57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'

[sduckworth13]

Originally Posted by Low Elco

Fellers, if you think this thing is cool in pictures, it's AWESOME in person. I thought it was cool when it was a beater! Truly a gorgeous piece. Thanks again for saving my skin (again).

I have been lucky enough to see it in person and it really does look phenomenal. I can’t wait to see it all together.

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by Low Elco

Fellers, if you think this thing is cool in pictures, it's AWESOME in person. I thought it was cool when it was a beater! Truly a gorgeous piece. Thanks again for saving my skin (again).

Hey, Chip. Glad to be of assistance; in return you did me a solid with the coil covers so, many thanks for that!

Originally Posted by sduckworth13

I have been lucky enough to see it in person and it really does look phenomenal. I can’t wait to see it all together.

Thanks, Scott, I'm still hacking away at it.

Took a big step forward on the wiring. The Dakota Digital module is mounted with all the feed wires (except the cruise light) in place. Now I can connect the CAT5 cable to the dash and get it installed. Pretty sure when I do, I'll discover something I forgot and have to take it back out. Seems to be the way it goes.

I found out after the fact that the glove box door stop arm won't let the door close. Hits one of the Vintage Air ducts and refuses to go any further. So I took it off entirely and will do without it. No harm in doing so, just can't use the door as a shelf when it's open. We'll have the console for storage and cup holders anyway.

[Vic1947]

The right side duct coming out of the evaporator is right in the way of the glove box arm. I get within about 3/4" of the door being closed and it hits the duct. Didn't want to punch a hole in it so I figured I'd do without and just be careful. However, another forum member suggested using a cable. So I decided to go that route. I believe it will be safer with a travel limiter.

I picked up the stops at AutoZone and already had some 1/16" aircraft cable so it was just a matter of modifying the existing arm and closing up the rectangular hole in the dash. The end at the glove box door is held captive and the cable moves thru the hole very easily - not even any need for a retractor. I put a little piece of shrink tubing over the cable end next to the stop to keep any sharp edges from puncturing the plastic duct tubing. Works nice and smooth and closes correctly.

[Vic1947]

A bit more progress on the wiring front. The instrument cluster is in and the NAV/HVAC control/speaker enclosure is too. The console would be done also but for receiving incorrect cables from an eBay seller. Had to reorder, so it will be a few days before I can plug in connections for the parking brake, speakers and etc. l sure hope I didn't screw up anything. All circuits are fused but my BIL Rick says fuses are only there as a last resort to keep everything from burning to the ground ...maybe. Probably would be wise at this point to double check everything. I have a reoccurring case of CRS so perhaps even a written checklist.

[Ol Blue K20]

Very nice progress Vic. Looking good!.......

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by Ol Blue K20

Very nice progress Vic. Looking good!.......

Thanks, Dale!

While waiting on some parts I figured I'd hook up the mechanical throttle body linkage. I picked up a Lokar throttle cable and pedal assembly quite awhile back and had installed the pedal before it went off to upholstery. When I got it back, I could tell the pedal didn't have enough travel due to the newly installed carpet and pad. The fix was to use some 1/2 x 5/8 x 2" aluminum blocks to space it up off the floor. Of course, this caused issues with the arm that goes thru the floor and actuates the throttle cable, so I had to machine an extension for it. I was worried that the additional arc would create too much travel but that turned out not to be the case.

In fact, after hooking it all up and adjusting till I was blue in the face, I still don't have the travel I need. With the cable adjusted to where it just returns to idle, I only have about 90% of WOT. When you read up on it, apparently that's a common problem with this setup. Typically, the advice is to make sure there's no slack in the cable, but if I over do it, the throttle blade won't return all the way to idle. There are all sorts of suggestions as you might imagine - up to and including chucking the cable and going full mechanical. Not an option for me.

Not sure if it will be an issue. I know with carbs, you prefer full open butterflies, but often a partially open secondary works nearly as well as full open. Don't know if it's a big deal with EFI. But I would feel better if the throttle blade opened completely.