501 returns to Norfolk for fun and frustration??!!

[EXCEL V8]

Looks great Angus.  So the panels aren't stuck to the roof - just held in place by the trim at the side?

Pete

[Angus553]

Yes the headlining is held in place by the side panels and the trim/trunking at the edge of the roof. Had at one point decided to use glue/velcro/double sided tape but in the end chose no to as could be a messy job and its held well in place atm. The proplex is a little flimsy but if it wasnt it wouldve been even more difficult to get it in and in place. The front half overlaps the rear half between the roof and the roll bar. The material is spray contact glued to the proplex sheet though.

[Angus553]

Have had an eventful few days.....firstly thanks to Excel v8 for his advice about taking out the rev counter to check the connections and run a direct link from the battery to the rev counter to try and isolate the erratic rpm. Its still on the to do list but with the dash more accessi le have reconnected the vac pipes previously knocked off whilst fixing the panel light rheostat. Accessed the right side fan and connected previously undiscovered wires and now both fans work properly having previously fixed the left side fan and changed both of the relays. Also now the brakes/pdwv light works as does the low fuel light after plenty of hours of frustration. So all good so far and now everything electrical works except the rear wiper which works on the bench after making up some springs and brushes,just need new switch wormdrive and tube. Dare I connect up a live feed to the rev counter after everything has gone so well so far!!

 

[Doris the dog]

Hi Angus, now you’ve had all that electrical dash experience, you’re quite welcome to come over and sort my dash out.  Then engine May start up then. 😂😂

[Benco]

Hi, thanks for sharing. Tonight I’ve uncovered the passenger side fan and got that going, it just needed a little encouragement, spinning it at the same time as putting power to the connections directly and off it went 🙂.

However I know the drivers side needs the same attention. Is it ‘relatively’ easy to get to the fan on the right side? Do I need to remove the instrument panel?

Any tips/tricks from your recent experiences?

Thanks

[Angus553]

Hi benco in order to get to the fan atleast some of the dash needs to be removed.(or drop the steering column) For me it be accessed through the rpm gap by having 1 hand through this gap and the other coming up from underneath in order to connect the cables. From my pic you can see the fan(black and yellow with the 3 wires just out of shot behind the speedo. 2 live wires low and high speed and 1 earth.  Both fans are connected to two relays in the footwell.  Its possible to turn the blades by removing the cover from the left fan and poking something between the two. 

 

[Benco]

Thanks Angus,

I started to try and find the way of removing the cover, but just too many rusted inaccessible screws. So taking the view that the issue with the drivers side fan was the same as the passenger side (just stuck through lack of use), the. I drilled a 20mm hole in the fan cover and moved the fan back and forth through that hole. 
 

It was definitely more ‘seized’ than the passenger side, but after 5 mins of working it I then sent it some power through the switch, it complained a little and then started moving freely without any noise/friction at all 🙂. So really pleased with that and I’ve order a 20mm blanking grommet to properly seal the hole I made. 
 

This gives me easier access in the future and I’m also going to modify the passenger side fan cover in the same way.