Wiring Harness

The wiring harness arrived and it includes 4 major pieces, bulbs for the dash, glass fuses and a laminated wiring diagram.  This is a complete set purchased from Lectric Limited, Inc. which has been supplying quality reproduction wiring harnesses to members of the National Corvette Restorers Society for years.  It's correct down to the smallest detail.  Lets get started...

Once again I am reminded of the wisdom behind Ty's insistence that I not throw anything away, including the old wiring harness.  The old harness is in the foreground and I used it as a templet to pre-bend the new harness before installation.  You can't imagine how valuable that was.

After I had the dash wiring harness in position it was time to identify each of the wires.  This is a tedious exercise that still isn't complete.  In this picture you can see I am using the GM Assembly Manual, Corvette dash cluster and the laminated wiring diagram to help with the identification.

It's amazing how many wires go to the dash cluster.  I am labeling each with green masking tape.  Notice how the harness floats in the air.  It gets positioned up and underneath the dash pad.

The dash wiring harness includes the fuse box which is authentic right down to the glass fuses.

The next harness runs along the firewall and over the passenger inner fender.  It serves the coil, alternator, voltage regulator and the horns.  I've circled some of the clips used to hold the harness in place.  The white clips along the firewall were used on early 63 Corvettes only.  The color changed to black later in the year and continued for several years.  Special clips were used on the inner wheel well too.  The car never had zip-ties.

This harness runs along the drivers side wheel well and powers the headlights and headlight motors.  To make these connections the front bumpers and grill must be removed.  I'll wait until I get the correct horns before I do that though.

The last harness powers the rear blinkers, stop lights, gas gauge and license plate light.  This is a picture of the backside of the left side brake light, looking up.  The connectors, including the dust boots, are correct for our car.

The only thing I actually wired up so far is the license plate light.  The wiring harness installation, including all the connections, will take a lot of time and research.  I have to determine the correct harness routing (above, under, through, behind), research the proper clip types and clip location.  After that the testing begins.  I'll verify everything is wired correctly before I actually start the car.

Switching gears, the brackets for the drivers seat needed to be replaced due to rust.  The passenger side was fine and only needed to be refurbished.  

The results are great.  Click on the photo and check them out.

Here's a current picture of the car.  We're having 25 people over for Superbowl and the garage will be used for overflow.  I'll post some pictures later and let you know what everybody said about the car.

As always, thanks for watching.

Dynamat and Coil Springs (revised)

If you thought I was just going to Dynamat the floors then both you and I were mistaken.  Gerri kept coming out to the garage saying, "It's beautiful, keep going".  So I did.  As you can see there are lots of nooks and crannies in the luggage area of our 63 Corvette.

I have to admit it has a space ship kind of look to it.

Without air conditioning the roof insulation will be extra nice on those hot summer days.  

The luggage stop is suppose to be riveted to the body but when I went to install it I found that the frame was in the way.  It should have been riveted before the body was installed.  No worries, I just got out my trusty Rivet Nut tool and installed threaded fittings.  Stainless screws were used.  

The interior looks nice from the front...

... and it looks great from the side.

New topic.

My friend and fellow Corvette enthusiast Jim Q has hinted a couple times that the front end sits a little too proud.  So I did some research at the National Corvette Restorers website and it turns out Jim Q was right.  The heavy duty F40/F41 front suspension has a much heavier spring rate but it lowers the front end 1 1/2" from stock.  They refer to the stance as "Being in the weeds".  We are definately not in the weeds so I thought I'd better take a look.

What I found is a 6 coil spring with a free length of 14".  That's the wrong spring for our car.  The correct spring has 7 coils, a 12" free length and it has .668 wire.  Part # is 3832518.  The one in the picture is wrong.

So, thanks to Jim Q and Ebay, the front end is now down in the weeds.

I do like the California rake look but wheel clearance may be an issue.  I did full turn clearance checks and it's OK, but when the car is driven we may have issues.  The maximum wheel width on a 63 is suppose to be 6.5 inches.  We're running 7's.  We will just have to wait and see.  

The wiring harness is on order but I have no idea when it will be delivered.  It will most likely be the topic our my next posting though.  Should be fun.

