glad I started on it.
First step is obviously figuring out where the individual components will be located. This includes the main harness and fuse box, EFI module, relay block, ignition box and all the associated wiring for those things. Unlike the Sniper which has the ECU in the throttle body, the Terminator system ECU is separate. It's "better" because the throttle body is basically a 4150 carb body and there are less wiring connections to the ECU in the engine compartment. This helps to reduce chances of RFI which can really mess with the program.
Problem with this is that the connections still need to make elsewhere which can be a task with limited space under the dash. It's also good to have things in close proximity so you're not running wiring all over the car. Starting this job from scratch requires some diligent planning because even if I "just made a panel" I'd still need to make sure the wiring was not being strained and all the various harness breakouts will easily reach their termination points. No lie, it's a pain in the ***. There's a lot of laying on my back looking up at the underside of the dash trying to visualize where stuff could be installed.
To get things going, I went for the low-hanging fruit and made a panel for the fuse box. Yeah, I'm losing the glove box but I never use it much anyway. I'll have to keep my reg and insurance cards somewhere else now I guess. There's no ballast resistor or stock-type voltage regulator on this car anymore either so no need to keep three of each in there.
Came out OK and it's solid. Took several hours to make it though. One day I will get my bandsaw working so I don't have to cut stuff with a 4" grinder anymore. I need a better metal brake too because for anything other than say a .062" sheet, the 30" HF unit is marginal at best. Did fair on drilling the holes but despite boxes and boxes of hardware I couldn't find four of the same 10-32 machine screws. Doh!
Here's the first attempt at making an under-dash electrical panel. It's clear that this is going to require some doing to make it all work nicely. I mocked the components up upside-down to get an idea of how things will be in the car. The plan is to bridge it across to the firewall with a 90ยบ bend at the firewall side and attach it to the blower motor delete plate bolts that stick through inside. The top is the ignition box, the red thing is an MSD solid state relay and the other box is the Terminator X ECU.
Also took some other measurements to see where all the completed harnesses will end up. Fortunately there's not much else under the dash (no radio, no climate stuff etc.) so it shouldn't be too bad to make things sanitary.
More to come.
