1965 Mustang Coupe Build...

[digitalsolo]

Thanks!

The sleeving is just a generic high-heat expandable loom, nothing super fancy. The ends are done with adhesive lined heatshrink. The starter cable is wrapped first in the same sleeving as the rest, then covered in flameshield high-temperature sleeve to protect it from the heat.

[digitalsolo]

Passenger side wiring all finished up. At least forward of the firewall. Next up will be doing the driver side, testing/validating/documenting all of it, building fusebox/ECU brackets inside and then wiring the inside up.

THEN START IT!

[andrewb70]

Exciting progress!

Does that engine have stock internals? How much boost can that handle?

Andrew

[digitalsolo]

Andrew,

Yes, mostly stick minus ARP head studs. I'm planning around 550-600 RWHP, which seems to be pretty safe from my reading.

-Blake

[digitalsolo]

There's almost as much of a lack of space behind the dash as in the engine bay! Working on stuffing the various ECUs, fuseblocks, power distribution, etc, behind the dash. Keep in mind that I have HVAC, electric power steering and all the master cylinders (3 of 'em) back here too. Youch.

The aluminum bracket in the first picture has the Eaton PDU on it (looks like this):



Power will feed in from a distribution block mounted on the side by the door pillar, which is fed from the battery and feeds the ignition cylinder, this fuseblock and a second smaller Bussman unit that will be mounted where the glovebox will be. There is also a ground bus plate here to split grounds out as well.



This shot is the looking under the dash at the HVAC box/hoses and the lid of the Eaton block. It's not sexy down here, but it's effective. I need to build the #6 A/C hose and have them both crimped and add my Gates shrink clamps to the heater hoses.



Next is getting the power distribution block mounted up, ground mounted up and figure out how to fit a few more things in the glovebox area. Then figure out how to mount the AEM Infinity, 3x mini ECUs that I designed, and a few other bits. Then more wiring. THEN FIRE!

[digitalsolo]

Glovebox fab. Fabricated aluminum glovebox isn't overkill, right? RIGHT?





I made this out of .090 6061, welded and then ground/metalworked on the sides for clearance. You can see in the next pictures how it fits in (it screws in along the top/sides). I'll be adding a Bussman box inside also, with a little bezel to support it all around. It can't be taller/bigger or it won't fit in from the front, and order of operations says it has to, so I'll probably line it with carpet and make a little "sack" at the bottom out of the cloth to finish out a little more nicely and make it so that I can keep my registration, etc. in it still since I have zero other storage in the car.

[andrewb70]

Look great. Those Bussmann boxes are awesome too. I installed one in a buddies 70 Cougar. Added relay and fuses for his fans, ignition, and fuel pump. Had two positions to spare.

Andrew

[migg400]

Project is looking good!!!
Best of luck with the rest of the build....

[digitalsolo]

So, I've been fighting with how to fit all of my various systems behind the dash. I have a center console that I need to design/build still, but the tunnel is high enough that it won't really fit much, so behind the dash it my target for as much as possible. Add to that an obsession with ease of service and cleanliness and... it's a real pain.

The fuseboxes are sorted, as I showed in the previous post, but the ECU was not yet. I finally decided to mount it in the driver side kick panel area, on the side cowl, above where the dead pedal will be placed. To make sure it doesn't get kicked, and give it a nice mounting surface (and because I wanted to practice fabrication more...) I built a 1/8" aluminum plate box. This bolts to the chassis, then the ECU mounts to the box on rubber isolators, then the cover mounts to that. It's clearanced to allow the USB stick in/out easily for logging, though I'll probably put that on an extension so that it's easier to reach.

Here's the box itself with the ECU mocked up inside:







And mounted in the car without the cover on:



And the ever more full dash:

[JayinMI]

Glovebox fab. Fabricated aluminum glovebox isn't overkill, right? RIGHT?

Nope. Not at all. lol

I made this out of .090 6061, welded and then ground/metalworked on the sides for clearance. You can see in the next pictures how it fits in (it screws in along the top/sides). I'll be adding a Bussman box inside also, with a little bezel to support it all around. It can't be taller/bigger or it won't fit in from the front, and order of operations says it has to, so I'll probably line it with carpet and make a little "sack" at the bottom out of the cloth to finish out a little more nicely and make it so that I can keep my registration, etc. in it still since I have zero other storage in the car.

