Silverbullets' resto: Interior

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Silverbullet
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Post by Silverbullet » Sat Oct 01, 2016 9:07 pm

Not much going on with the wagon lately :(

But I spent most of today working on the custom tacho circuit - using a NE555 timer chip. I've made a piece of prototyping PCB that will go in place of the original circuit board, today I mocked up the circuit on a bread board to make sure it was going to work. Amazingly, it worked! :cool: Check out the video below; there are 2 relays (working bloody hard!) being triggered at 60hz by an Arduino to simulate the "points" signal to the circuit. Calibration is just using a trimpot and adjusting the needle to read 3k rpm at 60hz which will make it right for anyone else. In my case because I'm using a twin coil pack that gets fired half as often I have to make it read 6k rpm...when it's all put together in the instrument cluster.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZxh6VA ... ture=share
Will it ever end!?
-EA81 TWIN CARB!!!!
-L series 5 speed
-Custom paint job
-2" lift
-Full custom re-wire
-L series front end
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Silverbullet
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Post by Silverbullet » Sun Oct 02, 2016 8:14 pm

Ta da! :)

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Took 2 attempts to get this to work, which included ripping everything that I'd done off the board once because the circuit I followed didn't work. Then the second iteration didn't work initially, I found I'd put a junction of 2 resistors on the wrong side of a a capacitor. Fixed that and it works pretty nice :) The needle is a little jumpy on the lower positions hopefully I can smooth that out somehow. Have yet to test it in the car. The little blue thing you can see in the second photo is the trimpot for calibration.
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Will it ever end!?
-EA81 TWIN CARB!!!!
-L series 5 speed
-Custom paint job
-2" lift
-Full custom re-wire
-L series front end
Image

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El_Freddo
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Post by El_Freddo » Sun Oct 02, 2016 10:22 pm

Awesome work SB!

Will you be creating an analogue speedo driven by an electronic device as well?

That'd be sweet!

Keep up the good work!

Cheers

Bennie
"The lounge room is not a workshop..."
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El Freddo's Pics - El_Freddo's youtube

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Proton mouse
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Post by Proton mouse » Mon Oct 03, 2016 12:11 am

Great work Sam!!
Is there anything you cant do??
Cheers John

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Silverbullet
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Post by Silverbullet » Sun Dec 04, 2016 6:28 pm

This isn't interior related but whatevs :rolleyes:

Got new tooters for the wagon, installed them today. They are nice and loud, which is what I wanted. Managed to fit one behind the grille, had to remove some of the flare from the horn and sand some little scallops into the back of the grille to clear everything. The other horn had no chance of going behind the grille on the other side, so I found a perfectly sized nook behind the RH headlight, in front of the battery.

A short demo below, ignore the bomb site that is the front dash/instruments :oops: I've been tidying and tying up the wiring loom, it's nearly ready to be wrapped. Also needed the instrument cluster out for something else.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4jieo-7Qsg
Will it ever end!?
-EA81 TWIN CARB!!!!
-L series 5 speed
-Custom paint job
-2" lift
-Full custom re-wire
-L series front end
Image

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Silverbullet
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Post by Silverbullet » Thu Dec 29, 2016 5:45 pm

Another step towards having a fully functional 6 gauge instrument cluster :) When I got this instrument cluster from NZ the digital clock did not work. I touched up all the solder joints on the PCB inside etc but it didn't come back to life :( The old clocks display is fascinating, it is one big sealed glass block with the digits inside. The construction is something akin to a nixie tube and not LED's. Without a circuit diagram for the clock I had no chance of repairing it, if the main IC was dead it would have been impossible to replace as that is hidden under the numerical display. I wasn't keen on de-soldering 30+ individual legs to remove the numerical display :shock:

I knew it was going to be impossible to find another clock for this instrument cluster so much searching on eBay later and I found a decent quality 12v clock (from NZ again :rolleyes: )

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/252684193008 ... EBIDX%3AIT

There is alot of cheap chinese rubbish on eBay when it comes to 12v clocks but this one is quite good. It has pretty much the same functionality as the old one (except "reset" but who needs that anyway) And importantly has the same size digits on the LED display. It comes in a plastic housing meant for popping into a rectangular shaped hole but I pulled it apart and fit the PCB/display into the old clock housing, so it looks as good as the real thing. Even better was the buttons for setting the time were wired onto the board remotely, which meant I could easily wire the original switch onto the new clock to set the time as per original.

