REWIRING
and
NEW DASH GAUGES
Am I the only one?
If you've looked through my web site you've seen that I have owned a lot of cars.
And all of them have been a better car when I sold them than when I first got them.
Am I the only person that goes to the trouble to make a car RIGHT? It sure seems
that way.
Every car I have ever bought has had something wrong with it, that needed fixing.
I take the time and spend the money to make it RIGHT. By at least put things back
and get things working, as they were meant to be or better.
My SHELBY is no exception! Here it is with the dash all torn out of it for a
complete rewiring job. Read on!
(click to enlarge if you like)
It all started when I added the radiator and wired the fan motor into the system.
I took SHELBY for a test drive to make sure everything was working properly.
It started to rain and I turned the windshield wipers and headlights on. Soon I smelled
electrical burning. I quickly returned home to inspect it. I found that wires under the
dash going to the ignition were burnt and got hot when I had the wipers on.
To make a LONG and expensive story shorter. I ended up taking SHELBY to a
Mustang Restoration shop called AmWest, owned by Dan Martorano, a man with
the patience of Jobe. After 4 full days of chasing wires, replacing burnt wires,
finding wires that went where they shouldn't have gone and wired all wrong, and
spending hundreds of dollars trying to patch up the mess the previous owners
had created, I ended up buying an all NEW under dash wiring harness.
replaced
this mess 
Dan, a master electrician, with all his years of experience in restoring Mustangs
"couldn't put Humpty Dumpty back together again". Everytime he repaired one
spot it lead to another area that was messed up and wired wrong. We couldn't believe
what had been done. Whoever rewired the dash used garbage bag ties (the old green
ones, with wire wrapped in green paper kind) to tie the wires together. Then taped
it all together. Naturally the wires just cut right into the wiring and shorted
everything out. They had things wired so wrong that when you hit the high beam
switch on the floor, the oil light would come on! The fuel pump was wired into
a wire coming from the voltage regulator which caused the voltage to fluctuate. And
that is just to name a FEW screw ups, there were LOTS more. It was a mess! I don't
know how the car even ran when I first got it.
The previous owner/builder Chris Sage had told me that SHELBY had originally
had a GT dash unit and gauges in it. But to make it closer to a real SHELBY he
changed the dash unit back a standard 65 sweeping gauge setup. I guess this is
where the messed up wiring really began. I wish he had just left it alone! The guy Chris
hired to do the rewiring really messed it up. It was not Chris's fault. I blame the guy
he hired.
Well, since we had to completely redo the dash and all the wiring, I decided that
now would be the best time to upgrade SHELBY to a really nice dash unit. So
I ordered a complete dash gauge unit from Haneline with the Stainless steel Engine
Turned dash facia and white Teleflex gauges and the glove box door facia to match.
http://www.hanelineproducts.com/mustang_65.htm
(click to enlarge if you like)
Since SHELBY already had the center pod Oil and Tach gauges, I only needed
a 5 gauge set-up instead of 6 gauges. I also chose to substitute the oil pressure
gauge with a Fuel Pressure gauge. And I upgraded the speedometer to an Electric unit.
Had I known what a real mess SHELBY was in from the start, I would have
just ordered the new under dash wiring harness from the very beginning and saved
myself and Dan a lot of work, money and headaches. But sometimes you never know
what you REALLY have until you tear into it.
(click on for enlargements)
Here you can see that Dan built a mock up dash (a cut out dash from another doner
Mustang). This worked great for doing all the wiring on the new gauges. This allowed
for an easier working platform rather than standing on ones head, upside down under
the dash.
We wanted to make the entire dash unit so it could simply be plugged in
for easy insertion and removal. Especially since the Electric Speedo has small
"dip switches" on the rear that need to be accessed for proper calibration.
It took (3) weeks to get it all straightened out. During the rewiring process the
system had a power surge and blew all the interior lights, blew the headlights, the
voltage regulator, the alternator, and more. It was unbelievable! It even knocked out
the Mallory ignition modual (TWICE), at $85 apiece! The wiring setup in SHELBY
was so messed up the previous wiring guy had somehow redirected a wire from the
regulator directly to the battery and the entire system wasn't even charging. Finally
on the evening of October 7th Dan finally got it all working correctly after MANY
hours of trial and error and reading every wiring schematic known to man. I'm
guessing it took a total of about 40 hours of actual work to correct all the mess!
And $1,100.00!(Including the new gauges described further down in this article).
Of course, while I was at it. I might as well repaint it all as well.
While we were doing all the rewiring it was also an ideal time to replace the radio
and speakers. The old original AM ford radio wasn't even hooked up and there
were NO speakers. So I chose to go with a new Custom Auto Sound 64 watt USA-1
system made by Kenwood which has the power antenna lead. And for speakers I
chose the built in speaker system they offer, part # KMC-1 that already have the
speakers installed in the kick panels. A neat and clean setup. Easy to install and
sounds great. I also laid in some extra wiring for the back speakers and ran it under
the passenger side sill plate exiting under the seats. This way I can add rear under
seat speakers which can be removed when desired, and yet add even better sound
to the system.
Custom Auto Sound http://www.customautosounds.com/classic/classic.html
Kick panel speakers http://www.customautosounds.com/classic/kicks.html
Under seat speakers http://www.customautosounds.com/classic/Enclosures.html
Here it is now that the new radio and kick panel speakers have been installed.
Just click on the photo to see the speakers a bit better, if you like.
(you can also see the new radio in the photo at the top of this page where the wires are all
hanging out)
I was able to get everything I needed, both parts and QUALITY SERVICE
from Dan at AmWest which is also called VAPA "Vintage Auto Parts Accessories".
They are located at 3821 E. Wier Ave, Phoenix, AZ 85040 Phone (602) 437-4864
Here is the new finished dash, gauges and glove box door cover, and much more you
CAN'T see! Ha
(click for enlargements) (glove box door cover) (new pedal pads)
Once the main wiring was completed, then I moved onto other issues. Such as the new
TRI-BAR Headlights. As seen in this add below.
I ordered the Tri-Bar headlights from Mustang's Plus for $189.00 and the Painless Relay wiring
harness from Summit for $75.95. Then I had Dan install it all for me. BOY they work terrific.
Now I can actually see to drive at night. A BIG difference. Well worth it, I must say.
I can't say enough GOOD things about Dan's service. In today's business world
it's hard to find quality service and someone who really cares and will go the extra
mile to make things right. Dan Matorano is the exception and I highly recommend
him. Given my cars problems, I know for a fact that MOST people who have just
thrown up their hands and given up. I would have! THANKS Dan!
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