Day 16 ~ Wiring 1

 Mark Smith chatted with me yesterday and was able to steer me in some good directions and also confirmed some details with me so he can send me some more goodies. Yeah! I ran into a little different scenario as originally I had planned on using my TDI for the donor, but changed my mind later on when a local shop had a VR6 sitting in the lot collecting dust. The issue is, once you order a kit, Smyth Performance goes through their lists for parts based on the donor you're using. There are several differences between the TDI and VR6 of course, but also between 5 and 6-speed manual tranny's. So after some confirmation and good conversation, Smyth Performance will be sending me some items (like shift cable extension kit & other hardware) soon that will work for my build. I still have enough to keep me busy for a while, but it's nice to think ahead. Apparently there are 12 builds currently taking place. I don't know who they all are, but chime in anytime here if you are a beta with links and info as you see fit. BETA's I know of so far that are building now: John #1 Phillips, Clint "Redjoker" Frysinger, Bill Shaw, Bob #24 Terranova (25 min away), Uwe Lenger, Robert Zeien, Jalen Smith, and I'm pretty sure Mike Gallant's and Kim's VR6 are being worked on too at the HQ.
  Not all of today was tied up in wiring. I prepped and painted the windshield frame with Duplicolor's truck bedliner spray as per Mark's recommendation. It really looks good with a little texture to it. Most of it will be covered anyway, but I wanted to seal it so the rust wouldn't be a problem. I ran short of help today, so it will have to wait for another time for a test fit. That's okay as the dash trough has the bus connectors I'm working on anyway. I only got 2 runs of cable done out of an estimated 8 or 9, so I have a long way to go, but I'm getting into a groove. Can't stress enough the necessity of good tools. I picked up a Harbor Freight ratcheting crimper, hoping it would be the stuff. Wrong. I'm having to more than double my work. Conversing with Mike tonight, he gave me a link for a pair like he uses. I'll be ordering one as soon as I start another build. This one will hopefully be done Monday or Tuesday as far as the wiring extensions go.
  Underneath the car, I still had some heat shield in the tunnel to remove, disconnect the 2 O2 sensors, and remove the catalytic converter section of the exhaust. I also removed my damaged (rear right) brake line in preparation for its replacement. I spent some time untangling my mess of wiring harness, and gave Mike some feedback for his wiring section of the build manual in progress. I like Mike. He's doing some really good work. He should be in the shop tomorrow to take a look at what I have a question on. Basically I figured out all the connectors that need extension except the 2-pin connector. I have found at least 8 connectors that look like the one pictured. Some are obviously staying up front, but there are still plenty to choose from, so he's going to look and try to tell me which component or trunk line it's on. Meanwhile I will keep working on the others I know.
  Friday I was able to tear apart a little more of that spare (wrecked) red VR6 that I got the motor out of. I'm not counting time on that one as part of this build unless it's directly related to something I have to do for this build. Anyway, I'm hoping to recover its brake line, K-frame, spindles, half shafts, tie rods, and a-arms for my current project. The rest of the car and parts will be sold, stored for another G3F, or taken to the scrap yard. Tomorrow I hope to get the front and rear "axle"/frame stuff off to use (I need the rear for a frame that's got no rear wheel assembly, not the G3F).
  Nothing new that hasn't already been posted for pics on the wiring project, but I will snap a shot or two of the windshield and post it soon. Have fun & thanx for reading.