Dashboard Switches

I have been trying to think of how I would like my dashboard to look.  I prefer a minimilistic look, but also keen on the period feel of the car.

I was going to use the Lucas toggle switches, one for lights, one for the rear fog and then a rotary one for the heater blower.  I did toy on the idea of having a swith that I could use to run my fuel pumps to be able to prime the system.

I felt that there were too many switches going to be present so I scoured the internet for inspiration.  

I really like the look of the original rotary knobs in the AC Cobra and I found a place on eBay that sold one for lights and one for the fan.  I had a rotary fan swith so the first job was to get the new knob to fit the switch.  The knob is designed to fit 1/4" hex shafts, but the 3 speed fan switch I have is round with a flat cut in it.  The rubberised knob that came with the switch has a steel insert in it.  I removed this and proceeded to get it to fit in the new knob.

Using the Proxxon, I machined out the internal hex of the knob until the steel insert fitted neatly.  I used some araldite to help bond the insert in.

For the light switch, I had one rotary switch which has 2 positions, side lights and main beam.  The full beam is controlled from the stalks.  That means I will still need another switch for the fog light.

I scoured the internet to see if I could find a switch that was easily modifiable which had the fog light function built in.  I came across a Mercedes light switch (MER-LSWT-004) which has the very functionality I need and looked like it could be modified for my needs.

I set to and dismantled the unit to figure out what I needed.  This unit has a LED in the centre of the shaft, so that was the first thing to be removed.  Looking at the shaft, I thought it easier if I took the shaft from the other switch I had (brass), machined the correct size of hex on it and fit it to the new knob.  I then modified the aluminium piece of the Mercedes light switch to fit the newly machined brass shaft.  I fixed it in using 2x roll pins.

Once that was done, the switch felt a little stiff to operate (new knob is relatively small), so I machined out some of the Mercedes switch internals to soften the "clicks".  I machined a small piece of black nylon to fill in the gap of the shaft to the threaded boss.

The switch now worked very well, pulling the siwtch to get the rear fog light to come on.  Once you switch the headlights off, the switch automatically retracts causing the fog light to go off.  

Black Nylon Insert

The last thing to do now was to make mounting nuts which hold the switches onto the dashboard.  Both switches had horrid looking hexagonal nuts, and typically were a completely a different thread and size to the Lucas nuts.  So I had to make some.

I turned a piece of stainless steel and created 2x blank pieces.  I made them the same diamater so they would look the same, although different inner diameters.  I worked out that the thread of the fan switch was 7/16" x 28 and the light switch was 5/8" x 24.  I ordered taps from the internet and once arrived cut the threads in my newly created nuts.  I then cut grooves in the nuts and also created a tool for tightening / slackening them.  I polished the nuts with the polisher - All in all a good job.

This way I will only have 2 switches on the dashboard and will have a period look.

Windscreen Vents

GD supply fishtail windscreen vents which I found were quite big and used up a lot of space in behind the dash.  I decided to manufacture my own to minimise space taken up.

I made a cardboard template and passed this to a friend who converted it into stainless steel.  By using this design means the hoses are well out of the way and allows plenty of room for the wiring and possible glovebox.  I polished the stainless escutcheons before bolting them to these vents using polished button head set screws.

Heater Pipes - Installed

I fitted the GD supplied stainless heater pipes which are fitted to the chassis inside the engine bay.  This allowed me to fit the 90 degree heater hoses to link my stainless tubes to the heater matrix.  I used a stainless steel joiner along with stainless jubilee clips (not shown on photo) to join the hoses.

Windscreen Wipers / Vents / Mount

I removed the windscreen so I could mark and cut the demister vents, centre windscreen mount and wiper arms.

I first ensured that the windscreen was sitting correctly, 930mm from the back centre to the body behind the seats.  The screen sits roughly 3mm above the scuttle at the corners.  This made the rubber seal look correct over the width of the car.  I then made sure that it was sitting with even spaces at both sides.  This was all tweaked and setup ok.  The centre bracket was positioned against the pre-drilled holes in the screen and slight adjustments were made to the bracket to allow it to fit.  The holes were then marked in the scuttle and drilled.

I used some measurements from Dale for the demister slots, however I mis-interpreted his description, but it is well within tolerance of the GD build notes:  30-40mm from the back of the screen.  I used 80mm from the roll of the scuttle to the centre of the slot.  Dale's measurement was actually from the rounded edge extremity ie furthest rearward of the scuttle, where I assumed that it mean where the rounded edge met the flat piece of the scuttle.  The outer holes were positioned 220mm in from the windscreen mounting slots.  The stainless escutcheons were used as templates and the holes / slot was drilled and cut using a Proxxon angle grinder.

The windscreen wiper spindles were drilled using the build notes - 415mm in from the outer edge of the windscreen stanchion and 3mm clear of the windscreen rubber.  The cowlings were used to drill the holes at the correct angle, and then were filed out to ensure the spindle fitted through.

I plan to sand down the scuttle polish it before bolting the escutcheons down and fitting the screen.

Heater Assembly

Since I was on a roll, I decided to tackle the heater box.  There have been many posts regarding the modification and placement of the heater box, but I will run through what I have done.

I started by removing the mounting flanges from the ends by partially drilling the spot welds and then chiselling them off.  I then used a flap wheel on the grinder to polish down the surface before coating it with satin black paint.  In hindsight, you probably only need to cut remove the N/S flange since there is room for it on the inner side.

