Bilbo's mk1 Cavalier

Got a load more done on the pedalbox the last couple of days.

After cutting out the firewall I measured up and cut out some decent thickness plate and got the side and top walls of the extension welded in:




The front plate was a bit more difficult but it all went quite well and I'm happy with how it turned out:



Got some holes drilled out for the master cylinder and got it test fitted:



Not bad but it was a little bit tilted to the right which was annoying, so I did some more work on the holes and got it a bit straighter.

Wanted all this pedalbox stuff done this weekend, so I went to Halfords to get some red spray paint. It's only for the firewall, so I'm happy with it being rattle canned. They only had Vauxhall Flame Red or Power Red, neither of which are the right paint code for this, but I chose Power Red and once dry it's actually not a bad match to be honest! I seam sealed the welds, coat of primer, then got the red on. I'm quite happy with it, doesn't quite look OEM but I don't think it was a bad effort:



I didn't realise the word nonce was visible on the windscreen when I took that photo, can't let anything get dusty at the unit or someone will always do that haha.

The clutch pedal fits nicely into the extension I've made, it sits a little crooked but once I have the top bracket bolted up it should be fine. I have welded some box section to the top of the clutch pedal assembly, and welded a captive nut to it. A large M12 bolt will thread into it from above. You can't quite see in the photo above, but I have drilled a hole for the bolt to go through in the roof of the extension box. I test fitted the bolt into the clutch assembly tonight and I just need to enlarge the top hole slightly and it'll be perfect, and should be plenty strong enough to hold the clutch pedal in securely.

I have also done the same sort of thing with the brake pedal assembly. I've welded some thick box section to the top of the brake pedal and drilled a hole into it, a bolt goes through this into the original captive nut in the firewall that the Vauxhall brake pedal used. Haven't got much in the way of photos of it, but I'm happy with how it turned out.



I've done an initial extremely scientific strength test by violenty shaking the brake pedal assembly. The entire car shakes with it and it has no visible flex at all, I'm happy that it will be strong enough.

Need to do some work on the actual pedals themselves to get them all sat level and spaced how I would like, and then I can get on with the loom.

Thanks mate, really appreciate the comments. I think the work I've done on it is good, but still learning as I go with a lot of this stuff haha.

Should be plenty of updates this month as I really want to get it done!

Spent a while today working through various bits of the wiring, labelling wires that need splicing and starting to get the interior loom tucked up.

It's looking like it should all fit quite well, I've started to place the various relays and brackets into place, and everything should just about fit with the complete original dash in place. I need to make a few mount points, but the driver's side is starting to look a little bit less of a mess.



I also replaced the stalk assembly with the other one that came with the car. The original stalk wasn't bad but the windscreen wiper selector was a bit tired and didn't nicely click into each position like it should. A lot left to do on the wiring but it should be great when it's sorted. Also spent some time today starting to convert the loom into H4 bulb layout, not too much work really, should have that done in the next couple of days.

Nice work on the wiring looms, don't envy you at all.
I always thought the voltage regulator was to give the gauges a steady 12v rather than a varied one alternators sometimes can.

My mate got the final bracing points added to the engine mount plates. I have now painted them and the gearbox mount ready to be fitted onto the car.




I made some progress on the engine loom routing. Made a couple of holesaw holes that overlapped, and cut the middle part out straight to make a hole that matches the engine loom grommet:




Turns out I actually cut the hole a little too big lengthways, but I'll sort that. The engine loom is now in the bay and all plugged in inside the car:




Slowly getting the interior harness tucked up and hidden inside the dash. The heater transfer box on the firewall now fits in the car, with the loom around it, so that's great, and the vent connector pipes for windscreen and dash vents should just about squeeze in too, so heat distribution should be close to the original setup. Also got the lower part of the main dash refitted to check the harness doesn't foul it anywhere. All good:



I have routed the ECU wiring up behind the dash, and the ECU will sit comfortably inside the glovebox. This isn't the final fitting, but just a test fit to see that it would work:




Keeps everything nicely hidden, which is great. Also this is a far better place for the ECU than MX-5s use. In the 5s the ECU is under the passenger footwell kickplate, if you suffer from a bad leak on that side it can reach the ECU plugs/ECU itself and cause all manner of issues. Glad I have managed to fit it much higher up here, and out of the way of any potential harm.


