Made some progress this weekend, both in terms of work and some bargains on eBay.

After some weeks of planning, research and wire tracing I actually got the crimpers out and did some work on the electrics. Very simple really and very satisfying to see things coming together.

Managed to get all the exterior lights working, with the exception of the brake lights. Tried to investigate the brake switch but it has been raining pretty heavily so I just ended up cold, wet and miserable. Didn’t find the switch! I’ll have a look at the parts catalogue tomorrow and have another go when the rain stops. Sad news about the headlights too - they are badly corroded and will probably need to be replaced. The reflectors are rusty (an MOT fail) and there is a very bad earth between bulb and lamp housing (no better after a wire brushing and attack with a file), so one light is always dim.

Spaghetti anyone?

The highlight of the weekend is that I got most of the dash working. The washer/wiper switch seemed to be broken and after some more “investigation” is totally and utterly broken. I snapped it. Twenty year old plastic is pretty brittle! Great news is that the fan works at both speeds and the wiper motor works too - though I need to find out how the speed controls work. The washer pump doesn’t seem to work, but there’s a very bad earth to the chassis that might be to blame.

Getting the dash wired up with the steering wheel in the way was a bloody nightmare, so in the end I took it off. Dead easy to do and saved me lots of pratting about. It’s all back together now and looking great. The hand crafted, quality finish of an Aston Martin… is not a good comparison.

Dashing

The eagle-eyed reader will notice that the gauges aren’t wired up yet; the hopeless Land Rover nerd will notice that I swapped the lighting and dash illumination switches. The dash illumination switch is knackered and, given recent developments, I don’t need the light switch on the main dash any more!

Lookin’ good!

After all the hard work was done, the clothes in the washer, the lamb shanks in my belly and I’d had a shower, I got myself on eBay and spend £80 on parts for the military lighting panel. Managed to get a hazard switch, brake test switch, 6-way light switch, a hazard unit, the dash panel itself and a spare relay for my money. Not bad at all, but I don’t think the sellers got a bad deal either. Let’s just hope it all works!

So, the good Doctor Johnson will be less enraged about my plans to civilianise the dash, as I don’t have to do it any more. Running in convoy mode, how ever insane and pointless it may be, is still to be possible!

Didn’t mention the filter unit yet, which I fitted onto the engine. More about that when I start work on the ignition system.