I'm overdue for an update. Things got real busy at work in November so I was unable to paint the hood and bumper. By the time work eased up it was too cold.
I got the windshield wiper worked out. I had the wrong switch. I had a switch for a non hidden wiper. This was the switch that came with the car. New switch made it work perfectly.
I had some leaks from the transmission pan, so I replaced the gasket on the transmission pan.
Engine still seems a little rough. Maybe I need to clean the injectors. The engine sat for several years from the time I first cranked it till I got it running again.
Now for the picture updates.
Hoses from vintage air hang down. Something the girl friend would complain about.
So I made a cover to hide the hoses.
Powder coated and installed.
Now the hoses are hidden
Time to finish the console/shifter
A graphic was supplied for the Hurst dual gate Overdrive conversion, but no clear plastic was supplied. Since I started with a used ebay shifter I was missing some of the indicator parts. Home Depot to the rescue with a sheet of lexan.
The finished result. The back light was very dim so I substituted a bright LED replacement bulb. Worked very well bright enough to see, but not too bright.
I needed a shift knob. While black reproduction knobs are available for the Hurst, I wanted a wood grain knob instead. It turns out that no aftermarket knobs are currently available so I made my own. I started out with a bare wood ball, drilled it for a threaded insert, and then stained it.
I had sanded the hood and bumper. Now I just need warmer weather.... Maybe by mid March it will be warm enough for painting.
One of the problems with an LS3 engine swap is controlling factory gauges. There is really no good place to insert a 68 GTO temperature sending unit on a LS3 engine. The sending unit is too large to be inserted in the head. Some have used the location that is plugged on the passenger side at the back of the head. I think it is very risky to drill such a large hole. In addition the sending unit would almost touch a header pipe. A second problem is controlling the GEN light. There is no provision in the corvette alternator to control a GEN light. My solution to the problem is to use a computer to read the battery voltage and light the GEN light if the voltage is less than 12.5. I also read the coolant temperature from the ECM and have programed a PWM output to drive the coolant temperature meter. I calibrated the gauge so that the middle mark is 200 degrees, the normal operating temperature for a LS3.
The marks on the gauge correspond to 100,150,200,225,250 so now the gauge is useful.
These are the components I used to read the factory ECM. The red board (OBD2 code reader) connects to the diagnostic connector (will be hard wired when I finish) . The red board reads data from ECM and returns the result as ASCII text. The blue board, actually two boards plugged together are an Arduino Mega 2560 with a proto board plugged into it. The Arduino board contains the program that issues commands to the OBD2 reader. The proto board contains the circuits necessary to interface with the car. A relay drives the GEN light and contains a driver circuit for controlling the temperature gauge. The LCD is a diagnostic aid and won't be used normally.
Here is the board polling data from the ECM. For diagnostic purposes the data is being displayed on the LCD.
And a shot with the board controlling the GEN light and temperature gauge in the car. When the ignition key is first turned on the GEN light is blinked and the gauge cycles from cold to hot and back to cold to show they are working.
I don't have much left to do now. Current list.
Paint hood and bumper
Mount temperature/GEN light controller in an enclosure and install under dash.
Figure out why the engine is a little rough
Finish out the trunk.
Install cornering lights.
That's about it. I plan on having the car completed this spring.