Pretty chuffed with the result, now this instrument cluster is 100% functional again and all wired up to work with my car. I've got a little bit more fiddling to do on it in the clock area (just mounting hardware to make sure it never breaks loose inside there) and have to give the front perspex a final clean/polish but other than that it's pretty much done!

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18u50Ng ... e=youtu.be
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Will it ever end!?
-EA81 TWIN CARB!!!!
-L series 5 speed
-Custom paint job
-2" lift
-Full custom re-wire
-L series front end
Image

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El_Freddo
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Post by El_Freddo » Thu Dec 29, 2016 9:25 pm

Bugger me mate, that's crazy good! Nice find.

Cheers

Bennie
"The lounge room is not a workshop..."
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El Freddo's Pics - El_Freddo's youtube

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Silverbullet
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Post by Silverbullet » Thu Jan 05, 2017 6:43 pm

Warning - wall of text ahead probably all boring so don't read if you don't want to :rolleyes:

About time I told anyone following this build - the project has been well and truly stalled for some time now :( Most recent plans were for this car to be on the road and 90% done by the end of last year, well we can all see how that turned out :mad: All because of one little part that I haven't been able to find which has held up pretty much EVERYTHING else. This little $2 item has caused me so much headache and frustration, searching online for hours and hours for a suitable replacement. But luckily a single spur of the moment trip to U pull it the other day has solved everything.

The rubber grommets for the wiring in the door jambs to each door. They are so car specific that the same part from any other car just does not fit. The holes in this car are so small (20mm) that nothing else even comes close. I should have enlarged the holes back when I had the doors off but oh well. Anyway because of that I couldn't wire up the doors, couldn't lay the carpet until the wiring is complete, couldn't do anything else on the interior until the wiring is complete etc etc. The grommets are special as well with a little rubber tail for the loom tape to wrap onto and seal out the moisture. Regular household rubber grommets are no where near right :( So on that spur of the moment U pull it trip the other day I found a pretty much untouched 84' touring wagon with power windows...with all the rubber grommets for the window wiring intact - BINGO!!! :p:p:

Long story short I nabbed them all for every door (sorry to anyone who goes and wants the window wiring intact hehe) plus some other choice interior goodies and have been working furiously on my interior wiring ever since. Have got all the wires run out to all the doors (windows, locks, speakers, and a courtesy light) So now there is not alot of work until I can lay the carpet and start getting stuff to a nearly finished stage on the inside FINALLY! Now I have to buy all the stereo stuff like speakers and amp, sub woofer and head unit.

So todays picture is of the speakers I'm going with in the front doors which I think is the max that will fit depth wise. JL Audio C2-600x are 6" coaxials with 60mm mounting depth. I'm putting mine flush in the door which leaves about 5mm clearance when the window is down. Going with the same speakers but 4" in the back doors, these are a bit shallower. Also an 8" slim sub woofer in the tailgate. All powered by a very slim low profile Clarion 5 channel marine amp under the passengers seat when it arrives. I'm also ditching the tablet PC idea because I think it's just going to be all too hard to wire it up nicely and have all the functionality I want. I'm on the hunt for a "mechless" double din touch screen head unit with no CD player (these are slimmer) but the options are severely limited unless you've got an iphone which I don't. Apparently all the major brands will be releasing this years new models soon so hopefully there is a decent mechless double din/sat nav/touchy screen unit among them.

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Here is one of the back doors mocked up (for fun mainly) it will be different colors when it's done for real though.
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Will it ever end!?
-EA81 TWIN CARB!!!!
-L series 5 speed
-Custom paint job
-2" lift
-Full custom re-wire
-L series front end
Image

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Bantum
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Post by Bantum » Fri Jan 06, 2017 5:32 am

Awesome work as usual, like the clock fix - Got a shot of the install in situe ? ( from the back ) Might have to do the same to mine - haven't checked if it works yet ... :/

Other option for door wiring grommets is the bung stops in fire wall ...

On the home stretch now ... :)

Ciao, Bantum ...

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El_Freddo
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Post by El_Freddo » Fri Jan 06, 2017 8:14 pm

So that's what's been holding you up! Totally knew something was up :???:

I've got the same issue with the RS build. While I still need to sort the engine I'm looking for a little seal for the intercooler pump that no one seems to make :evil:

I feel your frustration prior to finding what you needed. The other thing is may have had a set on a parts bomb at m&d's - I'll have a look next time I'm there.

