Your T is looking good, should be a fun driver. I'm using the speedway wiring too, it is nice quality and a lot cheaper than most.
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Your T is looking good, should be a fun driver. I'm using the speedway wiring too, it is nice quality and a lot cheaper than most.
I've always kind of enjoyed the wiring part of building a car (I guess I must be a bit masochistic..?). That is, until I built my Track-T...:rolleyes:
Working under the dash in such a tight space is pure torture! I had to remove one of the seats and lay down with my head under the dash and my legs over the back of the body. That was tolerable until about the third time I needed a tool or piece I had forgotten to bring under there with me. Then I had to climb out, get whatever, and climb back in again... and my fuse box was under the seat!!!:eek: On top of that, I pre-wired the back side of the dash (gauges) so all I had to do was a couple of connections and wire the brake light switch. I can't imagine the Hell I would have gone through if I'd had to do all that wiring under the dash.:whacked: If you haven't already mounted the fuse panel and started running wires, you might want to think about it a bit more. Even with the fuse panel under the passenger seat, I still had room for a pouch to hold a sweater, rain gear, some shop rags, a zip-lock bag with registration and insurance card, and some spare fuses and ignition module.:) I got rained on a lot, but none of that stuff ever got wet.:cool:
I mounted all my electrics under the cowl, but my dash was removable with 5 10-24 screws. The only thing in the dash were the gauges and they were on a separate wiring harness with a Molex plug. All the switches were on a panel that connected to the steering column mount and were hidden just under the edge of the dash. I could pull the dash in less than 5 minutes with my pocket knife (Leatherman) to access the wiring and relay panel. You could start and drive the car without the dash, if needed. It was a little more work to do it this way, but made access much easier when something went wrong.
Like J.Robinson, wiring is something I enjoy and I have a tendency to go a little overboard. I'm a fan of relays for most circuits since they take the load off the switch and give you a good place to access the circuit for troubleshooting. I think my T had 11 or 12 relays, but then again, it had auto-leveling air suspension on the rear and that took several to pull off, plus a couple of diodes. A little complicated, but man did that air ride good!
That Speedway harness looks a lot like the EasyWire harness I used on my T.
Your T is looking good. Good call on the brake pedal. An overly hard pedal is annoying and dangerous.
FWIW - After all that work on mine to make things easy to service, I don't think I had any electrical trouble in the 10 years that I drove it, and I put a bunch of miles on it. Mostly long trips.
Thanks guys.
Yep, I bought a nice looking piece of walnut board, I’m planning on making a removable dash board, and pre-wiring most of it. My T also has a functional passenger side door. Laying in there and working behind the dash is not bad at all, it’s easier than on a normal car. :)
I got a good amount of the wiring done in the past couple days. I’m “hoping” that one more good day in the garage might wrap it up. Unfortunately tomorrow is looking more like a “honey do” type of day than a “quality hot rod” kind of day. :HMMM: :LOL:
I’m using a relay for my headlight/taillight circuit and for my horn. I’m not sure if I’ll need any more. This car has a bare minimum of wiring in it.
Jim,
I’m pretty committed to having the fuse box under the cowl at this point. I recall that you mounted your battery under there. I’m using a full size car battery. It is mounted under the passenger seat, although it’s almost completely below the floor.
Looking really good; nice piece of engineering.
The store bought lakes header mufflers run about $100 each. That’s a bit too pricey for my taste. So a took a couple Cherry Bomb mufflers, cut the outside housing off, wired the insulation in place, and slid them inside the headers. It’s much quieter than it was with open pipes. Hopefully the neighbors and cops will be reasonably satisfied. :LOL:
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I drove the car out of the garage for the first time under its own power. :)Attachment 72006Attachment 72007Attachment 72008Attachment 72009Attachment 72010
Always a milestone moment when you drive it out for the first time. Did you sneak it around the block at least once?? 8-)
Congratulations on the first drive! I still remember my first drive in the T. You'll have plenty of good cruising time this year.
Congrats on the first drive! It's really coming along, and under budget I'm sure:LOL:
Ok maybe not “under budget”, but I’ll call it “within reason”! :D
On a positive note, I got my car title paperwork approved, after only three trips to the DMV. :HMMM:**):rolleyes:
My vehicle inspection is scheduled in two weeks. Hopefully that will go well. It’s hard to get a straight answer on what exactly is required.
On a side note, my daily driver Camaro just blew a head gasket, so that’ll give me something to do in my spare time. :rolleyes:
Right now I’m on the road for five days for work.
Fantastic! You'll be toolin' around town in no time, now. Let us all know how it goes at your first cruise-in whenever that happens.
When you get some free time in front of your computer, maybe you can tell me what's needed to start the titling process in our fine state. I'm getting close to painting my Deuce's body and setting it back on the frame. I'll be anxious to get the legal paperwork started then.
As you might know, In 2007 Florida Governor Charlie Crist signed into law the SEMA Street Rod and Custom Vehicle Titling Bill.
As for as I can tell, nobody has ever used or implemented this bill. I asked around on the HAMB and a couple Facebook groups and I can’t find a single person who has ever used it.
I think the only (legal) way to title a newly built Hot Rod is to title it as an “assembled from parts”vehicle. Call your local DMV and ask them where the nearest “Regional Field office” is. Stop in there and pick up an application packet. I ones I found online are all outdated. It’s about 12 pages long. You will need a receipt or bill of sale for your body, frame, engine, trans, rear end, bumpers, fenders, doors, floor pan, etc. Once you get the paperwork approved you will schedule the vehicle inspection. You will have to trailer the car in for that. I think the inspection just involves checking things light the horn, lights, windshield wipers, etc. I’ve asked several times for a list of exactly what is required, and they have not been able to provide one.
When you pass the inspection, they will issue you a VIN number and give you a sticker that goes on the door.
They told me not to start this process until you are about ready to drive the car, because you have to schedule the inspection shortly after the paperwork is approved.
The car will be titled as a 2020 assembled from parts vehicle.
There is only one Regional field office in the whole Tampa Bay Area. There is only one guy who works there who can approve an assembled vehicle. He is very unhelpful and contradicts himself over and over.
The reason he rejected my paperwork the first two times was because the bill of sale for my fiberglass body did not look “professional enough”, even though it had all the required information and signature. He was never able to tell me specifically what was wrong with it.
Don't you just love self important bureaucrats? You and johnboy should compare notes.
Very cool thread. enjoyed the first few pages, will come back later to read the rest when I have time!
The process wasn't much different for me in Louisiana. Lots of stupid hoops to jump through, but in the end, all they really wanted was the money. I gave the lady a stack of receipts, she totaled them up and told me how much the taxes were. I gave her a check and walked out with a title.
The main problem with the process here is that there is no formalized way to appeal their decisions. If you can't supply the correct paperwork, you have no recourse. Most folks don't know what they need to keep up with and the local tag offices pretty much know nothing of titling an assembled vehicle. Only the state office can give you the right info.
BTW - I commented to the lady that it was a long, difficult process and I thought that it could be streamlined. She said, off the record or course, that the state makes it hard on purpose because they really don't want a lot of people building cars. Most people just give up out of frustration.
In Louisiana, I can't even legally dismantle a car that I own to sell the parts if I don't have proper paperwork from the state. If I have 2 trucks that I want to mix and match parts to get a running vehicle, I can't do it without getting a "Permit to Dismantle" for both trucks. Swapping cabs and chassis' will net you an illegally assembled truck that can never be titled, period. No legal recourse. Chop shops have made our hobby very difficult and filled with hidden pitfalls that most folks don't even think about until it's too late.
Hang in there. Sounds like you followed the right course. Hopefully, you will be driving soon.
I pretty much had to follow this exact procedure! Except my paperwork and vehicle had to meet the approval of the state police. They say it is to prevent or control theft. But my experience would/could contradict their theories. My car then had to be inspected by a garage that the state has as a vendor and they basically look at safety items. We had a few ... um... "disagreements" and battled over the word "replica".. and the items that drove them crazy were a single windshield wiper and a single tail light. Since I built a assembled vehicle that was a replica, I built the car with only 1 of the above items. This drove'em nuts and I used it as a bargaining chip. As they focused on the light and wiper they forgot some other smaller things.... :LOL: I did "give in" and let them have their tail light... :eek::LOL:**):D
Thanks for that tip. Maybe I’ll take one of my taillights off before I go to the inspection! :LOL:
I carried a thick file folder of receipts each time I went in there. He never even glanced at them. He mentioned twice that I would have to pay any sales tax I owed. On the third visit, when he approved my stuff, all he charged me was $40 for the inspection. He seemed to be in a hurry that day. I think I caught a break there.
Sort of like pulling and signing off a building permit here. The local city planning department makes people jump thru tons of hurdles. Then when the project is done the building inspectors nit pick trying to find something they can tag you with. After building a 1500 square foot addition to my last house, I left the airator off the garbage disposal on purpose, the inspector tried to nail me with improper ceiling fan vent in the bathroom, because it didn't have a built in night light. He was grinning while telling me I'd have to replace it as it wasn't to code. I smiled back and asked when the code had changed, he said 6 months ago, I then pointed out I had pulled the permit 4 years ago and it was up to cade at that time then he got mad, so he goes to the kitchen sink and points out I don't have an airator venting it on the counter top, I just smiled again, reached under the counter, pushed it up thru the hole and said oh you mean this, it must of fallen down and screwed it back in place. He wasn't happy but he did sign it off! ;)
Why must people be like that? They get their thrills and jollies out of catching something like you're a criminal and then get upset when you're not.
I too have a little cliché I love to throw at this type of moronic attitude: Those that can, do. Those that can't, teach. And those that can do neither...criticise.
Definately an authority issue thing!
In MA you don't need fenders on any vehicle pre 1948. This has created many heated conversations at inspection time. I now carry a copy of registry requirements in my duece and that usually shuts them up.
I rented a U-Haul trailer and towed the car in for the vehicle inspection.
When I got there, they told me to unload it and pull it inside the inspection bay. About 8 people came out to look at it, just out of curiosity. They did ZERO “inspection” of anything mechanical or safety related!
There was only one thing they were interested in. I used a title for a 1979 Chevy Malibu in my name, as the source for the engine. The “inspector” asked me where the numbers on the engine were, so I showed him. He then pulled out the title and said “these numbers don’t match”. Well no kidding. I told him that in 1979 the VIN number was not stamped on the engine. He spent a few minutes stewing over that. He kept saying that we had to find some way to prove that engine came out of that car. Then he said “well this is a hell of a mess”, and disappeared into the office for about 10 minutes. Another guy then came out and said “It’s OK, you’re good to go. The second guy then attached a pink sticker, with my new VIN number, to the car.
The “inspection” cost $40, and the title was $85.
I then called Haggerty Insurance and finished setting up my policy. We were waiting on a VIN number to do that. I then swung by the tag office and got my license plate.
I then headed off to work for a few days. When I get back home, I just have to get my alternator installed, and the car will be done “enough” to start tearing up the streets of Florida!
Since I’m using a Ford Mustang radiator, the upper radiator hose is now on the passenger side. That interferes with the stock alternator bracket, so I’m moving the alternator to the drivers side. I had been planning on making my own brackets, but my patience is wearing a bit thin right now, so I broke out the credit card and ordered a store bought bracket.
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Such profligacy!
From you of all people!
I'm shocked!
Nah. I don't blame you one little bit. I've seen the time, sweat, and thought that you've put into this build, and I reckon you've earned a splurge with your money.
And I'm pleased for you that it went through certification so easily.
Get out now and drive the wheels off the thing! Burn some rubber!
(But only on a private road with Police supervision and no public access of course! :LOL: :LOL: :LOL:)
Congrats on getting through the process! Now get out there and enjoy all your hard work.
Glad you cleared that hurdle. And I'll echo everyone else. Time for some cruising! 8-)
That must have had you sweating for a minute. It's scary after so much time and money you're at the mercy of a state inspector.
HAHAHA, :LOL:
You had me laughing with that one, even though I had to look up “profligacy” to see what that meant!
I’m looking forward to calling the police department to ask them to supervise my burnouts. :LOL:
Yes that inspector definitely had me sweating and stewing for a bit. I think I managed to maintain my poker face.
And thanks guys, I’m really looking forward to the coming months. I’m planning on heading to the Billetproof show in Ocala, Florida in March. That’s about a two hour drive for me.
Congrats! Nice work!
Just awesome! I'm very glad you were able to get through the titling process without too many issues. Also a big congrats on driving it the first time. It sure is a good feeling isn't it?
Picking up the groceries at Wally World.
The next project will be finishing the seats. Using two by fours as a seat back is not the hot setup. :LOL:
For anyone who has never driven a T Bucket, it really does feel like driving a big overpowered go cart. The steering and brakes feel really good on it. I haven’t had it on the freeway yet. I do know that you can be running about 15 MPH, give it about half throttle, and light up the back tire! I haven’t even opened the secondary’s yet.
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