2014 Projects Thread!

GOOD THINKING BATMAN, maybe I should try radio shack!!! you never know what they have. I've heard some people sell them pretty cheap, cheap is fine so long as it works and works to spec.
if you go to the body shop, in person, the may cut you a deal, or if nothing else, you will be able to see them in action and form your own opinions.
there's a lot to learn about these things.
it's like tires, we actually sell a tire called good-ride for the cheaper end of the spectrum.
it's been pretty cold for us over here, you guys must be having a terrible time.

Haha yeah, they closed the schools today for the wind chill.

I heard in passing once that Radio Shack used to have them, but doesn't anymore or something. Don't know for sure though.

we've had a definite change this winter, it's been cold. some guy offered me a cobra engine & transmission for 11k today????X?X?X?X?
brew came by with a 12 pack of cokes and 50 notes and walked away with an A9L PCM, I was shocked.... I gave him a low mileage pcm, seal never opened, never been chipped.
it seems that the chips sometimes destroy the pcm,s, I hate chips, we sell a lot of pcm's because of chips.

Yeah, that's WAY high. Offer him half, and that's only if it's a '03-04 Terminator. haha.

At least you got some money for it, not just pop. haha. Do you call it pop down there?

I guess what they're going to use on my PCM to tune it works similarly to a chip, but it's programmable, not static like they were back in the day. I have to imagine the technology is better.

Have you come across these in your research?

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2047675.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.H0.Xcree+plasma+3157&_nkw=cree+plasma+3157&_sacat=0

They're the "Plasma" ones I had mentioned earlier. Guys on FEP seem to like them. I found out today they're made by Cree which seems to have a good reputation as far as I know. I'm a lot more likely to buy a brand I've heard of, that's for sure! They have a "projector" lens thingy on the end of them. I haven't found a retailer besides ebay though.

Yeah, CREE, that’s top quality stuff!! They are leaders in LED technology, not the cheap crap that comes out of a bubble-gum machine. They do all kinds of lighting and have an impressive pedigree. that is a ridiculously CHEAP price also, just check the 350 lumens  @ at 360 degrees, looks like good stuff; what's the catch? have they met their reserve price or do they sell them that cheap???
I’ve ordered some LED stuff from DDM Tuning on 31 Dec 2014, still haven’t received it for whatever reason…..I hope they’re not having bad weather in china. I can’t see how they will stay in business at this rate, no mention that it would take so long, they seem to be a fulfilment center located in Vegas.
I got a reply from Diode Dynamics. They seem to welcome dealership and wholesaler participation. I am going to talk to one of the guys soon and see what we can work out, he seems eager to assist. They have a 3 yr warr, if a component fails, they will send the replacement to the dealership or the customers home. There’s a $5.00 flat rate shipping fee on all orders. They have the most informative site to explain the differences, types,  etc, and they actually use their products. I did ask them to add the dimensions of the LED's to their site, and they said they are going to do it, way cool.
The bulb with a projector lense is most likely the HP style led’s, they are very bright. They also have HP style bulbs that work in newer car can-bus systems.
Boy….you guys got some bad weather, I work with a fellow from Oak Grove, and he showed me some photo’s of yesterday mornings weather…….wowzer!

Yeah, you like that? Some 700 accidents here yesterday. The day before that, I was wearing long underwear in the HOUSE! haha.

I wonder about the cheap price too. Clearly, they're not a regular retailer, but as long as I get the product they say I'm getting, I'll be happy! Do you think I should get purple turn signals? Haha, kidding, I would never do that.

I found DDM's site hard to get around for whatever reason. I hope you get your stuff!

That's cool Diode Dynamics is willing to do business. I definitely liked the look of the domelight bulbs they have there.

DDM is difficult to navigate, and their info is unclear. they don't answer e-mail.....however we must wait & see.
generally if something sounds too good it is. I don't know how they can do those prices.
Yep; I spoke to the sales manager on Friday, he sounds cool and eager, so our parts manager will be contacting Diode Dynamics next week to seal the deal. I wonder if they price match!!!!
I've made a couple of displays today to show-off the 194 bulbs, we'll see how it goes.
I think I'd stay indoors If I were you.
350 lumens of this bulb is slightly lower than a 3156/7 bulb at 402 lumens, this seems negligible to me, as a diode is rather difficult to classify in lumens, so these LED bulbs may be just the ticket.
you wont know till you try. CREE is the top class stuff.(if it is CREE). the seller seems to have a good rep......

We're headed up North to Duluth today. Should be fun! There's a mist on the water as it tries to freeze at this time of year. It's beautiful! And yes, it's even colder there. haha

I was looking at some supposed Cree Plasma 194 bulbs on ebay. They have the projector lens on them, but they look too small to have the diodes on the sides to act on the reflectors, say if I want to use them in side marker lights. I'll have to do some more shopping around before I decide what to do with those. They might look fine either way, I don't know.