Cheers

Bennie
"The lounge room is not a workshop..."
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El Freddo's Pics - El_Freddo's youtube

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Silverbullet
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Post by Silverbullet » Fri Jan 06, 2017 10:38 pm

Yeah it is really annoying! I hate all of those "nickel and dime" parts that can stop a big project dead in its tracks. Seriously, try finding door jamb grommets/conduit online - I'm convinced it is a part that just does not exist and can not be bought aftermarket anywhere. Could your pump seal be custom made? Or is it a type of seal that could be found at places like CBC bearings etc.

Bantum, no pics of the guts of the clock conversion I'm afraid but I can tell you the PCB of the clock I used is about 5mm wider than original. Which meant I had to grind some plastic away around where the clock sits in the instrument cluster to clear the PCB. 2 little slots basically on either side. These aren't visible when it's re-assembled and there's no light bleed through from the little car image/HUD. Then there's a little bracket screwed in place in there to retain the PCB, and gratuitous use of hot melt glue :rolleyes:
Will it ever end!?
-EA81 TWIN CARB!!!!
-L series 5 speed
-Custom paint job
-2" lift
-Full custom re-wire
-L series front end
Image

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Bantum
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Box of grommets :

Post by Bantum » Sat Jan 07, 2017 5:19 am

Here ya go :

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https://www.aliexpress.com/item/125pcs- ... 39003c9fb4

Don't know if its got what you're looking for though ... :/

Used these on mine : ( also came in the door lock kit )

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http://www.ebay.com/itm/AutoLoc-DLOOM-R ... 2237323522

Cheers, Bantum ...

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El_Freddo
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Post by El_Freddo » Sat Jan 07, 2017 8:37 am

I've tried my local bearing joint here. But since it's a 4 or 5mm shaft seal for a centrifugal pump seal they said they'd never seen anything like it and didn't have anything in stock or available in their parts book.

A pool shop might be able to help. I need to investigate this further. On other forums guys have not found a replacement item other than "replace pump", but at ~$130 for a second hand pump it could end up being just the same as what I've got already.

Bantum, those grommets look neat mate! Did you use that flexi hose on your subi? If so drop us a pic pls. It'd be good to see an after market job vs the factory look.

Sometimes in a build, it's all about compromise... Like this story Dad told me from his engine builder yesterday:

Two fellas were looking for an early Holden statesman like their old man had back in the day. Low and behold they found one - and it turned out to be their old man's one! BUT, it now had a 470-something big block fitted. They almost walked away before they found out they guy kept the original engine.

So they purchased the car and the original engine - which needed a rebuild. Enter dad's rebuilder into the picture.
These dudes wanted the car kept so original that when the builder told them they need a new cam shaft they couldn't get their heads around it. They argued that it MUST have the original cam shaft otherwise it wouldn't be the same as when their dad had it, nor would the car be original!

I'm pretty sure they got a new cam shaft. But that mentality is insane - a cam shaft?! Unless it's a stage two or three shaft no one would know without a dyno sheet!

Anyway, keep up the good work SB! If you find the seal I need let me know :lol:

Cheers

Bennie
"The lounge room is not a workshop..."
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Silverbullet
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Post by Silverbullet » Sat Jan 07, 2017 9:12 am

Nice story, it's funny how uptight some people get about keeping originality :rolleyes: If I was that builder I'd just slip the new shaft in on the sly and be done with it, they'd never know ;) I'll keep an eye out for that seal eh :o

Bantum, it's funny, back when the wiring was still in it's planning stage I did just assume I'd be buying a pack of grommets like in your pic. When I actually got round to doing it though those grommets aren't quite right, yes they pop in the hole for wiring to safely pass through but they wouldn't/couldn't seal around the wires themselves because they don't have the "tail" on them. See pic below...
That corrugated tubing is also exactly what I had in mind - I couldn't find it anywhere other than US ebay for $30 something USD plus $25 shipping for a single piece :x

Image
Will it ever end!?
-EA81 TWIN CARB!!!!
-L series 5 speed
-Custom paint job
-2" lift
-Full custom re-wire
-L series front end
Image

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Bantum
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Post by Bantum » Mon Jan 09, 2017 5:35 am

Posted this on another thread ages ago :

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showthread.php?t=22647

Cheers, Bantum ....

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Silverbullet
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Post by Silverbullet » Mon Jan 09, 2017 9:38 pm

That's exactly how I wanted mine to look, I wonder why I couldn't find the bits for it :mad: Makes me want to re-wire all the doors again now :rolleyes:
Will it ever end!?
-EA81 TWIN CARB!!!!
-L series 5 speed
-Custom paint job
-2" lift
-Full custom re-wire
-L series front end
Image

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Bantum
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Post by Bantum » Sat Jan 14, 2017 8:57 am

Only real tricky bit is getting all the wires to fit through the tube ... :/

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Silverbullet
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Post by Silverbullet » Sat Jan 14, 2017 2:48 pm

I've finally collected most of the bits for my sound system now :p Except the head unit which I don't really need yet.

