Since my last update I continue work on the final form of
the dash, and fitting all of the components behind it. What you finally see is the easy part. The wiring, ducting, and connections behind
the face are the frustrating part.
I chose to wire my dash so all items can be easily
removed in the future instead of permanently connecting wiring harnesses before
installing the dash. Perhaps if I was
more confident in my ability to produce the correct connection on the first try
I wouldn't go with easily disconnected wire looms. I broke down and finally bought a decent
spring loaded wire stripper. Should have
done so years ago. I varied the kind of
connector I used based on what kind of thing I was wiring. I used blade-style and male/female
insert-style connectors so I can't incorrectly connect the wires. This took a lot more time but in the end
should help when I need to disconnect something after the dash is installed, if
for instance I need to change a burned out light bulb. As I also added a clock, and the Vintage Air
slider knob panel has built in lights I needed to wire those into the Ron
Frances loom (which come wired for five small and two large gauges). The picture above shows the five main gauges
for monitoring engine performance.
I also installed the battery cut out switch and will
install a separate 40 or 50 amp circuit breaker. I avoided doing so for a while but it just
makes sense now. Too much work done to
fry it all if I did something incorrectly.
The CB should help avoid that.
The Vintage Air A/C system instructions are confusing at
best. FFR provides two sets of VA
specific instructions and their own FFR set which really just tells you how to
install the brackets for the Sandon Compressor.
I had The Engine Factory do that so much of what FFR provided doesn't do
me much good. Even though the slider
panel for controlling the system indicates it will control the A/C, it
doesn't. I must also install the
old-fashioned A/C knob somewhere close to the evaporator. The instructions also call for a vacuum line
to the heater regulator valve but my valve is only cable operated. The VA system discusses the importance of an
optional trinary safety switch (to shut off the Sandon compressor if the system
pressure is too high/low or turn on the engine fan if the system is too hot) but
did not include any fitting into which the switch goes to sense temp and
pressure [late addition, after much webpage viewing I figured out the switch is screwed into the dryer cannister - NOWHERE do any instructions mention this]. Plus the wiring diagrams show
the switch having one black wire with a green stripe, one black wire, and two
blue wires. My switch has two black
wires with no green stripe and two blue.
Kind of critical as one senses temp, the other pressure. Most builders recommend using another
manufacturer for A/C as the VA one is difficult. I see why and wish I had done more research
before charging ahead. Final comment is
the "complete kit" comes with insufficient amounts of ducting and
vents for the kit. I can't recommend the
other kit most people use as I didn't buy it but I would strongly recommend
checking out both before buying either. Once
I solve the wiring and plumbing problems I will post what I did. I spent a lot of time scouring the internet
looking for solutions.
For now I moved on to rough fitting the trunk AL panels,
and once again chickening out on doing final install for cockpit AL
panels. I did some more work on making
the dash look pretty with the center console control panel removable front
plate. The Rivnuts work great and look
good. Picture here is work in progress - idea stolen from cbergquist1 flickr page.
One final planning piece is I decided to paint the inside
(unseen) part of the dash panels appliance white. Should help me see stuff behind the dash when
the inevitable happens and I need to figure out why something isn't
working. I figure the white should
provide a good background and additional visible light to see what I did wrong,
or what part failed.
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