I was pretty confident in using the lumens rating to figure out if bulbs are any good, but I now I was reading on Diode Dymanics' site that most places give a lumens rating for the max potential, whereas they give a rating of continuous light or something. Kind of like peak power versus RMS/continuous power rating on a stereo amplifier. Dammit, now I don't know what to think. SIGHHHHH

YEAH COLD!!!!
I’ve been compiling charts for different bulbs, lumens, etc. it kinda tells you that the more wedge you part with the better bulb you get.
Dammit, is it a box of rox; or is it a mixture of rox, stones & pebbles??????
I wouldn’t go with the projector lights on the markers, it may not work out for you. I’m going to sort out a lot real soon when we get some and let you know what happens with the various types of bulbs. We should have a contract with Diode dynamics fairly soon, if not, I’ll go it on my own.
I’m willing to try the smd2 &smd5 bulbs in the markers; I feel that the hp2/3 or 5 might shine a focused light beam outside of the lense onto the ground or onto the road or passing cars. I really don’t know yet.
I also like the smd6 & 12 board cars for under the dash and frt seats using the 194 led board adaptor/connectors.
It’s early days and its getting hard for this old guy to take it all in.
you know what they say about old dogs & new trix......

did you guys trip go ok? no accidents.

Yeah it was a good trip! We took it easy, just like we wanted to. And ate some good food. Ever had a Monte Cristo sandwich?

It's funny, i checked this site on my phone while i was away, and it never told me you had responded. When i look at it on my phone it shows it in this weird view that's supposed to make it easier to use or something.

Anyway, yeah, i figured projectors probably wouldn't be good for side markers. I still don't really know what can bus and smd even mean, haha. I got the Scott Drake instrument cluster kit and some additional 194s for my birthday yesterday. Hopefully I'll get the chance to play with them in the next few days. My dad seems interested in putting LEDs in the dash of his '66 Mustang because it's so hard to see at night. Pretty sure they also use 194s because the directions sheet they sent me was for a 1st gen Mustang. But it was labeled the Fox kit, so i still got the right thing. The right number of bulbs are all there.

well done on a safe trip and on the bulbs, what type of bulbs are they. I used the 194 smd5 bulbs rated @ 56 lumens for my dash, a/c control & shift indicator, THEY ARE GREAT, (I wanted to try the smd2 rated at 24 lumens, but didn't have any at the time) I did the same for my little Toyota cluster with the 56 lumens as well, now that really made a difference.
I would think they would be great for the old mustangs, they were cruddy at best, but during the day they were about average for most cars. he'll at least be able to see the dials, the leds are dimmable.
is your dads car a 6 cylinder? you gotta admit they are nice looking cars even today, although sometimes I prefer the 67/8 model.

Well, the Scott Drake kit doesn't give the specs. They seem like a good resto company and the kit was not cheap for what you get, so I'm not worried about those. The others are ebay-special 20 smd ones. I got those to fill in the blanks (such as the HVAC control panel, glove box, etc) and to play with. If they aren't up to snuff, they were cheap, so I'm okay with it.

My dad's car is a white 289 2BBL auto coupe. It's definitely a cool car! Especially since he fixed the rear suspension droop and put the Cragars on there. It has an exhaust shop dual exhaust with thrush mufflers. He goes to tons of shows with it. We both would prefer a '69 fastback, but he likes it well enough.

Don’t worry about the cheap ones, use them as fodder. I’ve looked at the Scott Drake stuff also, I’m pretty sure they are good stuff, try not to be influenced by appearance, go by experience, if you are happy, run with it, superbrite has some pretty good stuff also, I bought some cheap ones from amazon that are ok, they are all being tested and evaluated, that’s what you have friends for!!! DDM was a pain, took too long to arrive…I have no patience, (just a bad temper) so you have to make your own mistakes and be ready to take criticism and try to use it, everyone moans about pricing….but they want the bling. LEDS are definitely a good thing for older cars, and my pig likes cheap red lipstick.
Way cool on the little Mustang and the 289, I remember cruising them when we were in high school. Wish I had one now, we have a few here in town, some are great, and others are good, but I hate to see them really butchered.
I think I told you about a guy at work that bought one a couple of years ago, after he sold it, the guy who bought it put in a 5.0 with a blower, they had some tuning problems, but did get it right, and the hood did shut, I don’t know what happened to the car as I don’t hang with those guys, but I did have difficulty understanding WHY???? It was a beautiful car in its natural form.
Let me know how you get on with you Scott Drake kit.

