Roy Clark Greatest Hits and a Short Progress Report

Despite surgery for cataracts, lots of visitors, projects for the wife, cold weather, and health issues, I've been putting some time on the car. I've had the workbenches curtained off from the car, so I don't have to heat the whole garage and am concentrating on several small jobs, like finishing my custom-made interior trim parts.

I got the door handles back from the plating shop, so they are now in place and waiting for the gold plugs that will fit in the ends of the grips.

I finally settled on a configuration for the arm rests, so I'm now making the parts for the other door.

The steering wheel design I had planned on using proved to be a problem merging the '56 horn rim to the truck steering wheel. I'm now totally redesigning those parts and it's been a hassle! Functionally, it now operates must better, and I am creating a new center section trim piece.

Hope to make more progress over the holidays and should have a few pictures by then.

I need to listen to this more often so I can get fired up to get back to work on my project! I had almost forgotten how talented he was.

https://youtu.be/IR3aVmM5h-

All the Dash Lights....Finally!

 My speedometer and tach were returned from the manufacturer yesterday. The backlighting did not function on those two gauges, though the four small ones work just fine. I had assumed that the pigtail and connector were tested with the gauge when the set was purchased, but that was not the case. To make a long story short, when the factory tech support verified that the gauges were fine and sent them back to me, they gave me a set of new pigtails to try. That solved the problem and I now have a brightly lit dashboard! Some of the original pigtail wires were apparently crimped on the insulation which damaged the conductors. Note to self...When things don't work like they should, trust nothing and don't assume. Check everything!

I still have a problem with the variable speed windshield wiper park feature and will have to fix that before I can re-assemble the dash.

I had expected the plating shop to have shipped the interior door handles by now, and now that the updated version of the door latch is working as designed, putting the door back together should be a half-hour job when the chromed parts show up.

In the meantime, I'm researching the things I'll need to install a temporary flexible pipe from the manifold to the muffler. I don't have a trailer to take the car to the muffler shop and was hoping to get the engine running before really cold weather arrives. I know my neighbors wouldn't enjoy hearing it running through open exhausts long enough to break in the camshaft.

The Good...the Bad..and the Ugly!

 

I'm back to waiting for parts again, but for some reason, I'm feeling a bit more optimistic than I have in a long while. Maybe it's because cooler fall weather has arrived 

I was notified that the speedometer and tach I sent back to the manufacturer for repair have both been repaired and shipped, so I should have them in hand sometime next week. If they actually fixed them this time, I'll be able to reassemble the dash and console enough to test the HVAC operation and all the electrical dash and console controls. 

I'm also expecting the chrome plating shop to ship the interior door handles next week. While waiting for them, I redesigned the passenger door latch to see if I could improve the outside door handle operation and durability. So far so good, but I'm anxious to get all the door latch parts together to see if it works better than my original design.  

This is the original mockup, using light weight material to test feasibility.

Below is the redesigned part simplified and made from heavier gauge material. It's still ugly but operates and sounds much more rugged. Since it is out of sight inside the door, I'm not concerned about beauty as long as it functions properly.

  

For what it is worth, I've been looking for a stock actuator from some kind of Mopar vehicle and thought I had found one in a '79 Aspen, but it wouldn't quite fit between the glass and the door sheet metal. I'll keep looking but for the time being I'll use my homemade parts until I get the car running before I get too old to finish the job!

Final Summer '22 Blog Entry

 

After several weeks of life's responsibilities getting in the way of fun, I was able to spend much of this past weekend working on frustrating wiring problems. To my relief, the results were generally successful. At least all the important lights and controls are now operating properly.

The major problem I’ve had so much difficulty resolving was integrating the late-seventies steering column controls into the added fused circuits, aftermarket parts, and the ’56 dash controls and switches.

The '79 turn signal controls worked out quite well, even the emergency flashers, but the ignition switch continued to be a pain. First, the new column mounted ignition switch wiring for ’77-’79 trucks did not match the factory schematic in either wire size or color. When I finally managed to identify the function of each switch wire, I had to rewire some circuits to make certain the wire and fuse size matched the electrical loads of added and upgraded equipment.

