Tony
Well-Known Member
They did, I just didn't want to run the extra wires up and across the dash bar.
askiles
Goblin Guru
I see. I figured since it was all hidden it ended up looking the cleanest. The beauty of building custom cars! You can do it exactly how you want.
Tony
Well-Known Member
Exactly. Eventually, I plan to have the signals integrated into the headlights, so that will be cleanest, but I just put these on for now.
Tony
Well-Known Member
Just an update, I've put probably just over 200 miles on the car and I'm loving it. The squishy brakes eventually fixed themselves - I'm guessing there was a small bubble of air in the master cylinder that I couldn't get out, and it finally just worked its own way out, but the brakes are excellent now.
I did end up changing the mounting of the headlights like I mentioned in a previous post so that they are less likely to wiggle loose, but now they vibrate since they're cantilevered off of the frame a bit on a fairly thin piece of aluminum. However, I'm not going to mess with that right now, since they're so tragically poor that I'm going to need to upgrade them sooner than later. I still have a set of Mini H1 HID projectors, but I now also have a line on some Koito Bi-LED projectors, which will be way easier to integrate.
I'm pretty unsatisfied with the shifter, so I'm looking for some options to fix that - it seems like the plastic that surrounds the pivot ball in the middle is worn out, so the whole thing kinda flops around without actually moving the cables at all.
I did end up changing the mounting of the headlights like I mentioned in a previous post so that they are less likely to wiggle loose, but now they vibrate since they're cantilevered off of the frame a bit on a fairly thin piece of aluminum. However, I'm not going to mess with that right now, since they're so tragically poor that I'm going to need to upgrade them sooner than later. I still have a set of Mini H1 HID projectors, but I now also have a line on some Koito Bi-LED projectors, which will be way easier to integrate.
I'm pretty unsatisfied with the shifter, so I'm looking for some options to fix that - it seems like the plastic that surrounds the pivot ball in the middle is worn out, so the whole thing kinda flops around without actually moving the cables at all.
Lethalcast
Well-Known Member
Yeah the bushing looks hard to find. I noticed the cruze had a similar setup that looks to use the same type of bushing. I'm not sure if they're the same size but the entire assembly can be bought for around 60 bucks. Other than that idk. It shows our shifter came in the 2010 hhr also. I'm going to take a look at a couple junkyards and see what I can come up with. Here is the part number for the cruze shifter assembly and what the diagram of it looks like. 25194003
Ark :D
Goblin Guru
Tony,
Back in post #27 of this build thread, you bumped into the situation with the tan twisted pair running to the ABS connector, which differed from what was shown in the build guide videos (since they used a base LS). I am right at that exact same spot.
Any chance you could let me in on what you did with the tan/tan-blk twisted pairs that connect to the ABS plug, as well as the other wires you posted about, like the yellow/purple and tan/purple twisted pairs from the ECM plug, and the green/yellow, blueish/yellow, and green/tan twisted pairs from the ABS connector?
If I am reading Lonny's last post in my build thread correctly, the ABS connector and all wires (except the tan/tan-blk twisted pairs, and the single pink wire that runs to the gray fuse block plug) get cut off. But I am not sure what to do with the tan/tan-blk pairs.
My worst nightmare is botching my wiring so bad, I have to source another body harness!!!
Back in post #27 of this build thread, you bumped into the situation with the tan twisted pair running to the ABS connector, which differed from what was shown in the build guide videos (since they used a base LS). I am right at that exact same spot.
Any chance you could let me in on what you did with the tan/tan-blk twisted pairs that connect to the ABS plug, as well as the other wires you posted about, like the yellow/purple and tan/purple twisted pairs from the ECM plug, and the green/yellow, blueish/yellow, and green/tan twisted pairs from the ABS connector?
If I am reading Lonny's last post in my build thread correctly, the ABS connector and all wires (except the tan/tan-blk twisted pairs, and the single pink wire that runs to the gray fuse block plug) get cut off. But I am not sure what to do with the tan/tan-blk pairs.
My worst nightmare is botching my wiring so bad, I have to source another body harness!!!
JSATX
Goblin Guru
For the tan/ tan blk It does not matter how they are routed, as long as they are connected. For example when you cut out the ABS plug you simply reconnect the two wires together.
QuantumFluxuation
Active Member
Did you get that shift knob or was it on the donor? Kind of what I'm looking for
Ark :D
Goblin Guru
It's not stock. I got one just like it for cheap, on eBay.
Maybe mine's a knock-off, don't know?
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Manzo-Short-Throw-Shifter-Fits-Cobalt-SS-05-10-Saturn-Ion-Redline-04-07-2-0L/131439883332
Maybe mine's a knock-off, don't know?
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Manzo-Short-Throw-Shifter-Fits-Cobalt-SS-05-10-Saturn-Ion-Redline-04-07-2-0L/131439883332
QuantumFluxuation
Active Member
Thanks. Just bought one. I hate the original look and this will fit the theme perfectly
Tony
Well-Known Member
I've had a bit of time to work on the car lately. I finally wired up the button panels and tied up the wiring in that area, so no more knee-slapping.
