Haven't worked on the car for almost three weeks now. This weekend I planned out how to lay out the dashboard with the new Autometer Gauges. Those things are sweet looking. I was having a hard time deciding whether or not to go with the black faced gauges, silver faced or the cobra gauges. I decided on these silver ones because I think they will look really nice once the body is painted silver too.
I ordered a blank dash from FFR over a month ago in anticipation of not using the donor gauges. I didn't receive any donor gauges with my pallet donor so I decided to look into aftermarket gauges. Mike Mack said that it is better to not use the original dash if you are not using the donor gauges. The countersunk holes apparently will show under the black leather covering.
I purchased a circular hole cutter from Lowes to cut the 2 1/16" instrument holes. I used a jig saw to cut out the 5" gauge holes. I went through 3 blades before finding out the secret to cutting holes in aluminum. The trick is to remove as much of the inside material as possible (I used the circular hole cutter). Then use the jigsaw to "gently" cut along the traced lines. Don't force the jigsaw to turn because you will end up dulling your blade very quickly.
I also started stripping down the wiring harness. So far I've removed some of the airconditioning wiring and air bag wiring.
TOTAL TIME THIS WEEKEND: 6 Hours
April 10,11, 2002
Still stripping down the wiring harness. I removed the air bag controls, air conditioning controls and the radio stuff so far. I'm really taking my time and verifying where the wires go because I don't want to have problems later on. It is amazing at how much wiring is not needed for this build. I guess you could just leave all of the extraneous stuff in there since it doesn't affect the operation of the vehicle.
TOTAL TIME: 2 Hours
April 20,21, 2002
Still stripping down the wiring harness. I retaped and rerouted more of the wiring. It's starting to look a lot neater. I used both electrical tape and more of the plastic wiring shroud harnessess that came with the kit. I had to buy more of the plastic shroud stuff from NAPA too. I think I've accepted the fact that I'm not going to make my proposed date for completing the car. No big deal. I'm having fun taking my time and maintaining a balance in my life.
On Sunday I bought one of those new Apple iMacs. I even got the one with the super drive that can burn DVDs. I also signed up for high speed internet. Now I'll be able to update my site from home!
TOTAL TIME THIS WEEKEND: 6 Hours
April 27, 28, 2002:
Spent most of the weekend taking care of school stuff. I finished my final project for my final class to complete my masters degree. Woohoo! I can now devote my time to working on the car, surfing and golfing.
Haven't worked on the car for almost three weeks now. This weekend I planned out how to lay out the dashboard with the new Autometer Gauges. Those things are sweet looking. I was having a hard time deciding whether or not to go with the black faced gauges, silver faced or the cobra gauges. I decided on these silver ones because I think they will look really nice once the body is painted silver too.