Radio wiring & Aux panel fabrication

Radio Wiring

Inside the fusebox was off to add in a fuse for the electric aerial. It has a permanent live feed to let it wind down when the ignition is removed so I thought it best to have an independent 5A fuse. The polyswitch is also removed now in favour of a separate fused circuit direct to the battery for radio memory & immobiliser flashing LED. My cutoff switch cuts everything except this single radio memory circuit.

Not much to see when its back together - its not the easiest of jobs wading through the back of the fusebox, especially as everything seems just out of arms length when working inside the car:

Radio wiring routed down the passenger side of the tunnel: aerial, electric feed to raise it and the speaker cables. Touch wood it doesn't all interfere with each other - we shall see.

The aerial itself needed a grommet to prevent it earthing against the car, and an eyelet in the boot lid to let it pass straight through when the radio is turned on:

Aux Panel

A little headway on the new Aux panel. I'm keeping the sides from the old one and just re-building the front face in 1.6mm aluminium as per the hardboard template. Then I can offer it all up with the dashboard back in place to find the right angle before riveting the sides back in place.

The folded top edge goes back on my version rather than forward on the stock GBS panel, meaning it will be a little more vertical and hopefully give some more room behind for the switches which are mounted much lower. Everything to be re-covered in vinyl once complete:

Heater tidy up & coolant back in

The foam edging strip for the heater intake box arrived which should seal the top edge to the bonnet above. Final fit for the box and re-plumbing the heater matrix to the engine. I bought a couple of 5/8" tails for the matrix so no need for adaptors this time. All re-filled with coolant:

My preferred layout for the bonnet holes planned, 10mm diameter in a slightly squashed diamond pattern; however not yet cut them!

 

Relocate the Heater

So much for waiting for bad weather before dismantling things; I made a start on moving the heater matrix to the other side of the firewall.

Heater box relocation is both to improve the heater operation with hopefully more downdraught & to provide a little more space behind the aux panel in the cabin for some other alterations.

My firewall even had 4x holes centrally, presumably for attaching the fusebox in its factory standard position? Marked out the shape of the matrix intake, intending to use the 20mm metal punches I used on the bonnet vents for the corners then join up the straight lines with the Dremel:

Not too bad, however, drilling stainless is a mare, 4mm pilot opened up to around 8mm both using my right angle drill attachment in the confined space. The step drill wouldn't have it, so ended up using 10mm metal punch followed by 20mm metal punch. Joining up the straight lines with the dremel extension was much easier:

Heater matrix relocated to the engine bay, with the fan box virtually in its original position - but saving around 1" of space on the cabin side of the panel. The wood blocks on the second shot are temporary to make sure none of the loom touches the firewall while I am drilling/cutting and generally getting things hot:

The heater matrix will take fresh air from the bonnet immediately above as per standard layout on most cars. This requires a box on the engine side to ensure no engine/under bonnet fumes make their way in. Mocked up in cardboard first:

Then aluminium, a little fitting required and patches to cover existing old firewall holes. Not shown here rubber trim between the cover & heater matrix & also neoprene seal to the bulkhead:

Water could make its way down through the, to be cut, bonnet vents. The bottom of the vent box is designed to slope away from the firewall & a marble double checked which side is lowest before drilling a 4mm drain hole:

Final step, rivnut fixing to the firewall so its all removable if need be:

Next up - re-plumbing the water feeds, holes in the bonnet & some rubber edge trim to make the top edge seal with the bonnet.

Aux Panel all-change mockup

The existing Radio is also coming out and with it a re-arrangement of the Aux panel.

Today was just to mock up the new layout moving on from drawings to arranging actual items so I can check the 'clutter level' and visibility of controls. I really didn't want to break up the minimalism of the GRP dashboard so focusing on the lower Aux panel area only.

Current layout:

Hardboard mockup - with the radio position checked that it remains visible from the drivers seat beneath the GRP dash. The bottom row will be: Heat pull knob, Heater fan switch, Lighter socket, Fog lamp switch, DRL switch. One more small button to sit top right area as an aerial override.

The horn will no longer have a button and be via steering centre push only.

Radio & buttons offered up. Granted its not an entirely waterproof radio, but it has no moving parts - no CD drive, fascia is not removable, SD card/USB slots in the front have covers and display backlight is blue to match my other buttons. While it is not the most expensive unit in the world I think it has a nice understated simplicity about it.

There should be some protection from the aux panel location under the main dashboard too so I'm going to chance it.

Because there is no CD/Tape drive the unit sits reasonably shallow; still to work out if the heater will need moving for this to fit though, there is just room, but the matrix will be hot & that is the last thing the radio heat-sink need right next to it. The bottom row of switches are quite tight to the base too now so some general re-work on the tunnel cover will be required:

I think we are good. Ultimately this will be built in vinyl covered aluminium like the current panel. Next step is dash, aux, heater etc out & some fun with plumbing and wiring. 

Ditchling Beacon and the Coast

The aim was to drive up Ditchling beacon, pub lunch, then a circuitous route back along the seafront and north inland along as interesting roads as we could find.

The Ditchling road itself was a little slow, the day before a cycle race had a great number of practicing cyclists and other people making the best of the weather.  A fine hill climb none the less and then a short blast along the top before meeting the A27, then back inland through the downs to the Shepherd and Dog at Fulking for lunch.

A Short clip up the hill and across the top of the downs; Unfortunately it looks like a motorcyclist on the way down had come off; no sign of him other than his bike on the verge and Police from an unmarked car waving us past the scene.