Many thanks for watching.  We're at 80,000 views if you haven't noticed.

Post Script

The coil springs discussed in this post are also incorrect.  See the correct springs posted on March 10, 2013 or just follow this link:  Coil Springs and Carpet

Dynamat

2013 marks the 50th year anniversary for the 1963 Corvette.  Happy anniversary!

 I am installing Dynamat Xtreme, a butyl and aluminum vibration dampener that is typically applied to floors and doors.  Before I start installation I make sure the floor is as clean as possible.  The floor has dried carpet adhesive from the factory so I used my Dewalt with an aggressive wire brush to remove loose particles. 

That was followed by a thorough cleaning using HOK wax and grease remover.

The process is pretty simple but does take time, especially if you're particular about details.  It's easy to get caught up trying to make the logos face the same way.  It's not important though. 

Switching to the drivers side, one might be compelled to make all the cuts a mirror image of the other side.  Again, it's not important.

Only early 63 Corvettes have this tub area.  No one knows for sure why they were installed or subsequently removed.  There was a period when Chevrolet was considering a 4 seat Corvette but that was short lived.  Some think this tub is the floor area for the back seat passengers.  Whatever the reason, the tubs require a lot of cutting.  There is no way a single sheet can be used here. 

The driver and passenger sides are done in this picture.  Time for the luggage area.

Not installed is a luggage stop that spans the width of the car just behind the seats.  I have to keep that in mind as I install the Dynamat.  I'll install the luggage stop just before carpet. 

The technique is to first install large sheets then fill in the voids with small pieces.  The Dynamat is best cut with a utility knife then rolled smooth.  My joints are butted against each other, nothing overlaps.

Finishing tape goes over the seams and covers the sticky butyl rubber.  It gives a nice finished look too.

I will continue working on the luggage area and will probably do the walls and roof also.  Since our car is a Heater Delete the roof insulation will be welcomed on those hot summer days.   

After the Dynamat is installed it will be time to purchase/install the wiring harness and that will be followed by lots of other purchased items.  To give you an idea of the cost associated with the interior, the wiring harness, dash pads, re-upholstered seats and instrument cluster will cost around $1000 each.  That means the completion of the interior will be governed by budget, not by hours spent in the shop.  As such, weekly postings are no longer practical.  I suspect monthly postings will be more appropriate.  So, for you die hard followers, you should look for an update around the first of each month.  I may post more frequently, but I'll at least post monthly.

As always, thanks for watching and have a great new year!  

Bumpers, Spare Tire Tub, Moldings and Strip-Calk

I've been uncomfortable with the body being sandwiched between the bumpers and bumper brackets.   After a little looking I found these rubber "paint protectors" on line.  They're not stock and they were never found on any factory C2 but I like the idea of protecting the paint.  I bought a set.

Installation wasn't as simple as you'd think.  It took a few hours but it's all done, front and rear.

I needed 3 bolts to complete the spare tire tub assembly.  I was shocked to find out the bolts were $160 plus shipping.  As you can see they're much more than bolts but $160.  I don't know...

Installation was pretty simple.

The mechanism is super simple and affective.  The lid will not loosen without a wrench.

It tucks up nice and tight behind the bumpers.

I installed several more bags of stuff.  Too bags here, one for the molding and one for the fasteners.  This is times 2 when you consider the other door.

Same here.  This is the A pillar molding with fasteners.

All of the moldings were sealed with 3M Strip-Calk.  Silicone is just as effective but the Strip-Calk never sets up or hardens and it has properties much like Silly Putty.  It's sticky, molds easy, stretches, flattens, is water proof and snaps apart when pulled suddenly.  It can be rubbed off with a thumb.

Remember the birdcage and fiberglass repair that was made near the dimmer switch?  The transition between the birdcage and the fiberglass needed to be sealed.  I used several strips of the Strip-Calk for this and it worked great.  I really like this stuff. 

So, the exterior of the car is basically done now.  It still needs headlights, a good final buffing, functioning blinkers and taillights, and little odds and ends here and there but, for now, I think we're done.  So what's next? 

Dynamat is next!