Minion Missile - 1973 Colombian Patrol Project

[mad4hws]

Not much of an update. Busy day at the salt mine... and then there was a 12 year old birthday party for one of the minons...

I was thinking about my horn. The horn assembly is not currently working. The former owners jerry rigged a button underneath the dash, so I do have a horn. I'd really like the ability to lay into the center of my steering wheel and not have to fumble around for the button on the dash though when someone cuts me off. I haven't attempted to tear this apart, is there anything big that I am missing? Looked at the diagrams and it seems I'm missing a spring at a minimum.

[RiverPatrol]

Besides the spring, there should be some small pieces at each of the 3 screws. Here is a post about them: http://www.60patrol.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=4267&p=33281&hilit=horn#p33281 . They are put in place with o'rings around them, as I recall.

[mad4hws]

Today's update. ripped the old harness out.


Engine compartment looks mucho better.


Also got my vintage plug assortment in the mail. unbelievably accurate - plug and play


The crimpers that come with the kit are substantial and deep with ratcheting action. I have no doubt will do a fantastic job on the connections.

[ckhorne]

Looking good - now the fun begins!

One other note - I borrowed one of these from a friend and found it to be really useful: https://www.amazon.com/Power-Probe-319F ... B000KPU8MK

I've got a bit of a background in electronics and have a number of multimeters and other equipment, but nothing did what this one does- you attach the clips to your battery, and then you can test for +12v or ground, or you can push a button and send +12v or connect ground to the tip. Very useful in diagnosing as you go. I'm sure there are cheaper versions out there - they all do the same thing.

[mad4hws]

Indeed the fun is beginning. I started to put in the new harness, beginning with mounting the new fuse block. We took a break and I participated in a pick-up soccer game with #2 Minion and his friends. I ended up in the ER after my knee bent in a direction it was not intended to go. I shouldn't be playing contact sports at my age I suppose. I have an appointment with the orthopedic later today - please keep your fingers crossed that the 'pop' i heard wasn't something too serious. Hobbling around on crutches is going to make this task even more challenging than it already was. Good thing I have lots of helpers. More updates later.

p.s. Thanks CK for the advise and the tool recommendation. I need every advantage I can get.

[RiverPatrol]

Sorry to hear about the knee. That sucks. Hoping for a fast recovery for you.

[Esteban]

Sorry to hear that.
Have a promt recovery!

[mad4hws]

Okay. So, out of the ER. One trip to the Orthopedic. A separate trip to the MRI facility and I still don't know the status. I won't find that out until Tuesday. Well, I'm not going to let that spoil my holiday! So, I'm hobbling around trying to get started again on this wiring job. I ran into something that I need assistance on. The distributor.


No points. Looks somewhat like a petronix, not sure. Here's my question on wiring. There is a red wire and a black wire coming out of the distributor. Previously, these two wires were both attached to a ballast resistor. Further, there were two other wires coming off that ballast resistor, one red and one green that attached to the coil. The red to the positive terminal and the green to the negative. The ignition wire from the fuse block was attached to the Positive terminal.


My question is, does this make sense? Why have a ballast resistor if you don't have points to worry about? Secondly, as far as my rewiring job, should I just leave it as is and hook it up the way it was before?

Thanks everyone,
Don.

[RiverPatrol]

Various reasons for a ballast resistor. If it's there I would leave it in place. As you described, it was connected correctly. Just leave it the way it was.

[mad4hws]

The work is progressing, albeit slower than I had anticipated.

I decided to replace the original switches with painless performance switches. I guess I'm not a purist, so please don't hate more for that.
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I looked at CKHorne's experience with installing this same kit. I decided to use the same waterproof connectors that he used:


Here is a tailight assembly with the wires untangled and ready to install the connector. In a perfect world I would have had the wires a bit longer.


I installed the prongs and soldered them into place. soldering is probably overkill, these things aren't coming disconnected. Please note that if you use this kit, you need to install the rubber bushings prior to installing these prongs (i forgot one in the picture)


Connector installed


Headlight test


My non-minion helper. it was thundering outside and she's a big baby. she was also hiding under the car at one point.