DV...Dash wiring help needed!

[Snake]

In the manual when you start hooking up the dash..there are wires from the wiring harness to hook up the ignition switch, lights, wiper system etc?

I'm using the GM steering colum to control my lights, wipers. What do I do about the wires for the ignition switch, lights, wiper system from the harness?
Do I just forget about them?, Cut them? tape them? Heat shrink them!

For some reasion...the red light on the dash has only one wire conected to it?
Did I miss something?
Snake.

[Jim Downard]

Hey Snake,
I don't know what your manual is showing, but if you have the GM column and the CR harness, everything should just plug together. Make sure you have the steering column pigtail harnesses. They should connect for wipers, ignition, and lights without any mods. I can't remember for sure but I think I had to run my own power supply wire to the wiper motor from the factory harness. As far as your red light. You should have a black wire #190 ground and a white wire (can't remember the number) from the dash harness That hooks up to it. If you put an adjustable proportioning valve on the car, that light will be useless. At least it is on mine. Hope this info helps, if you have any questions I may be able to help with write back or email me at downard1@email.com.
Good luck
Jim Downard

[Double Venom]

Snake,
Jims right. I'm not sure I am following your question correctly. The two fairly large flat plugs that come off the dash harness plug into the fuse box. The wiper plug is fairly small, flat, black and has a pretty good sized flat locking tang on it.

You will have a short, multi wire harness, with a black connector, a white connector with the opposite end being a clear connector.

The clear connector will go to the car harness with the opposite ends plugging into the switch on the column. The wiper plug will also plug into a harness coming from the column.

If you aren't using the Ford brake bias block, you don't need the red light. (My opinion, eliminate the OEM brake "block" and install one of the aftermarket bias valves, Baer, Wildwood, Tilton, etc., available from Jegs, Summit, etc.

If you already have the light installed in the dash, either leave it blank, or you could hook it up to your fan over ride switch.

I wish they would re-write their manual. Absolutely one of the best in the business, but almost 20 years later it's time for a full update!

DV -- 300 Cobras is NOT enough! Have you registered?

[Jack21]

Sad fact is, I doubt CR will put any more time or money into their documentation or parts shopping list unless we do it for them. Rutherfords heart just isn't in it, and it shows.

[Snake]

Ok Guy's.... All try to explain. I'm using the proportioning valve from the Mustang II system...there are two wires comming off of it...not sure how to hook that up yet. As for the red light...I'll run a ground to it.
I'm using the Chevy harness from CR. The pigtails for the Chevette steering column is hooked up. The two fairly large flat plugs that come off the dash harness plug into the fuse box...Ok I got that. I've had the engine turn over...so i know the ignition works. In the manual...on page 3-76 (Assembly of Chassis) number 8) Bottom Branch Bundle #2
# 112 Headlight switch power.
# 141 Light switch position 2.
# 171 Light switch position 1.

I have no idea what to do with these wires...if I'm using the Chevette steering column....everything must be usable threw the steering column...right? Are these wires for people that would rather use dash switches instead of the steering column, if so should I just heat shrink them? For the wiper system...there is a seperate cable for that...so I think this will be farly easy to hook up.

For DV..I have no idea what your talking about here? You've lost me...big time!

If you aren't using the Ford brake bias block, you don't need the red light. (My opinion, eliminate the OEM brake "block" and install one of the aftermarket bias valves, Baer, Wildwood, Tilton, etc., available from Jegs, Summit, etc.

You are so right!!!
I wish they would re-write their manual. Absolutely one of the best in the business, but almost 20 years later it's time for a full update!
It is an excilent manual....with it's share of errors...I had called Andy at CR at the time to open his mind to some of them...hope they fix them in there newer issues...if there is any!

DV ...My body sit's about a half inch off the side rails, where the doors are...is that normal....the back part where the adjusting bolts are for the rear shocks is fine and the body sit's nice,...but having it up this half inch...does affect the line up for the door hinges. Top bolt on the bracket on the cowl bar is off about a quarter inch...and if I in large the hole....I will be off of the bracket...what do I do?

Thanks alot DV and Jim. Your help is VERY WELCOME!!
Snake

[Jim Downard]

Snake,
If sounds like the wires your describing are for the headlights and park lights. In your box with all the wiring and lights and switches you'll find one toggle switch that has three positions. That is the headlight switch. Position one is off, position two is park lights, position three is headlights. Use an ohm meter to check continuity if you can't figure out which pole does what, but if memory serves me, the book has a diagram in it showing this.
My Chevette steering column only works the wipers and hi/lo beam. You need to use the dash mounted toggle switch.

For your proportioning valve, there is a blue wire and a black wire. Not sure of the numbers, would have to check my own manual. These two wires simply plug into the proportioning valve. It'll be up to you to find the proper connectors. I don't even remember what I used.

OOOHHHH for the body. Mine didn't line up perfectly either. Here's what I did. ARE YOU READY! Make sure the seats are out of the car. Climb in the car only lay on your back with your head under the dash, legs draped up and over the back of the car. Have your friend hand you a chainsaw file and set a 12 pack of beer next to you. BEGIN filing the holes in the direction they need to be. Should only take a few days. Then when you thinks your close, the body shop you take it too for final paint and alignment will take a plasma cutter and gouge the holes to fit. Oh well. It's all part of building the car. You are at the part where I lost most of my motivation. Just keep at it and it will all be done before you know it.

Good Luck.

Jim Downard

[Double Venom]

OK, this is bad!
I even went through the manual this morning, thinking I must have forgot a "memorized" page somewhere.

Scour as I might, I have no idea what the hel* you two are talking about!

What are you grinding under the dash area and what for?

Snake, your body is supposed to sit high when first put in place. When you screw the body down, this will bring it into alignment for the doors.

If you have the time and the desire, feel free to give me a call at 740-852-5280. Maybe I can explain a little better over the phone than I have here.

Especially the part about the porportioning valve and the wiring for it.

DV -- 300 Cobras is NOT enough! Have you registered?

[Jim Downard]

I figured DV would chime in on that one. Back in '92 when I built mine, one door had to go up 1/4 of an inch and the other had to go down 1/4 of an inch for the doors to properly align to the body openings. I now know a little pre body positioning is wise before tightening all the screws. Snake DV knows all the snafu's we amateurs tend to make so listen closely to him.

see ya

Jim Downard

[Double Venom]

Jim,
What holes are you talking about? This is driving me nuts!
Now the 12 pack I can understand, laying under the dash with your feet hanging over the back I can understand, but I have no idea what you guys are grinding / filing!

Are you talking about the door hinge plates?

DV

[petek]

DV, from the description it has to be the hinge plates ... 12 pack, grinder (Dremel tool). Yup. Just add the cursing and it sounds just like me on the passenger's door

[Snake]

Jim....A 12 pack and laying under the dash sounds good...but the chiansaw and file ....NOT YET....so DV you can get a good sleep tonight, I have no idea what Jim is talking about....I think he's pulling are leg!...but I wonded too about that part when I read it!

DV...Clear something up for me! The Chevette steering colunm..does everything work off of it when it is conected...like the HeadLights to turn them on, The Hi and Low beams, The Wipers and the wiper washers...do these all work?

DV...Should I paint the car before I bolt it down to the frame? Then adjust the doors for the correct spacing? I'd hate to have to grind off the plates on the cowl for the doors...but if that's what you have to do! A little bit of explaination in the manual would have been a great help on deciding what parts, and how they will work for the car!

I just have to say that there is a GREAT bunch of guy's here on this fourm...and a GREAT sence of humor. One day we will all meet and what a PARTY IT WILL BE!!!!!!!

Snake.

[Jim Downard]

O.K. all, I'll clear up what I was talking about. The door hinge plates are threaded. The mounting holes in the cowl bar are not. When I was ready to mount my doors and align them, one was too high in relationship to the body, while the other was too low. Aside from using a torch and making a fire, the only way I could think to safely slot the holes to get the alignment I wanted was to use a chainsaw sharpening file ( it's the only file I had small enough to fit in the holes) and file out the SIX holes in the 3/8" plate steel. It took at least a 12 pack, and oh yes, PLENTY of cursing. Then the paint shop did the final alignment and they used a plasma cutter and opened the holes up rather sloppily, the whole thing I was trying to avoid. Hope this clears up the issue. I do not envy this portion of the project for anyone about to encounter it.

Have fun ya'all

Jim Downard

[Double Venom]

Snake,

The Hinge Plate Nightmare.

Now it becomes clear!

Everything does plug into the column, BUT you need to hook up the 3-way switch as mentioned above. This is what turns on the parking lights and headlights. Middle posistion is off, Up is headlights, down is parking. The "Column" is actually in the middle of the circuit.

I think Petek is the one that explained this in his post. Your hi-beam will work off the switch on the column, same as factory set up.

Now, when it comes to door alignment...call me. I can save you at least one 12 pack for fun instead of aggravation. We paint all body's off the frame, BUT it takes some very serious preperation and alignment to do this. It IS worth it and it WILL save you hours and hours down the road.

I wish I could get this blankety blank computer to work right. I'd post pictures of the harness to the column, to the dash.

Snake, You must come to the DVSF ! This is a must! You will learn more, see more, and experience more in three days than you would with a 3 year degree of Cobra building!

740-852-5280

DV -- 300 Cobras and 1 "Snake" is NOT enough! Are you registered?

[Snake]

Thanks ED!! I will give you a call...probably on Firday...and I know you don't want to here this...and I wish so, so much that I didn't have to say it....But I can't make it to the DVSF. Working in the Tech feild...building printed circut boards for Nortel and other companys....well the industrie is not good...my wife was layed off, plus the exchange from Candian money to the US dollar. I can't afford it! I realy wish that I could but...I'm an up front and honest kinda guy so all give it to you straight. If there was any fling that I wanted to go too, it would definatly be your DVSF for all the help you've give'n me. I don't even think I can finish the Cobra this year...well I can finish it...I just can't plate it or insure it for the road. Sucks but that's life. I wanted to meet some of the great people I've meet and delt with since I've started this project, I'm really glad that I meet so many interesting and GOOD people in this business, it has been a GREAT pleasure knowing you all.
Snake

[Jim Downard]

Hey Snake,
Something else you might encounter later ( or maybe not), but I'm running 15"x 9" Compomotive rims with 255/60-15 rubber, and when the rear suspension commpresses near to bottoming out, the tires rub the edges of my door latch plates. I don't know if this is only my car or if it has happened to others as well. I haven't done anything to fix it yet, but I plan to take my door latch mounting brackets and fabricate a jig based on the originals, then I'm going to make new ones with more curvature to allow clearance for the tires. Sometimes on really good g-outs I get nice little puffs of smoke from the tires. DV might have a better cure for this. Simply running smaller O.D. tires might cure the problem, but my original CR manual recommended the 255/60-15 tires at all four corners. This is really just a little heads up for a potential glitch. If you'll be working on door hinges, why not take care of the latch area also, right.
good luck,
Jim Downard

[Double Venom]

Jim,
Typical problem with oversized tires. Your solution is the correct one. This is exactly what we do and we even run 17" tires on some of our cars!

BUT, you will not have to make new plates, just modify the original one. Reading some of your posts and seeing what you have done...I'm guessing you have or can get your hands on a Plasma cutter?

As you can see the mentioned bracket simply extends into the wheel tub to far for oversized tires. If you cut the "middle" of the braket out. rebolt the plate to the frame, then rebolt the latch plate in place. Now you can replace the "center". Simply change the angle of the center section, weld it to the frame mounted piece first. You will most likely then have a gap to the latch side.

At this point I just use about a 1/2" wide piece of stock steel, slide it into the gap and weld up both sides.

End of tire rub! Of course changing to a good coil over set up on the rear is a tremendous up grade.

Snake: We have all been there fella, and some of us still are! It will get better! You will get the beast done, and it will all be worthwhile!

DV

[Jim Downard]

Hey Snake,

I just remembered a few more kinks in the armor that would be better to know during construction than after.

1) If you use the heater box that CR sells the heater core has rather long extension tubes (mine were about 4" long) that have a tendency to flex. This can, and did on my car, cause a crack where the tube is welded to the core. This in turn makes the passenger floorboard very wet and stinky. Simply have a radiator shop braze a support between the two tubes halfway between the core and the end of the tubes. Mutual support is a good thing. On the other hand, before cutting holes in your firewall for the fan, talk to DV and get one of the heater boxes he puts in his cars. I'll gaurantee it'll be easier to assemble.

2) The wiring set up for the electric fan has been troublesome as I have heard of several other CR cobra owners having the same troubles. Again DV can help you with this. I ended up dumping the thermostat control that came with the fan and purchased one from Jeg's that actually has a thermostat that fits into your radiator drain. I then has a relay with a control knob that you can attach to your frame. This is a much better setup that I used at DV's recommendation.

3) Body alignment. The book doesn't explain very well how critical it is to make sure your body in setting SQUARELY on the car. The CR manual I think says to set the body on and pull it back to the firewall, then bolt down. Measuring between the back of each rear tire to the edge of the rear fender, I have a difference of 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch. Because my body is skewed, hard braking into a left turn caused my left front tire to rub the back of my left front fender. I had to shim the lower control arm strut pushing the lower control arm forward and switch to 235/60-15 tires to remedy the problem. Again, ask DV about how he makes certain his bodies are on square.

Hopefully the problems I had you can avoid making your build a lot less stressful.

Jim Downard

P.S. I just finished the final touches on mine last night after pulling my 351w and installing a 393w stroker. All I can say is HOLY FU@#*&% SH#$. I didn't even take it over 3000 rpm as I'm still in break in mode, but I can already tell it has WAY MORE than my old 351. Can't wait for 500 miles to pass so I can take it to around 6500 and see what she's got.

Take care.

[Snake]

Hey Jim....Thanks for the info...I talked with DV today about the body prep...He know's it all and done it many times...he gave me some insight on how to mount the body....this should work real good. I'm using a vintage air heater system....just like Petek got in his.....right now, I've got 295/50/15 tires on 15X7.5 rims on the back, and on the front...I have 235/60/14 tires on 14X6.5 rims....looks realy nice. There just like the ones DV had on his blue Cobra....but I haven't mounted the door latch plates... I did check them for fit. That gave me a good indication that the body was pulled back at the right spot. DV told me to change my proportioning value so I bought the one he suggested from summit today. Thanks ED! If I have the same problem with rubbing...all probably do the same as you and what DV said....cut out the angle and weld a stock piece in it's place . Oh God.....!! I forgot to ask you DV...I don't have the switch that attaches to the brake peddal (brake peddal switch)...do you have one ...or where can I get one?

Thanks Jim...if there is any other suff...just bring it on...all help is helpfull!!
Thanks Again DV and JIM

[Jim Downard]

Snake,

Just go to any auto parts stoor and purchase a generic brake pedal switch. You'll have to make some sort of bracket for it. I don't remember the part number of mine but it's cylindrical looking, about 1/2" in diameter, two inches long and threaded along the body. If you make a bracket and bolt it to your pedal support then position it in front of the pedal is should work O.K.
Mine's a little flimsy as I used some rather thin steel, but hey, it got me on the road and that's what matters.

[Double Venom]

Jim,
The Ford switch is still available. No mods or brackets needed. I'll post the part number later this morning.
DV