BUILD-OFF CHALLENGE: Tygaboy's '75 LS3, It seemed a good idea at the time... Options

[bkrantz]

HUGE thanks to Bob @BIGKAT_83 for personally driving these seats from GA to CA! Bob, it was great meeting you and your wife. Oh, and your pup, Henry, too!

These are the seats I purchased from @fasthonda . They are super nice and more supportive in the upper bolster area than the GT Classics LeMans seats I have. But now that I've seen then in my car, I'm not quite sure if I'm digging the look, compared to the LeMans', so the jury is still out on if I'll keep them.

If I do keep them, I'll likely have them redone in black with appropriately colored tartan inserts. I'm leaning toward the GTI tartan pictured.

But again, I can't thank Bob enough for making this happen. It's always great to meet another 914 World member in person, put face to name and shake hands with a new friend.

Those seats look like they have a distinct butt width limit. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/KMA.gif)

[tygaboy]

Right back to non-914 related stuff:
Apparently, my car will now DOMINATE! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/aktion035.gif)
Beyond that, I now get to (have to) build another complete engine harness because: new ECU.

Actually, I'm really excited to do this because I know I can do a far better job. Partly because I've got some solid experience under my belt but also because I've been taking an on-line motorsports wiring course from HP Academy.

www.hpacademy.com

These folks offer courses in wiring (basics through full-on motorsports wiring harness construction), EFI tuning, engine tuning, and suspension and car set up.

I'm about 1/3 of the way through their Motorsports wiring course and it's really, REALLY good. Easy to understand, content-rich, examples of actually doing most of the things you'll need to do... it goes on and on.

I'm not affiliated w/them in any way but will happily say that if you're interested in learning about anything they teach, you won't be disappointed. Excellent stuff. Plus they're Aussies so you get the awesome accent at no add'l cost! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/lol-2.gif)

[tygaboy]

Today, I made up new lines to support this little Y connector. This wraps up the revised, "single fuel line to the engine" plumbing. I'm happy with how it turned out.

And you can see another reason I'm excited to re-do the engine harness: Messy / unincorporated wiring.

As I'm working through the teething issues and other parts of the development process, I found I needed a few additional wires and related connectors, as well wanting to relocate some items , i.e. O2 sensor moving to the other side header. I've also added items like the digital dash so the re-do will allow me to fully incorporate everything into a updated harness.

[tygaboy]

For this go around, I want to mount electrical components inside the car whenever I can.
The Dominator ECU is much wider than the HP its replacing and as much as I wish I could mount it behind or under the passenger seat, it simply doesn't fit - at least not without losing a fair bit of passenger leg room or notching the floor or changing the shape of the bottom of the seats. I didn't want to do any of that.

So, it's going just in front of the passenger seat. This frees up the under seat area for the various relays and fuses that will also be moved from their current location in the engine compartment.

But that means I need a way to get the various harnesses and wires from the ECU to under the seat. Running them over/around things wouldn't be appropriate. So...

I used a piece of 3" round tubing, slid it over a scrap piece of 1.5" DOM and put it in the press. Then, with a bit of hammer/dolly work, I end up with a nice, oval tube. Best of all, a couple 1.75" hole saw holes and "connect the dots" and I have the oval openings in the floor cross-member. In goes the oval tube, a bit of TIG and some metal finishing and I have the pass-throughs. Here's a pic of one done and the other about to be welded in.

[tygaboy]

Here's the mock up. The ECU is pretty much out of the way but I'll fab some sort of protective cover for it, just to be sure it's safe.
There are a couple more harnesses with separate connectors that have to get to the ECU: one for the DBW system and once for some "neat-o" capabilities I may try and use.

And yes, I tested that with the seat frame lowered all the way, the wires clear everything.

[FL000]

Looking good Chris. I feel your pain trying to find the right areas to add extra electrical components. I didn’t realize how messy my wiring got and relocated a bunch of stuff to the rear trunk directly behind the firewall.

