Project Minne - a 72 build thread

[jpnovak]

Wha'ss this? Wires going into the tunnel. Why yes. Yes it is!



Making more progress. I have found the worst job ever on a 911 for a single person. Pulling the wiring harness through the tunnel. I started with a pull rod going forward from the engine bay. Then I pulled 2 different strings from the front of the tunnel, through the wire chase section to the rear.

The only way the harness can go in is from the rear to the front. This is because the rear light plugs won't fit through the tunnel. Yet the front side of the harness is crimped spade and loose end wires. Makes it "easy" to pull out. Not so easy to put back in.

The harness is pulled about 8 feet before the main battery cable to the starter get's its turn. And this goes through a separate access hole in the chassis bulkhead. Its the center sections of the main harness that are double section that get thick and stick trying to pull through. I think I blistered my thumbs since you can only grab with 2 fingers in the tunnel to inch the harness along...

Overall it took me about 90 minutes with a lot of that time going back and forth from the passenger compartment to the underside of the car. Next time... (yeah right!) I will use 2 people.

In the end, the wiring is mostly in place. I still have to straighten it up and clamp it down. The rear seat pan section gets a thick shrink wrap material to protect the wiring from road debris.





And yes, the wiring comes out in the front. This all needs to be organized. But at least its all in the car...

[JackMan]

Bravo! Persistence. I tip my hat to you. Great work. Fantastic story.

[Mark Wilson]

Well done!

[Simonjjb]

Great job !

[Eminence Gris]

So impressive. And what a sense of accomplishment that first drive around the block is going to produce.

[jpnovak]

Thanks Simon and Bill.

Yes, I can't wait for the drive. Hoping to have it driveable in Feb. Won't be complete but should be running and moving under its own power.

[jpnovak]

I spent some time today cleaning up the wiring at the fuse panel. This is all connected and tied up. I have to replace all the fuses and put a new relay in the socket. So far, All the wiring is going smoothly.



The wiring leads to the dash. The dash needs gauges. Can't put gauges in the car without first painting the dash. So, I masked off the dash and put a fresh coat of semi gloss black. I like the look of a colored and painted dash. But I don't like the color contrast to the gauges while driving. I prefer the black background.











While the dash paint was drying I decided to mount the mesh on my bumpers. This mesh is a diamond pattern very similar in size to the material behind the engine lid grill. It is easy to shape to the contours of the bumper. It was glued in with epoxy and a lot of clamps and weights to get it to align to the edge of the bumper. The last fitment was made with a rubber mallet and my hand palm. So far so good...






I could not resist to clamp up the rear bumper and set the decklid in place for a full color visual. Yes, I love this so far. Most of the reason to clamp up the bumper is to clear space. More space efficient attached to the car. Also, less chance I will damage the paint.

[jpnovak]

IN my past post I mentioned painting the dash to fit gauges. Before you can fit gauges you have to clean them up. The gauges start off really dirty with crusty and rusty trim rings.

You can barely read the tach from the amount of dirt and accumulated debris on the outside. The needle is severely faded. Time for a refresh.



I start with the trim ring. I have a small screwdriver that has a bent, curved tip. It is perfect for leveraging (or unfolding) the crimp edge on the outer trim ring. I work my around the perimeter slowly opening the crimp so that the trim ring will come off the front.

Eventually It comes off and you can see the glass bezel and trim ring. The good news is that the interior face of the gauge is quite clean. Just the right amount of "yellowing with age" patina.




Over the next few days I will paint the needles, wash the face, clean the glass and paint the outer trim ring. Then they all go back together and I will start wiring into the car. No better way to sort wiring than to connect them up.




I did find out that my #2 gauge from the left is from a 69 912. Wrong mounting system and not the oil pressure and temperature gauge I am used to. Going to need to find a replacement for that. The fuel gauge is also missing the oil level side. Again a 912 gauge. I guess I have some money to spent.

In other minor progress, I also installed the speedometer cable. Minor victories of the center tunnel of doom really keep me motivated.

[_gonbau]

!! ¿Qué pintura usarás? ¡Impaciente por ver el progreso!

[jpnovak]

Baudett, no estoy seguro de lo que quieres decir. Ya he pintado el coche con productos PPG de una sola etapa.