Look at flocking it. It looks a lot like suede...or a stock late model glove box/center console storage bin and you won't get any seams.
Like this:

http://www.leevalley.com/us/wood/pag...98,43300,44669

Jay

[digitalsolo]

Flocking is a good idea. I'll have to keep that in mind, thanks!

[digitalsolo]

Redid a bit on my steering column (the shaft was out of true when I previously modified it, so I cut it apart, put it in my mill, trued it up and welded it back together, all better now) and picked up an adapter and a steering wheel:

[xsboost90]

Nice wheel 😉

[digitalsolo]

Thanks!

Can I ask for some advice? My lowest point is my oil pan/turbos, but I build a bar/skidplate system to protect them, and it's 1/4" 6061, so fairly stout. I'm working on ride height and it looks like the skidplate will be around 4" or so off the ground. It's almost all encompassed by the front wheels (as in the skid plate is roughly 2' across, and centered along the wheels) so it's got the advantage of not being much "overhang" vs. axle centerline.

Does 4" of clearance seem good? It 'looks' low, but I measured my Focus ST and it's about the same and I've never scraped that.

I'm probably overthinking this, but overthinking is kind of my modus operandi, so...

Thanks all, for any input at all.

[digitalsolo]

So I'm finally back to wiring work after a front suspension detour. The EPAS control box is mounted (it's at a weird angle on a crossbar support because... well, that's where it would fit), and the coil ignitor modules are mounted up on a nice chunk of aluminum to keep them cool (and have heat sink paste behind them). The wiring is in process, I've got about 50% of the engine wiring terminated in the ECU connectors, after that I need to run the I/O for the ECU and power for the ECU and connect up all the power for the engine harness/fuseboxes.

Here's the "in process" wiring mess:



And the nice, wrapped (Tesa tape) harness behind the dash. I'll be adding a support for strain relief shortly, just haven't gotten to it yet.



Coil ignitors mounted up and wired:



And an overall of the dash. Power wires run over to the fusebox that sits behind the dash, under the glovebox.



And finally, the engine bay with the bulkheads final installed, the intake in place and the harness laid in place:

[JayinMI]

Harnessing looks great! As someone who works with automotive electrical systems daily, I appreciate the work that went into them.
I plan to use Tesa tape and Techflex on my project as well, after ALL THE RUST IS GONE!

Are you worried about resale value since you cut the dash for an aftermarket radio? (lol...j/k)

Jay

[digitalsolo]

Harnessing looks great! As someone who works with automotive electrical systems daily, I appreciate the work that went into them.
I plan to use Tesa tape and Techflex on my project as well, after ALL THE RUST IS GONE!

Are you worried about resale value since you cut the dash for an aftermarket radio? (lol...j/k)

Jay

LOL, I -knew- someone would say something about the stereo hole! Hahaha!

The wiring work is so tedious, since I'm basically double/triple checking all of it, but at the end of the day, that's what tends to fail and leave you stranded, so doing it right the first time is just so worthwhile.

I'm really, really excited to have power in the chassis. This car last ran in the early 80s from what I've been able to discern, so it's kinda neat to me to see systems "wake up" on it as I finish things. I really do hope to have the electrical systems functional by the end of this coming weekend (June 9-10).



A few other little details that aren't immediately noticeable; all VR sensors are twisted pairs to minimize noise, and the crank sensor is shielded with a mesh and a drain. Hopefully that keeps noise at a minimum on the critical systems.

[wfo guy]

4" under the crossmember will work. There's lots of hot rods that have that number. You do have to pay attention to obstacles in the road.

[digitalsolo]

4" under the crossmember will work. There's lots of hot rods that have that number. You do have to pay attention to obstacles in the road.

Cool beans. Thanks for the input. I think I'll set it at 4" and see of I whack the skidplate on anything. :D

[Project Bike Truck]

Some awesome stuff on this build, good work!