datsunfreak Posted May 23, 2021 Author Report Share Posted May 23, 2021 On 5/21/2021 at 8:14 PM, EDM620 said: Good idea, and be able to turn all on for moments when full illumination is needed On 5/21/2021 at 9:36 PM, Lockleaf said: Put in a switch that allows you set them to independent sides, both, and "on". Current plan is, each side comes on with the door for that side, and there will be a switch on the dash to turn them all on at once. 👍 There are several round holes in the roof rails that I wanted to mount the lights in. Problem is that they need a 3/4" hole, but the round holes are 1/2" and can't be enlarged. Which is a bummer... Of course, there are also 2 square holes on either side that are 1" wide, they are visible in the roof photos I posted above. But how do you put a round 3/4" light in a square 1" hole? You make something... 😁 We had a bit of Tim's dash face left over, so I used some of it to make these... They will get riveted over the square holes so the lights fit into them instead. 👍 I wanted to make them out of carbon fiber instead, but it's too thin and not any lighter weight than this... 😄 1 Quote Link to comment
Duncan Posted May 24, 2021 Report Share Posted May 24, 2021 (edited) Correct me if I'm wrong, but if you get into the car on the left side, wouldn't you want the right side to come on since it's pointed at the left side of the interior? (I've been wrong many times before..) And, I do really like the LED idea 🙂 Edited May 24, 2021 by Duncan Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted May 24, 2021 Author Report Share Posted May 24, 2021 2 hours ago, Duncan said: Correct me if I'm wrong, but if you get into the car on the left side, wouldn't you want the right side to come on since it's pointed at the left side of the interior? Based on the angle that the lights are mounted at (about 45 degrees), I don't think so. They will mostly cover only their respective sides, but slightly biased towards the middle. There may be slight overlap, but not to the level you described. I think. 😁 The real question is how much "spread" they have, or if it is a more focused beam. I will definitely give them a test fire in the dark before making the wiring permanent. 👍 Quote Link to comment
dimlight65 Posted May 24, 2021 Report Share Posted May 24, 2021 Bah! All you "Measure twice, cut once" people! Put 'em in and damn the torpedoes! 2 3 Quote Link to comment
Duncan Posted May 25, 2021 Report Share Posted May 25, 2021 17 hours ago, dimlight65 said: Bah! All you "Measure twice, cut once" people! Put 'em in and damn the torpedoes! I also find a lot of merit in that approach, too 🙂 1 Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted May 27, 2021 Author Report Share Posted May 27, 2021 Got all 4 lights installed. They all point at the area where the floor meets the transmission tunnel (on their respective sides), which I have decided is a good thing. I had one extra light, so I am going to put it in the bottom of the dash, either above the driver's feet or above the trans tunnel, and have it come on with the dash switch. Now I need to decide what door pins to use. Should probably just get OG ones, but... Quote Link to comment
EDM620 Posted May 30, 2021 Report Share Posted May 30, 2021 How intense is the light? might want to make some diffusers or somethin'. Could adjust the beam pattern with a little judicious application of Sharpie or ... Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted May 30, 2021 Author Report Share Posted May 30, 2021 (edited) 11 hours ago, EDM620 said: How intense is the light? might want to make some diffusers or somethin'. I'll tell you next time I am there in the dark. 😁 The lens over the lamp is supposed to be a diffuser so it shouldn't be too focused. We shall see... Edited May 30, 2021 by datsunfreak Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted June 17, 2021 Author Report Share Posted June 17, 2021 Found some neat little LED dome lights from a newer Ford Transit. To be so small, they are very bright. Think I might mount these under the dash... Also, I am switching gears a little on the engine front. The deal I had working for the 351W fell through, so rather than keep putting it off I'm just going to rip into the 302 I already have and see if it's in good shape. If so, that is going in soon-ish. It may be justification talking, but I think the 302 might be a better way to go anyway. Lighter weight, cheaper/better parts availability, and it's "free". After studying on it, I don't intend to drag race this thing anyway, so the 302 should have more than enough poke. And I can always swap in a better cam while it's out to wake it up a bit... 3 Quote Link to comment
