Gut the Dash or go Aluminum.
12-12-10, 01:58 PM
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Jolly Green Giant
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Gut the Dash or go Aluminum.
I've finally decided to embark upon stripping, re-engineering and re-creating a new wiring harness and possibly diagrams for my car and this leaves me with the task of deciding what stays and what goes. Most every creature comfort possible has already been stripped from the car and I am going to source some crank windows to get rid of my last "power" option.
My question here, do ya'll think I should gut the stock dash of all it's unnecessary wiring and fluff and use that along with the blower and heater so I can still have some sensibility for when I'm forced to keep the windows up [rain, winter etc.] or should I just go all out and do like what Kevinbtz did and make an aluminum dash with the addition of a center console from which to mount gauges to.] My final aim to strip everything that isn't needed to make the car run but keep it Texas legal.
Questions, comments, boots to the head are always welcome.
Kevin's Dash:
My question here, do ya'll think I should gut the stock dash of all it's unnecessary wiring and fluff and use that along with the blower and heater so I can still have some sensibility for when I'm forced to keep the windows up [rain, winter etc.] or should I just go all out and do like what Kevinbtz did and make an aluminum dash with the addition of a center console from which to mount gauges to.] My final aim to strip everything that isn't needed to make the car run but keep it Texas legal.
Questions, comments, boots to the head are always welcome.
Kevin's Dash:
12-12-10, 03:36 PM
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Jolly Green Giant
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I was thinking more along the lines of a driver centered cockpit, of course not to this extreme but I would like to keep the stock cluster if possible so I can have a working speedo.
I have a picture from Kevin's sketch regarding the dimensions of his dash so when I get a chance I'll open that up and see if I can draw out more of what I invisioned for the dash.
I have a picture from Kevin's sketch regarding the dimensions of his dash so when I get a chance I'll open that up and see if I can draw out more of what I invisioned for the dash.
12-12-10, 05:57 PM
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Jolly Green Giant
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I guess the other alternative to satisfy both is to model an aluminum dash after the original dash with the cluster coming up out of the dash in it's own little HUD but of course without all the toggles on each side, then have the center console coming down normally as it would but with it angled towards the driver.
But what would I cover the dash in? CF vinyl stuff would be difficult because if it was modeled after the stock dash there are alot of angles and such to match everything up. Suede would just be stupidly expensive and given the fact that my car is not a looker in any sort of the word it would kinda be weird to have a ratted exterior with a suede dash
Her name is "Ugly Betty" for a reason 
she may not be a looker but she's got one hell of a personality.
But what would I cover the dash in? CF vinyl stuff would be difficult because if it was modeled after the stock dash there are alot of angles and such to match everything up. Suede would just be stupidly expensive and given the fact that my car is not a looker in any sort of the word it would kinda be weird to have a ratted exterior with a suede dash
Her name is "Ugly Betty" for a reason she may not be a looker but she's got one hell of a personality.
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12-12-10, 11:07 PM
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Jolly Green Giant
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That would be good if only i had an 83 and back dash but I'm cursed with the 84-85. I could see doing the same thing to the S3 dash but it'd probly turn out pretty ugly so taking the dash out and using it as a template for angles and sizes to make a more complete version of the stock one than what Kevin did would probably be the best bet.
My life would just be easier if I had an S3 harness' and S3 dash already out of a car to work with so I wouldn't have to go through the whole process of tearing my baby to pieces
My life would just be easier if I had an S3 harness' and S3 dash already out of a car to work with so I wouldn't have to go through the whole process of tearing my baby to pieces
12-13-10, 09:28 AM
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i gutted a stock dash and wiring harness on mine.
i would advise against changing the wiring diagram or wiring scheme, as if you have a problem in the future, you can just look in the FSM vs trying to remember what you did.
so mine is just an 81-83 dash top, and cluster. that's it.
the harness is stock, but i removed the 4 wires you don't use when you don't have heat a/c. the amount and weight of the wires that got removed wasn't enough to make it worth doing, the harness didn't loose a pound, its not any neater, as it still needs to go to most of the same places.
i would advise against changing the wiring diagram or wiring scheme, as if you have a problem in the future, you can just look in the FSM vs trying to remember what you did.
so mine is just an 81-83 dash top, and cluster. that's it.
the harness is stock, but i removed the 4 wires you don't use when you don't have heat a/c. the amount and weight of the wires that got removed wasn't enough to make it worth doing, the harness didn't loose a pound, its not any neater, as it still needs to go to most of the same places.
12-13-10, 01:52 PM
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i gutted a stock dash and wiring harness on mine.
i would advise against changing the wiring diagram or wiring scheme, as if you have a problem in the future, you can just look in the FSM vs trying to remember what you did.
so mine is just an 81-83 dash top, and cluster. that's it.
the harness is stock, but i removed the 4 wires you don't use when you don't have heat a/c. the amount and weight of the wires that got removed wasn't enough to make it worth doing, the harness didn't loose a pound, its not any neater, as it still needs to go to most of the same places.
i would advise against changing the wiring diagram or wiring scheme, as if you have a problem in the future, you can just look in the FSM vs trying to remember what you did.
so mine is just an 81-83 dash top, and cluster. that's it.
the harness is stock, but i removed the 4 wires you don't use when you don't have heat a/c. the amount and weight of the wires that got removed wasn't enough to make it worth doing, the harness didn't loose a pound, its not any neater, as it still needs to go to most of the same places.