[djway]

I like it just for the COOL factor (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[Andyrew]

Nice spot! HP academy has always been on my radar.

I really like the pass through as well! It’s those little details that really make everything nice.

[tygaboy]

Got started on an initial version of the ECU cover. The holes will be drilled, knock out punched to the appropriate size then given the dimple die treatment.

I was going to ramp down the sides but now that I've seen it in place, I think I'll make it the full width of the floor and install a hinge along the front edge for access. Yes, that means the seat has to come out to get to the ECU but that's OK with me.

And imagine that - it's going to take me a couple versions before I get something I like... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)

[Mueller]

Glad to see that I didn't slow you down too much by showing up and shooting the breeze for a bit today.

I like those ovals for the ECU harness to pass thru.

[Cairo94507]

Very clean (of course) and nicely done. I love the cover for the electronics in front of the seat. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

[Andyrew]

Got started on an initial version of the ECU cover. The holes will be drilled, knock out punched to the appropriate size then given the dimple die treatment.

I was going to ramp down the sides but now that I've seen it in place, I think I'll make it the full width of the floor and install a hinge along the front edge for access. Yes, that means the seat has to come out to get to the ECU but that's OK with me.

And imagine that - it's going to take me a couple versions before I get something I like... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)

Why not make it bolt up from the front so you dont have to remove the seat to remove the panel? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/idea.gif)

[JRust]

I like the location of the ECU & the oval pass throughs. Well though out & executed as always. Nice work bro (IMG:style_emoticons/default/aktion035.gif)

[Curbandgutter]

Those ovals........ (IMG:style_emoticons/default/pray.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/pray.gif) Ya couldn't just done a circle huh (IMG:style_emoticons/default/poke.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/poke.gif) Your craftmanship is over the top. There is art in everything that you're doing. Love it man. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/first.gif)

[AZBanks]

What about adding an flange/lip to the floor to hold the front of the cover. Slide the front of the cover under the flange and bolt down the back. Something like this.

[tygaboy]

More non-914 related things on the build:

I've been binging the HP Academy wiring courses and happily admit I've been seduced by the dark side of the (wiring) force! Armed with nothing new other than excitement and the firm belief I can do a MUCH better job, I decided to go all in on and re-wire my entire car.

Out with the fuses and relays and in with an ECU Master PMU. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/aktion035.gif) I have a friend who's a MoTec dealer and he agreed the ECU Master product was a better fit for my purposes than the equivalent MoTec product.

What pushed me over the edge was that, among other things, I can use the PMU to essentially replicate what I was doing with the Arduino. The programmability of these things is impressive.

All that said, there are supply issues with many of the connectors I'm planning to use so the 914 will be back burnered for a bit. In the meantime, I'll be installing the 'Vette suspension in RacerBenz. Check the GrassRoots Motorsports build thread for details, if you're interested.

[tygaboy]

May as well go all-in on the non-914 stuff and bore you to death. On the other hand, this is a great post for fellow tool whores!
If you know what this tool is, you'll know what's going on with the new wiring harness.

OK, OK... It's a specialty crimping tool for the Autosports connectors I'm planning to use for virtually all connectors in the car.

So yes, I'm going to take a swing at building a concentrically twisted harness, example of what I'm after in the other pic. Exciting, scary and challenging at the same time. My kind of project!

This won't be cheap. It'll take a lot of time. It's entirely unnecessary for my car...

Why would I do this?
I've asked myself that question about a lot of the stuff on this build. For whatever reason, as I enter my mid-60s, I've become almost obsessed with wanting to learn new things and try to build my skill set. Let's see how this goes.

[djway]

Looks like the Candy Man paid a visit (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[Dion]

The realm of F1 and LeMans prototypes. Take us there Chris! Will the Benz monster get
these electrical wizardry components as well? So very cool.

[Cairo94507]

Amazing. That wiring looks like it should be exposed throughout the car it is going to be so very pretty. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)