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Showing posts from March, 2020

Main wire tuck done

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The main wire harrness wrap, and tuck is complete. I just need to mount the harrness under the pinch weld. Have to find the right clips. I remounted the brake lines to the firewall and in the wheel well. I also removed all the masking tape which was a pain. Next is install the brake booster and master cylinder and paint the floor. Also I am not happy with the passenger side wheel well. I think I want to strip it down and repaint just plain rustoleum.

Wire tuck and porportioning valve

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Everything was going great until the relays decided not to pass through the passenger appron hole because the rear brake line was taking up a little too much space. I decided to separate the brake line at the union and pass it through a gap just under the frame rail. Besides scratching the heck out of the new paint it worked out well. Once it was all apart I added in the brake porportioning valve before re bending the lines by hand. I basically used cedar shims and pressed it against the body to gently change the shape. I'll add a few more clips in the wheel well.  Then I easily passed the relays and the wires after they were wrapped through. I will scuff and brush some rustoleum in the fender well just to protect from rust.

Wiretuck time

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So i have avoided the wiring like the plague. Not because I don't like or feel confident doing it, more so because I get distracted. For me that is opening a can of worms to my OCD it might be another rabbit hole. I find it almost relaxing to remove that old cruddy wrap and replace it neatly. I unwrapped the entire drivers side harness from the firewall to the coil. I removed the headlight harness from the car. I hope to kitchen table it one night soon. My plan is to re-wrap the entire harness because I HATE SPLIT LOOM. I am using tesa tape to replace it. I picked up 10 rolls off amazon and that stuff is great. I also used edge guard to cover the edges of the holes in the strut tower and fender apron. Being that I have a 91 fox, and it will not have cruise control restored, it has 2 holes I can pass wires through. Now I need to decide if i want to pass the wires back in under the dash or under the pinch weld in the engine bay. I am pretty sure I will leave things stock and just

Getting ready to do the rear end

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I am getting ready to open, flush and seal the differential. I pulled the dog bone weight to get to the diff fill plug. I expected a fight to open the plug but it turned with a ratchet. I went around pinning the brake and fuel lines back to the floor where the 8mm sheet metal screws were still remaining. The rest are pop rivets but I need larger ones and some new split pins for the tie rod ends. When the corona virus quarantine ends I will also get the diff fluid + friction modifier. Possibly a fluid fill pump since they are cheap.  This is the little bracket on the front torque box.

Re-attach brake and fuel lines

Next is to route our new e-brake lines away from the exhaust and to reattach the brake and fuel lines to the floor pan. I'll get some larger pop rivets for the lines and run close to the old e-brake brackets. Almost time to reseal the rear diff. Just need to break the fill plug free and it should be pretty easy after that. Need to paint the interior floor and clean the tire well and treat any rust. I'll paint out the brake booster which is primered and ready. Then its time to finish the wiring wrap and tuck and put the booster back.

E-brake is done

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I finished the e-brake! I gave the bracket 2 coats of vht epoxy paint a few days ago. I scribed the hole locations with a pick onto the tunnel and drilled 2 holes with a 1/8 bit because those are the size pop rivets I have at the moment. I added a washer for strength and popped 1 rivet in before I drilled the other 2 holes. I caught the console mounting bracket on the inside of the car so it is sturdy.  I clearanced the bolt and the extra bracket that might have hung the cable up with a dremel cutoff wheel. A little paint and I will probably add some silicone around the braket. The rear brakes are pretty rough but I have all the parts to redo them. I may have to rebuild the passenger side caliper cause it drags but there is basically no pad left so it could be because it's extended all the way.

Ebrake bracket fab

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So I decided to fab my own disc brake e-brake bracket for the 91 fox. I had some fairly thick scrap salvaged from the arms of an old office chair.  I went under the car and cut a rough design out of cardboard. I modified it on the fly to account for the remaining scrap i was using after I made the first piece. I marked the holes the width of the cable hook bracket. I bent the bracket in the vise. Then drilled the cable holes with a step bit.  I welded on an extra length for a mounting tab to spread the load on the transmission tunnel. Then I welded the gusset tabs and ground back the welds. I will add 2 washers to space it down on the tunnel and clear some existing hardware. 

Time off, small projects and a random shop idea

I have taken so time off of the project car. Honestly I got a job 3 days a week and moved my babysitter off of the other days so I can work. That has cut all my garage time. Then there has been some travel, some sickness and just living life. I have done some small automotive projects. I added in the ebrake cables and started planning the routing to avoid the exhaust. Just ziptied them until I can make the bracket that pins them to the top of the tunnel. Just 2 .53" holes 2.63" apart. I was going to use 16g sheet but I decided to go thicker. I already have a cardboard template that fits so it's some cutting and bending. On the daily 98 v6 I replaced the pigtail on the electric fan. I was going to solder but twisting 10 gauge wire without a ton of slack was a pain. Id need to use the liquid electrical tape and i just wanted it done. I chose weatherproof heat shrink butt connectors. On to the random shop idea. My workbench is small. 4 foot. I have my vise in the middl