The route back inland Herstmonceux, Hailsham, Burwash, Ticehurst, Goudhurst, Marden then home to Maidstone. These final northbound roads, treelined, empty, and perfect for interesting views and driving.

Route

Google embedding tends to introduce shortcuts, while the route is approximately correct the return journey was along the sea front from Shreham to Seaford before heading back in land then some great roads almost directly north and only visible on the direct route link:

Full route

Approximate route:

Electric Radio Aerial

I need my radio when driving, and currently my antenna solution is just a line horizontally under the dash which doesn't give the greatest reception.

Time for something a little more functional & after considering the options I think an electric aerial from the drivers side boot corner is the best option. It can raise lower as needed & even though these things are meant to be unreliable they are cheap enough now to replace if required:

Drivers side rear corner, it is under the hood, but that will have a grommet installed in due course to let the aerial pass through:

Using the space under the boot floor, this would have been easier before that panel was in situe. Masked up to give me an obvious 'do not cross' line to the edge of the fuel tank. Then plumb line down from the hole and a paper template employed to work out the opening required.

Orientation is to leave as much of the panel in place as possible, it braces the boot side and holds it square.

I suspect the easiest way to secure the unit will either be a cable tie or jubilee clip around the tab of metal left from the cutout. The entire assembly will be hidden behind carpet eventually.

I picked a horizontal area of the boot rim so the normal 'igloo/hemisphere' type mounting would not be required and all  all that protrudes is a minimal nut/bezel. On the right is the grommet which will get installed in the boot lid to allow the aerial to pass through:

Wiring will come later - this along with the new DRLs will have some changes to fusebox & aux panel wiring & heater. The aux panel isn't coming out while the weather is good, I don't want any driving down time.

Update - Using the top nut direct on the chassis is shorting the aerial line to the chassis too - It needs an appropriate tape/plastic washer to ensure it is isolated.

Update - The aerial unit was a £14.99 job from ebay, while functional it benefited from being dismantled, greased/oiled & generally adjusted. Some of the internal gears were so tightly fixed they hardly moved.

Bodiam

Good weather again, after rain yesterday, so a round trip to Bodiam Castle,  wander round the castle then a scenic route back home.

Some nice roads, tree lined, winding through Cranbrook on the way & luck with the traffic north of Tenterden made a nice relaxed Sunday afternoon run:

Stock photo of the castle - when we were there is was bright sunshine:

I couldn't work out a way to get the car in front of the castle for a good picture, there is a narrow track, but you would have to be quick to avoid the National Trust descending on you like keystone cops... perhaps a quieter day :)

Kent and East Sussex railway were running trains in the distance, breifly saw some Pullman coaches & a two car diesel making its way towards Tenterden.

Route:

Wipers, Mats & Daytime running lights

A few random fixes and enhancements:

Wipers

Scotland tested, and promptly bent the drivers side wiper - partly because I had focused so much on the right sweep area on the screen I ended up with the wiper arm connecting to the blade off centre, this meant a twisting force on the joint which bent as the screen dried slightly.

Old Wiper top right, the new arms also have adjustable length so this time I could trim the hidden end of the arm and leave the raised 'button' in place to secure the wiper itself. This time the wiper blades were trimmed evenly either end:

Mats

The driver's side carpet under the pedals has worn, so a modified rubber mat tailored and installed to see if that creates a more durable heel support. Four mats, presumably door mats, were left in my garage when I moved in years ago and perfect for this job. I riveted on a couple of small velcro pads which grip the carpet underneath and hopefully stop the mat moving or riding up:

Daytime Running Lights

A more interesting mod - some DRLs, found from ebay and took an age to ship from China but perfect size to sit on the suspension top arms and a bargain at under £10 for the pair shipped. Aluminium cases, waterproof with 3x LEDs/Lenses on each side & mounted with threaded rods. I saw Andy's car on the Scottish road-trip with something similar and liked the idea. They add that bit more visibility and avoid the sombody else's problem effect with other drivers not noticing me driving towards them.

Still not quite wired in, I have a circuit that will disable the DRLs when side or main beam are turned on to avoid blinding on coming traffic in low light conditions. Position is working well though:

I'm also planning some changes to the auxiliary control panel under the dash, when that happens it will have an override switch to manually turn off the DRLs as required.

Cake Day

One year on from registration, the annual road tax and insurance bills out of the way, around 3,800 miles driven in the first year.

Good weather this weekend so...

Saturday garden centre, swift pint watching a little afternoon cricket on the green & food shopping... using the zero for the family shop keeps us honest with the shopping list - no browsing, just essentials that will fit in the boot.

Sunday a spontaneous random meander around kent: Maidstone, Reculver, Ramsgate, Deal, Dover & then back home. Short shirt sleeves all the way and not in any way cold. Kept me occupied for the afternoon & emptied the fuel tank.

Stock photo - Reculver:

Route

A few things on the drawing board; but waiting for poorer weather when it wont matter if the car is off the road:

Will happen:
   Daylight running lights, inspired by Whiz' car from the Scotland trip

   Wipers re-work to avoid the bending issue

   Wing mirrors need something a little better at some point

Might happen:

   Drivers foot plate instead of carpet
   Heater re-work to take air in from behind the grille
   Aux panel re-work for a decent radio + electric aerial

   Re-work the half hood - I've found some better fabric
   Play with the screen rake (maybee)...