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Re: New stuff...

Posted: Sat Jan 10, 2015 6:38 am
by bracketchev1221
Drilled mine. Never been a question.

Re: New stuff...

Posted: Sat Jan 10, 2015 7:47 am
by John_Heard
I couldn't find a suitable 1 5/8 clamp for mine, but did find some low cost next size up that were made for weight bars. I just cut some rubber strips and glued them to the inside of the clamp to shim them down to the right size. Worked great. I think I used some pond liner I had laying around.

They were something like this - http://www.speedwaymotors.com/Ballast-W ... 51579.html - and I just drilled the back of the switch panel to bolt to them with the 1/2-13 bolts.

FYI Dirt Track shops sell these a lot cheaper than Drag Racing...

Re: New stuff...

Posted: Sat Jan 10, 2015 12:08 pm
by wikd69
bracketchev1221 wrote:Drilled mine. Never been a question.
Ray, I may end up doing just that if my search for a usable clamp doesn't yield results.

Re: New stuff...

Posted: Sat Jan 10, 2015 12:18 pm
by wikd69
John_Heard wrote:I couldn't find a suitable 1 5/8 clamp for mine, but did find some low cost next size up that were made for weight bars. I just cut some rubber strips and glued them to the inside of the clamp to shim them down to the right size. Worked great. I think I used some pond liner I had laying around.

They were something like this - http://www.speedwaymotors.com/Ballast-W ... 51579.html - and I just drilled the back of the switch panel to bolt to them with the 1/2-13 bolts.

FYI Dirt Track shops sell these a lot cheaper than Drag Racing...
Thanks for the note John - those ballast clamps would work except that my A pillar hoop is so close to the roof above the windshield. I can just barely slip the tips of my fingers between the bar and the headliner/roof. The overall best solution would be to tig a couple of flat straps to the bar and drill/tap those to mount the switch box on. Unfortunately, I don't tig weld and I'm reluctant to get the old wire machine out to do that in the spot it's it.

I'll give it some more thought. I've got a ton of soldering and wiring runs to do so have a bit of time.

Re: New stuff...

Posted: Sat Jan 10, 2015 2:11 pm
by John_Heard
Since it's so tight, you might be able to use some sort of mount that use use hose clamps to wrap around the bar. You'd need some sort of saddle on the panel to clamp it to though.

Re: New stuff...

Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2015 6:48 am
by Bruce69Camaro
Harry,

When I made an overhead for mine, I made 2, "L" shape brackets, to bolt onto the side of the box, I bolted these brackets horizontally with the small end of the "L" going out the back.

I then used hose clamps and clamped the brackets/ box onto the hoop. I also put some thin rubber strips between the clamps and the main hoop to help with vibration.

Re: New stuff...

Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2015 7:37 am
by Bruce69Camaro
I talked to Don (HookDaddy) and he said he would stay away from drilling in the hoop. I think him and I talked about this before and it would make that area a possible weak spot.
He said weld a tab on if you can.

Also I saw Jegs makes a clamp on style over head bracket.

Re: New stuff...

Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2015 9:43 am
by Mike Peters
[quote="Bruce69Camaro"

Also I saw Jegs makes a clamp on style over head bracket.[/quote]

If it's the brackets I thinking of, I have a couple of those mounted to a Painless switch box that I decided not to use and instead built my own switch panel. Those brackets would work well for mounting overhead to roll cage. They look much nicer than the hose clamps Painless was suggesting to use.

Jeg's part # 555-11015

Re: New stuff...

Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2015 9:49 am
by Mike Peters
John_Heard wrote:Nice, I love wiring projects!
Wow! That is good information to know buddy. Just so happens I'll be wanting to rewire the mess under my dash when the car comes back from its vacation down south. I would hate to deny you all that enjoyment. I wouldn't charge you a penny for all this fun and would even throw in a pizza or two. :lol:

Re: New stuff...

Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2015 9:56 am
by Bruce69Camaro
Mike Peters wrote:[quote="Bruce69Camaro"

Also I saw Jegs makes a clamp on style over head bracket.
If it's the brackets I thinking of, I have a couple of those mounted to a Painless switch box that I decided not to use and instead built my own switch panel. Those brackets would work well for mounting overhead to roll cage. They look much nicer than the hose clamps Painless was suggesting to use.

Jeg's part # 555-11015[/quote]
TIME OUT.....

Today is history, Mike Peters agrees with a Camaro owner....this one is going down in the DragStuff history books....LOL

Re: New stuff...

Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2015 10:28 am
by Mike Peters
Crapola!!! Is it too late to take it back?

Re: New stuff...

Posted: Sun Jan 25, 2015 2:00 am
by wikd69
Making progress on my wiring stuff. Pretty much finished the new switch panel tonite, tomorrow I'll try and get more work done on the relay panel.

I got the switch box mounted. I used some lightweight clamps from Summit:

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/lng-22755

These Longacre clamps (my proshop price is a bit under $16 each) are for 1 3/4" bar and like John I'm running 1 5/8" in my cage. I spent another $3 on a 6 inch long piece of 1 5/8" exhaust tubing which just happens to be 1 3/4" on the outside. I cut a couple of narrow rings from the tubing and cut them on one side so I could fit them around the smaller tube. I had to take about .020 off the mating surface of the clamps to get a good clamp but as you can see it worked out pretty well. This is mockup on a bit of leftover 1 5/8" tubing...

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Here's the back shell of the switch panel mounted on the hoop.

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This morning I started final assembly of the switch panel itself. This project turned into more work than I thought it would be but I'm happy with the results so far. These are Radio Shack LED's, prewired with the correct resistor and ready for 12V power. The LED circuits use the DB-25 serial cable you see in the top of the photo. The switch and relay circuits use the 16-pin DIN style plug.

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Panel is finished and partly tested.

The two center toggles control my engine and trans-cooler fans and are double throw - in the up position the fans are managed by temp sensors, turning on and off automatically. The down position routes around the temp sensors and turns the fans on manually. I figured I might want this for the pits to manage heat while sitting at the trailer, etc. Tomorrow I'll play with my wifes label printer add some labels.

I think this booger turned out pretty fair for a built-from-scratch effort :)

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Re: New stuff...

Posted: Mon Jan 26, 2015 10:42 am
by Mike Peters
That's friggin' AWESOME Harry!

Re: New stuff...

Posted: Mon Jan 26, 2015 7:17 pm
by wikd69
Mike Peters wrote:That's friggin' AWESOME Harry!
Thanks Mike :)

Here's the switch panel installed in the front office :)

I'm working to print labels now. Next up is the relay panel itself. I have most of that completed, now I need to finish wiring it up and mount it in the car. Should be plug and play, pretty much, going forwrad. I'll post photos of that stuff when it's a little further along.

I'm trying to figure out how to produce a nicely symmetrical wiring loom like you other guys build. I'm thinking I'll mock all the big pieces up on a piece of plywood using my design template and anchor the wire runs with wood blocks or something. That way, I can lay and route wires on that temp structure and when I'm done, just lift it and lay it down on the actual panel plate. Dunno, I have lots of schemes :smt003

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Re: New stuff...

Posted: Tue Jan 27, 2015 5:31 am
by Bruce69Camaro
That turned out great Harry :thumb:

Doesn't it give you a good feeling when you throw one of those switches and things actually work?????

Now If they only made a switch for the driver, then I'd be ok.....LOL