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Oneofthegreats
20-12-2009, 11:38 AM
I haven't been on here much as of late as I've been pretty busy with work & also this project on & off over the last few weeks.

I thought I'd throw this in here after the response from the last wiring project.

My friend has been building this ratter on & off for over 3 years now, using a bit of imagination, ingenuity, bits & pieces from here there & everywhere.

The car is set to debut at the Phillip Island Kustom Nationals in early January.

He started this car with only a cowl & nothing else. Meaning the firewall section. No cab.

He built everything else incl. the complete chassis, rest of the cab, tub, 4 link, rear airbag setup, brake setup, seating (an old cut up couch!) steering the works.
The few bits he gathered along the way was the I beam front end, wheels, & Model T rad shroud. He still doesn't know the whereabouts of the cowl or its origins as to what it is exactly. So its dubbed the "Hammond!"

Once he’d finished build the cab & tub, he sat them outside to rust the normal way! haha

Its got an engine out of his old HJ ute, 253 & Trimatic & a modded Torana diff. The engine also blows smoke too! It was pretty shagged! haha From what he can remember he had the ute for several years & not once changed the oil! haha

I was blown away from his workmanship, as hes's a plumber by trade, not a mechanic, fabricator, boiler maker or engineer!
Its obvious by looking at all the pipe work! Its awesome in real life!


After he seen the job I done on the HG Prem http://www.vwwatercooled.org.au/newforum/upload/showthread.php?t=38083, he asked me if I'd do the same job to get his car going.

I jumped at the chance obviously, cause I enjoy doing this sort of work on cool cars.
It’s also a good part of the process, cause your the one who actually gets the cars going for the first time & are there for first start up too!

To start with he just wanted it "wired" but I said, dude. If you going to all this trouble, lets make it all as invisible as possible.

Nothing worse than spending all this time on how the car looks to have dodgey looking wiring hanging out all over the place.

The only thing he said was he didn't want to drill holes in the chassis.

The basic system consists of an On/Off ignition switch which kills everything so no kid’s can walk past & press either the start or airbag push button's. The brake lights are wired up to constant power as most cars are wired.

The power board has a Power supply which is the main power feed for everything & also where the Alt. charges the battery too!

There is also a Earth point as seeing as how the cab is so rusty, I couldn’t get a could connection at all! Haha. So its linked to the chassis which is perfect.

The Thermofan also has a constant power source so he can park the car, walk away from it & when heat soak sets in, it will automatically cut in & start cooling everything.

I used relay's to power most things, as I didn't want to be loading up the little push button switches with the high current that's caused by the things like the starter, airbag pump & thermo's etc.
The lights are all fused with the thermo fans & Airbag pump wired through circuit breakers.
Everything else what a matter of making it all look as neat & as hidden as possible.

Once the fuse box it tucked up under the dash, all you can see is one single wiring loom running from the floor up under the dash.

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2009/12/IMGP3730_1024x768-1.jpg

Ignition, Start, Airbag pump & Headlight switches

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2009/12/IMGP3732_1024x768-1.jpg

The red light in the centre of the dash is the alternator light. This is covered by an old school cast alloy grill from some car! Early 50's sort of style. The wiring you can see get's tucked up along the bottom of the cowl & won't be visible at all.

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2009/12/IMGP3731_1024x768-1.jpg

I also fitted a main isolater electrical kill switch for when it sits for a long period of time.

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2009/12/IMGP3736_1024x768-1.jpg

Starter & power supply lead. Note the headlight, Thermofan & engine harness running along the underside of the chassis

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2009/12/IMGP3745_1024x768-1.jpg

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2009/12/IMGP3746_1024x768-1.jpg

Chassis/engine earth connections & the wiring looms going into the cab.

