Is my wagon a wagon?

This is how far I got. One third of my loom is done and turned out to be a prototype, demonstrating the need for making the ends of the remaining two wiring harnesses more narrow



To get the set of guages pointing downwards sufficiently, all dispensable material needed to be removed.
I was able to find two totally different connector types. One was already permenently pre-assembled with pure copper wire which is to replace the more stiffer composite type used in the PC looms. I, therefore, clipped the composite wires off of their ends, before wrapping the pure copper replacement wires around each terminal for soldering, making these ends quite bulky. These two will be feeding battery + and ignition +. Later on, I’ll upload the wiring illustration provided by VDO -Continental.
My digital camera arbitrarilly decided to go into flash mode, causing this image to appear somewhat blurry



This taken out of service Nippondenso voltage regulator once dwelling in my Toyota Corolla wagon was planned as the harness's organ donor, until it became appearant that the opposite connector wasn’t available

 

Making myself the laughing stock in front of the National Port & Pollish Association, I went ahead and got my sandwich plate ready.
Because my dishwasher was full enough to run, I set my priorities on getting this done, before finishing my wiring harnesses.
I started off by removing either the paint finish or powder coating from where the extension pipe was to fasten the plate, in order to secure ground contact required to run the guage set. The alternative would have involved drilling and tapping the plate's exterior for mounting a ground cable. Electro-chemical corrosion would have more likely taken place in such a set-up. I've not yet seen corrosion take place between aluminum and a dissimilar metal, when both are immersed in oil. It'll be interesting to find out. Once both guages suddenly go out, that'll be proof otherwise.
I initially planned on using valve grind compound. But, couldn’t find it. Maybe, that was better, because any trace of it remaining to pollute the oil gallery is the last thing anyone would want. Not finding the compound was possibly a blessing in disguise. Instead, I buried the plate in sand and then started twisting the pipe against the plate, until a rough surface appeared:



Obviously most time-consuming and risky was the porting-out of the temperature sensor’s location. The tapping alone required repetitive cutting and even chasing the outter opening, using an 11 mm drill bit, in order to be able to locate the sensor further into the plate, exposing as much sensor surface to oil flow as possible.
Idealy, the best place for this sensor would have been in the block. That, however, was the last place I would have wanted to cut threads into, as long as the engine wasn’t disassembled for cleansing. Most important would be knowing at what temperature the oil’s at, when leaving the engine block. Not at entry:



The most stable Dremel bit used was one which was barrel-shaped. Porting with a globe-shaped porting bit was tricky and needed constant concentration on the porting and a firm grip on the tool itself. Not using a Dremel, I wasn’t used to this substitute’s chuck construction which tended to rub on the plate’s surface not intended to get damaged. Nevertheless, the damage looks more dramatic in the following image than it really is:



A made it a point to even get the pressure sender as far into the plate as possible, in order to reduce leverage forces on its stem, when vibration exerts its forces. This was probably an overcautious measure, given that these forces would have been much greater, if the filter assemble would have been mounted 90° from where it was.

Also noticeable is how dishwasher detergent roughens up a painted finish, along with roughing up a marital relationship, when automotive parts start to share the machine with dishes and cutlery. This finish-roughing could only help dissipate heat better:



I'll make it a point to see if any paint surface erosion has taken place, during the next oil change. If so, it would be best to remove all paint exposed to oil, while I'm down there replacing the filter

 

As usual with digital photography, those who don’t have expectations are those who won’t suffer disappointments. Despite that claim, I’m once again disappointed. The camera focused on the silver background, before flashing.
I’ll have to repeat this outdoors, tomorrow, if it’s sunny enough.
I went out and picked up a can of plastic primer, having had bad luck with painting over plastic surfaces with normal primer. After having debated over painting my instrument bezel or not, the thought of black grills against a red framing finally pushed me over the edge. This time, without disappointments. In fact, I’m so pleased with the results, to the point where it has given me a moral boost for dealing with buttoning up the engine.
Needing to remove the windshield grilling, in order to get access to both hood hinges for white grease spraying, because they stiffened up from inaction, I decided to go ahead painting them, along with the bezel. I’ll post their images post-mounting, tomorrow. Here’s what I got, so far, with the new gauges mounted-in:



All that’s missing now is an optional instrument pod inclusive of a tachometer

 

Supposedly, specific primers for painting plastic are supposed to keep paint sticking. So, I went out and got a can. Besides using it on that bezel, while I was at it, I went and painted interior parts for both front door panels. It’s difficult to see the color digitally photographed which appears darker than viewing it on a personal basis. Nevertheless, the charcoal or anthracite darker tone is still visible. In fact, had I known that this color would have turned out as attractive as it did, I would have been tempted to just paint the entire panel with this primer and then just leave it at that

 

I intended on waiting until I got done with bolting the mill back together, before finishing mounting the doors' hardware. But, in between sunny days, I needed something to do indoors.
I had to step out of the way, so as not to cast a shadow. maybe, I’ll get lucky and get a better shot from the other side, precisely when the sun’s at its best location?



I also took measures to create a heat barrier between the manifold catylist and the sandwich plate. I found what appears to be stainless sheet steel and cut some out for extending the catylist’s cover. Bending and hammering-in reinforcement ribs, this should suffice for reducing unwanted heat from the adapter plate assembly.
Using ordinary sheetmetal screws for fastening it looks shabby. But, fastening it using pop rivets may not guarantee that they wouldn’t melt, when the catylist reaches its maximum temperature under severe conditions.