Racer X 69 Posted June 17, 2021 Report Share Posted June 17, 2021 (edited) 3 hours ago, datsunfreak said: And I can always swap in a better cam while it's out to wake it up a bit... To quote the guy I have do my cylinder head flowbench work: ”Its all in the head.” Get the valves open as much as possible, for as long as possible, at just the right time. Edited June 17, 2021 by Racer X 69 2 Quote Link to comment
dimlight65 Posted June 17, 2021 Report Share Posted June 17, 2021 1 minute ago, Racer X 69 said: ”Its all in the head.” ... said the actress to the bishop! 1 1 Quote Link to comment
Racer X 69 Posted June 17, 2021 Report Share Posted June 17, 2021 1 hour ago, dimlight65 said: ... said the actress to the bishop! Oh yeah. Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted June 18, 2021 Author Report Share Posted June 18, 2021 (edited) On 6/17/2021 at 3:46 PM, Racer X 69 said: Get the valves open as much as possible, for as long as possible, at just the right time. After doing some research, I believe this is a '75-78 LTD 302 engine. Apparently, the real issue with the 70s 302s was the wimpy cam and smog equipment. Torque was good at 290-300ish, but HP was sadly 180-200ish. A better cam/intake/carb/dizzy should help there. Again, not planning to make it super fast, just fun to drive. 👍 Just need to find the right cam now... 😁 Edited June 19, 2021 by datsunfreak Quote Link to comment
EDM620 Posted June 19, 2021 Report Share Posted June 19, 2021 Build it to 302HO specs and it should perform nicely. Like Racer X 69 said, "it's all in the head". Some time doing mild port cleanup and port matching will give excellent results. 2 Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted June 19, 2021 Author Report Share Posted June 19, 2021 15 hours ago, EDM620 said: Build it to 302HO specs and it should perform nicely. Like Racer X 69 said, "it's all in the head". Some time doing mild port cleanup and port matching will give excellent results. If I do go ahead and pull the heads off to do rings/bearings, I will probably do a little port work. But the long term plan is probably to do something like this... https://www.summitracing.com/parts/afr-1351/make/ford Or this... https://www.summitracing.com/parts/flk-203-505/make/ford 1 Quote Link to comment
Duncan Posted June 22, 2021 Report Share Posted June 22, 2021 On 6/19/2021 at 12:19 PM, datsunfreak said: I But the long term plan is probably to do something like this... https://www.summitracing.com/parts/afr-1351/make/ford Or this... https://www.summitracing.com/parts/flk-203-505/make/ford Compared to what a valve job costs. those heads seem like a relative bargain. Granted, I have never shopped for V8 aluminum heads before, though... Quote Link to comment
EDM620 Posted June 22, 2021 Report Share Posted June 22, 2021 On 6/19/2021 at 1:19 PM, datsunfreak said: I will probably do a little port work. Good on ya, just smoothing out the ports will help lots along with matching the port openings to the gaskets & headers/exhaust manifolds. Time well spent. If you go with the alum heads I see the AFR ones use slightly larger valves, heck everything is pretty close in spec to each other. If I had the time & money... oh right, LOL 1 Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted June 23, 2021 Author Report Share Posted June 23, 2021 On 6/22/2021 at 9:47 AM, Duncan said: Compared to what a valve job costs. those heads seem like a relative bargain. Granted, I have never shopped for V8 aluminum heads before, though... The prices on them have come WAY down in the last 3-5 years. I can remember when they were over $1000 each, and now you can buy a pair for less than that. On 6/22/2021 at 10:21 AM, EDM620 said: Time well spent. If you go with the alum heads I see the AFR ones use slightly larger valves, heck everything is pretty close in spec to each other. Yeah, the 2.02 valves in those would be substantially bigger than what's in my heads. I initially started looking at them to shave 30-40 pounds off the engine. Better breathing would actually just be a nice side bonus. 