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2009/12/IMGP3744_1024x768-1.jpg

Engine harness. Thermofan temp switch & Alt. wiring

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2009/12/IMGP3747_1024x768-1.jpg

Thermofan wiring tucked away

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2009/12/IMGP3750_1024x768-1.jpg

Headlight wiring

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2009/12/IMGP3748_1024x768-1.jpg

Oneofthegreats
20-12-2009, 11:38 AM
Battery

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2009/12/IMGP3735_1024x768-1.jpg

Rear light loom running along the chassis. Didn't have to really hide this, but we mounted it with copper saddles to keep the theme
Note all the chassis work, 4 link setup & airbag setup/

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2009/12/IMGP3739_1024x768-1.jpg

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2009/12/IMGP3740_1024x768-1.jpg

Rear lights

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2009/12/IMGP3737_1024x768-1.jpg

Pedal's! Peterbuilt truck accelerator pedal as the brake! haha
The old saying "Ken thought it was worth it, so Peter built it!" haha

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2009/12/IMGP3733_1024x768-1.jpg


The copper piping & valve is the airbag dump pipe! It doesn't have enough room to run a airbag tank & just runs off the compressor through a check valve/one way valve. So the pump isn't under constant pressure all the time.

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2009/12/IMGP3743_1024x768-1.jpg

You can just see the open pipe where the dump exits!

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2009/12/IMGP3753_1024x768-1.jpg

Fuel lines

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2009/12/IMGP3751_1024x768-1.jpg

Nice little touch is the olds rocker cover /spark plug trims! I like them & space the ignition leads nicely out too!

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2009/12/IMGP3752_1024x768-1.jpg

Carb's on adapter plate!

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2009/12/IMGP3749_1024x768-1.jpg

Oneofthegreats
20-12-2009, 11:39 AM
Once everything was wired up, all the fluids filled (except the engine. It still had crusty old oil in it!), fuel system primed it fired up straight away & ran like a champ. Oil smoke & all! haha

Those exhaust pipes are straight out. No mufflers in this thing! haha

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2009/12/IMGP3754_1024x768-1.jpg

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2009/12/IMGP3757_1024x768-1.jpg

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2009/12/IMGP3759_1024x768-1.jpg

Note the HAND! haha

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2009/12/IMGP3765_1024x768-1.jpg

Then it was onto a quick lap around the court. (this isn't a street car, just a toy he wanted to build for something different)

Note the "massive" trans shifter! haha Awesome!

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2009/12/IMGP3762_1024x768-1.jpg

I'm very happy how my part of this all turned out & everything worked without fault.

There are still a few bugs to sort out, but he's still got some time to get it all sorted before the Kustom Nats

To say he was happy is an understatement!

Once I was done with all the wiring, he was just standing there & shaking.

I can't take any of the credit for this build, but its nice to be there for a mate who has been building something for so long & your there to help him out & get it going after being so long in the build.

I was pretty satisfied when another bloke came around & was looking over the ratter & he asked "how does this thing run? There are now wires!" & that's when my friend said to me, it was worth it to get you in & do the job properly!



Enjoy!



P.S. Now onto the next project!

c-issler
20-12-2009, 11:57 AM
That is ridiculously cool. Such a great mix of the old, new and individual style. Well done on your part; I hope for his sake this gets lots of attention at the show.
C-issler.

Preen59
20-12-2009, 12:32 PM
That's cool as man. I love seeing how people of different trades approach things differently!

Love the copper stacks on top of the '97s! That's freaking cool as!

Peter Jones
20-12-2009, 01:34 PM
http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2009/12/w00t1gif-1.jpg

Might have to pop out to the island and take a look.

Neat project.

Pete

Jarred
20-12-2009, 01:38 PM
that's cool as.

well done as normal on the wiring Tim, and thanks for sharing!

joshyd-mk2gti
20-12-2009, 01:44 PM
flippin' awesome. love the copper parts. hope they oxidize and get a bit of green patina going on, that would suit the theme real well.

Oneofthegreats
20-12-2009, 02:11 PM
That is ridiculously cool. Such a great mix of the old, new and individual style. Well done on your part; I hope for his sake this gets lots of attention at the show.
C-issler.

He's not all that interested on what the response is like.

He's a bit like me. You build something for you. It doesn't matter what other people think & if they like it or not.

Best way to be I reckon

Preen59
20-12-2009, 06:38 PM
You build something for you. It doesn't matter what other people think & if they like it or not.