The bigger project is finally updating the headlights. If you've been following, you know that I've gone through all sorts of unorthodox ideas and prototypes. Fortunately not all of those parts went completely unused. I trimmed the reflectors from the headlights that were on the car and used some quik steel to attach a piece of the metal canisters to mount the projectors.
Looking pretty good so far. Just need to wait for the quik steel to dry and trim the joint. Lots of wiring ahead... I've got demon eyes behind the lens, and I may end up putting halos around the outside, so RGB cotroller, HID ballasts and igniters, etc. all need mounted somewhere.
The bigger project is finally updating the headlights. If you've been following, you know that I've gone through all sorts of unorthodox ideas and prototypes. Fortunately not all of those parts went completely unused. I trimmed the reflectors from the headlights that were on the car and used some quik steel to attach a piece of the metal canisters to mount the projectors.
Looking pretty good so far. Just need to wait for the quik steel to dry and trim the joint. Lots of wiring ahead... I've got demon eyes behind the lens, and I may end up putting halos around the outside, so RGB cotroller, HID ballasts and igniters, etc. all need mounted somewhere.
Tony
Well-Known Member
One finished product. The heat from the grinding to smooth out the seam caused the reflector coating to discolor, so I ended up having to paint that whole piece. Went with some high temp flat black, and I think it looks pretty good. No halos yet, the white around the outside is the rubber gasket.
Tony
Well-Known Member
It's taken a few days to sort through wiring up front, as I want it to be as clean as possible for as much stuff as there is. I fabbed a side panel and a front panel for each side. The side panels hold the ballasts and igniters for the HIDs, the driver front panel has the relay harness to power them, and the pass front has the LED controller and drivers for both sides.
I assembled everything before I started wiring, just to check the fitment of the new brackets and see how it looked - it's a bit more bug-eyed than before, but I like it.
After wiring, I tested everything before tidying the wiring, just to make sure it all worked. It's a good thing, because the ambiguity of the 9004/9007 connector (connector shell is the same between the two, but pinout is different) on the relay harness resulted in the high beam function being reversed, so I had to repin that. The output is amazing, but I'll wait til I have both wired up and aimed properly to take a good photo.
Once I was sure it was working, I mounted the ballast and igniter and attached the panel. There are some holes where I was going to mount the ballast with the included bracket, but decided double-sided tape was much better. And I most definitely did NOT drill into the bottom tube on the other side and make a huge mess before deciding that the coated clamps were a better way to mount it..... (luckily I was able to pull the hose out just enough to repair it and pull it back, so I didn't have to replace the whole thing)
I assembled everything before I started wiring, just to check the fitment of the new brackets and see how it looked - it's a bit more bug-eyed than before, but I like it.
After wiring, I tested everything before tidying the wiring, just to make sure it all worked. It's a good thing, because the ambiguity of the 9004/9007 connector (connector shell is the same between the two, but pinout is different) on the relay harness resulted in the high beam function being reversed, so I had to repin that. The output is amazing, but I'll wait til I have both wired up and aimed properly to take a good photo.
Once I was sure it was working, I mounted the ballast and igniter and attached the panel. There are some holes where I was going to mount the ballast with the included bracket, but decided double-sided tape was much better. And I most definitely did NOT drill into the bottom tube on the other side and make a huge mess before deciding that the coated clamps were a better way to mount it..... (luckily I was able to pull the hose out just enough to repair it and pull it back, so I didn't have to replace the whole thing)
Desert Sasqwatch
Goblin Guru
Tony, just a comment - enclosing the opening on the side of the frame will force all the radiator air to exit out the bottom, this will increase front end lift and may restrict your cooling air flow. You may want to keep an eye on your cooling temps and compare with and without the blocking plates.
Tony
Well-Known Member
Thanks for the heads up. I did consider the cooling issue, but never thought about it generating lift. I hoped that not enclosing it completely (it's only about 50%) would keep it from being a huge issue. I'll definitely keep an eye on it as well as I can, but considering I don't drive too hard (yet?), it should be ok.
Tony
Well-Known Member
An update on the above concern - the driver's side panel shown above actually cracked at the bottom where it was attached with the coated clamps (the panel is plexi). So between that and the issue of blocked airflow, I decided to trim the bottom off. I cut it from about the centerline of the steering rack boot to an inch or so under the front screw (which is hidden in the pic). It obviously isn't quite as sturdy, but should still be fine. I also double-checked the fan on the IC heat exchanger, and it is pulling air up from the bottom, so that should also help in preventing lift.
On to the good stuff - results. First pics are with the car still on stands, but the shop lights off, so it's a little more impressive. Last two are flat to show the alignment and pattern a little better.
On to the good stuff - results. First pics are with the car still on stands, but the shop lights off, so it's a little more impressive. Last two are flat to show the alignment and pattern a little better.
JeffsGoblin
Goblin Guru
Is anything done with the gray wire on the fog light switch? I just patched in the accessories on/off button for fog lights on the DF Button Panel and there was still a gray wire left on the donor fog light switch. Do I get rid of it?