EDM620 Posted September 17, 2023 Report Share Posted September 17, 2023 Patience young Grasshopper, all the frustration will make you appreciate all the more when it all works as intended. or something like that 😇 1 Quote Link to comment
dimlight65 Posted September 18, 2023 Report Share Posted September 18, 2023 2 hours ago, EDM620 said: Patience young Grasshopper, all the frustration will make you appreciate all the more when it all works as intended. or something like that 😇 Yeah, I know. Quote Link to comment
dimlight65 Posted September 18, 2023 Report Share Posted September 18, 2023 (edited) Ok, John put in his vote for the digital gauges. Here's my thinking... Relocate the ignition switch, mount the oil pressure gauge there, mount the tach and speedo in the big holes, mount the water temp in the shift light hole, mount the fuel level in the shift light control hole, and replace the USB port in the center of the dash with one that has a green volt meter. Then, since I'll be losing the turn signal indicators built into the gauges, I'm thinking either... And yes, I forgot to add the ignition switch locations to the VW option, but it would go down there somewhere. As for the high beam indicator, the silver button on the right side of the knee knocker is the combination hi-beam/zookie light switch. It lights up blue. It would be my high beam indicator. Edited September 18, 2023 by dimlight65 1 Quote Link to comment
dimlight65 Posted September 21, 2023 Report Share Posted September 21, 2023 I may or may not have mentioned how the clutch has never felt right. Well, here's why... Ignore the part that is in focus and look at how the pushrod forced the pedal to stick straight out from the bracket. The first half of the pedal travel was just swinging the pushrod down into the proper orientation. And... well, it just barely worked and was very unsatisfactory. So today I removed the pedal and had a look at options. I cut the pedal in half, flipped the top portion, and tacked it back together for a test fit... Yes, it looks very janky right now, but once I installed it... Just look at that straight shot from the pickup point to the master cylinder! It even almost aligns with the brake pedal again... Yes, I will re-align the brake pedal again as well as zook on some gussets to strengthen the clutch pedal. We fired up the donk and the clutch works a treat... well, as much of a treat as backing up 6" and pulling forward the same amount can tell. Quote Link to comment
dimlight65 Posted September 23, 2023 Report Share Posted September 23, 2023 On 9/20/2023 at 9:27 PM, dimlight65 said: Yes, I will re-align the brake pedal again as well as zook on some gussets to strengthen the clutch pedal. Which is what I did today! Made a couple gussets... And zooked them in place... Then I cut off the superfluous corner and cleaned it up a bit on the wire wheel... After that, I agonized for a while over the fact that the hole in the adjustable pushrod we bought was a lot bigger than the old rod. I fianlly said, "Fuck it!" and made a new pivot pin and bushings... Slapped all of that together... And took it to the van for a test fit... We still need to slenderize the tip of the rod so it locks into the master, but it works like this. Then I had a look at the brake pedal again. I drilled more "Speed Holes" in it and mounted it with the arm outside the pedal this time... It's in focus in real life! The alignment still isn't perfect, and it probably never will be, but it's better. So, I'm quite pleased with that bit of the project. Up next, gauge stuff! 1 Quote Link to comment
dimlight65 Posted September 23, 2023 Report Share Posted September 23, 2023 (edited) On 9/17/2023 at 6:50 AM, EDM620 said: Now as for purple, I've installed a full set of Glowshift gauges, though I can't report on durability as my project isn't running yet, which do feature purple lighting as a standard option. I also appreciate that my gauge sweep is identical (270 degrees I think) giving uniformity which appeals to me. When Electronic Dance Music 620 made that comment, I realized I could get off a lot cheaper by buying a tach that "matched" the other GPS speedo we had, and the same Glowshift gauges he has. So this was what I did. (Ok, ok, the final decision was made when I went to buy the green digital gauges from Summit, but they had sold the last set they had in stock.) Here's what we're going with... The speedo I had... The tach, made by the same company, which almost matches... The fuel level gauge... The oil pressure gauge... And the water temp gauge... Then, for volts, I swapped the blue volt meter/USB port in the camper with the new green VM/USB I just bought... And put the blue one (because it's closer to purple than green is) in the dash in place of the USB port with no volt meter... I did have to find a switched hot lead for it because the one I had on there before was constant hot. Tomorrow I start looking at installing the new gauges. Edited September 23, 2023 by dimlight65 1 Quote Link to comment
EDM620 Posted September 24, 2023 Report Share Posted September 24, 2023 Excrement! 1 Quote Link to comment
EDM620 Posted September 24, 2023 Report Share Posted September 24, 2023 So since your messing about with USB ports, and I heard a rumour that the "industry" is changing to the newfangled USB-C gizmotron (I'm sure just to make us all buy new cbales, chargers etc. again) are you gonna swap out that old school USB port you just put in? I might have to on my build... 1 Quote Link to comment
dimlight65 Posted September 24, 2023 Report Share Posted September 24, 2023 (edited) Sorry, that attempt didn't work. Let me try again Edited September 24, 2023 by dimlight65 Quote Link to comment