Quote of the week. :cool:

alex g
20-12-2009, 07:16 PM
looks awesome, love the period switches, copper piping and so on.

the mdf fuse board? i guess it non conductive just not real heat/fire friendly

but slick work, like it

GoLfMan
20-12-2009, 08:18 PM
top notch, a REAL cool rat.

I tell you what though, that slammed white kings is farkin AWESOME :eek:

16v_kid
20-12-2009, 08:31 PM
First of all LOVE THE GEAR SHIFT!!!

Second... nice work on the wiring and the fuel lines is a nice touch.

Good stuff Tim.

:bowdown:

Oneofthegreats
20-12-2009, 08:38 PM
looks awesome, love the period switches, copper piping and so on.

the mdf fuse board? i guess it non conductive just not real heat/fire friendly

but slick work, like it

It may look alittle dodgey to some, but you should take a peek at what some big dollar hotrods & such are wired like. They are terrible & have paid through the roof for it too!

This was a fairly basic wiring job although very time consuming. The car only has Ignition, headlights, taillights, brake lights, airbags & thermo's.
Only the lighting system is fused. The rest is wired though circuit breaker's which are more reliable than fuses & if they do trip, the cut back in, in a few minutes. Whereas a fuse will blow & thats it. No more power. You have to change it.

I've done several of wiring jobs where I'd had to start from scratch like the ratter & below & its much easier to mount everything to a board, make up all the majority of the wiring harness & then fit it all in one go. You can also fit a "Mains" power & earth supply without having to isolate it all from the body.

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2009/12/IMGP2187-1.jpg


My friend who also does this sort of thing as his job also does his wiring nearly identical & he's done some very big dollar show cars that have graced a few major mags & has never had any drama's with heat or short outs etc.

Its also very easy to mount to the body & reuse some of the original bolts/body mountings without having to mount several relay's, circuit breaks, fuses & drilling 10+ holes into the body!

My friend also didn't want any extra visible holes anywhere either which made it even better to use this. It only has 2 screw's holding it all in through some standard holes.


So it all works fine. I'll be doing a similar thing with my truck wiring too!

Oneofthegreats
20-12-2009, 08:43 PM
top notch, a REAL cool rat.

I tell you what though, that slammed white kings is farkin AWESOME :eek:

That was his father in law's which he brought from brand new. Drives like new even dropped that low.

Engine has done bugger all km's & coupled to the original & still sweet as shifting auto, it definitely is a cruiser!

The only addition is the sunvisor (as he loved my old ute), stocky rims & whitewalls & rear venetian!

Cool as!

Can't get enough of the old stuff. Much more reliable than....(I won't say it, but I'm sure most of you all know what I mean!)

Peter Jones
20-12-2009, 09:00 PM
I've wired a few similar things (and a lot of very dissimilar things :) )

The '56 Inter I re-wired only had about a dozen wires and they all ran back to a thermal trip out that is part of the headlight switch.

If you're looking for something other than MDF to work with try a nylon chopping board. You know, the kitchen kind! You can buy pretty big ones cheap and they machine well so you can tap, drill, saw, recess etc neatly with the same tools you're using for the MDF. You can even make a laminated switchboard so that there's no chance of shorts from behind. They'll take a bit of heat too.

If you're really nuts and have a lot of time on your hands you can use a router to conceal wiring in behind the board.

You can also buy the nylon chopping board material from an industrial plastic suppliers along with lots of other cool stuff. K-Mart is pretty cheap to just get a big chopping board from though.

For a Rat Rod I'd probably use old fabric covered mains leads for the exposed wiring. The sort of thing you find on old toasters, kettles, irons etc. The mid section of the lead is usually OK you just have to know how to bind off the ends of the fabric sheath properly and how to terminate according to the conductor type. (Anyone here ever worked with tinsel wire?)

I have another technique in mind for a special project one day, brass wire bus bars! Has to be an early car with only a small amount of wiring and firmly mounted terminations but I reckon I could pull it off.

Just wish I had more time.

Pete

Peter Jones
20-12-2009, 09:09 PM
I remember seeing a similar rat rod back in 2006 at the Cranbourne event.

