Jon, Chuck,

Based on Jon's comment that SNG Barratt might have a kit, I contacted their sales department and found out that they do in fact sell the heater seal kit. It includes all of the internal felt pieces, but not the external pieces that seal the heater to the firewall. The part number for the kit is BF1058.

 

that's one giant resistor if I ever saw one.

 

if you have a Joann's Fabrics nearby, go to their Crafts Dept. and look for sheets of medium hard foam that they sell in different thicknesses and colors. Just don't use Pink.

they are the same grade of foam used for gaskets in tail lights and sidelights.

 

It is dissipating about 30W to 40W hence the size, it will get warm when it is in circuit. Power resistors tend to be quite big purely because of the heat they need to dissipate.

 

Thanks Ted, It is hidden in plain site under the heater section as "Heater box seal kit", but they should have it as an alternative product under any of the seals, that is what they usually do !!

I wasn't sure about the polyurethane seals, it's basically upholstery foam, I thought it may have more likelihood of holding moisture than neoprene, but i may have been better getting closed cell polyethylene foam instead.

I have also added some extra seals to the hinged areas on the flaps I also made the foam larger under the radiator so that it sealed the hinge for the hot/cold flap to stop dilution of the hot air with cold air passing the flap, if you look at MK2's Heater ? Valve Chatter you will see that with the upgraded motor, the suppliers recommend sealing this flap shut and removing the control wire from it to avoid this issue. I have instead tried upgrading the seals to see if that works, I have had the fan running on the table, and the seals seem to be working well, only time will tell.

 

It's been a bit hectic with other things going on, but the heater box is back in the car, and I'm in the process of stripping the newspaper tray and radio control panel.

I have ordered the fuse board, cables and some sundries to start the rewire following in the footsteps of Lin Rose and Kriss motors who have so well documented this process, using a more up to date Classic Technologies fuse panel.

I have to thank Lin and Eric for their hard work in documenting this process as it has been and invaluable resource.

I shall add a few of my own ideas, and will provide some updates as I proceed, so far the worst part has been adapting the details from LHD to RHD, but that is a walk in the park compared to the work Lin and Eric have already put in to provide those that follow with a great head start.

 

Good luck, and thanks for the attribution. Eric gets most of the credit - along with Marc Goldblatt who sells the fuse/relay panel. He provides an excellent wiring diagram that offers a good place to start for our Jags.
Lin

 

I am trawling through Lin and Eric's documentation and converting the cable runs from LHD to RHD, so much work has been done by these guys to help with the rewire.

I am still waiting for the fuseboard, so I thought I would get on with a couple of things before that arrives. Following Lin's method, but adding my own spin for the use of the old fuse box and regulator.

I have also built my own voltage regulator which I have shoe horned into the old case, this is variable, so I can make small adjustments to give some calibration to the gauges. It would not quite fit into the old case, so I had to make up a packer from some old PC board, I bolted the case back together to allow it to be dismantled and also use the one bolt as an earth point directly rather that through the case to the mounting point.


A few pictures attached of these items.

 

Love it! Looking good, Jon.
Lin

 

I am in the throws of the rewire, with print outs of Lin Rose's schematics at hand this job is so much easier.

Classic Technologies fuseboard in place and most of the dash area now complete.

I came up with a mad idea to install an RFID reader with a fob for security, and have now got a working prototype. I will install the microprocessor behind the radio console and the reader inside the newspaper tray. The ignition circuits and possibly the fuel pump will be isolated until the correct card is used to switch off the "immobilizer", and it will turn the Map light on for a second to confirm that the card has been read. I am looking at adding SMS message sending if the car is accessed without the card, and GPRS tracking too, but I may add that later as I can update/expand the system at any point, and that is a job better suited to the winter.

 

Moved on with the wiring today, started running the wires for the RH cill ( Oh I wish I had gone to knitting classes!!!)

Made a small alteration to the fuseboard to enable me to install a latching relay for the ignition feeds, this will allow me to disable the coil and fuel pump along with some other items with one wire which controls the ignition relay on the Classic Tech fuseboard.

I have also started running the power feeds for the Amplifier which I will put in the boot, and I will run the inputs along the opposite side from the power, I also need to run the front speaker cables from the Amp position, and I am not sure if I run these in the Cills or under the carpet, any suggestions ?

 

Well there is a lot of room in the sills/cills and they should be relatively easy to reach through the plug in the rear of each but I believe it would be easier to reach the wires in the future if you tucked them under the carpet. I haven't gotten that far yet so I would defer to folks that have.

Impressive wiring work. I wish you the best moving forward!

 

Thanks Gene,

I have had some great advice from Primaz, and having run the power in the RH Cill, I will most likely run the speaker and signal lines in the LH Cill.

I will make up my cables into a mini loom with extra shielding and all inside heatshrink before pulling then through the Cill, most of the lighting for the rear goes down the RH Cill with only the interior lights, the fuel pump supply and LH flasher in the LH Cill

 

Cool!

 

Time has been limited recently, but have managed to progress somewhat.

I have managed to drag the speaker and phone cables through the cill, only to realize that I had managed to thread the speaker wires back to front, so I have to pull them back out, turn them round and do it again !!!

Also realized I had missed out the left hand front flasher wire after I had wrapped it all up, so had to take that apart and feed the wire through, pretty frustrating, but that's what happens when you start and stop on a job like this and forget where you were!

Anyway, I have managed to finish off the left hand valence terminals, and tidy up the looms, every terminal crimped and soldered. I now have bunches of wires in the inner wings and the boot ready for those connections to the lights etc, still have some tidying to do, but fairly happy with it so far.

I have a working prototype of my RFID immobilizer, and will finalize this in the next few weeks, I am adding an alarm to this unit also, and have just ordered some custom printed circuit boards which will make the whole thing more professional. Watch this space ! Success or failure looms !

 

Looms! Ha, now that IS clever.

 

I would like to take credit, but that was an unintentional pun, thanks for making me chuckle.

 

It's been a little while, life took over and been really busy with work.

Started stripping the wood, dismantled the instrument cluster and stripped that, some small repairs to make to the cross banding on one edge.

Also started stripping the bonnet and boot, have a few repairs to do on the boot lid, and a new door skin on one door before I can start the respray properly.

 

Oh and another small addition to work that requires doing ---

May I introduce Ethel, this is Edith's slightly older sister, 1965 Mk2 3.4 matching numbers car, with what appears to be only 3 previous keepers the first from 1965 to 1971, then it possibly stayed in the same family passing from father to son, until the current owner passed away after starting to dismantle the car with a view to restoration.

It was delivered last night and I have stashed it in my dear friend's garage where I shall have a prod and a poke to see what I have, bought this completely blind, but looks very promising and is a definite restoration, probably on the face of it less work that the current project.

 

Congratulations on your latest acquisition. Like the rest of us, you are truly a glutton for punishment. I shouldn't be saying too much. I have six British cars in various stages of restoration and would likely buy more if I had the space to store them. Keep having fun!