letterman7
Honorary Admin
That's a stout Kafer bar and interesting spring plate setup. Are those Red9 parts as well?
One for all the Scooby aficionado’s out there
- Thread starter islandman
- Start date
islandman
Member
Kafer bar is from CSP of Germany Online-Shop for VW Beetle, Bus, Thing, Type-3, Karmann Ghia and Porsche 356 - Custom & Speed Parts CSP
and the spring plate is RED 9 Design, they call it their EZ RIDER REAR COIL-OVER CONVERSION KIT for IRS
islandman
Member
A bit more work done and a bit of forward planning.
Once the chassis is prepped and painted I didn’t want to go spoiling the paint and welding more bits to it. So I am trying to anticipate all the things I will need later on.
I had them weld in some bolt in sections on the front of the tunnel for earth wiring pick up points, as well as some removable brackets that I plan to eventually weld the steering rack supports to.
They also did some bolt in sections at the rear, these will be used to hold down the centre console brackets once I make it.
Once the chassis is prepped and painted I didn’t want to go spoiling the paint and welding more bits to it. So I am trying to anticipate all the things I will need later on.
I had them weld in some bolt in sections on the front of the tunnel for earth wiring pick up points, as well as some removable brackets that I plan to eventually weld the steering rack supports to.
They also did some bolt in sections at the rear, these will be used to hold down the centre console brackets once I make it.
letterman7
Honorary Admin
Oh no, no, no... you can't do that.
Housing a Nova with a Speedster. The Nova might catch something..... *laugh*
Housing a Nova with a Speedster. The Nova might catch something..... *laugh*
islandman
Member
Huh, why ?
Brett Proctor
Well-known member
Not to be negative about it but you might want to ask them if they ran out of filler rod. All those welds may look pretty but they are also all under cut. All the metal is thinner around those welds because of that. Well at least nothing major is being attach to them.
Other than that it looks like your going to have one sweet ride.
Other than that it looks like your going to have one sweet ride.
letterman7
Honorary Admin
Just teasing David. The Speedster crowd almost always look disdainfully at the other kits at Carlisle and even at VW shows, like their cars are in some way superior. Didn't want that snootyness rubbing off and hurting the Nova's pride.. 
islandman
Member
Just teasing David. The Speedster crowd almost always look disdainfully at the other kits at Carlisle and even at VW shows, like their cars are in some way superior. Didn't want that snootyness rubbing off and hurting the Nova's pride..
I was half asleep when I read the post.....didn't see the second part when I fired off my reply. Thought I had done something wrong to cause structural integrity issues on the chassis :worried:
All good *thumbs up*
p.s. I have always like the Speedsters, I even convinced an ex girlfriend to buy one just so I could ride around in it. There is definitely something about them that makes the owners feel superior when in them.....not sure why but it definitely happens. They have such lovely lines and simple uncluttered bodies. Still one of my favorites.
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islandman
Member
The welds holding the bolt-on points on top of the spine are not really structural so I'm not too worried about those. The ones on the IRS and Suspension parts look much better.....I hope *nothing to see*
These guys prepare a lot of award winning show car chassis, so aesthetics and the finished product is definitely one of their considerations for bits that may be seen. I had asked them to just weld some nuts to the spine that I could use as pick-ups, they rejected that and produced those pieces instead (which is much better than what I proposed). They also rejected some pipe clamps I wanted on on the underside of the tunnel for the cooling system, they thought they were too flimsy.
Hopefully the finished chassis will live up to their reputation.
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ydeardorff
New member
Did you chase out all the ground points on your wiring harness?
My harness has more than 20 of them. The beauty of it is they are ready to bolt up.
My harness has more than 20 of them. The beauty of it is they are ready to bolt up.
islandman
Member
Not yet, its still sitting there untouched, just haven't found the time yet.
I did get some of my engine parts (brackets etc.. ) powder coated to dress the block up a bit, forgot to share this before :-
ydeardorff
New member
Well for your info (if you dont know), Youll see many of these (if you didnt clip them off) all along the wiring harness's main lengths.
These are typically the grounding points in the harness. Be sure to check first though!
My car uses two main 14 foot battery cables running down each side of the car as the primary grounding wires. From there the grounding points are piercing (toothed) clamps that hold, and pierce into the 1/2" thick wire. They tie everything on the chassis/body together front to back. So there is little need for a, or a set of giant Grounding blocks like many people use.
With all the work youve already done, on your car, Im sure your aware of how much a pain in the Arse grounding components can be on a Fiberglass car.
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islandman
Member
Well for your info (if you dont know), Youll see many of these (if you didnt clip them off) all along the wiring harness's main lengths.
View attachment 7273
These are typically the grounding points in the harness. Be sure to check first though!
My car uses two main 14 foot battery cables running down each side of the car as the primary grounding wires. From there the grounding points are piercing (toothed) clamps that hold, and pierce into the 1/2" thick wire. They tie everything on the chassis/body together front to back. So there is little need for a, or a set of giant Grounding blocks like many people use.
With all the work youve already done, on your car, Im sure your aware of how much a pain in the Arse grounding components can be on a Fiberglass car.
Yes I wanted to avoid long runs of ground cable as part of the loom. Made that mistake on my first Nova, it worked well but the loom does get very thick. So learning from the past I'm putting in my easy to bolt onto ground points in now. There will be some on the frame horns at the rear also.
Yes I spotted lots of those ground tabs, and didn't cut any cables to remove the loom so they are all still there *thumbs up*
islandman
Member
. From there the grounding points are piercing (toothed) clamps that hold, and pierce into the 1/2" thick wire. They tie everything on the chassis/body together front to back. So there is little need for a, or a set of giant Grounding blocks like many people use.
With all the work youve already done, on your car, Im sure your aware of how much a pain in the Arse grounding components can be on a Fiberglass car.
Do you have a photo or website link for those clips, would be interested to take a look,
ydeardorff
New member
They should be already all over your harness, again unless you clipped them off.
They are just flat round electrical connectors. But they are soldered into place and large enough to fit small 10mm bolts. Any auto shop should be able to get them for you if you need them.
Do you have a manual for the car you took the electrical system out of? you can find all of the ground point in there.
in one of my manuals they were listed as connector GB-8 and there were plenty of them...
Otherwise if you referring to the toothed clamps, i have not seen anywhere they are made.
They look simialr to this clamp in the picture, but have a triangular bent in tooth that pierces the insulation and makes contact when they are clamped down.
You could do the sam thing just by screwing in a self tapping sheet metal screw into it and the wire inside it.
They are just flat round electrical connectors. But they are soldered into place and large enough to fit small 10mm bolts. Any auto shop should be able to get them for you if you need them.
Do you have a manual for the car you took the electrical system out of? you can find all of the ground point in there.
in one of my manuals they were listed as connector GB-8 and there were plenty of them...
Otherwise if you referring to the toothed clamps, i have not seen anywhere they are made.
They look simialr to this clamp in the picture, but have a triangular bent in tooth that pierces the insulation and makes contact when they are clamped down.
You could do the sam thing just by screwing in a self tapping sheet metal screw into it and the wire inside it.
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islandman
Member
They should be already all over your harness, again unless you clipped them off.
They are just flat round electrical connectors. But they are soldered into place and large enough to fit small 10mm bolts. Any auto shop should be able to get them for you if you need them.
Do you have a manual for the car you took the electrical system out of? you can find all of the ground point in there.
in one of my manuals they were listed as connector GB-8 and there were plenty of them...
Otherwise if you referring to the toothed clamps, i have not seen anywhere they are made.
They look simialr to this clamp in the picture, but have a triangular bent in tooth that pierces the insulation and makes contact when they are clamped down.
You could do the sam thing just by screwing in a self tapping sheet metal screw into it and the wire inside it.
Yes I meant the piercing clamps you referred to. In the UK lots of people started to use scotchlok cable joiners many years ago, but they had a terrible reputation for poor connections over time.
Scotchlok™ 560B Run Tap Connector UL Approved : 3M UK & Ireland
ydeardorff
New member
yes those are true garbage. Good for quick or temp fixes, but thats about it.
The piercing clamps are large and only meant for large cables. Then with a dash of red terminal grease they are fully protected especially if routed inside body panels. Otherwise Id reccomend another method like soldering.
I have been told over the years that grounding blocks as their known can be troublesome too. If overloaded by too many connections or too much amperage they can melt, and overheat.
This then refers me back to "why" I reccomend using an entire uncut OEM harness rather than even an aftermarket painless harness.
The overall qaulity of the connections and wires are higher.
This system was already designed, and engineered to carry X - amount of amperage per circuit.
Its already fused, and has the proper relays already installed.
Theres no guess work.
And with our cars we end up with many unused circuits than can be re-purposed for other things.
Or they can be left for later brainstorms....
When your dealing with a hand built car, leaving as little to murphies law as possible is often a good idea.
Fire is not your friend in a fiberglass car...especially one with a lifting canopy that could take as much as 20 seconds to open.
The piercing clamps are large and only meant for large cables. Then with a dash of red terminal grease they are fully protected especially if routed inside body panels. Otherwise Id reccomend another method like soldering.
I have been told over the years that grounding blocks as their known can be troublesome too. If overloaded by too many connections or too much amperage they can melt, and overheat.
This then refers me back to "why" I reccomend using an entire uncut OEM harness rather than even an aftermarket painless harness.
The overall qaulity of the connections and wires are higher.
This system was already designed, and engineered to carry X - amount of amperage per circuit.
Its already fused, and has the proper relays already installed.
Theres no guess work.
And with our cars we end up with many unused circuits than can be re-purposed for other things.
Or they can be left for later brainstorms....
When your dealing with a hand built car, leaving as little to murphies law as possible is often a good idea.
Fire is not your friend in a fiberglass car...especially one with a lifting canopy that could take as much as 20 seconds to open.
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ydeardorff
New member
islandman
Member
Well it was my mother’s carpet and she has reluctantly got use to my antics over the last 27 years of owning the Nova. I just said look it’s freshly painted and on plastic! ;o)
The universal pedal box I purchased was not designed for a throttle “pull” cable at the side
I asked the guys to see what they could do to extend the throttle pivot bar and reuse the existing throttle tube in the tunnel. This is what they came up with, a seriously well engineered solution, almost too good for a throttle linkage!
The universal pedal box I purchased was not designed for a throttle “pull” cable at the side
I asked the guys to see what they could do to extend the throttle pivot bar and reuse the existing throttle tube in the tunnel. This is what they came up with, a seriously well engineered solution, almost too good for a throttle linkage!