FWIW, long ago I upgraded the original 60-amp alternator to an 80-amp square-back and increased the wire size in the charging circuits. I’m still debating the idea to add a 50-amp circuit breaker near the alternator as suggested in an article I read, but I’m also told that’s overkill. Even after having worked in the electronic field for thirty-plus years, I still don’t trust my knowledge and instinct for the science.

At least I can now replace all the cable ties I cut off during trouble shooting! When that job is accomplished it's time for a good car and shop cleanup and then I can go back to work on some mechanical tasks I put off earlier. 

More Wiring, More Problems, Less Time!

 The harder I try to find time for my cars, the more demands I have on my time, but then that's nothing new.

I'm still working on wiring issues, but we're having hot weather that pretty much eliminates working afternoons in the garage. The little air conditioner keeps the office area nice and cool, but the garage area gets a little too warm when the outside temps are over 100F.

First major task was replacing the ignition switch as I discovered there was no connection to the starter relay when turning the original switch to the start position. Had I checked that before installing the steering column, I could have saved myself a lot of time and grief. The new ignition switch operates much smoother than the old one

Since I then had a new connector with the new switch, I opted to use it and eliminate the individual crimp terminals. It now looks much neater, but I can't take a photo as it is not in a position to get access.

I decided to upgrade the overall quality by eliminating many of the other wire-to-wire connections and replacing them with mating connectors at the dash-to-firewall bundle. It was time consuming but looks a hundred times better as I've eliminated probably two-dozen individual connections. Modern connectors are so inexpensive, I kick myself for not doing it the right way the first time.

I'll try to get a shot behind the speedometer wiring when I complete that area

I did get one picture of the tachometer connections.

I don't think I mentioned that my wife ordered a new car last March. Her back pain is getting so bad that she has difficulty climbing into her 2014 Chrysler 200 convertible, so she special ordered a 2022 Chrysler 300 sedan. The dealer called three weeks ago and said her car has finally been built and is now in the rail yard ready to ship. Last week he called to report that it is still sitting in the rail yard.

She's previously owned a 2005 and a 2009 300 and loved them both, so I hope it works out for her again. She has only logged 24,000 miles in nearly nine years on her 200 convertible and with her age and driving history, the new 300 should be the last car she will need. 

Sidentta Mai

 I planned to wish my Norwegian readers a happy Constitution Day this morning, but as usual, I'm running late, so instead I'll offer my sympathies to anyone suffering a painful celebration hangover! 

My father's grandparents came to America from Norway in the 1870s and my grandmother and her sister came here when they were both teenagers in the late 1890s. They crossed an ocean and then half of the United States all by themselves to homestead on the frigid North Dakota prairie. My grandparents always kept the Scandinavian culture alive and today would have been a special day to feast on a table filled with traditional food.

My Plymouth hasn't got much dedicated attention lately, so I'm still working on wiring. problems. Right now, I'm trying to isolate a short-to-ground in the taillight/backup light circuit, but I can't seem to find enough time to troubleshoot. I just get started and then something around the house takes priority, so I forget where I am and have to start over.  Getting old and forgetful sucks.

Got my speedometer back from NVU warranty repair and the backlighting still doesn't work and there was no message about what they fixed...or didn't fix! I decided to install a connector between the speedometer and the wire bundle so the speedometer can be removed without cutting and splicing wires. When that's done, I'll verify the wiring and contact them to find out their story. Since they haven't billed me, I want to make sure my work is correct before I make waves.

Milestone

 One milestone reached and now I have to wait again.

As of yesterday, most lights are functioning. I have high and low beams, park lights, taillights, license plate light, turn signals, hazard flashers and dash lights…except for the speedometer. The turn signal and hazard indicators display inside the speedometer, but the backlighting does not function. I don’t recall testing the backlighting on the speedometer when I installed the gauges, but if I did, something killed it since then.

The power windows are also operating, but the passenger side is sticking at the low end of travel. It tested fine after installation, so that was a surprise. I have to remove the door panel to troubleshoot the latch, so I'll have one more thing to adjust or repair.

I had previously expressed satisfaction with my rewire engineering, but any joy about my wiring skills was quickly suppressed when I ran across a couple of really stupid wiring mistakes.

