More bodywork!!

Brandon and Josh came over and plowed out another level of bodywork. We're really getting down to it now. Josh is doing some final low level sanding, after which the body can be mounted and the doors, trunk, and hood fitted. While Josh was pounding out the bodywork, I did a few odds and ends like riveting aluminum panels in place over various openings to seal out water, and test fitting the wind shield. Pretty good stuff.

Hopefully tomorrow the gauge kit will be in and I can finish the dash while knocks out the remaining sanding, and then we'll mount the bod. I'm so exited!

Trunk Carpet

Not a whole lot of action going on here lately, mostly just little things that don't look like much. As mentioned previously the wiring is done. I think I'm going to add some fog lights later in front of the radiator, but that will be a project for next winter. Right now I just want to get it registered and on the road. To do that I need to get it primed as soon as possible and get the gauges in as soon as possible. Hopefully this week will prove to make a good divet into the final touches!

Diana helped me lay out, measure, cut, and glue the carpet into the trunk. It really helps hide the battery box and looks a lot better than the aluminum panels with scratches, rivets, and silicon all over it.

Only 1 CEL!

I did some basic testing with the engine running and found the alternator to be doing NOTHING. After about 10 minutes of idling, I had dropped from 11.3v to 10.3v. I called up Josh, who is pretty knowledgeable about this stuff. I'm glad I did because I was ready to buy a new alternator.

Turns out the alternator has a line that runs through the gauge pod. There is something in the pod that gives it some resistance - a light or something - and without this resistance the alt DOES NOT CHARGE. I plugged the gauge pod in and it charged up fine. Since I'm still waiting on my gauge conversion kit from FFR, I just had the pod sitting out - hell it seemed to run fine without it.

Also, I wired the ACC up directly with the ignition ON and it fixed the problem with the windshield wipers not working. So my 'on' switch - 'push button' start combo is all wired up and working now. I'm gonna change out some plugs to some heavier gauge stuff, but it'll be done soon.

Oh here is a piece of good news - After having wired everything crucial up and driven it around the neighborhood several times, I only have 1 engine code - smog pump circuit! That is exactly what I was hoping for (I removed the smog circuit and haven't flashed it out yet) So things are back and track and going well once again - though this one had me a little worried

Body progress

Yesterday Josh and Brandon came over and really hammered out some bodywork. It's almost ready for some primer! I did some rewiring in the meantime, but I need to use heavier gauge wire and re-rewire.

Also, my battery is dead so I either have a bad alternator or a drain somewhere. Josh is going to head out today and see if we can find the source. It will probably be a light day in the garage. Do a little electrical work and call it a day. Thursday and Friday I'll probably wire up my 12v port and a small interior light.

The other day, I didn't really have time to do any work on the car so I decided to turn my engine cart into a roll-a-shelf thingie. I'm tired of having tools disappear so now I can just put all the tools I need.




So I FINALLY got around to ripping open the transmission wiring harness and pulling out the O2 sensors. I re-wrapped them and only had to extend one of them. So they are finally done - finally! I also adjusted the ride height.

Wiring is almost done.

I am done with routing and dieting all the wiring harnesses. Here is a box full of everything I cut out from the mustang. The only things left to do are:
* Horn button
* Hi/Low beam switch
* Cruise Control
Also, I want to do some form of anti-theft metrics. The ignition wires are exposed below the dash making it a pretty highly hot-wirable car. I guess most people aren't concerned because it is mostly a weekend car. But I'll be leaving it unattended for long periods of time at work etc. I'll come up with something...I have a few ideas and Josh has some separate ones.

Here is the dash all mocked up. The only things not attached are the gauges and the cruise control. Also, I'm planning on bolting some kind of a 'glove box' in between the transmission tunnel and the dash.

Last week, The new shift assembly came in so I dropped it in and bolted the FFR shifter up. I took Brandon for a quick spin around the block. Then drove downtown to meet up with Josh and pick up his new air compressor.



We came back to my place and did some body work, grinding off the fiberglass filler and doing some odd jobs on the car. Josh spread putty on the back half of the car, but sanding out the filler took a bit longer than expected so we didn't get the whole thing done. A few more aluminum pieces are in place now, like the transmission tunnel and the door sills.

Diana and I drafted out the control layout for the dash and I'm hoping to get those hooked up tomorrow.