I have to go to New Orleans for work next weekend, so I took a shop day today (hehe). Got a lot further on the AC and door wiring systems. The Shaved Door Kit system is rather complex, with 2 remotes that can activate 8 channels.
Right now I'm just connecting the doors, but eventually we'll tie in the trunk popper, fuel door, tire-slicing wheel centers and, of course, the ejector seat.
First up today was installing the stainless door wire conduits:
Make sure your drill is up the task! I pulled out my medium duty "PowerFirst" Brand drill (Ok, calling it a brand is being charitable,,,) and went for it. The door side was no issue at all, but the jamb side was double-walled and I although I didn't notice the drill heating up, it started smoking something fierce before I gave it a rest!
After switching drills and finishing up the holes, the bushing almost slide right in. Some final filing was required to get it to seat.
The spring is then held on place on one side (your choice) by a snug grommet and the other end slides easily through the plastic grommet
Looks good!
Works too!
I know this looks like a mess (!), but it's actually mostly sorted! Unfortunately, these Vintage Air systems could use a little more wire in the harness!! The lines with the rubber elbows are actually vacuum lines to open the heater, AC and defrost flaps, then there's some regular 12 gauge wires, but also there's these 22 gauge wires to the switch that are barely 10 inches long.... makes for some limited mounting choices even if you choose to do some custom lengthening work.
If you look through the mess in these two shots, you can see I temporarily mounted the vacuum servos and relays on a piece of MDF in order to mock up the location of all those items and route the wiring.
By weeks end I should have it completely sorted, then I can do some connection soldering and tie-strap it all in to make it look all professional-like!
Don't forget to check out my website at
www.E-tekRestorations.com !
