[Chuck]

Wiring Part VI, Finishing Touches

With the wiring done, wire ties were used to tightly secure everything. The main group of wires was also tied to the buss / brace referenced earlier. On the left and right sides of the dash a padded clamp was used to securely hold the harness.

Although perhaps overkill, we opted to put plugs on the wires. The wires were grouped into front and back and then separated into logical groups with a variety of two, four and six wire plugs, switching the male and female portions so that it would be even more obvious which ends go together.

We checked all the circuits, except the tach and speedometer input, with the dash setting on the dining room table. A battery charger was used as a power source. Simply grounding the oil pressure and water temp sending wires will show a full scale movement. Tooting the horn got the family’s attention real quick. The fuel sending units were temporarily hooked up, revealing that the sending units are mounted up side down and will need to be flipped over before they are installed in the tank. We marked with a pencil the relative location of “half full” so we can accurately calibrate the sending units when installed. Lights, blinkers, hazard flashers all worked as intended. The dash lights put out a nice glow, which provides a bit of illumination on the switches as well. Nice set up!

Dash completed, we decided to test fit it in the car. As the picture below shows, the control panel under the dash is fairly inconspicuous, other than that bright red “FIRE” knob. A bit more trimming and fitting of the aluminum chassis was needed to clear the vents, but nothing troublesome. Just for fun we put in the carpet, seats, hung the doors and put on the front clip. Ryan and I took a test sit. It really feels good!