dimlight65 Posted September 24, 2023 Report Share Posted September 24, 2023 (edited) 6 hours ago, EDM620 said: So since your messing about with USB ports, and I heard a rumour that the "industry" is changing to the newfangled USB-C gizmotron (I'm sure just to make us all buy new cbales, chargers etc. again) are you gonna swap out that old school USB port you just put in? I might have to on my build... Goddammit! I hate computer assholes who have to change shit just to change shit. I also hate computers and websites that won't do what I want them to do, but that's another rant. Edited September 24, 2023 by dimlight65 Attempted to embed a GIF... and failed Quote Link to comment
dimlight65 Posted September 24, 2023 Report Share Posted September 24, 2023 (edited) Ok, more gauge action! First, I pulled the combo gauges and shift light out of the van. Then I opened up the holes in the shift light panel for two gauges... And with that commitment made, I began rewiring. First, I made a general gauge harness... And then I terminated the tach and speedo harnii (harnae?)... Once those were done, I went out to the van and re-wired the main gauge harness plug... Then, I decided that I would go all Volkswagen up in this bitch, and installed a single LED for the turn signals (Yes, the drill bit walked a little. I'm prepared to be OK with it)... And since I have been known to drive for miles with the signal flashing, I installed a buzzer on the indicator. Here's the diodes and buzzer all wired up behind the dash... Back out to the van, and I terminated that circuit in a plug... Now the only thing I need to decide is where to mount the ignition switch... oh, and just how annoying is it going to be having the one gauge on the left side of the dash straight up and down while the rest of them angle upward. It will drive John crazy... so there's that going for it. 😝 Edited September 24, 2023 by dimlight65 Quote Link to comment
Duncan Posted September 24, 2023 Report Share Posted September 24, 2023 Shouldn't really bother anyone, except maybe the driver. I'd put a gauge that I didn't necessarily look at much. I rarely look at my voltmeter in the Ford. I have a very small tach, and a trans temp gauge in my 40 Ford. They are both clamped to the steering column under the dash. (mostly out of sight) I can see 'em when I need to, but they are mostly forgotten about. 1 Quote Link to comment
dimlight65 Posted September 25, 2023 Report Share Posted September 25, 2023 1 hour ago, Duncan said: Shouldn't really bother anyone, except maybe the driver. I'd put a gauge that I didn't necessarily look at much. I rarely look at my voltmeter in the Ford. I have a very small tach, and a trans temp gauge in my 40 Ford. They are both clamped to the steering column under the dash. (mostly out of sight) I can see 'em when I need to, but they are mostly forgotten about. Since I'm going to be the main driver, I just need to decide how much it will bother me. Grokking that picture of the dash though, I'm beginning to think it won't be that bad. What I'm going to do is open up the hole in the dash to mount the gauge direct, test fit it, and see. If it looks like too much ass, then we'll finger out a way to mount it at the same angle (and depth) as the other two on the opposite side. We'll see. 1 Quote Link to comment
dimlight65 Posted September 25, 2023 Report Share Posted September 25, 2023 I think I have decided to put the ignition switch here... I just need to hog out the existing hole and lengthen the wires a bit. Quote Link to comment
EDM620 Posted September 25, 2023 Report Share Posted September 25, 2023 A mere thought, if you're the kinda guy who has lots on the key ring, is that where you'd really want it? Speaking for myself, I tend to be minimalist so no issues but I know of people who carry a friggin' department store on their key ring... 1 1 Quote Link to comment
dimlight65 Posted September 25, 2023 Report Share Posted September 25, 2023 (edited) 30 minutes ago, EDM620 said: A mere thought, if you're the kinda guy who has lots on the key ring, is that where you'd really want it? Speaking for myself, I tend to be minimalist so no issues but I know of people who carry a friggin' department store on their key ring... No, each car has its own separate keyring... and this has one of these pip-pin separator things... The top right is the one with the ignition key. Bottom right has the door keys and a Hello Kitty fob, of course. Edited September 25, 2023 by dimlight65 Quote Link to comment
dimlight65 Posted September 25, 2023 Report Share Posted September 25, 2023 (edited) I just figured out how to match the angles on the gauges. Then... That should get all of the small gauges to the same angle. Edited September 25, 2023 by dimlight65 1 Quote Link to comment
dimlight65 Posted September 25, 2023 Report Share Posted September 25, 2023 (edited) I have been laying awake thinking about why it could have overheated. I narrowed it down to three options. 1) We are somehow spinning the water pump backwards. 2) There is a plug in the water pump inlet we didn't notice when we installed it. 3) The radiator is wrong. I had a look at old pictures and saw that we are not spinning the pump backwards. Fan goes... or went "Brrr!" counterclockwise... Block takes water from pump counterclockwise Belts spin pump counterclockwise... None of my pictures show whether or not there is a plug inside the pump's inlet so that's still a question. But the radiator has always bugged me. Is this bottom quarter doing anything? It's below the lower hose. Is there any flow going on there? Thoughts? Ok, there is the fourth option of "It didn't overheat, the Chinesium gauge sucks." I'm really hoping it's that! Edited September 25, 2023 by dimlight65 Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted September 25, 2023 Author Report Share Posted September 25, 2023 5 hours ago, dimlight65 said: I have been laying awake thinking about why it could have overheated. I narrowed it down to three options. Ok, there is the fourth option of "It didn't overheat, the Chinesium gauge sucks." I'm really hoping it's that! This is always step #1. 1 Quote Link to comment
