Here's how things sat at the end of the day.
I hope someone is getting something out of this. It takes a lot of time to document everything we are doing on this project. Enjoy!
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Posts: 937
Here's how things sat at the end of the day.
I hope someone is getting something out of this. It takes a lot of time to document everything we are doing on this project. Enjoy!
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Posts: 937
We dug out the engine wiring harness this morning. This thing is pretty bad. I am pretty good with wiring and once even converted a carburetor, mechanical fuel pump vehicle (Suzuki Samurai) to a EFI MPFI engine with an electric in tank fuel pump making my own wiring harness using factory service manuals to figure it out. But we are under a time crunch to get this car running. Also there is a materials cost involved in rebuilding my original harness. I'd need to replace almost every connector, replace bad wiring, etc.
My options are a NOS harness for $465 (DMCH) or a completely new harness with some additional weatherpak connectors added for $505 (D-Ind).
It's a lot of money for a wiring harness just for the engine but time is money so I'm going to buy the one from D-Ind.
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Glad this worked out. Need to keep this tool in memory.Originally Posted by SupercoolBill
We worked on the car for 9 hours today.
First things first. We tackled the messed up spark plug hole threads. Wife said she wasn't going to touch it. I read the instructions, put some grease on the threaded part of the tool, inserted it into the combustion chamber, partially expanded it and started back threading. The directions said not to go full diameter on the first run but rather take several runs expanding it a bit more each time. As I was backing it out and it was quite loose in the threads I thought to myself "This is hogwash...I'm just gonna go full diameter" then next thing you know I hit the bad area and it went a bit hard. So I kept it where it was at. I backed it just short of being completely unthreaded then went back in until it was loose again. I tightened the adjustment to expand the diameter then did the same procedure. The next time I went full diameter. The tool worked like a charm. Nothing fell down inside the combustion chamber.
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We looked at other stuff on the car to see what else should go on this order. It would be nice to replace this small harness but it is in okay shape so for the cost of a new one we are just going to clean up this one and reuse it.
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Yeah it is the "cat's kitten" as a buddy of mine says.
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Location: Syracuse, NY area
Posts: 1,026
My VIN: 10287
Club(s): (DMA)
You're probably aware of this but on the off chance you're not, you can bypass the ballast resistor if you are planning on running a different coil than the OEM Bosch. For a while it seemed to be difficult to find German made coils (DeLoreanGo has them right now) so when my Dunmurry installed coil finally failed I bought a Pertronix, bypassed the ballast resistor, and opened the spark plug gaps up a bit. Of course if you're planning on keeping it stock pay me no attention.
Last edited by AugustneverEnds; 03-04-2024 at 05:02 PM.
Nick A.
1988 BMW 325is
1982 DeLorean DMC-12
1989 Jaguar XJ6
Posts: 937
Actually I was not aware of this. So any coil that isn't Bosch or just certain ones? Because the one I bought isn't Bosch.
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I found a few more parts we needed and placed the order. There goes $700.
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Something kind of exciting happened today.
A while back I had tracked down the previous owner before the guy that we bought the car from. I asked him if he had anything left from when he had the car. Most desired....the title. A title is not required for older vehicles in Maine and it is pretty typical to not receive one when purchasing an older vehicle. I decided to bug the previous, previous owner one more time today.
Low and behold guess what he found? The title!! So awesome! This will make the car worth more if we ever decide to. Not that we really plan to.
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Location: Syracuse, NY area
Posts: 1,026
My VIN: 10287
Club(s): (DMA)
Bosch coils can't handle 12 volts going through them for very long before they will burn out hence why many European cars are fitted with the ballast resistor. One major benefit of only allowing 9 volts through the coil is they tend to easily last a couple of decades, downside is the spark it produces is weaker, which is why the spark plugs are gapped at a modest .024" -.028"
Most aftermarket coils can handle 12 volts so no ballast resistor needed. I know Pertronix and MSD do not require the ballast resistor.
Nick A.
1988 BMW 325is
1982 DeLorean DMC-12
1989 Jaguar XJ6
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