Didn't get many shots of it. Do remember that it had an LPG exhaust flamer kit on it though:rolleyes:

Gotta love the barbed wire spider web grill!

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2009/12/P1080651-1.jpg

Pete

Oneofthegreats
20-12-2009, 09:12 PM
The original plan was to use the fabric wiring as you suggested Pete funnily enough, but we couldn't get it in time or enough of it either

Ah well. He's more happier that its done like this & is as hidden as it can be.


But I'll be rewiring his BSA motorbike with the old fabric wiring!

Nice suggestion about the boards material too! I'll be keeping it in mind!

I think there is alittle too much wiring to route through the boards with routed channels. Its a nice idea, but hard as buggery when you have to chase a problem or rewire it I think.

For interest sake, I counter sink the power/earth supply bolts & cover them in silicon to avoid short outs etc.


This board tucks up under the cowl & is unnoticeable as everything is on the top side of the board, but still has access to the vitals being relay's & fuses etc. That's why there mounted on the edge of the board. Its also labeled underneath too!

I reckon the best bit about fabricating a project like this is that no one will ever own one like it & he's the only one with it!

Peter Jones
20-12-2009, 09:32 PM
Finishing off fabric coated wire can be a bit fiddly if you haven't worked with it before.

In my experience you're best off trying to replicate the old termination practices and bind the end of the braid rather than use heatshrink.

Having said that though I reckon the type of heatshrink with the inner layer of hotmelt glue would probably do the trick. You've got to stop the braid from sliding back up the wire.

I'd probably try a few different techniques and see what works best.

A transformer winding place might be able to find you some waxed lacing twine if you're trying to be period otherwise I'd try binding with cotton and a drop of super glue.

I like wires!

Pete

Preen59
20-12-2009, 09:43 PM
You guys have got more heart than me. I'm no good with electrical stuff.. At all. :bowdown:

Oneofthegreats
20-12-2009, 09:44 PM
Having said that though I reckon the type of heatshrink with the inner layer of hotmelt glue would probably do the trick. You've got to stop the braid from sliding back up the wire.


In the of the power board on the previous page, I used that glue/sealer heat shrink!

Awesome stuff, although alittle pricey, but well worth it I reckon

Just make sure when you use it, you don't have to cut it open again! It is beyond a pain in the arse, especially if you have done a long length of loom!

rayray086
20-12-2009, 10:13 PM
Very cool :thumb: I admire all that wiring work especially when it's done from scratch. Inspiration!

velly_16v_cab
21-12-2009, 07:16 AM
thats brill tim....we all had a good giggle at this in work......the rod looks wicked:banana:

DubSteve
21-12-2009, 07:39 AM
Awesome mate thats sick as :)

GoLfMan
21-12-2009, 08:49 AM
That was his father in law's which he brought from brand new. Drives like new even dropped that low.

Engine has done bugger all km's & coupled to the original & still sweet as shifting auto, it definitely is a cruiser!

The only addition is the sunvisor (as he loved my old ute), stocky rims & whitewalls & rear venetian!

Cool as!

Can't get enough of the old stuff. Much more reliable than....(I won't say it, but I'm sure most of you all know what I mean!)

thats epicly cool. I rock that!!!

dubbed
21-12-2009, 10:02 AM
That's awesome mate. He's lucky to have a friend like you!

I like doing wiring myself, I'm just not that electrically knowledgeable :(

walshydub
21-12-2009, 02:00 PM
Very cool car mate, always had a soft spot for home built hot-rods. :bowdown:
If i had any mechanical skill i'd be doing the same.

I like the look of the Kingswood on whitewalls too btw.

Ryan No.2
24-12-2009, 08:21 AM
Great build. When the time comes I plan on building a rat rod. Also loving the kingswood. Those things slammed, on blacks always look awesome.

GRN_VAGN
24-12-2009, 10:23 AM
That is awesome as !!!

Ive linked 2 pics on a diff forum, if you want them down let me know, but i doubt it. that car is amazing!!!

the pic of it on the road, bags all way down?