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Here is the link for the startup video!
https://youtu.be/DMNL5cTmTGg
Sounding good Steve.
Something did strike me, you don't have any sound deadening on the bulkhead.
I know that it was only used on slant four engined cars so I am guessing you decided
to do without because the Carledo is satisfactory without any fitted?
For my Sprint I have lightweight Dynamat and Car Builder Solutions carpet,
which I reckon will offer no weight penalty over OE standard carpet?
At this stage, I am inclined to think I will fit bulkhead sound deadening too
even though it is more weight.
(The late instrument panel is for comparison)
I have had a go at doing up the woodwork. For the dash I have used the wood from a '75 Sprint, which wasn't
in great condition at all, but whilst miles from being perfect has turned out okay.
As you can see I have went for a darker colour (personal preference) and adopted an early Dolomite look
with a rocker hazard light switch, black bezels and warning light cluster. The big gauges are late Sprint
and I put the speedo on the right.
(I do have an early 1850 rev counter but I don't think it works with an Omex ECU, hence my choice.)
I have added illuminated switches for fog lights (back and front) and also a brake warning light
(being a '79 car, there is wiring on the PDWA but I haven't found a warning light?)
Ian.
The lack of sound deadening pad on the bulkhead, is more down to lack of one to fit than anything else! The original one was in pretty poor shape and came off in several pieces, With Aldridge not working, I didn't have time to wait so went without. It may be OK anyway, the Vauxhall engine is less mechanically noisy than the slant, as you say, only the slant powered cars got the underbonnet pad anyway. This may just have been cost cutting on the lower spec models though! The Carledo, being Toledo based, never had one, but that car's character and ethos allows (almost demands) it to be a bit noisy inside.
I'm reinstating all the inside soundproofing to the bulkhead and the car has had a lot of extra, thick, sound deadening material added at some time in the past, it's under all the carpets, there's a huge chunk under the back seat (as well as the standard black bag of stuff) it's behind the rear seat backrest (sandwiched by the cover board in the boot) and more has been glued inside the rear wings. I also have a full set of carpet covered millboards for the boot, a legacy from another scrapper. I'm hoping overall that it's going to be fairly quiet inside (for a Dolomite at any rate) I have a NOS Drivers quarter light so that should seal OK but wind noise was ever a problem, we'll just have to see! If I can hear the stereo at 80mph without turning it up, I'll count that as a win! The engine puts out more power as standard than the mildly tuned 8v in the Carledo and (significantly in an auto) considerably more torque at lower revs. I think the weight penalty is a price worth paying in this instance
I like what you've done with your woodwork and dash layout, I too prefer a darker colour, it's more refined IMO. Only time constraints and the fact that I have that nice matching set (including 4 very good door cappings) has kept mine original. I'm currently in contact with a very nice guy who wants me to reassemble his Sprint after a respray and engine rebuild. He is a cabinet maker by trade and has done HIS woodwork to a very high standard indeed! I've suggested to him that there might be a lucrative future market for him there!
Is there a particular reason for reversing the speedo and tachometer positions? I wouldn't have thought there was any significant difference. I've used the tach from a late 1500HL, redlined at 6000rpm which should be OK with the auto, the only Sprint tach (redlined at 6500) I had lying about went into the Carledo which is electronically limited to 7200rpm. I think you are correct about the early tach not working with the Omex, it doesn't like working in later Dolomites! and the subsidiary problem with that unit is a faulty tach will stop the car! It happened to my son's T2000 which had a Pi tach of the same design, it took me a while and a not inconsiderable amount of lucre to replace it.
Of course the Sprint's speedo is a fully electronic one as there simply isn't anything to run a cable drive from! Please don't take the mickey about the 180mph face, it was the cheapest 4" unit I could find, a Smiths "classic". These are STUPIDLY pricey and used ones are just not out there! I will at some point black the chrome bezel to make it "fit in" better with the other instruments.
A major departure for me is not fitting a paranoia guage, AKA oil pressure! I have sufficient faith in the motor to run without one!
Richard beat me to the explanation of the PDWA circuitry, he's 100% correct, it's just T'd off the handrake warning light switch wire. As the bulb is fed and the circuit completed by an earth switch, all you need to do is connect the PDWA wire to one pole of the m/cyl cap float switch and earth the other pole. It doesn't matter which way round. If you are clever, you will have acquired the plug and a few inches of wire with the cap! I use a Saab 9-3 cap, but the principal is the same!
Steve
Steve