Tach Attack

I had previously purchased some blue LEDs to replace the small instrument cluster light bulbs. They went in easily enough (didn't have to remove the steering wheel or unhook the wires behind the cluster, just the screws holding the assembly to the dash, and the speedo cable), but my aftermarket SunPro tach didn't look right using an incandescent 194 bulb.





I tried a blue 194 bulb, which helped a bit (a green one would look right using stock blue instrument bulbs believe it or not). In the photo you can see a blue LED replacement bulb I bought on eBay for the tach (in the middle). I bought 2 which was good because the first was DOA (if it doesn't work, remember polarity matters, and they install in one direction--so swap it around in the socket).

This photo shows the whole dash lit up with the LEDs including for the tach...






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Junk in the Trunk: Part III

I finally got around to trying my hand at putting in a trunk carpet. I saw Mustangs Unlimited offered a Ford Blue trunk carpet kit, but when the carpet arrived it was Medium Blue, which was labeled on the box. I called Distinctive Industries, who makes most of these kits, and they sent me the samples at left for all the blue carpet they offer. Ford Blue is the carpet behind the small samples, and none matched well.

I test fitted one or two pieces of the trunk kit -- before sending the kit back -- and clearly the larger 22 gallon fuel tank and rear seat divider in metal that I had installed would cause a pre-made kit to not fit well, even if I found the right color. So I made my own trunk carpet kit.



I bought a large roll (3.5 yards) of Ford Blue carpet from ACC for about $120, and a $12 sheet of Eucaboard (made from water-resitant eucalyptus). I had a $10 can of good spray glue. (The pre-made kit is $250 shipped.) Fortunately I had some large cardboard sheets on hand from a recent furniture purchase for cutting out some templates for test fitting. The pic at left looks like a bunch of scrap, but it is many of the pieces I had cut out for installation into the trunk.



Here's a photo showing the Eucaboard underneath. I went around some of the edges with some spare Dynamat Extreme to keep it in place and quiet it down. The hole is for the spare wheel, which I currently am not carrying.



Some of the carpet pieces are currently at the local upholstery place having the edges bound in blue vinyl for $65... In the photo not everything is glued down, and the edges are rough. (Here's a Before photo of the trunk.)

High Voltage

I finally got around to installing the 3G 95amp Upgrade Alternator Kit that I purchased from PA Performance months ago. I'm not sure I needed to upgrade to a 3G alternator right now, but I plan to add a small stereo soon and maybe A/C one day.

I was able to wire the fat positive cable in the kit to the solenoid on the fender, along with other positive leads from misc items like my electric fan so it looks pretty clean. The alternator itself didn't quite fit in the intended space. The positive post on the back was almost touching the Edelbroack aluminum head... I took the alternator to a local alternator and starter shop and they re-clocked it for me by disassembling the unit and twisting the back half around. I didn't want the wires pointing up since that would be unsightly, so I had them point down. This caused the negative post to switch places with the positive almost touching the head, but that's Ok since it won't short out.



The electrical system now puts out 14.21v at idle without any electrical items running. When I turn on the headlights (they use a relay harness) the system drops to 14.20v. When the electric fan kicks on, the system drops to 13.89v and then immediately recovers to 14.19v. (Compare this to the weak 13.1v recovery I saw a few months ago with the 65amp alternator.)



This system uses a modified external voltage regulator, which looks stock but picks up the proper circuit, and uses the rest of the stock wiring behind the alternator. But I think (not sure) that the internal regulator on the back of the new alternator is operational instead. Also, I have the stock positive lead (and ground) hooked up to the back of the alternator, and my ammeter still works fine (so far!).