Hey mate, ride looks good. Sorry if you have said in here already but what kind of paint did you use for the door handles??

Hi - me again.

As I have had the pleasure of a spare set of wheels (ED Futura, T5, 3.27 LSD - fun) - Cheers PaulMac, I have been able to spend more time sorting things as I go.

When I left off from my previous post, I had to solder on a replacement Radio plug which had been cut off in the distant past, run a couple of extra wires that went to the ECU, and finish installing the cluster and my cluster loom.

This took up a bit of time as it is quite fiddly work. I also had to work out what to do with my heater box. I considered swapping it out, but could not find a way to get the heater hoses off the pipes. They are located behind the BBM and are quite impossible to get at. I think I will have to take off the BBM, and I really didn't want to go there at this time. So I modded the GLi heater box to take the EL climate control parts, a fun story I may relay another time. On both my cars the vent flap that controls fresh air is broken. I went to Pick N Payless, and every car had the same problem so will live with it for now.

The other mod I was believed I had to make was to the EB Pedal Box. Now, if you are using the EB Pedal Box and a EF/EL dash and the EF/EL steering column, you will need to cut out the two steering column support bolts. Be aware that they EF/EL bolts are spaced wider than the EB so measure carefully. I cut mine out using the EB bolt locations as a guide and found that the EL bolts wouldn't line up with the pedal box, and therefore would not line up with the EB steering column. My solution was to remove the EL bolts from the Dash and improvise (large flat washers) the remounting of the EB bolts to there original location. This worked well for me. So if you are using the EB Steering column, don't mod the pedal box.

I got the dash in position and then spent a good hour flat on my back in various positions with my head under the dash plugging in the looms to each other. A joyful experience I believe you all should try at least once.

Finally it was time to see if it would run and as I reported previously it started and ran. The cluster was doing it's thing and all was wonderful in my world.

This morning I got up and removed the seats, carpet and necessary trims. I gave the floor a dust and a wash before installing the console. It all went together relatively painlessly and a couple of things required a little trimming.

I installed the drivers seat and went for a test drive boy racer style.

Pics.







It was dark by the time I got the carpet and all the trims back in place, so here is a quick shot with the flash on.



I took the car for a good drive and was pleasantly surprised at the lack of creaks, groans and rattles that I expected from the dash. The EL Trip Computer works as it should and the boot pops, the fuel flap opens and I used the central locking switch to light up the ODO LCD.

There are a couple of things remaining to sort out:

The EL hand brake is bolted down but not connected. The EB hand brake will be removed soon as the handle keeps wacking my shin. PARK will be my friend for a short while.

I am yet to put the CD Player in. I have to make the EL head unit brackets fit my JVC special.

I have found that the heater fan will only work on HIGH, so I think I will swap in a spare fan controller I have handy.

I also have to figure out how to get the car into learning mode to accept a new keypad. I think the issue is that my ignition barrel is not a smartlock one. I will investigate further.



Thanks to all for their comments. I have had a lot of fun and learnt a lot doing this mod, and I am very happy with the results.

Until next time.
BenJ

lookin nicee there. what happened to the passenger airbag? nd u have to get the el fairmont or ltd engine bay lid, lamps or get the ef or el xr front