Ron Francis Kit

[Aussiemadonmopars]

OK. My buddy and I knocked up a new glovebox liner. I'm going to mount the stereo head unit in there as well. I bought one without the CD player so it's not as bulky and will fit snug in there. I will mostly be listening to the FM radio or bluetooth music from my phone anyway. I still have to sand it off and paint it in a wrinkle finish but ya get the idea. I will replace the nuts on the back with wing nuts. I will pull the fusebox out and run the wires to it then set it in place after. I have nearly finished putting down most of the Dynamat insulation so I can start on the cabling to the battery box and mount the joining stud under the dash somewhere for the accessory and fusebox wiring.

[TexasStroker]

Nice, should look pretty slick once it is blacked out!  Looking forward to seeing the finished product.

[Aussiemadonmopars]

Got some time off and some fine weather today so I shot some black on the glovebox liner. I'll have a look later and see if it needs another coat but. It's upside down at the moment but you get the idea. Then I can set it back in the dash with the radio. I was going to go with the Dakota digital gauges but I already had some gauges I ordered a couple of years ago from Speehut and I'll use the classic dash insert. When I get it all together and I can put it back in the car I will be definitely taking more photo's.

[Aussiemadonmopars]

Some more progress pics. Finished the insulation on the floor, roof and doors. I had some guages already so I decided to try out the classic/thunder dash bezel and fit my own guages to it. Like Redmist in another post, I found the 4" guages just a tad too big and the 3 3/8 guages a little too small but workable. I had to re-use the old switches from the old dash and fit them to the new bezel. I had to glue some small pieces of hobby pine wood to the back to get it to work but it looks ok for now. I think if I had my time again I would go with the Dakota guages. Also the original bezel has a slight bend in the middle where the radio sits. The classic bezel has the bend built into the face of it but the panel is actually straight so you have to bend it over to meet the guage panel and hope it doesn't crack over time.  Some of the pre drilled holes don't line up with the dash frame holes also but I will have to fix that too. Theres a few work arounds you have to do, it's definitely not a "bolt in" item like the Dak guages seem to be.
I will post more as I go.

[mopar0166]

Nice work.  I like the metal glove box, I have my fuse boxes mounted like that too but id be concerned about grounded something on the metal insert.  looks great though cant wait to see the finished product

[myk]

Metal glove box?  How's that supposed to go back in?

[Aussiemadonmopars]

Metal glove box?  How's that supposed to go back in?

I will fit it to the dash frame before it goes back in.

[Aussiemadonmopars]

Ok guys, I've had a bit of a hiatis due to weather and family commitments. I have e-mailed the ron francis techs and had a very limited response, they must be getting a lot of queries. You guys here may be able to help. Has anyone wired in an Ididit colum as part of their projects. I am using one and I'm after some tips or a circuit diagram of how to wire it in. I'm re-using the original switches in a Classic Dash setup with Speedhut guages and a classic air-con unit as well.

[TexasStroker]

They've been quick to answer all my questions, but I suppose mine are more pre-sales tech, lol.

I wonder if you'd try emailing them at a time down under that would coincide with their business hours if you might speed things up.  I had always heard people saying they could call in and get walked thru most any situation...The time change is a big issue for you, so hopefully something falls into place.

[Aussiemadonmopars]

I messaged them again last night and they replied. He said he passed it on to someone else and they never got back to me but somone else did early this morning. They sent me a reavised diagram but it doesn't have the Ididit coloum wiring. I have the colum with the key barrel on the colum. I'll try him again and see if he can give me another revised drawing.

[Aussiemadonmopars]

Well, no luck with Ron with the revised drawing but I got started on it any way. My tactic is to run the wires out to roughly where they have to go and then go back and cable tie them in. I noticed once I got started things just fell into place. I do however need a diagram for the fan circuits on the Ron Francis fuse panel, Summit racing sold me the wiring kit which was supposed to have the extra bags and instructions for the cooling fans but I can't find them anywhere. If anyone has a wiring diagram or instructions for the fans please let me know.

[Aussiemadonmopars]

Something I also had a problem with if you noticed on the last pic, I'm using an Ididit steering column and I think the attaching lugs were fitted in the wrong place. I bought the column through XV going back about 7 or 8 years ago now and I've only just noticed that the key switch on the column sits to far around i.e. not at 3 o'clock where I would of thought it should be

[Aussiemadonmopars]

I'll be trying to hide the wiring as much as I practically can, so if anyone has got any suggestions or photo's I would love to see or hear them. I'm looking at picking up the fender mounting bolts on the inside of the fenders and coming off those with a saddle clip or something.

[frank1966]

Well, no luck with Ron with the revised drawing but I got started on it any way. My tactic is to run the wires out to roughly where they have to go and then go back and cable tie them in. I noticed once I got started things just fell into place. I do however need a diagram for the fan circuits on the Ron Francis fuse panel, Summit racing sold me the wiring kit which was supposed to have the extra bags and instructions for the cooling fans but I can't find them anywhere. If anyone has a wiring diagram or instructions for the fans please let me know.

Hey, what are those 3 black, look like mesh wire sleeves coming out of your firewall into the engine bay? Iam installing RF kit too!

[Aussiemadonmopars]

The black mesh stuff is a new style of wire sleeve. I wanted a neater finish than just ordinary convoluted tubing.

[Aussiemadonmopars]

I also chopped out the windscreen wiper mount and opted for an under dash GM one just to try and beaten up the firewall.

[frank1966]

The black mesh stuff is a new style of wire sleeve. I wanted a neater finish than just ordinary convoluted tubing.

Did you make new holes in the firewall? How did you connect the mesh? Where did you buy it? thanks

[Aussiemadonmopars]

Yes I did make new holes in the firewall and I used a 25mm or 1 inch compression gland and passed the mesh through the gland. I bought it from Jaycar, the equivalent of your Radio Shack electronics store. I know Ron sells it as well or you can EBay it.

[funknut]

The black mesh stuff is a new style of wire sleeve. I wanted a neater finish than just ordinary convoluted tubing.

Did you make new holes in the firewall? How did you connect the mesh? Where did you buy it? thanks

It goes by a few names but if you search for 'mesh wire loom' you'll find all kinds:

http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=mesh+wire+loom&tag=googhydr-20&index=aps&hvadid=60682980072&hvpos=1t2&hvexid=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=12904473040905900506&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=e&hvdev=c&ref=pd_sl_71j3wbcmb4_e

[Aussiemadonmopars]

Also here -  https://www.ronfrancis.com/products.asp?dept=299

[frank1966]

Is it heat proof? Does it melt easily?

[Aussiemadonmopars]

It has some degree of heat protection but I won't be running it over the exhaust or anything really hot, maybe just across the top of the intake manifold. I'll still use heat shroud for around the starter.

[frank1966]

Something I also had a problem with if you noticed on the last pic, I'm using an Ididit steering column and I think the attaching lugs were fitted in the wrong place. I bought the column through XV going back about 7 or 8 years ago now and I've only just noticed that the key switch on the column sits to far around i.e. not at 3 o'clock where I would of thought it should be

Hey it looks you really know what you are doing man! What are those grounds inside your dash? Did you do some wiring with this kit yet?

[Aussiemadonmopars]

Yep, just started getting into it recently. It's been a bit painful waiting for other things to happen but at least it's moving along now.  I'm using just a standard relay for the starter solenoid and then another 2 relays for the wiper circuit so they are some of the grounds you can see. Where the connectors join and are made off to plugs I've soldered those as well, just to be sure.

[frank1966]

Nice, why did you use a relay for the wiper switch? RF kit has a direct feed to the wiper switch from the fuse box.