Also it's the fact that my trailing ignition harness has been hacked a time and a half and I feel that interference is a genuine concern so I'd like to simply take it all apart and make sure everything is ok, correctly solder all the snips or replace the wires all together with the correct stuff.
Aside from needing a better alternator as well I can't help but cringe everytime I turn my lights and the blower motor on I can hear the entire idle drop 200rpm so I know the alternator for 1 but it's also the fact of all the extra line the headlights have to follow coming all the way through the dash just to get to the bulb, so if possible I will atleast do the relay mod for the headlights, tails, MSD, fuel and fan.
12-13-10, 06:00 PM
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Problem with that is because it's a GSL-SE now DHLA'd I am left with a billion and a half extra wires in the engine bay mostly on the right side and currently are simply just ziptied off to the brake line with one wiring jumping from there to inside the car to power the fuel pump, I'm also left with whats left of the leading ignition harness, a few connectors up by the brake master that go nowhere and a whole slew of connectors in the back that go to lights, defroster, speakers, antenna etc.
Also it's the fact that my trailing ignition harness has been hacked a time and a half and I feel that interference is a genuine concern so I'd like to simply take it all apart and make sure everything is ok, correctly solder all the snips or replace the wires all together with the correct stuff.
Aside from needing a better alternator as well I can't help but cringe everytime I turn my lights and the blower motor on I can hear the entire idle drop 200rpm so I know the alternator for 1 but it's also the fact of all the extra line the headlights have to follow coming all the way through the dash just to get to the bulb, so if possible I will atleast do the relay mod for the headlights, tails, MSD, fuel and fan.
Also it's the fact that my trailing ignition harness has been hacked a time and a half and I feel that interference is a genuine concern so I'd like to simply take it all apart and make sure everything is ok, correctly solder all the snips or replace the wires all together with the correct stuff.
Aside from needing a better alternator as well I can't help but cringe everytime I turn my lights and the blower motor on I can hear the entire idle drop 200rpm so I know the alternator for 1 but it's also the fact of all the extra line the headlights have to follow coming all the way through the dash just to get to the bulb, so if possible I will atleast do the relay mod for the headlights, tails, MSD, fuel and fan.
i also learned that the rear harness, which does everything from the driver back, only weighs like 1/2 a pound, its amazingly light.
the main harness, plugs into the dash harness and ecu harness, and then goes up the left side of the engine bay and does the ignition and lights.
so you do loose the engine harness complete, but out of the main harness you only loose the 2 ac wires, and 5 radio wires...
i'm not saying you cant do it. just saying its a HUGE job, for gains that are small
12-13-10, 06:23 PM
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Jolly Green Giant
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the engine harness isn't connected to the dash harness, its separate.
i also learned that the rear harness, which does everything from the driver back, only weighs like 1/2 a pound, its amazingly light.
the main harness, plugs into the dash harness and ecu harness, and then goes up the left side of the engine bay and does the ignition and lights.
so you do loose the engine harness complete, but out of the main harness you only loose the 2 ac wires, and 5 radio wires...
i'm not saying you cant do it. just saying its a HUGE job, for gains that are small
i also learned that the rear harness, which does everything from the driver back, only weighs like 1/2 a pound, its amazingly light.
the main harness, plugs into the dash harness and ecu harness, and then goes up the left side of the engine bay and does the ignition and lights.
so you do loose the engine harness complete, but out of the main harness you only loose the 2 ac wires, and 5 radio wires...
i'm not saying you cant do it. just saying its a HUGE job, for gains that are small
All in all I'm doing it for the cleanliness of not having all those loose wires and connectors and since my car also doesn't exactly like the rain mostly because the caps where the windscreen wiper and hatch struts used to be don't seal all the way, the last thing I need is water getting into those connectors and popping more fuses [had an issue for a while with everytime it rained my hazards would pop the fuse]
It wouldn't be such an issue if I had an interior to hide all the wires and everything but it's all out in the open so I'd like to keep it as tidy as possible.
Out of the Interior:
Power Mirror Wiring [one of the POs clipped it at the connector]
Power Window Wiring [old, tired and slow, and just a PITA]
Stereo
A/C
All the lighting except for the dash and Glovebox
Hatch Release [connector fell apart and not sure I really need it anyway]
Fuel Door Release [button was broken off by one of the POs so I've never used it]
Clutch pedal switch [never worked]
Speaker Wiring [no speakers]
Antenna Wiring [not connected to anything]
Rear Defroster [not there]
Exhaust overheat sensor [what cats?]
E-Brake switch [it's more bothersome than helpful]
Out of the engine bay:
all a/c related wiring, relays whatever
fuel injection/emissions wiring
leading ignition wiring
trailing ignition wiring [would like to find a way to wire it in conjuction with the MSD and make it's own little harness]
Trans neutral safety switch [never worked]
Electric Water Temp sensor [plan on getting a mech gauge]
I think that's almost everything....
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