Fuel & Oil Pressure Gauge Plumbing - 2

Bit more work - bulkhead fittings fitted and the rest of the plumbing mocked up - just need to tighten / seal all the joints:

I am also now the proud owner of a secondhand Vectra Steering Wheel and a mock-up gear lever from copper tube to size up the real thing:

The next job will be to think about the two temperature gauges and not to forget that the cockpit side and footwell bulkhead carpets need to go in before the dash is finally fitted.

Fuel & Oil Pressure Gauge Plumbing - 1

Time to start the plumbing for the Fuel Pressure and Oil Pressure Gauges. The Oil Pressure log is taken from the Tee Adaptor at the back of the block and the Fuel Pressure log is taken from a Tee just after the Fuel Pressure Regulator:

The black cylinder on the fuel log is a fuel pressure isolator. It contains a piston which separates the fuel line from the gauge line. The gauge line is (will be) filled with engine oil so no fuel enters the cockpit. The piston also contains a seal at one end so that should the gauge line leak then the fuel pushes the piston the the end of the cylinder and seals the cockpit off from the fuel.

The two gauge lines will fit to bulkhead fittings and then on to the gauges themselves:
I prefer to use bulkhead fittings as it looks a lot neater than a grommet and will also allow the lines to be disconnected should the body be removed.

Electrical Test

Plugged the dash in - connected up the umbilical to the tin-top and ........

......... no electrical faults!

Looks like Andy wins a prize!!

I only found two unrelated faults: 1 - I had broken the O/S repeater bulb when fitting the lens. 2- Only one of the twin Air horns works? - air problem rather than electrical.

Here's the evidence:

So now I really should get a battery whilst I can still start the tin-top. Then, with no more need for the umbilical (and if I cobble up a gearstick and get my hands on a Vectra steering wheel) it should be able to move under it's own power for the first time.

Time for a garage tidy up now!

Dashboard Wiring

Today I completed the under dash wiring and finished wiring up the dashboard:

It has taken a while to do as I have methodically tested the function and earths of each circuit with my multimeter. I haven't fitted the four mechanical gauges yet as I'm waiting on some plumbing supplies - but electric wise they only have illumination so nothing complicated there.

The Hazard Switch was bit complicated and I had to phone GD for the connections - so if you're using the Hella Hazard Switch the connections are:

Light Green / Brown - Pin 49
Light Green / Brown - Pin 15
Green / White - Pin R
Green/ Red - Pin L
Light Green / Purple - Pin 49A
Black - Pin 31
Red/White - Pin 58


All that remains is to plug it all together - connect up the umbilical to the tin top and test it!!!

Time for a sweep stake on the number of faults???

Dashboard MK 2

I started to re-assemble the dashboard - I've left out the 4 mechanical gauges for the minute - I'm now 100% happy with the results this time:
I also glued on the dash edge piping:The following picture shows how the piping is positioned. The stitching is just visible beyond the top of the dash but this will disappear when the piping is pushed down onto the dash when it is fitted up under the scuttle roll:Next I need to get my head round the plumbing for the mechanical gauges!

SVA TEST DATE

Got a phone call from VOSA today - SVA Test is booked for 25th March.

Best Get Cracking Then!

Dashboard is Dead - Long Live the Dashboard

After a couple of weeks here:

I've decided that I'm not happy enough with the dash - so out with the scalpel and the sticking of the leather behind the instrument openings was undone:

I shall re-do it with slightly less tension on the leather so the gauges appear more rebated into the leather: