67 Mustang heart transplant surgery in progress...

I would be down for a DFW meet. We must have a half dozen of us on here.
 
More updates! First, parts arrivals....

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:D So I have here a new MSD distributor for my electronic ignition, 6AL box with adjustable rev limiter :cool:, new coil, also I had to get a new damper that had the 50 oz. imbalance and the original 3" offset of the 28 oz. damper. This was so I could run my existing pulleys, timing cover, and water pump with the v-groove style belts. Also pictured is a coil bracket, fuel pump kit, and wiring kit for the 6AL.

More pictures of the parts
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I also picked up a few things from OReillys, namely a fan controller, motor mounts and a temperature sending unit, pictured below.

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So now onto the work.

Checking out the fitment of the balancer
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Altering the old alternator spacer for the new alt.
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Done!
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New alternator mounted up. Also I have the fuel line to the carb on there for the time being.
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Crank pulley on
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Engine at the end of the weekend
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Well I didn't get as much done as I would have liked to this weekend. I'm trying to get all the pulleys aligned before I move on. The alternator looks good now, but the water pump pulley still needs to be offset about 1/4". I was going to just grind on some metal and make it but I found there are some universal shim kits, but I'll have to order them. Pretty cheap tho, ~$8. I still have to get the power steering pump situated too. The stud it mounts on isn't threading right into the head, and I'm not sure if the threads are stripped or if the hole is too large. I really haven't spent much time investigating it yet.

But.......after I get the pulleys situated correctly I won't have much left before I can put it in :mrgreen:

I'll have to do some wiring but I think I'm strangely looking forward to it. Right now I'm mulling over where to mount the 6AL box. I want it in a discreet location, maybe under the passenger's seat?

Till next time! :D
 
Most people mount the MSD box in the engine bay.
 
Mostly people around here don't mount them inside the passenger compartment because the factory wires are too short. They're usually found on the firewall or one of the inner fenders or even the radiator support, like so:

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Spectre said:
Most people mount the MSD box in the engine bay.
Click to expand...

I don't like the look of the box in the classic engine bay. Its just an aesthetic thing really. Plus if its in the car, it will be better protected from vibration and moisture. I've seen some in the gloveboxes but I don't think it looks good and MSD recommends not putting it in a place like that.

EDIT: I just read your second response. I'm aware most people put them in the engine bay but I've got additional wiring so I can mount it that far away from the engine.

EDIT 2: Thanks Craig, slowly but surely!
 
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See above for examples - doesn't MSD also specify a maximum cable length and that you should have airflow over it to cool it? That's why people put it in the engine bay. If you put it inside the cabin, you get no airflow.

Edit: And, actually, MSD says it's fine to mount it externally in terms of weather exposure. From the manual:

Sealing: Do not attempt to seal the MSD. All of the circuits of an MSD receive a thick
conformal coating of Humi-Seal. This sealant protects the electronics from moisture. If you
were to seal the unit, any moisture or water that may seep in through the wiring grommets
will not be able to drain and may result in corrosion.

...

The MSD can be mounted in most positions, except directly upside down (if upside down,
moisture or water cannot escape). It can be mounted in the engine compartment as long
as it is away from direct engine heat sources. It is not recommended to mount the unit in an
enclosed area such as the glovebox.
When you find a suitable location to mount the unit, make sure the wires of the ignition
reach their connections. Hold the Ignition in place and mark the location of the mounting
holes.
? If you have a 6A Ignition, use an 1/8" drill bit to drill the holes. Use the supplied self
tapping screws to mount the box.
? If you have a 6AL, 6T, 6BTM, 6-Offroad or "N" Series, use a 3/16" drill bit and drill the holes
for the supplied vibration mounts. Install the vibration mounts, then mount the Ignition.
Click to expand...

So, seems like the vibration thing isn't an issue with the supplied mounts. If the color annoys you, paint it black and be done with it.
 
