I dedicate this post to pizza, the ultimate project food (and my new keyboard which works properly and doesn't put me in a bad mood). Not only is pizza nutritious and delicious, it is extremely convenient, and no pizza is more convenient than the the world's most adequate pizza, the Little Caesar's Hot-N-Ready. Where else can you walk in, lay down $5 (plus your local government's sales tax) and walk out with a large pizza all in less than one minute? It may not be great pizza, or even good pizza, but by Odin's beard is it adequate!
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| Disclaimer: Little Caesar's did not give me any free pizza or money for this ad. If you would like to send me free things that are delicious or car parts, feel free to do so and I will review them. |
The reason I speak so highly of the Hot-N-Ready is because it allows me to accomplish great things without wasting time on silly things like stopping to eat. Instead I can inhale a slice of pizza and continue. Rapid work was the theme this weekend. I got Friday off work in observation of Independence Day but that didn't mean I spent all weekend on the car. Some people think there is more to 'Merica Day than building 'Merican Hot Rods, so I had some time limitations. I woke up early on Friday to do some parts hunting. Luckily most people are not crazy motivated like I am so there was no traffic on this pre-holiday Friday morning and I was able to visit all the shops I needed before 9:30 and get started.
At 10:37 I started to remove the powertrain so that I could access the firewall and move it back four inches. The picture above was taken at 11:57. I was pretty pleased with myself , so I went for a pizza. Once I acquired the pizza I was even more pleased with myself, but not being one to rest on my laurels I got started on the firewall replacement.
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| firewall tacked in place |
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| firewall finished |
Because I want the body to look pseudo-stock, and it was convenient, I reused the firewall piece that I cut out well over a year ago. By mid afternoon it was time to clean up but I was happy with the day's progress.
Saturday morning I got up early and got to work because I needed to be done by noon-thirty so I celebrate my freedom of assembly at a BBQ and pool party, and eat the finest communism-free beef. My transmission tunnel needed to be moved up four inches to accommodate the transmission location. The end result came out looking a bit like a patchwork quilt made of 16 gauge steel, but fully functional.
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| old cardboard boxes serve a valuable function |
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| and in 16 gauge steel... |
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| driver's inner footwell |
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| more cardboard |
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| complete (mostly) |
Luckily I'll eventually have carpet in this car so passengers will not be able to admire my fine fabrication skills. I think the thing I'm most excited about with this new firewall and transmission tunnel is that I will no longer have to hear "uhhh, you have a hole in the floor" every time I show my car to someone.
Earlier this week I did a little bit of electronics work. For those unfamiliar with my plans, I will be using MegaSquirt 2 for my engine management system. MegaSquirt is very flexible, but requires some work on the end user's part. As standard, MS2 can control fueling, spark timing, and a few other basic engine functions.
I purchased this MS2 from a guy named Beau who describes himself as some guy in a shed with a grinder. I know him from www.turboford.org and he previously had a Ford 2.3 turbo in his 1968 Mustang. Eventually he decided he wanted more cylinders and swapped to a 2JZ. The 2JZ didn't require this engine management and I picked up the whole setup for cheap. So yes, the brain that once controlled a 1968 Mustang with a 2.3 turbo will now control a 1962 Falcon with a 2.3 turbo. Funny how these things find their way around.
In the upper photo you can see the red, green, and black wires Beau added to enable boost control to this MS2 unit, and in the bottom photo the white and red wires that were added to enable a Variable Reluctance crank sensor input. I added the black wires on the bottom to enable direct control of the LSx ignition coils I swiped from a Chevy Suburban.
I know I've promised you a post about wiring at least as many times as Vanilla Ice has tried to make a comeback (or been in trouble with the law, both of which are equally hilarious). Keep the faith, someday ol' Robby Van Winkle will have another hit song, or reality TV show, or be taken seriously, and I will write a post about running wiring in the Falcon. In the meantime, do as the American Association of Doctors of America Association recommends and eat an adequate pizza.
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