The list of items to tackle is vast, but when you read through it not exactly difficult. Swapping out a new fuel cap, for instance, super easy.
Untitled by
Dave Hord, on Flickr
Made up some replacement metal 02 sensor shields. These are only needed for use on gravel roads, I've never damaged a sensor otherwise, but clearly
needed on gravel roads! Material is something I got from DCI Performance in Australia, but can't seem to find it on the website anymore. Need to figure out what it is...as I've used the last of it!
These next two images, grabbed from my IG stories, pretty much says everything...
Digging into it, it would seem that I had no less than three sets of power wires run from various spots in the car to where the Rally computer mounts. I expected two, because I used to run a Brantz rally computer, but swapped it out when it stopped functioning correctly. The Helios unit here was supposed to be a temporary mount, which may explain wiring setup number two. But then, there was a permanent set of power wires (complete with wire loom) that really confuses me. Why didn't I pull the temp set out? There were two sets of sensor wires too. One was running to a speedometer cable-run sensor, that was only half hooked up, and the other to the GPS speed sensor. My Brantz is definitely the preferred rally computer, but as it has to go back for repairs I cleaned out all the wiring and set this car up to simply use the Helios unit on the GPS sensor. From a rally perspective, this isn't ideal, as the GPS sensor occasionally takes some time to find a satellite after start up and you lose distance when driving through a tunnel. Since I don't really use the car for TSD or performance rallies anymore, just the Classic Car Adventures tours, it's "close enough".
Cleaned up, and moving to deutsch-style connectors.
The tail lamps on the car have had issues over the years. The right tail lamp is famous for losing the running lamp, which was simply a matter of epoxying the bulb holder into the metal reflector. But on our last event I would (apparently) lose the left tail lamp at times, and then the right. But never the two at the same time. I've been sitting on a set of LED tail lamps for a few years, having not swapped them over because I prefer the authentic european lamps with the orange turn signal. Alas, the wheels are no longer Salzburg appropriate...so time we lose the tail lamps too. Popped the new ones on...
...and promptly had a non-working left running lamp. Keep in mind, it was working moments earlier when I used it to confirm wiring colours for each circuit! Lamp off, electrical meter out, no power to the housing. GRRR. Spun all the ceramic fuses, and it worked. Moments later, it went out. Hmmm. Further inspection determined I have a fault in the fuse box, which is a bit of a fun problem. It's about this time that I started thinking heavily about just tearing the whole car down and rewiring it from scratch. I did my MG Midget last winter, made a whole new harness with deutsch connectors and a modern fusebox, and it's fantastic. No more British electrical issues. This car has had so many patches and additions over the ten years, and I'm not as big a fan of the anderson powerpole connectors as I was when I built it. Also, I know
why I went with factory style fuses for the two fuse boxes...but like the wheels, it's time to modernize. I need to pull the windshield wiper assembly if I'm going to fix the pivots, but there is a whole whack of rally-related wiring and connectors in the way. I'm sure when I
built the car I thought it was nice and modular and easy to pull out sections...but looking at it now, with 10yrs of wiring diagrams lost to my head. I'm not so sure! The Rally Bug needs to have a 'quick turn around' in the shop this round, as it's the car most ready-to-go for events in 2024. I need to get the '58 in and ready for California Mille, and then I'd like to prep the German Look. After that's done, I can relax a little and consider whether a two week re-wiring job is worth it. So instead, for now, it's going to be clean up where I can...ignore what I have to...and move non-critical items off the list if necessary. I managed to 'fix' the fusebox for the moment, but I'll get a 10A blade fuse ready just in case I have to bypass it :P
It was about this point that it dawned on me. What if, the Brantz rally computer
isn't damaged internally...and it was just the flaky wiring on the car? Unboxed it from the repair-return shipment I had prepared, and hooked it up on the bench. Sure enough, darned thing is working perfectly. AND I've just finished modifying the car to use the less desirable Helios! ARRRGGG! Well, I have been considering outfitting all the cars with rally odometers this winter (Taylor really appreciated being able to follow the mileage with the route book)...so I guess I have a Brantz to pop into the German Looker now. Sigh.
Side note...why is it the Rally Bug that is the car that doesn't leak any oil!?!
-Dave