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Fabrication(continued)
Next, we removed all the wires
for the keyless entry, door ajar warning system, and power
mirrors. That left us with a nice pile of wires that we
did not have to deal with. Now we started the process
of installing the harness into the project door. |
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We started the temporary installation
of the harness by connecting it to the switches in the
door panel and then installing the door panel onto the
vehicle. This provided a starting point for the harness
placement. |
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All corrections or additions
were done as we worked away from the factory connectors
at the switch panel. The wires were massaged to lie
in their new positions with the main bundle going forward
and the other going toward the rear of the door. The
main forward bundle would eventually find its way through
the stock bellow.
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A metal bracket was used to attach
the main harness at the front of the door, keeping the
harness away from the moving glass on the inside of the
door. A second insulated, loop-type clamp was used to
locate the harness to the outer side of the doo, this
was simply attached to a protruding hinge-bolt. |
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It was obvious that the wires for
the power window motors and the power door locks were
well short of the required length. An additional hole
was needed to allow the power window connector to be on
the outside of the door yet behind the panel. Masking
tape and wire ties were used to locate the wires in approximate
locations. |
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Using wire of the same gauge and
color, we fitted the wire in-line between the factory
connectors to add additional length. The work done to
this point was all performed on the driver's door and
harness. You can easily see the additional length added
to the yellow, white, and pink wires. |
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On the bench and using the left
driver's side harness as a pattern, we duplicated the
harness for the passenger side. |
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Once both harnesses were roughed
out, the wire bundles were laid out neatly. Wrapping the
wires tightly with electrical tape at random points made
wrapping the entire harness much easier. We added wires
for the door mounted speakers. |
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We wrapped the entire harness.
The "dry vinyl wrap" shown is from Eastwood.
Since the final length of the harness going through the
cowl was not yet determined, an additional length was
wrapped as a precautionary measure. It's easier to remove
the harness tape and shorten the harness than to be forced
into extending it. |
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Now that the wire harness was finished
it was reinstalled one final time. Proper fit was checked
and the snap-in-clips for locating sub-sections of the
harness to the door were installed. These are the same
clips that were removed from the original harness used
in the Thunderbird. The clips were installed at various
points using existing holes and fastened to the harness
using friction tape just as they were by the manufacturer.
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What's Coming Next?
In part two of this upgrade the Thunderbird door panels
will be permanently attached to the mounting panels and then
molded together as a unit. The doors will be prepped as needed
and readied for paint. In an effort to provide mounting integrity,
several pieces of sheet metal will be welded on to the door
to provide a place for fasteners. Here is a preview.
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