One big mistake was trying to integrate parts and functions from old and newer vehicles while at the same time adding a bunch of modern aftermarket equipment. The biggest problem was using the OEM lights and light switches and the ignition switch from a “late 70s” Dodge truck. I made the mistake of assuming that just because the wire bundle from my steering column switch matched the colors from the ’73 truck schematic that I used when laying out my master wiring diagram. I wasted many hours over that dumb mistake.

After chasing weird lighting problems for far too long, I resorted to simple logic to hook up the taillight power and turn signal wires. Once again, the problem was my fault for trusting color codes from different vehicles. That wasted effort ate up the better part of two days, but at least the basic wiring now seems to be functioning properly. 

Problems still to be tracked down are the non-functioning backup lights and interior courtesy lights. Since the backup lights worked fine when I direct wired them to a power supply, my guess is the problem with both might reside in ancient light hardware. I installed new LED bulbs in the courtesy lights, so that might have something to do with them not operating.

A couple of defective parts really ticked me off. Two new 20amp fuses had internal opens and no indication of being blown. Since I had purchased a new box of fuses, I didn’t bother to check the country of origin before throwing out the box, but there is no doubt in my mind that it was China.

After getting the dash lights and switches working, I pulled the speedometer and returned it to the manufacturer for repair. I have no idea how long that will take, but they responded to my questions quickly so I am hopeful It was beyond the five-year warranty, so my procrastination will cost me again!

With no pictures to document my time-consuming electrical work, I had planned on making a video of the lights operating, but I pulled the speedometer before I remembered. At least when the repaired part returns I can reassemble the dash, and hopefully the console with the tach, HVAC controls and shifter mounted. That wiring still needs testing.

I did take a few minutes to reproduce the stock inner fender braces for my friend's mostly original '56 Fury. Bending sheet metal is not his forte and since I have a few metal working tools, I give him a hand when I can.

Like many other things, the design of those braces was apparently different between Chrysler factories. The ones on my Belvedere were totally different than those on my Fury parts car. I designed the ones on my Belvedere, but my friend likes to keep things as close to OEM as possible.

First Day of Spring Progress Report

 

I always knew the wiring would be a problem, but I grossly underestimated just how much of a problem it would be.

For those who may not have read or recall all the crazy ideas I proposed on this blog, it was my plan to integrate circuitry from several different years and models of Mopar vehicles, plus new circuits for additional aftermarket equipment. With that in mind, here is a quick summary of the goals.

I wanted to keep the interior looking mostly stock, or at least similar to period correct, so all the switches and controls were seventy-year-old originals, except for the HVAC controls which are modern switches with OEM knobs and custom mounting.

The gauges are aftermarket but resemble the originals in appearance. However, the gauge internals and sending units are the latest modern designs.

The steering column with ignition switch is from a late seventies Dodge pickup.

 The 318 engine and transmission came from a ’66 Plymouth. The electronic ignition and updated charging systems are based on several model year Chryslers and Mopar Performance parts.

Headlight wiring is modified with upgraded wiring with relay operated switching for improved headlight performance.

Engine cooling is via a SPAL electric dual fan system with Painless controls.

HVAC system is from Vintage Air.

Aftermarket electrical additions are power front windows, backup camera, power bucket seats from a 2001 Chrysler convertible and a Radio/GPS from Kenwood.

I moved the battery to the trunk and added two fuse and relay panels to accommodate all the new equipment and to split loads on a couple of the original ’56 Plymouth circuits.

Trying to integrate all those wiring additions and changes, has been challenging for my untrained and aged mind, so that’s what been keeping me occupied all this time I haven’t been posting.  

My biggest frustration has been discovering the numerous wiring errors I made. Having spent most of my life packaging and wiring commercial aircraft and military electronics packages, I’m ashamed to find more than a half-dozen dumb mistakes! So far, besides the mis-wires, I found two wires I hadn't installed, plus a couple of bad connections and a defective wire segment.

The best surprise is that so far I’ve not found any mistakes in my circuit layouts…but I’m sure that will happen before I’m done! The second-best thing is that doing all this work alone means I’m getting my physical exercise climbing in and out, up, down, and around and under that damn car all day. I haven’t been on the treadmill once but I'm still exhausted by day's end.