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I read through the manual briefly and I didn't see mention of cooling. The two things it did stress importance on were vibration and moisture protection. It also said that if the wires are lengthed to reduce the wire gauge of additional wires (i.e. 12 goes to 10).

Here's the glovebox job. I don't like it but apparently the MSD tech the guy talked to said it wouldn't be a problem

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I'm going to see if I can find some more examples tomorrow but from all the classic guys I've talked to on this, they say in car mounting is fine.

Before I start drilling I'm going to research the hell out of it.

EDIT: Hmm now I'm reading about heat issues so under the seat probably won't be a go. My next option is a clever mount in the passenger footwell....
 
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Are you planning on mounting that coil horizontally or vertically?
 
Because you're not supposed to mount a Blaster 1 or 2 in a horizontal orientation - it leaves the windings exposed out of the coolant inside. Shake it - you can hear the fluid slosh around inside. If you want to mount it horizontally, buy a Blaster HVC.

Found this out when I was researching coils for my Series III - the factory coil is horizontal mount and goes out every 10-30K. Put a Blaster in... it goes out every 10-30K. Put a Blaster HVC plus ballast resistor in, works just fine.
 
Ah good to know, admittedly I haven't even opened up the coil or read through the instructions. If I can I'd like to mount it right where the stock on was, which is vertical.
 
If you had a can-coil before, it should fit, though you may need to swap brackets.

I don't know that this info is in the instructions, but large numbers of people have reported those problems.


Edit: I just looked - yes, the instructions recommend that the coil be mounted in an "upright" or vertical orientation.
 
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So I mentioned awhile ago in this thread that my headers have started to pit and don't look as nice as they did. (They were ceramic coated). They're really nice, (Hooker Long Tube Comps) and there is nothing wrong with them other than their appearance. Instead of getting them refininshed/recoated, I think I'm going to do exhaust wrap on them. I'm not really sure what I would *need* as far as heat resistance goes or what material to select. Anyone more knowledegeable people have advice?

I also got my bosch 75A relay for the fan in the mail today. :D
 
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Good. Let me know if/when you want to do those battery cables for the thing.

This is the positive cable I recently did for the S3:
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I can get more 4 or 0 gauge cable. :D

Check with some of the old hot rod or Brit car restorers in the area (there's one in FtW whose name escapes me at the moment) as they are the most likely to know about exhaust wrapping. I know little to nothing about the actual technique to produce them, sorry.
 
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Wow, that looks really nice. I think I'll probably get heavy into wiring during spring break (2nd week of march), if everything goes smoothly. I may take you up on your offer, but the car is in Ennis. This is one reason it is taking so long, I only have sparse weekends to put work in on it.
 
Well, get the measurements and we can make up a cable any time.

Now, I get my cable really cheap because they're offcuts from longer pieces at car audio shops. Here's what it looks like with the corrugated sheathing off so you can see the real color of the cable insulation under the heatshrink at the ends:

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The current batch in my "make up" box is red, but after that, who knows? It might be blue, black, green... but the price is right. No way 4 gauge cable is worth the $10/ft that it seems to cost retail. :p Anyway, the sheathing and the heatshrink deal with the color coding nicely and since I never see whatever color it was I got for $1/ft, who cares? :D CarToys sells those offcuts, they just don't advertise it. You might want to consider hitting them up for some for your fans.
 
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4 gauge for a battery cable.... fine I guess but I wouldn't go smaller than 2 gauge, 0 preferably. Napa also stocks those sizes in bulk and will cut it to length fairly cheaply.

Anyway, good luck with the electronic ignition install, hopefully you didn't get one of the MSD boxes that goes bad. As far as mounting that box, I'd really recommend in the engine bay just for simplicity. You say you won't like the look, well paint it semi-gloss black or whatever color your engine bay is and nobody will notice it but you. Ideally you bead blast it or similar, then prime and paint, but you can also go over it with a red scotchbrite pad and paint it like any other part. Then there no dealing with routing wires and trying to hide it that will just make it difficult to service later.
 
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