The front speakers you've seen (JL audio C2's) The rear speakers are the same but 4"

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The sub I've gone with is a Rockford Fosgate P3 8" shallow mount, with dual 4 ohm voice coils. This little thing is a sweet little unit. It's seriously small but should still punch out some nice bass. I never wanted bone rattling bass so this should be plenty. I'll be wiring up the dual coils for 2 ohms.

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My favorite part is the amp - a Clarion XC2510 marine amp. I went with this one because like the sub it is amazingly compact but still has some great features and adjustable everything. It's 700w 5 channels
Specs:
50 Watts × 4 + 200 Watts × 1 Continuous @ 4-Ohms
75 Watts × 4 + 300 Watts × 1 Continuous @ 2-Ohms
150 Watts × 2 Continuous @ 4-Ohms Bridged

Just have to work out what cable it needs to feed it. I will run a dedicated line from the battery (or alternator?) I haven't worked out the cable gauge required yet. It has 2 x 40 amp fuses on the parallel input lines so I guess the amp will be usually running around half that. If it ever pulls more than 80A the fuses will pop (which is good since my alt is only 90A :rolleyes:)

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The head unit will be a Sony XAV X100. I've spent many hours looking for a decent mechless, double din touch screen head unit with navigation and all the mod cons. There aren't many options and the ones that do generally have Apple car play only and not Android Auto. These programs connect to your smart phone and the head unit is almost useless without it. Since I hate crapple the ones with car play only were off the list. That left 3 options one of which is over 3 years old and buggy as hell (its French :rolleyes: ) and the other has been "coming soon" for 12 months. That left the Sony which has car play and Android auto. Also has some nice features the cheaper ones didn't.

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And here's a teaser of where the sub is actually going

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Will it ever end!?
-EA81 TWIN CARB!!!!
-L series 5 speed
-Custom paint job
-2" lift
-Full custom re-wire
-L series front end
Image

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El_Freddo
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Post by El_Freddo » Sun Jan 15, 2017 8:55 am

That sub install will look tops mate. Going to make that whole panel look like one piece right across that side of the cargo space?

And when's the supercharger coming to help haul all this stez gear? :twisted:

All that stereo talk about amps, watts, rms and bridging loses me. Especially the bridging stuff! Two reasons why I've not got into a sub and amp setup - first one is money and practicality - space and weight; the other is money to get all the gear to make a decent setup, it's never been a priority.

That said I would like a sweet little setup in the RS once it's on the road. I've got a mate that can help me out with it. He won several autonoise contests years ago.

Cheers

Bennie
"The lounge room is not a workshop..."
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Silverbullet
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Post by Silverbullet » Sun Jan 15, 2017 8:51 pm

El_Freddo wrote:That sub install will look tops mate. Going to make that whole panel look like one piece right across that side of the cargo space?

And when's the supercharger coming to help haul all this stez gear? :twisted:

All that stereo talk about amps, watts, rms and bridging loses me. Especially the bridging stuff! Two reasons why I've not got into a sub and amp setup - first one is money and practicality - space and weight; the other is money to get all the gear to make a decent setup, it's never been a priority.

That said I would like a sweet little setup in the RS once it's on the road. I've got a mate that can help me out with it. He won several autonoise contests years ago.

Cheers

Bennie

Starting to think I'll need an SC with all this non-factory junk I'm loading her up with :oops: But I always wanted all the mod cons in this car ;) And yes the plan is to make up a custom fitted (fiberglass) sub box for that little corner of the boot, blend it into the wheel tub nicely.

Before I started researching the audio gear I also had no clue when it came to what ohms, wattage, speakers etc etc. It's only with hours of reading now I've got some idea, enough to get by at least. I'm not going crazy with the audio stuff, just want something that sounds great because I value the music listening experience very highly :) With your RS I imagine it would be much easier, does it have speakers in the back doors? At least a starting point when it comes to fitting speakers. This wagon was never designed to have speakers in the rear doors so it makes fitting them a bit tricky. You don't have to spend huge $$$ either to have something that sounds decent. Alot of head units now have some pretty beefy output already so no need for an amp.
Will it ever end!?
-EA81 TWIN CARB!!!!
-L series 5 speed
-Custom paint job
-2" lift
-Full custom re-wire
-L series front end
Image

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