Sorry, no pictures to show, since I don’t want anyone to see the mess I made having to untie and open my nicely routed wire bundles for troubleshooting.

Here’s my progress so far:

I have headlights, but only dims. No wiring reason fond for not having hi-beams. Everything is good all the way to the terminal board on the radiator support, so I’ll have to open up the front bundle to find the problem. Since I also don’t have front park lights or turn signals, the problems might be related.

I have taillights and both the turn signal switch and indicator work, but without the park lights it won’t blink.

Gauge lights work, except for the speedometer. Since all the gauges are jumpered together it probably means a bad light or connection in the speedometer. I tested the assembled dash before I installed it and it worked fine on the bench. That problem might be a real pain to fix as there is so little room behind the dash. I hope I won’t have to remove the dash.

Yet to be static tested are the HVAC controls, tach, radio, interior lights, power windows and all the things that will have to be functionally tested once the car is running. At the rate I’m going, that may be never!

82*-28*

 That's the temperature range the past two days...a 54* swing in less than 24 hours! 

Yesterday I was wearing a tee-shirt and sweating profusely in a summer-like 82F while testing electrical circuits under the hood.  Last night we had high winds and ,75" of rain. This morning it was 28F with a cold NW wind, and tomorrow the forecast is for freezing rain and temps remaining below freezing all day. Such is the nature of North Texas weather.

Yesterday was a big day for the old Plymouth. I've owned the car for about 12 years and it's the first time it has had a battery installed and power applied. So far, I've hooked up only the main power circuits and verified that all the buss connections were working properly. 

The first fuses I installed were for the lighting circuits, and immediately ran into a problem. No lights! First things I found were two mis-wired relays in the modified headlight circuit. When I was laying out the wiring diagram, I made a simple drafting error, and the electricity didn't like that a bit! 

After I fixed that problem, I discovered 2 to 5 volts in the console where I should have had 12 volts. It didn't take long to find a ground problem, but it was time to quit for the day, and now winter has set in again, so I doubt I'll be spending much time in the garage until the weather warms up again. Looks like that will happen early next week.

Meanwhile, I spent part of today repairing a section of privacy fence the wind took out during the storm last night. I've been trying get a fence company to replace the sections with the post problems, but they are so busy I had to make an appointment three weeks in advance, just to get an estimate! Who knows when they will be able to do the job!

Electrical and Exhaust

 The wiring job is finally nearing an end, and none too soon as it's been far more difficult than expected. I still have a few things to finish, but they can wait until continuity and isolation tests are complete so I can apply power to most of the car. We have a couple of nice days in the forecast next week, so maybe I'll be able to accomplish that without too much smoke and fire! 

I discovered a rather big problem with the exhaust system. The left side muffler and tail pipe are tucked up close and clamped and it looks like it will everything will clear okay, but the right side is a different story. The tailpipes are stock Fury configuration, but the gas tank is not, and the two parts collide near the right front corner of the tank. Looks like the car will eventually have to make a trip to the muffler shop for a tailpipe modification.

There will also be problem where the exhaust pipes cross the transmission mount crossmember. I knew the crossmember would have to be notched to clear the pipes but wasn't sure exactly where and how much needed to be removed. After spending much of yesterday under the car on cold concrete, my old body is not looking forward to that notching job!

For what it's worth, I know a few of my blog visitors have read my novel, so I'll just say that I was informed that the inspiration for the female character in the story passed away last week. She was a wonderful person and will be missed by all who knew her. Also lost a couple of childhood friends last month.  Getting old sucks.

Finally Back to Work!

When the mornings are too cold to work in the garage, I've been working on a couple of jobs on the computer. The first image is for my friend Phil who is restoring a real '56 fury and needs a complete set of hood letters. He has a guy interested in casting them in plastic if we give him dimensions to work with. This is what I was able to do with Microsoft Publisher, so I hope he can come up with something to play with.

 

This is an unfinished wiring diagram of all the new circuits merged with original '56 Plymouth and '73 truck circuits, and I still have some things to figure out. One of them is whether or not I should install an additional circuit breaker at the alternator output. If it's clear enough to read, I'm open to suggestions and constructive criticism.