Old girls got new electrickery
Posted: May 23, 2014, 6:19 pm
Got sick and tired of the dodgy wiring in my 65... The engine bay suffered from a severe case of "DIY-itis", the horns didn't work, the lighting connection from the towbar only worked when the parking lights were on and don't even get me started on what was under the dash and behind the instrument cluster!!
Anyway, took her into my local auto electrician who also happens to be a hot rod guy so he knows what he's doing when it comes to the older classics.
She's had a 90% front to back re-wire and general tidy up everywhere else. All of the cabling under the engine bay has been replaced and hidden such that now, even in her grungy stock condition, she looks a million times better than before. Towbar connection has been fixed, the passenger side door is now connected to the alarm (!!?!!) and the heater fan works. Almost blows hard enough that I can feel it on my feet... almost... with no shoes or socks on...
Horns not fixed as yet; turns out that the column is so worn that the steering wheel can move in and out about 10-12mm (with force) and I'd never noticed it before. So rebuild or replacement is on the cards and soon.
Also planning on pulling the engine to fix a (hopefully) minor oil leak from the rear and will do a clean, tidy and paint of the engine and the bay while I'm at it. Will also upgrade the brakes at the same time and install the power brake master cylinder I brought in from the US a few months ago.
Still working on a custom billet set of beams so I can lower things a bit.. will post a new thread on that project as it develops...
Anyway, took her into my local auto electrician who also happens to be a hot rod guy so he knows what he's doing when it comes to the older classics.
She's had a 90% front to back re-wire and general tidy up everywhere else. All of the cabling under the engine bay has been replaced and hidden such that now, even in her grungy stock condition, she looks a million times better than before. Towbar connection has been fixed, the passenger side door is now connected to the alarm (!!?!!) and the heater fan works. Almost blows hard enough that I can feel it on my feet... almost... with no shoes or socks on...
Horns not fixed as yet; turns out that the column is so worn that the steering wheel can move in and out about 10-12mm (with force) and I'd never noticed it before. So rebuild or replacement is on the cards and soon.
Also planning on pulling the engine to fix a (hopefully) minor oil leak from the rear and will do a clean, tidy and paint of the engine and the bay while I'm at it. Will also upgrade the brakes at the same time and install the power brake master cylinder I brought in from the US a few months ago.
Still working on a custom billet set of beams so I can lower things a bit.. will post a new thread on that project as it develops...
