Meet Ol Smokey! I’m relatively new to this forum, but not new to car audio fomokey

Today I started on the dash build. I need some place to mount the new fuse box and other in-dash electronics, so I need a dash frame first. I forgot to charge my Makita batteries last night, so I was slowed down by dead batteries at first.


Anyway, here's the basic shape so far:


http://i.imgur.com/T6rJMHah.jpg


It's about the same height as the factory dash, but a bit more square. I'm not a big fan of wood in cars, especially topless cars, so the build will use all metal and fiberglass.


I reused two of the factory dash brackets. They will get cleaned up and painted when I paint the rest of the dash frame. Here is how I mounted them, right side:


http://i.imgur.com/vqw3uwYh.jpg


Left side:


http://i.imgur.com/xqrph03h.jpg


It's pretty solid. It's dead level, centered in the car and at the same exact height on each end. Symmetrical dash FTW!

Now that's a cool concept...I can't wait to see where it leads

Thanks Al, building a dash specifically for horns has been on my to do list for a long time. I've put a lot of thought into it, including the small details like like cable runs an whatnot.

Are you sure those four bolts will be enough to support the new dash in the long term?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by astrochex

Are you sure those four bolts will be enough to support the new dash in the long term?

---

I addressed that this morning by adding another bracket on each end of the dash. See below...

The goal today was to build a rack for all the in-dash gear. I came up with this for the frame. I was able to reuse the factory center speaker mount and another factory hole on the right side dash bracket.


http://i.imgur.com/Roq6h5zh.jpg


Here you can kinda see the hole I used, as well as the extra brace I added to the main hoop. I added a similar brace on the other side, and now I can put a LOT of weight on it without issues.


http://i.imgur.com/LTYgxfKh.jpg


Next up was to build the flat surface for the rack. I don't have a proper way to cut thin sheetmetal, or a brake to bend it with, so I had to get creative. A jig saw was able to handle the cutting, though not a precision cut. Funny thing, I bought the jig saw a few gigs ago when I needed to cut up a jumbotron frame to make the show happen. I was able to use a small hammer and piece of square stock to start the bend, then finish it with the hammer on the steel table.


http://i.imgur.com/qMc5a1Rh.jpg


I added a piece of Trim-Lok to each edge that didn't get folded over.


http://i.imgur.com/uuxdRN9h.jpg


Bolted in the car:


http://i.imgur.com/zLAE7Wph.jpg


Next I bolted the different components to it, from left to right: Fuse block, 7 Micro relay block, 10-port 12v powered USB hub, Holley Terminator ECU, APL1.


http://i.imgur.com/ajQJXKih.jpg


The APL1 isn't secured to the rack yet, it doesn't come with mounting brackets so I have to get creative with that.


Overall, this took a LOT more time than you'd think. For pretty much every new piece I had to unbolt other pieces, rough fit it out of the car, then bolt it back in. It also doesn't help that it's parked 30 feet from the garage! Also, I don't want the HOA to threw a fit about me working on my car in the street, so I limit my hours to 9-5 so most people will be at work and wont see me working on it.


Now that the fuse box in mounted I can start wiring the car.

Yesterday I didn't feel like doing anything and just vegg'd out all day, I did the same the first half of today.


Remember the custom dash piece that didn't work out?


http://i.imgur.com/WpyohSWh.jpg


I used it as a router template on some ABS plastic. The ABS isn't a permanent material, just something temporary so I can work things out until I like it and have a new aluminum piece made. I used gaff tape to hold the two pieces together while I routered it with a Dremel:


http://i.imgur.com/kF9aKUah.jpg


Here's the left panel with switches in place, OTRTTW can make new switch rockers with the labels turned 90º.


http://i.imgur.com/P86fUKKh.jpg


All three fitted in place. This is the rough idea, with HVAC vents between the panels and at the outside edges.


http://i.imgur.com/FvmdvfTh.jpg


Wiring it up:


http://i.imgur.com/D86mvyIh.jpg


Wired up with Weather Pack connectors for easy removal:


http://i.imgur.com/YhS5rwuh.jpg

Today I got a slow start due to rain, but that didn't stop me from making some solid progress. I started by wiring the center dash piece:


http://i.imgur.com/Zti5uv0h.jpg


I then took them outside and mounted them to the dash frame with zip ties. Since these are temporary panels, I don't want to drill into the frame to mount them, so zip ties it is. The mock up HVAC unit arrived while I was working in the dash, so I threw it in too, here is what it looks like in place:


http://i.imgur.com/OkT9lwhh.jpg


It'll limit how far forward I can push the horns, but is still far better than with the factory unit, and the Vintage Air stuff should do a much better job at heating and cooling.


Here is inside the dash with the HVAC unit and part of the wiring in place:


http://i.imgur.com/F6dAn4wh.jpg


In this pic you can see the new harness run in the upper dash. There is much more to add to it, Door locks, power windows, speaker wires and more! The two connectors in the firewall are 22-pin Weather Pack bulkhead connectors. With them I should be able to run the engine harness(black harness) and chassis harness through the firewall with a quick disconnect on the engine side. The wiring tied up in the foreground goes to the rear of the car.


http://i.imgur.com/Wf0sZRLh.jpg

Also, A funny thing happened today. Over the last two days I looked high and low for my Makita cordless drill. I eventually came to the conclusion that I left it outside and someone nabbed it. Last night I ordered a new one.

Today when I opened the hood to mount the firewall bulkheads I found the old Makita. It was wedged between the frame and inner fender, right next to the right side header. Thanks to ceramic coated headers, it was is perfect working order.


Ten minutes later the new one was delivered.

Today was one of those days where you don't feel like you got anything done, but you worked all day. I pretty much just plugged away at the wiring all day. The replacement stuff under the hood is all done. The Moroso power pass through connectors arrived, and I punched some holes in the firewall for them. After getting them, I really like them, and might get a couple more for the amp power cables. I also terminated the small gauge wires going through the firewall. Here it is from the inside:


http://i.imgur.com/a56H8Ckh.jpg


Next up I terminated the underhood relay/fuse box. It has relays for the 2-speed electric fan, high beams and starter solenoid. Here it is in place with all the underhood wires in place, except main power cable:


http://i.imgur.com/RmFYI8oh.jpg


You can see that I also moved the oil catch can, I mounted it with a couple 1/4-20 rivnuts, tomorrow I'll get some black hose for it. The wire stuffed into the vent hole will run to the engine, it's power for the coil and the turn on wire for the alternator.


I ran the wiring to the front clip and terminated it. there are brand new connectors for every light, all I have to do is move the bulbs over when I'm ready to switch over to the new harness. It's incredible just how simple the new engine bay chassis harness is, it's just headlights, high beams, parking lights, turn signals, fan, and starter. The factory harness does less than that but is SOOOOOO much more complex.

http://i.imgur.com/tPpDAGlh.jpg


Tonight I wired up the relay box that goes in the dash. I just have to mount it and add the trigger wires tomorrow.