Mach1Mark's '65 coupe restomod

[Mach1Mark]

well . . . I did it. I ordered a complete American Autowire wiring harness kit today. Should arrive in a couple of days. This is the last major purchase needed for me to complete my resto-mod of my coupe. I am sooo excited to be closing in on being able to drive my creation !!!

 

[Horseplay]

Homestretch!

 

[Mach1Mark]

Arrived yesterday . . . what did I get myself into ??!!

 

[kb3]

It's actually pretty straight forward with the exception of the lack of directions! I think it is the best aftermarket kit out there.

 

[Mach1 Driver]

It's actually pretty straight forward with the exception of the lack of directions! I think it is the best aftermarket kit out there.

Have you tried multiple vendors? What do you like about their harnesses? I believe Mid prefers Metal Alloy, and he's in the business.

 

[Mach1Mark]

Ive been looking at harnesses from four different manufacturers for about a year. My coupe has a couple of non stock things I need to add. Im going with Alloy Metal for my concours resto of my '70 Mach. Probably have Mid resto the main underdash harness as having him resto my OEM harness is about half the cost of an AMP harness. Thx for your suggestions, I appreciate them.

 

[Midlife]

Metal Alloy products are form/fit/function reproductions of Ford products; the other aftermarket kits are "build to what we think you need".

Good luck with your wiring!

 

[kb3]

American Autowire, Ron Francis and Painless all offer kits that allow you to add current options to an older car. Power windows, locks, stereos, etc. they also have most of the main, heavy draw items on relays. Alloy Metal offers a closer to concourse harness and if that is the direction you are going it works well. I have installed quite a few different brands and would choose American Autowire over the competitors any day. If I was building a back to original type Mustang then I would reach out to Mid for one of his refurbished harnesses

 

[msell66]

When I restored my car the first time, I rewired with AAW. Easy then and still is great going on 15 yrs.

 

[Mach1Mark]

Today and the last two weekends I have been getting started with installing the wiring harnesses. The kit came with new switches and I had already re-installed the OEM's (i,e, key, lights, hi-beam etc) so I replaced all of them instead of hoping the 50+ y.o. switches would not overheat and catch my car on fire. Had to re-locate the ignition control box 2 inches higher than previous because the sensor for the A/C liquid line clashed. More holes drilled :-\ I started threading the rear body harness through the hidden portions of the quarter panel thinking I could do that without removing a few of the interior pieces, After some struggling I determined that it would be faster to pull the rear seat back and the trim panel (not an easy task). Still need to connect the wire ends to the lights etc in the trunk. Today I spliced extra length to the ignition control box power leads to reach the solenoid and shortened the coil leads from the control box. First thing today I did a practice solder splice and shrink wrap as well as a practice wire end connection. Im satisfied that my soldering skills are suffcient and Im sure I will be expert after a few more hours of installing all the wires. Lastly, I attached a pair of wire clamps to the OEM location for securing the OEM A/C line. These clamps hold the new clutch cable and new A/C liquid line firmly without being overtight.

 

[Horseplay]

Looking really good, Mark.

 

[Mach1Mark]

Still installing the wiring . . . been lengthening and shortening wires as needed on the ignition control box. Today I added length to the A/C control valve wiring, bundled two ignition box wire and the A/C wire in loom and routed. Also started to adjust the front suspension coil overs to their final ride height. After wrestling with one side I determined I will have to remove them and adjust the ride height after determining the distance I need to lower each side and then re-install. The pic of the wire pair is to the distributor from the ignition box I shortened 14"

 

[JRANGER]

I actually ordered a AAW kit myself. Should be fun to tackle.

 

[Mach1Mark]

Yesterday I returned to working on adjusting the front coils to a lower position. I had attempted this with the coils in the car but I wasn't getting anywhere. I removed them and adjusted them both in about ten minutes. Re-installing them was odd. The driver side went in no problem but I had to break over night to get the pass side in. I lowered them about 1.5" and will post pics when I roll the Colt out of the garage. The top of the tires are now the same height as the top of the wheel opening arc. Now Im probably going to have to install lowering blocks on the rear (its sitting about an inch too high). Im going to load some rocks in the trunk to simulate a full fuel load to see how much I need to drop it.

 

[JRANGER]

Yesterday I returned to working on adjusting the front coils to a lower position. I had attempted this with the coils in the car but I wasn't getting anywhere. I removed them and adjusted them both in about ten minutes. Re-installing them was odd. The driver side went in no problem but I had to break over night to get the pass side in. I lowered them about 1.5" and will post pics when I roll the Colt out of the garage. The top of the tires are now the same height as the top of the wheel opening arc. Now Im probably going to have to install lowering blocks on the rear (its sitting about an inch too high). Im going to load some rocks in the trunk to simulate a full fuel load to see how much I need to drop it.

So what was the issue adjusting them while on the car? Curious since thats how i plan to do it once i get an engine in the car.

 

[Mach1Mark]

So what was the issue adjusting them while on the car? Curious since thats how i plan to do it once i get an engine in the car.

First issue was the spanner wrench that came with my StreetOrTrack set-up. There are only three holes in the adjustable ring (120 degrees apart) to grab and I was unable to position the wrench to grab the ring due to interference with the frame/upper A arm. Secondly, the threaded sleeve that the adjustable ring moves up and down on is NOT attached to the strut cylinder. It floats. Once the struts were removed, I clamped the lower eye in a bench vice and used one hand to hold the wrench and the other to hold the threaded sleeve. Once the pressure of the coil over spring was relieved I could spin the ring with my hand. I set the ring to the height I wanted and tightened the set screw. Had to make sure the coil spring and cap seated properly as I lowered the car to the ground slowly. It can get seated crooked since the spring is relaxed at my low ride height setting.

 

[Mach1Mark]

Yesterday I ordered a couple of pairs of lowering blocks. I couldn't find my set of 1" blocks that I removed five years ago so I bought another set and a set of 3/4" blocks in case the springs settle more than I anticipate. Pics this weekend (weather permitting).

 

[Mach1Mark]

Today I installed a pair of 1 inch lowering blocks between the axle seats and the leaf springs. This will help the rear end sit lower and look level with the new, lower position of the front ride height. I also bought a pair of 3/4 inch lowering blocks in case the rear springs settle down and I need to raise the rear end.

 

[Mach1Mark]

Well . . . after several months of being buried at work and at home Ive decided to hire out the wiring installation. Ive found a local car guy (who has a couple of really badass Mopars !!) through a Mustang buddy who can start the wiring install before the end of the year !!! My plan is to finish a couple of small tasks in preparation of trailering my Mustang to his shop across town. Once the wiring is in, all the remains is to install the carpet/seats/doorpanels, fill the remaining engine assessories with fluids and give him a front end alignment !! We WILL be on the road this spring !!

 

[6t6red]

Are you saying that you will be done before Terry?