dimlight65 Posted September 28, 2023 Report Share Posted September 28, 2023 Today I hogged out the hole in the dash for the fuel gauge... So I could drop it in.. I asked John to hold the oil pressure and water temp gauges in place... So we could see if the different angles were going to be a problem... I'm ready to drive the thing again, so I am prepared to be OK with the angles. I then soldered a pigtail to the back of the ignition switch and ran that to a three-prong connector... I forgot to take pictures of it all before we installed it, but there it is out of focus and in your face. We also decided on an unconventional location for the ignition switch... We "had to" go there because everywhere else had stuff in the way behind the dash. This spot allows the fob to dangle in space above the steering column. Oh! While moving the ignition switch, I accidentally discovered why these three circuits... were only getting 0.02 volts. The wire feeding them at the ignition switch was holding on by one strand of copper! Hence the soldering of the terminals this time... which I forgot to take a picture of. Sorry. 1 Quote Link to comment
dimlight65 Posted September 30, 2023 Report Share Posted September 30, 2023 (edited) John hooked me up with a pair of Alcantara Recaro seats! But silver logos? Oh dear me, no... I took some dye... And did this... To which John sarcastically said, "What about those seatbelt holes?" Well, I took that personally... But the Sting Krate bicycle's purple just wasn't quite right so I ran to the hardware store... Oh yeah! Much better. And speaking of paint, John yanked the clutch pedal and hit it with some black... Then took the pushrod to the grinder to make it snap into the master cylinder... But that was apparently taking too long or wasn't even enough or something, so... I was impressed! He popped it back in and adjusted the height... And I couldn't be happier with the pedals... Ok, I could be happier, but it's my shoddy "Measure Once, Cut Twice" fabricating processes that are at fault. Edited September 30, 2023 by dimlight65 Quote Link to comment
dimlight65 Posted September 30, 2023 Report Share Posted September 30, 2023 (edited) While John was working on the clutch pushrod, I replaced the sending units for the gauges (ok, full disclosure, he replaced the oil sender Wednesday)... And the water sender... Went here... Then, after lunch, I went back to install the gauges... Key on, headlights off... Key on, headlights on... They still need to be calibrated and all set to purple, but I'm pretty happy. I'm trying to decide if I want the speedo and tach to light up with the key or the headlights, but won't really be able to tell anything until we fire it up at night. Also, I tested the single turn signal indicator and buzzer. They worked but the buzzer might need a bit of muffling. We'll see how it sounds over the engine first though. Edited September 30, 2023 by dimlight65 1 Quote Link to comment
dimlight65 Posted October 1, 2023 Report Share Posted October 1, 2023 I didn't mention it yesterday, but when I was testing the gauges, I tried to start the donk... It did not happen. The key turned to the "Start" position, but it did nothing. I had a look at that today. It turns out that if the male pin, in what we call a "Datsun Plug," is bent up like this... and goes outside the female plug, like this... Then that circuit doesn't connect in the plug! It also blocks the release so you can't unplug it. Once I fixed that, It cranked just fine. With that mystery solved and fixed, I calibrated the fuel gauge... And the tach (I think)... And set them all to purple... Then I took John up on a challenge... HOOD PINS! Because racecar! 1 1 Quote Link to comment
dimlight65 Posted October 2, 2023 Report Share Posted October 2, 2023 Looking back at the previous posts, I realized I forgot to tell y'all about something else we did. Now, I realize that there are literally dozens of cars out there running electric chokes. I, however, don't like the idea of that heating element running all the time. So, I yanked the ground wire from the choke... And adjusted it so it was "Full Open" all the time... We will employ the tried and true "Porsche Choke" method of stomping on the accelerator pump a couple times before cranking. It's not my daily driver (or home [yet]), so I don't need to start it if the weather is below 50° outside. But, full disclosure, I do have a water choke unit on the way that I might install. We'll see. Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted October 2, 2023 Author Report Share Posted October 2, 2023 (edited) On 9/30/2023 at 4:03 PM, dimlight65 said: Then took the pushrod to the grinder to make it snap into the master cylinder... But that was apparently taking too long or wasn't even enough or something, so... I was impressed! Both. Taking too long, and not precise/pretty enough result. The ghetto lathe wins every time. 🤘 Edited October 2, 2023 by datsunfreak 1 Quote Link to comment
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