One of the jobs I wanted to do was to wire up the savage switches so that they illuminate with the side lights on. This means wiring the centre 2 connectors, one is the +ve (A on the switch) and the other -ve (B on the switch), so you have to make sure which is which. I used a volt metre to find a spare pin on the plug from the main loom that was live with the side lights and wired a simple circuit.
These are not brilliant images, but these are the switches lit up.
Whilst the dashboard was out, I decided to move the 12v socket from the lower mounting point, where the access was very restricted, up to on the dashboard. The was a simple job of finding the right place, masking up the dash and drilling the right size hole with a stepped drill bit. Here it is fitted on the inside.
An this is it from the front. It was a simple wiring job with the +ve coming straight from the battery with an in-line fuse and the negative to a chassis ground. This way it can be used to trickle charge the battery or be used without needing to switch on the ignition.
One of the other jobs I wanted to do with car stripped out was have a look at re-positioning the speedo sensor. The issue I have is that when I get to about 65mph, the speedo becomes very erratic and I am not sure how accurate it is. I am relying on the Sat Nav to keep me to the speed limits, which is not good. I originally positioned the sensor over 2 magnets on the differential flange. That had its own issues as when I got to about 70, the speedo jumped to 120! So I changed it so it looks at the bolt heads where the propshaft bolts to the diff, but looking at the side of the bolt heads.
I had done quite a bit of research on this subject and found that there isn't really a preferred method for triggering the sensor, only to make sure that the gap between the sensor and the bolt heads is between 1mm and 2mm. It also suggested that the sensor should point at the flat head of the bolts, not the sides. With the set up I have I have no option but to point the sensor at the side of the bolt head so I made sure as best I could that as the bolt head passed the sensor, it was looking at a flat side and not one of the angles (if that makes sense). I then positioned the sensor at 1mm and made sure that LED lit up as each of the 4 bolt heads passed the sensor. Once the car is back on the road, I can see if it has made any improvement. I am not sure what I will do if it hasn't improved.
Now she is going back together.
Next was to fit the front suspension units. These were a simple swap from the GAZ units to these newer DamperTech units.
Yes, it is fitted upside down, but they are designed so that they can be run this way. This fitment is also required to gain access to the adjuster valves, seen at the bottom of the unit.
Once these were fitted, I was able to fit the new Dominator headlamps. They may be a bit small for some people, but I like them better than the large lamps that were on there before.
Here is the finished front end.
Just the rears to do now, then put it back together and start tweaking with the settings to get it right for the road.
