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Optima bling and Masters H/L harness

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Brosky

Brosky

Great Pumpkin
Offline
Today, while waiting for me to pick up the the block, Erik just about finished the Masters headlamp relay harness and the new Optima battery and brackets installation.

Next will be the Spal harness for the electric fan and the steering column bushing replacement while the engine paint dries for a few days.

By this time next week, it should be on the road.

Hopefully..... :yesnod:
 
I can already hear the song coming from your sound system that will be played on it's maiden excursion.

"They Call Me Mellow Yellow".........................
 
Ron,

I'll be so happy to hear it run that I don't think the radio will be on for a month.

I know now how Tom, Bill and 2Wrench felt after waiting and waiting to get things done and moving. Having said that, I'm glad that I chose the shop that I did and that I waited.

There were some sins to correct from the previous machining on the head which didn't help either. Both in time and money.
 
Just amazingly georgeous. I gotta laugh, cause I was
painting under my hood, there, got some paint onto a
part of the master brake, so went with it and painted
everything black.

I straightened up, looked at it and said: Now, if Rego
did this, those parts wouldn't have paint on em.....

Guess what.....I was right about that. Everything
is just so perfect-looking.

Hey, Paul, how's your sock drawer look....organized
by type, color and size??

Sorry, its just my jealously displaced into some
weird form of a question. Actually, happy for you
and glad you're here. Now when you're driving is
when I'll really be jealous. Sorry bout that.
 
one word about the battery, I found out if the battery dies, like not driving your car for a couple of months you ruin it, I had one, didnt have a trickle charger, the new optima died, I charged it back up but the car never started right after that, changed starters a couple of times finally took the battery out and had it tested, it was bad, they did give me a new one but was told that kills those batteries, they dont come back like regular lead acid batteries
 
I bet his sock drawer is neat but his pockets are empty. That looks like an expensive rebuild job.
 
BobbyD said:
OK....I've got to ask......where did you get that battery mount? I want one!

AND

How did you ever decide between the red Optima to match the engine and the yellow Optima to match the car? Red...Yellow....Yellow....Red....decisions decisions ;-)
Click to expand...

Bob -

Speedway motors sells(and I'm sure lots of others do as well) several optima mounts. The standard polished mount for $69.99 looks very similar to Paul's. Others too here:
https://www.speedwaymotors.com/GmSearchResults.aspx?q=optima&SearchTitleDescr=True


Paul -

I noticed that yours is secured to the body with screws and cup washers. You might want to add a rubber faced sealing washer under each cup washer to keep water out of your floor boards (for when you wash your engine!)

The problem I see with this mount is that it doesn't seem to attach to the body securely. It appears to be just 4 sheet-metal screws that attach the mounting plate to the battery box? The original mounting diagonal bracket looks like it would do a better job of securing the battery. Do you plan to another bracket? How much does the Optima weigh?
 
I've also had terrible service from Optima batteries. My buddy and I have gone through about 6 in 1 year. Had them in a variety of cars: Jensen Interceptor, TR4A, Italia, Corvette, E-Type and a Mondial. Tried expensive "float chargers" to no avail. The best service I've gotten from a battery in the last 20 years, is from Duralast batteries from AutoZone. I recently changed the 2 year battery in my Mach 1 after 9 years.
 
I have had an Optima in the TR for the last 4 years - no problem. Still as strong as it was when new. I pull the battery each winter and put it on a "CTEK" brand trickle charger. This has a special setting for gel batteries like the Optima.

Rob.
 
A CTEK charger, it will be.

I got the battery and mount from Summitt Racing.
 
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:]The problem I see with this mount is that it doesn't seem to attach to the body securely. It appears to be just 4 sheet-metal screws that attach the mounting plate to the battery box? The original mounting diagonal bracket looks like it would do a better job of securing the battery. Do you plan to another bracket? How much does the Optima weigh?[/QUOTE]

Peter, all good questions.

1. Believe me, it's secure. Those are 1/4" grade 5 polished 2 1/2" machine screws that go down through the battery tray area, on the reinforced metal, with double fender washers and nyloc nuts under the panel locking them down. That battery ain't going no where.

2. They are sealed against water leaks.

3. The Optima feels like it weighs about as much as my old battery. I'd have to check the specs to be sure.

4. Bob, Summitt Racing for the mount. They have several options available for Optima's.

5. Bob, I thought that you'd end up with the yellow, so I went with red to match the engine color.
 
Alan,

Don't start. You want me to do that so I can have a place to mount electronics for fuel injection and begin to torture myself like you did. No thank you. Aligning triple carbs is more than enough fun for me, thank you!
 
Brosky said:
Alan,

Don't start. You want me to do that so I can have a place to mount electronics for fuel injection and begin to torture myself like you did. No thank you. Aligning triple carbs is more than enough fun for me, thank you!
Click to expand...

Well there is that...
You also get a nice chunk of real estate back if you want to mount the Goodparts PCV setup.
Plus the weight distribution change.
It lets you put a bunch of relays together somewhere easy to get to would be my other point.
 
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:]It lets you put a bunch of relays together somewhere easy to get to would be my other point.[/QUOTE]

Yeah, right, like fuel injection relays. I know your type. Lull him to sleep with the weight distribution and easy access lines and then pounce.....
 
You know what they say - the first taste is free.

You know you want to...
teu42.gif
 
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