I then used previous blogs to calculate where to mount the rivnuts.  I placed the top ones in line with the top screws for the extract pipes, and 30mm in from the edge.  I then drilled the bottom ones 8mm up from the bottom so that the rivnut clears the heater matrix.  Just ensure you use the correct length of set screw to prevent puncturing the heater matrix!

Once I drilled the 9mm hole to take the M6 rivnut, I found that the rivnuts I have don't like the 1mm thickness of the heater!  The rivnut couldn't grip.  This was only for the top ones, since the bottom ones were located through a double skinned part.

I decided, that the only thing to do was to drill out the attempted nut and fit a coupled more rivnuts, with a stainless plate in between the two to prevent them from spinning.  So I drilled another 2x 9mm holes in line with the bottom screws and 30mm in from the sides.  I then made a small plate linking the 2 from 1.5mm stainless so that the rivnut could grip properly.

A bit of extra work, but at least they now grip!  There may have been an easier method, but it's all I thought I could do with what I had in the garage......  There are some scuff marks on the newly painted sides due to the number of trial fits!  I had my daughter helping to screw in the set screws while I held the unit from the wheel arch....  (also in this photo you can see the 60mm hole cut for the ECU wiring loom.)

I then made a template from card marking the holes to be drilled along with the discharge pipes.  The heater assembly (minus motor and matrix) was then placed inside the N/S compartment and held up to the bulkhead and the rectangular hole was marked through to line up the holes.  I found that by keeping the bottom of the heater box inline with the top of the side vent was roughly the correct height.

I then drilled through the mount holes and discharge pipe holes.  I have just used the top and bottom rivnuts and 25mm long M6 set screws.

Then by leaving the matrix out and the side off the heater box, I could transfer the position to the engine bay.  I then used the side plate with the 2 cutouts to locate the hose position.  I then removed the heater box, drilled a 3mm hole through from the inside and drilled the 25mm hole through from the engine bay to align for the hose.  I could then measure and drill for the 2nd hose which is a 90 degree elbow fitted to the rearmost connection.

While I was at it, I drilled the 44mm hole for the wiring loom, and the 2x 10mm holes for the battery connectors.

I need to drill a hole through the bulkhead next to the heater box to allow the fan wires and other wires to go from the dashboard area into the battery compartment.

I also require a short piece of 16mm pipe to join the silicon hose as seen above to another 90 degree elbow to connect to the fixed pipe on the chassis.

Heating Hoses

I haven't had much time spent on the GD lately, but I have managed some bits and pieces.

I finally connected up the heater pipes using stainless jubilee clips including the Ford heater control valve.  I haven't done the run up to the heater box as I will wait until the body shell is on to locate the pre-made pipes.

Heater Pipes - Continued

After making up wooden clamps and the use of duct tape, I made up stainless steel brackets for the heater pipes which go from the water pump at the driver's side across the car to the passenger's side.

I had a friend come over to TIG weld the brackets to the stainless pipes for me.  I then used some pickling paste to clean the weld after.

This then enabled me to finally bolt up the cross brace to the chassis.  I just have to install the 90 degree hoses and also the heater valve.

Heater Pipes

I decided to install my own heater pipes as opposed to the ones supplied since I wanted to minimize rubber hoses and coupling joints.

I used some 18mm O/D stainless steel tube with a 90 degree bend turning towards the engine.  I have used some MDF with 18mm holes to line up the pipes to allow bracket design.  I will have to fabricate some stainless brackets to bolt to the cross brace under the windscreen washer tank and also to weld to the stainless pipes.

I will then attach this to the engine with 90 degree silicone elbows.

I spoke with a mechanic and asked him if he knew of any electronic heater controllers available.  He suggested a Ford Kuga valve.

I bought one and modified it to line up with the 18mm heater pipes.  I am waiting on silicone hose to connect up the heater controller.  The valve is controlled by using a variable voltage which I will add at some point controllable from the dashboard.  I will have to add some more wiring to the loom to connect this up.

Keep checking my blog for updates....

Note: The photo shows the cross brace / heater pipes assembly upside down.

Heating & Cooling System

I managed to find some time to work on the car during my time off which has moved on quite a bit.  The weather has been excellent for October, and a lot of outside jobs have also been done which took priority.

I re-fitted the radiator which I had previously fitted the fan brackets and fan.  I cut some rubber hose for the top mount.

After initially receiving the incorrect radiator tank (I have a newer LS water pump), I have finally manged to fit it to the upper cross brace.  I set the tank on the cross brace and lined it up to the water pump using the 38mm to 32mm silicon hose.  I then marked and drilled the underside of the brace and tapped the hole to M6 and bolted it up.

I temporarily installed the air inlet pipe to be able to align the windscreen washer tank.  I checked the overhang of the bodyshell to ensure that the tank wouldn't foul, and decided that I would make the centres of the caps at even distances from the air inlet.

I ordered the stainless pack from GD for the heater matrix and also for the lower radiator hose.  The 2 x 16mm pipes have brackets pre-welded onto them for fitment on the upper cross brace.  I had to remove some of the tank brackets to permit fitment, and I used M5 button heads to fix it.

 I also used the CNC machined thermostat housing supplied by GD which I finally bolted up in the orientation that seemed to fit best.

I need to order more stainless clamps to finally fit the hoses and finally bolt in the upper cross brace.  I still require to order some 16mm hose for the heater, and figure out the final position of the heater matrix.