+/- 40 or, This Winter's Upgrades November 23, 2010, 12:24:43 PM I guess it's time to start my winter work. Last winter I swapped about 16lbs out of my driveline and the car responded with much smoother transitions on/off throttle. This winter I am looking to shed some of the extra static weight I have been hauling around. I deleted my ABS, PRC, foglights, cornering lamps, EVAP and other emissions equipment when I originally assembled the car, but all that wiring is still in place! There has got to be at least 40lbs of wiring throughout this car that is merely along for the ride.I have also been crutchin along with the stock engine management. At the Thundercat Day this past spring, the car managed to squeeze out 260rwhp with large injectors as the only change to the engine management. Its high time for that to change as well. I have purchased PMAS HPX MAF sensor and associated components to convert from VAM to a slot style MAF(thanks Shawn!). I'm figuring on an easy 40hp available thru ditching the VAM restriction in front of the turbo and better fuel/timing mapping with a custom tune.These are my two major goals, if I get enough done, I may dig into my headlight swap as well....While I have the interior apart to strip down all the wiring, I am gonna fix my headliner issue, and swap out this horribly cracked dash.Many thanks to Claude who harvested this beautiful raven dash for meThe dash harness alone weighs 16lbs. The frame and pad of the dash are surprisingly light once gutted....I've got vaseline smeared all over the new dash right now. Gonna let that soak in for a few days while I am out of town. Hopefully it will work some magic on the vinyl to soften things up a bit. Quote Selected
+/- 40 or, This Winter's Upgrades Reply #1 – November 23, 2010, 01:25:39 PM You car, with all the extra stuff you're not using, is still probably lighter than mine:hick:. Quote Selected
+/- 40 or, This Winter's Upgrades Reply #2 – November 23, 2010, 01:50:42 PM That's a guaranteed fact! Last time it was on scales(three summers ago) it was 3199lbs, half tank of fuel, no driver. This included the IRS, thru-floor subframe connectors, and a bolt-in 6pt roll bar.I need to get it back on scales again. my end goal is 3000lbs while retaining at least a "full" appearing interior, i.e not gutted Quote Selected
+/- 40 or, This Winter's Upgrades Reply #3 – November 23, 2010, 02:46:42 PM Is the vaseline to keep the dash from drying, ie cracking? If so, I'm going to slather some on mine...it's getting a few tiny cracks around the speaker grille areas... Quote Selected
+/- 40 or, This Winter's Upgrades Reply #4 – November 23, 2010, 02:53:07 PM Yeah, I've read a few places online that claim vaseline will help re-moisturize dry vinyl. Quote Selected
+/- 40 or, This Winter's Upgrades Reply #5 – November 24, 2010, 08:52:12 AM I took a bunch of wiring out of the 83 when I was putting it back together, but I still haven't yanked the dash out to mess with that. Not sure if I should though...because if I do, my cage might grow A-pillar bars and a halo... Quote Selected
+/- 40 or, This Winter's Upgrades Reply #6 – November 24, 2010, 09:39:05 AM Wow, finding an original crack-free dash is not an easy c these days. That one looks to be in great shape. Quote Selected
+/- 40 or, This Winter's Upgrades Reply #7 – November 25, 2010, 11:57:42 AM Quote from: Chuck W;342981I still haven't yanked the dash out to mess with that. Not gonna lie, all the pics Ive seen behind peoples dashes while doin heater core replacements has me slightly apprehensive cleanin up all this wiring...gonna be spendin alot of time with my EVTM.Quote from: Chuck W;342981Not sure if I should though...because if I do, my cage might grow A-pillar bars and a halo...Oh how I know this is true. Quote Selected
+/- 40 or, This Winter's Upgrades Reply #8 – November 29, 2010, 10:35:25 PM Vaseline FTW!beforeafterThis dash is gonna make the rest of my car look like ass! Quote Selected
+/- 40 or, This Winter's Upgrades Reply #9 – November 29, 2010, 11:41:15 PM I always had the fear that if i ever found a crack free dash that i'd never be able to get it out and installed without cracking it. I hope that trick works! Do you have a cardomain or something on the car? About all i really know about it is the IRS. Quote Selected
+/- 40 or, This Winter's Upgrades Reply #10 – November 30, 2010, 06:27:30 AM the trick is to bake the vasoline in the sun, that will soften the vinyl. it really does work, all my cars have perfect dashes in then. Quote Selected
+/- 40 or, This Winter's Upgrades Reply #11 – November 30, 2010, 04:23:56 PM Shame, I hear ya. I was scared to even touch this dash for a long time! No cardomain, but everything I have done to the car is documented on this forum. Do a search for the threads I have started, should cover all of it. Also the photobucket link in my profile hosts ~340 or so pics of the car... hcor, thats the plan, as soon as the sun comes back with any real heat. Quote Selected
+/- 40 or, This Winter's Upgrades Reply #12 – December 31, 2010, 07:43:13 PM So, I have had the better part of a week ALONE and off work. This is what i have to show for myself.....gutted interior, first time the dash has been out of the car in my possession12lbs of PRC/ABS wiring in a box5lbs of dash wiring on the floorstripped and re-wrapped dash harness laced into the new dashThere is a bit more wiring in the body harness that needs to come out before I call this done, but I am not gonna hit the 40lbs of projected wiring....it takes alot of wire to make 1lb! I will have 20lbs in a box before I put everything back together and a couple pounds left throughout the car that I am just not gonna mess with right now.recovered headlinerI am gonna try to get the headliner re-installed tomorrow, and get the new dash out of the dining room before the family gets home.....someone needs to clean this house too.... Quote Selected
+/- 40 or, This Winter's Upgrades Reply #13 – December 31, 2010, 11:17:17 PM Wow, lookin' good! You're right though, you better get some of those car parts out of the house before the boss gets back. If momma ain't happy, ain't nobody happy. Quote Selected
+/- 40 or, This Winter's Upgrades Reply #14 – January 30, 2011, 06:30:59 PM Headliner is back in, the flash really shows all my flaws! First time headliner recover....guess next time I'll do a better job of gettin all the old foam offDash is back in, and after removing 20+ lbs of wiring, the car still starts!! windows, mirrors, turn signals, wipers all still work too. The headlights, OTOH I knew werent gonna work....still ciphering on that.All the wiring in the engine bay is re-loomed and repositioned, need to get some more zip-ties and that will be all finished. Once I get a couple interior parts I am waiting on I can reinstall the center console and seats. After thats done I can move onto stage2 which will be the MAF installation.pics of my helpers today: Quote Selected
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