Pretty happy with how it's going. I have also wired in the handbrake warning switch, located the placement for several loom grounding points, and identified the required wires for the hazard switch and heater fan switches.

Dash and instruments wise I just need to lengthen the instrument lights plug a few inches, wire the front and rear fog switches, wire up the hazard switch, the heater switch, the horn, door open switches, and the rear screen defog heater element. The rest of it is more "nice to haves" like a modern radio, upgraded speakers etc. which can be done whenever. All fairly straightforward stuff.

After this is sorted I'll be getting the rear loom wired in to the rear lights, boot light etc. and getting a battery tray made, and connecting the main earth point to the body. Wiring should hopefully all be done and ready to go in the next week.

The other big thing to do is re-fit the engine and see if my current clutch master fits, if not then I believe a LHD MX-5 one will work as the unit doesn't jut out to the left as much as my current one, which I think will likely contact the rear VVT pipes on the engine. Once the engine is re-fitted we will measure up and get the prop sent off to be adapted.

So I've been pretty flat out on the wiring stuff the last week. Got a load done!



Hazard switch is wired in, as are the front and rear fog switches. I got a radio converter harness and made a bracket to hide the modern radio under the passenger side of the dash. I'll likely upgrade it to something better, but this one will be good enough for now.






It sits flat on the firewall shelf, but the dash itself isn't straight at the bottom, so it looks a bit wonky here haha. Didn't realise this until it was all fitted. Still, you can barely see it when you're up at passenger height, so it's not an issue. For now I am keeping the original 70s radio in its centre holder, just to keep the interior looking completely original, though it won't be functional. I've located the door speaker wiring and will get some speakers wired in and fitted somewhere soon. A few wires left to sort and tuck, and a few others to cut off or tie up and leave for potential future use, but the dash wiring is all going to just about fit and be hidden well.


I've also got the rear lights all wired in. I've removed the ugly smashed bolt on rear fog, found some rust behind it so that was just as well, will get that sorted soon. I have wired the rear fog into the right side reverse light, much like I have on 5s previously. It is a clear lens so will just fit a red bulb.



The lights are in absolutely mint condition, all the wiring contacts inside could have been made this year, they're perfect.

The original rear light wiring ran up along the upper edge of the rear wing panel, with little bendy metal clips holding it in. I've fitted the new wiring the same way, so it's all completely hidden as it was before.



Couple of bits left, boot light and number plate light to sort, but that's it for the rear. It's amazing the condition of the rear of the car, inside the boot there isn't a spec of rust, it's all perfectly red as it was when it was new.


I also got all the body ground points on the loom attached. 9 in total I believe, excluding the engine block ground which I will sort when engine is final fitted. I've checked them all with a multimeter and there's good continuity on all the ground points. So then came the scary part. I took a fire extinguisher off the wall, handed it to my mate and told him he was on electrical firefighter duty, and grabbed a battery.

The good news is there was no fire. No fuses blew, nothing powered up unexpectedly. Great start. Turned the key and the hazards were going off all the time, which was weird. No alarm on this loom so I had a look at a few things and it turns out I had the left and right indicators permanently grounded on the switch. Some minor wiring alterations needed, but I'll sort that soon. I've also wired the headlight switch a little wrong, but after fiddling with the order the pins were wired in we confirmed we have working sidelights, dipped beam, and tail lights.




Ok yeah I have a dodgy H4 bulb on the passenger side, but they work! Hazard switch works as it should, on or off the key. Brake lights also work perfectly on the pedal I installed which is great. Cig lighter works, didn't think it was going to, so obviously I touched it as it wasn't glowing red. It does work, it burned quite a bit haha. Need to look at the cluster as a couple of things aren't lighting up, but the indicator light does.

Overall not bad, it didn't all melt and burn or blow any fuses, so I'm counting that as a win. Now I know where I am with it all I will get the bits that aren't quite right sorted, and get a battery tray made up in the boot.



Can't wait to drive this thing, so much work, I can't wait to get it done.

Trying my best mate. End of November not going to happen now, but I'm still hoping to have it done before Christmas. Would be a nice present to myself haha.

Upgrade the dash to led, common upgrade for manta B and cav mk1, thet are terrible standard issue

Yes the Colin switches run positive through them annoyingly