14. More Electrics

Really need to do these more often. Done a fair amount since the last post.

Not sure if I mentioned it but found a small oil leak which looked like it was coming from the end of the gearbox. So before going any further thought I would sort it. Assumed it was to do with the 5th gear end cap, one of the threaded holes was a bit knackered so decided to buy a new seal and helicoil the threaded hole. New seal and a helicoil later and no more leak. Should have said I took the engine out to do this, was probably possible to do without taking it out but thought I may as well so could have a proper look. From having it in a running state it took 1.5 hours for me to get it out, was pretty happy with that, sure it will be quicker next time. Gave the end cap and good clean and paint too.

Spent a day getting the doors, bonnet, boot, bumpers out from where I had stored them for the last 18 months and fitting them, so back end is together now and test fitted the front but took them back off so I don’t mess anything up whilst sorting the wiring out. All went back together rather well.Wanted to get rid of some more wires so had a read through the workshop manual and pulled as many fuses and relays as I could but enough to allow the car to run.

So now the fun part, the ECU Master gear arrived, I was like a kid at Christmas. ECU Master ADU7, PMU, Battery Isolator, CAN Keyboard, GPS to CAN and USB to CAN. Bought the stuff from RRR Engineering who were very helpful. Plan is to go to the stand alone EMU Black later down the line once we want to do engine modifications.

First job was to make a dash mount/cowl and decide where to mount it.

We decided to mount the dash in the centre of the car on the dash bar, many people on Instagram questioned the position but we’re happy with it. Viewing the dash through the wheel didn’t really work due to our height difference, probably didn’t help that we went for the larger dash though, but we also preferred the dash to be more in our eye line. Then mounting the dash above the wheel was just about doable for myself but restricted the view of the dash slightly for James. Hence we went for the middle of the dash bar which worked great for both of us.

 Fabricated the dash mount from sheet aluminium, did some drawings on CAD to make sure it was all even and came out rather well for my first time welding aluminium. Certainly need more practice with TIG. Then finished it off with matte black spray paint.