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.

First Drive! Go kart style!

Got home today, and started the prep for first drive! I screwed in the seats, bolted in the 5 pt harnesses, reattached the old shifter, and secured a few loose wires. Josh and I then bled the brakes. After tightening a few loose brake line nuts, it was off to the races! This is the actual first drive - just pulling out of the driveway.

After a quick trip with Josh in the copilot seat, we made a quick adjustment and then it was Diana's turn to ride. Here is the in car video.

Pre-body fittings

Test fitting the rollbars. It's a very tight squeeze, and I have no idea how the final installation is going to be with the body on. But I think it will do in the end.






Here is a pic of the exhaust installed. I'll probably have to take it off again at some point, but I wanted it on for the test drive.










Josh has really knocked out the dash wiring. Everything is going great in this department, left to do are the high/low beam switch, horn, and cruise ctrl.

Final Electrical Routing & Side Pipes

Yesterday after work I began routing what was left of the front wiring harness. I shortened a couple of grounds that were several feet too long. Apparently I didn't splice them tight enough, because one of them separated under the electric tape and the car wouldn't start. This was the first start attempt in several days so it took me forever to track down! The starter was turning, but no fuel pump.

While I was hunting for it, Diana got home and changed into garage clothes. Diana and I fixed the broken ground and tried to crank again. This time, believe it or not, I had fuel pump but no starter! Turns out I originally had 3 grounds at the same location and only rehooked the broken one and one other.

After the electrical problems were resolved, we decided to mount the side pipes. I'm sure they'll have to come off at some point in order to mount the body, but at least this way the hangers will be in place and the next time should go much faster. We cranked it up with the side pipes on and it sounds _good_. Then I looked at the clock and realized it was like 12:30. I had to be at work by 7 am! Ugh.