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Thread: Part 20 – Wiring

  1. #1
    Join Date
    May 2005
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    Roseville, Ca., USA.
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    Part 20 – Wiring

    One major job yet to be done on the car was the wiring or should I say rewiring. What I had to work with seemed to be quite a mess as illustrated by the following photos.





    I was able to get my hands on a wiring manual for a 2003 Unique 427 (thanks Phil) and was glad to find out that the wiring in my car matched (for the most part) the wiring in the manual. I still had some differences to deal with (MSD box, dual fans with relays, oil pressure light, etc.) but the manual made most everything make sense. I discovered early on that the harness had plenty of wire included and decided to custom tailor it to my car. I shortened wires and replaced connectors and reworked pretty much everything. Here is the result for the dash area.



    ]

    To get to the rear of the car I decided not to go through the tunnel. I ran a conduit under the passenger side door, through the wheel well and into the trunk.

    ]



    All wiring to the engine and cooling fans is through one hole in the front right of the tunnel and along the frame rail.





    Headlights, turn signals, brake wiring and horns are concealed on the left side and across the front.


    To be continued…
    Last edited by RJacobsen; April 21st, 2010 at 03:18 PM.
    Rod
    Roseville, Ca.
    289 FIA #9152 "The Flintstone Cobra"

  2. #2
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    Jan 2003
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    Harrisburg, PA, USA.
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    657
    Time well spent. Very much improved.

    - Geary

  3. #3
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    Mississippi Gulf Coast and Central Florida
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    Nice work Rod... love the heat shields, too.
    Paul

    289 USRRC
    1964 289 5-bolt block
    Toploader and 3.31 rear

  4. #4
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    Sep 2003
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    Roseville, CA, USA.
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    Looks really good!

    BTW - EUROSunday at Nugget Market this Sunday, if you are interested - http://eurosunday.net/sacramento/index.html
    Phil

    427 Roadster, #4279436
    FE Specialties FE
    3:31 and Toploader (wide ratio)

    Roseville (N.Cal)

  5. #5
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    Apr 2010
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    Navarre, Florida
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    You're sure giving me many ideas for my upcoming build. I've gone through all your posts and they are very helpful and inspiring! I do have a few questions .... you have a gauge or something on the far right side of your dash.... what is that? Also, do you think it would be easy to replace the vinyl on the dash with aluminum? Thanks Mark
    427 S/C, Flame Yellow, B2 Motorsports 427ci Stroker Dart SBF, TKO600, 3.73 Posi, Avon tires and so much more.

  6. #6
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    Jan 2003
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    Gadsden, Al , USA.
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    Rod is rebuilding a older 289 FIA car that had been altered into a race car, his build is totally different than a new kit build. The original FIA cars had the speedo on the passenger side so the driver wouldn't look at it, the 427 cars and 289 street cars didn't have that option. The problem with a aluminum dash is when the sun hits it you go blind, I had a customer go with aluminum but later painted it black.

  7. #7
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    Alan.... would the sun be a problem if the aluminum was scotch padded to make it dull? It there other options other than vinyl or wood? I guess a aluminum/silver gray vinyl would be an option if "roughing" the aluminum is still too reflective. Help... Mark
    427 S/C, Flame Yellow, B2 Motorsports 427ci Stroker Dart SBF, TKO600, 3.73 Posi, Avon tires and so much more.

  8. #8
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    May 2005
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    Quote Originally Posted by mkassab View Post
    You're sure giving me many ideas for my upcoming build. I've gone through all your posts and they are very helpful and inspiring! I do have a few questions .... you have a gauge or something on the far right side of your dash.... what is that? Also, do you think it would be easy to replace the vinyl on the dash with aluminum? Thanks Mark
    As Allan said the gauge you see is the speedo. As to the dash it would not be hard at all to overlay it with aluminum but Allan has a good point, the scotch brite would probably help but I think a bigger problem comes with keeping it looking good. Raw aluminum starts to oxidize almost immediately after you polish or scotch brite it, and with all the switches, gauges, lights, ect it would be difficult to maintain without a protective coating on it.
    Rod
    Roseville, Ca.
    289 FIA #9152 "The Flintstone Cobra"

  9. #9
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    Apr 2010
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    I hear you on the oxidation.... was thinking a satin clear coat would take care of that? But this stuff should work also…. http://www.zoopseal.com/ I wonder if a translucent stain for the aluminum, like gun barrel bluing, exists? Or some type of aluminum wheel paint? I just looking for "something"... maybe brushed stainless steel?
    427 S/C, Flame Yellow, B2 Motorsports 427ci Stroker Dart SBF, TKO600, 3.73 Posi, Avon tires and so much more.

  10. #10
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    Nov 2004
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    Heflin, Alabama, USA.
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    Mark,

    I would definitely consider a really light gauge brushed stainless veneer instead of aluminum. You'll be forever scotchbriting to keep up with oxidation as well as nicks & scratches from keys, tools, rings, or (believe it or not) even your fingernails. More than likely, the area around each of your toggle switches and the ignition will get rubbed smooth by your fingers touching it over and over (see this on equipment control panels at work all the time).

    IMHO, ZoopSeal is a fair product, but it doesn't live up to the hype you hear about it. I had my valve covers repolished, and then I zooped them. The kit didn't have enough of the cleaner in it to wash both valve covers as thoroughly as I thought it should. Then, after sealing, the covers had a white, waxy haze to them. Zoop says this buffs out, but I never got all the haziness out (thankfully it's on the sides of the covers and not the top, so it's not seen). That said, it HAS protected the covers as well as it claims. I think it would be fine on a non-polished surface for protection.

    If you're looking for an industrial/utilitarian/no-nonsense appearance, you might consider a hammertone finish like is on electric motors. I used Eastwood's silver hammertone paint on a lot of fixtures in our house (light fixture bases, window latches, etc.), and it really, really looks good and has held up well on the latches. It has that wrinkled texture to it, and it's really close to an argent silver wheel paint. Don't bother with the Rustoleum hammer-finish paint, though; it's not even in the same league as the Eastwood product.

    Hope this helps!
    Zach Butterworth
    289 FIA #9367

  11. #11
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    Lot's to think about. Can I assume just about any cover/veneer could be cemented to the fiberglass dash?... e.g. wood, metal, leather, vinyl, etc? Thanks Mark
    427 S/C, Flame Yellow, B2 Motorsports 427ci Stroker Dart SBF, TKO600, 3.73 Posi, Avon tires and so much more.

  12. #12
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    Gadsden, Al , USA.
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    I have a customer who glued a carbon fiber cover over his dash and it looked great. There might be a pic in the owners gallery on our web site, the car is yellow and black.

  13. #13
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    Apr 2010
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    Navarre, Florida
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    well... a few more questions on the 427 dash. Since I don't have one yet, can I assume the dash it fiberglass and the vinyl is glued to it? Is the dash curved (convex) only on its horizontal axes?... and the vertical is flat? And lastly, on the carbon fiber.... how was the resin applied, or was the fiber already is a sheet form? or was the fiber one of the good simulated stick-on type? Can't wait until May 14th Homecoming to see all this first hand.... it will really help.
    427 S/C, Flame Yellow, B2 Motorsports 427ci Stroker Dart SBF, TKO600, 3.73 Posi, Avon tires and so much more.

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