DDK - Die Deutschen Klassiker

So the front struts came back from powder coating



The threaded sleeve just slides on down to the collar I previously welded in place and is then held in place by the seal housing at the top of the strut after the shock absorber insert is fitted.
I also fitted the ball joint at this stage.



The front springs fitted



And the brake dust shield



All done ready to go on the car. Will be interesting to see how it sits and how far up or down the adjustment range it needs to go.



I also refurbished the steering rack while I was at it with new turbo tierods (although behind a turbo it already had them!) and the rose joints track rod ends rather than the normal ball joint type.







Back onto the wiring this weekend, but I needed a break from it this week!

Nice stuff Jon

Where did you get your coil over conversion stuff from?

sladey wrote:Nice stuff Jon

Where did you get your coil over conversion stuff from?

The kits for the coilover and the steering came from Rebel Racing and the springs from a UK supplier whose name escapes me.

The parts in the Rebel racing kit were anodised blue but that looks too "Honda Civic" for me so I had them re-anodised in black...!

Thanks - so did that include the ring to weld onto the strut?

Also the extra bar you've welded onto the bottom of the strut (to help with bump steer?) is that just some steel you had or is it a kit (the rebel racing one has holes)

Yes the ring came with the coil over kit. The strengthener came with the bump steer kit, perhaps that kit was from Elephant racing not Rebel, I forget it's been so long since I bought these parts! The two fillets I welded on as strengtheners I just cut from sheet steel.

Thanks Jon - I sense another projected coming on

So no choice but to get back into the wiring, last Saturday was a quiet day with no-one at home so ideal to get my head in electrical mode.

I'm using one of Classic Retrofits new fuse boards, essentially all the terminals are configured the same as the original but it also has the headlight relays built in and used the modern blade fuses, a nicely made piece of kit.



Having connected up the standard rear turbo loom and SC underdash looms I then needed to make a custom look for the extras I need (heated seats, electric windows, footwell blower motors etc)

The dining room floor makes a good work area! Firstly I laid out the wires I needed which involved a lot of trips to the garage and back to take measurements





Then bound it with shrink tube and tape and added the connectors





Another little project I've had in my head was to make a hidden high level brake light.

I bought some red LED strips and then shaped a length of aluminium to match the curve of the roof.



With a bit of persuasion it fits in behind the vents and is almost invisible when not powered.





And finally I connected the new loom into the fuseboard and tidied the wiring.

liking that 3rd brake light - clever stuff....

Me too. I've got one of those fuse boards as well but not got round to fitting it yet

I know with my high level brake light (not as high as yours) it's reassuring when the see it's glow in your rear view mirror, but also disconcerting when you realize how much brake pedal pressure is required before the light comes on

Wish I had done the high-level brake light mod in my car.

Love the quality of finish in all your work.

Nice work Jon. Make sure that the black metal fuse panel bracket is earthed to the chassis.

On cars with new/thick paint, the earth can be lost and it is needed for our headlamp relays to function.

Thanks guys. Mark I have altered the wiring to run from a switch on the brake pedal, which is adjustable to set amount of pedal travel before the brake lights come on.

Jonny Hart wrote:Nice work Jon. Make sure that the black metal fuse panel bracket is earthed to the chassis.

On cars with new/thick paint, the earth can be lost and it is needed for our headlamp relays to function.

Will do, also going to run the extra feed direct from the battery.

Some lovely touches Jon, going to look great.

Not sure why you need brake lights though, braking is overrated ....

964RS wrote:.....braking is overrated ....

...too true, I've found it just slows you down!

And as for heated seats!.....