😋 1 Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted June 24, 2021 Author Report Share Posted June 24, 2021 Went to the pick-n-pull after work today and got these... These are electro-hydraulic power steering pumps from a Volvo C30 and a Volvo S60. Basically the same pump but one set up for an external reservoir and one internal. This car definitely needs power steering, but not the ugly overboosted stock set-up. One of these will make for a much cleaner engine bay. A neat side bonus with these is that the controller and relay are built into it, so it only needs three wires to run. And you can basically mount it anywhere. I'm shooting for right behind the driver headlight, inside the fender. That gets me relatively easy access, but it's mostly hidden from view. Why a Volvo pump you ask? Well, you probably didn't ask but I'll tell you anyway. These aren't actually Volvo pumps... These were used on some early 2000s Volvos, when Ford had a controlling stake in Volvo. As such, Volvos from this era use a lot of euro-spec Ford parts. On the Ford Focus, they went from belt-driven hydraulic (1st-gen), to electro-hydraulic (2nd-gen, never sold in the US), to fully electric (3rd-gen). So this is basically a 2nd-gen Ford Focus pump. 3 Quote Link to comment
Duncan Posted June 24, 2021 Report Share Posted June 24, 2021 22 hours ago, datsunfreak said: The prices on them have come WAY down in the last 3-5 years. I can remember when they were over $1000 each, and now you can buy a pair for less than that. Wasn't sure if I was remembering correctly, but $2k-ish was around the price I was thinking. I'm still looking for a mid-thirties art-deco car with a V8 and at those prices, who needs to pay for a valve job... Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted June 24, 2021 Author Report Share Posted June 24, 2021 1 hour ago, Duncan said: at those prices, who needs to pay for a valve job... Indeed, not to mention the weight savings. 👍 Quote Link to comment
dimlight65 Posted June 25, 2021 Report Share Posted June 25, 2021 21 hours ago, datsunfreak said: Indeed, not to mention the weight savings. 👍 Well, I was going to mention the weight savings... 1 Quote Link to comment
EDM620 Posted June 25, 2021 Report Share Posted June 25, 2021 On 6/23/2021 at 9:01 PM, datsunfreak said: LOL, That's what a buddy built his Kustom from years ago... Just a few custom modifications 3 Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted July 9, 2021 Author Report Share Posted July 9, 2021 I really want to put the steering pump here behind the headlights... So I started looking at how to mount the stock bracket for the pump into that flat spot on the "floor". Well, I took a pause to measure how much this gap was... Turns out that gap is 11". And the pump is 12.5" from the mounting surface to the top of the fill cap.. So I took the big complex mounting bracket off and cut it into 3 little pieces like so... This will allow the pump to mount 3" lower than before, that way I have enough clearance between the fill cap and fender lip to actually be able to fill it. 😋 This will push it out into the wheelhouse a bit more than I initially planned, so I may at some point make a little "mud flap" to go between it and the tire so I don't kick a bunch of rocks into it... Hoping to cut the hole and give it a test sit on Saturday... 3 Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted July 10, 2021 Author Report Share Posted July 10, 2021 So, I decided putting it behind the headlights is dumb. No reason to make it so inaccessible just to make it look "cleaner"... So started with some CAD... Transferred that to the fender apron. Mounting it out here on the edge will be a stronger mounting spot, and make it easier to access/plumb/wire it... Got the hole cut and gave it a test fit... That was deemed to be acceptable, so I drilled the mounting holes for the tabs, bolted those in for good, removed the pump from the tabs, and gave it all a coat of paint. Gonne spiff up the reservoir next time so I can go ahead and bolt the pump in permanently. Then it's on to making some hoses that fit/work... 3 Quote Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.