Dad's had his about 10 years now. He didn't pay ridiculous money for it either. $6500, if I remember right. It's paint isn't so good with an orange-peeled repaint, but other than that, it's in great shape. I keep trying to get him to hop it up somehow. A 4 barrel at least! I told him he should take my E7 heads after I go to the GT40s. We'll see how my own head surgery goes, then maybe I'll be more wiling to do it on his car, haha. Or maybe drop a whole Explorer motor in there, with carb to keep up appearances. You paint it blue and no one would know the difference! There're a lot of things he could do to it though. Disc brakes in the front, and so on. But it's pretty much all stock now except for the exhaust and it's cool just for that reason. If it were mine, I'd at least get some better front seats, haha.

It bugs me to see classic Mustangs cut up into race cars and stuff like that too. Although, I guess I'd rather see them like that than tucked away in some rich guy's collection, never to see the road again. Still a hard pill to swallow. You want to go fast, get a Fox body for pete's sake. The more cars cut up like that, the fewer available for ME, haha. I'm pretty much resigned to the fact that if I want a '69 fastback, I'm going to have to build my own out of a Dynacorn body. That may or may not ever happen, haha. Can't imagine how I would free up the funds just to buy the body alone!

Have you tried out the bulbs you got from DDM? How are they? I'm thinking of going through Diode Dynamics for the piecemeal stuff. Dome light, 3rd brakelights, side marker lights, stuff like that. Maybe i'll get up the motivation tomorrow to go out and start playing with the bulbs I do have.

I have a friend with a 67 here in town, over the years he’s added a bit here and there, disc brakes, power steering, A/C etc, it doesn’t look bad at all, it’s never going to win a concourse award, but it really is nice.
Sometimes you can use a buffer and a fine compound to get rid of orange peel, personally I don’t have much paint on my car; so orange peel would be nice & welcome for me!
I’d love to have a “mustang in a box”, it would be like a giant Match Box Car!!!! And you know it would be finished exactly like you want it…….
I am not at all satisfied with these particular DDM bulbs, I feel they were less than impressive except for the humor of standing out in the cold dark of early morning and exchanging the bulbs, and the putting the replacements back in the packets!
I did the research (as I always do) on the bulbs for lumens and viewing angles etc; however they did not meet my expectations, similar brightness or slight lower/higher brightness would have been acceptable.
All evaluations of the bulbs were conducted in night darkness in the absence of street lighting or in total darkness in my garage. I am not prejudicial in any evaluation, as your reputation is always at stake....just sharing the results, not blaming a manufacturer or dealer. Some people like Pepsi & some people like coke, some people like root beer.
I am aware that you can’t compare lumens output of an LED to an incandescent bulb due to viewing angles and beam patterns etc, however the marker lenses on these cars is a STANDARD marker lense for the period of manufacture, so I would expect the patterns/brightness to be similar, they were not in my Fairmont’s side markers.
The bulbs that did have reviews were all claimed to be brighter etc. Perhaps a different result would be obvious for some modern shaped lenses.
I am concerned that these results may be similar with a different manufacturer/supplier for this car.
There is no reason to be angry (yet) as a lot of components need evaluation, and in some cases like mine; reevaluation.
My advice whether wanted or not: purchase 1 each of the bulbs you’d like to try, from whomever, and just see what happens.
You can’t really compare LED to tungsten lighting for various reasons, viewing angles are fixed, not 360 degrees like a tungsten bulb, lumens are difficult to compare due to directional light emission, lengths/shapes of bulbs are different ETC.
I used the SMD5 Bulbs(rated @ 56 lumens) in my cluster A/C & PRNDL and I am totally delighted, I don’t think they fit properly in the side markers, I can’t remember.
I have 2 fox clusters, one is a motorsports 160 mph and the other a cobra 140 mph, I could test the SMD5 bulbs in them if you like. The only reason for the explanation of the clusters is there may be a difference between them; I haven’t looked at them for a while, so I don’t know.

Yeah, I think I may try to convince dad to go halfsies with me on a polisher. Then I would try wet sanding and buffing my car first. And then we'd try it on his. He's worried about cutting all the way through the paint, but I really can't imagine that happening. By the looks of it, they didn't really prep the car at all before spraying the new paint on, so if by some crazy coincidence we do cut through the paint, the old finish is at least there too. Although, it's a slightly different color, haha.

Bummer about your bulbs. No need to test those clusters for me. I've got my own bulbs, and the ones for the cluster I'm pretty sure of. Sucks I have to take the console out to get at the HVAC controls. I hate doing that in a manual car. Trying to get it out past the shifter is always dicey, even with the handle removed.

How did the colors look in the side markers? Are your bulbs white? Did the amber and red look funny with white bulbs?

I tried the short stubby bulbs in the marker lights, red & amber bulbs. rated at 24 lumens, the regular 194 bulb is rated at 25 lumens, which is an insignificant loss. it is recommended to use the same color bulb as the lense. the ones with the projector lenses shined onto the ground as I had expected although they are a different kind of bulb not really suitable for a marker lense, they may be ok for a 3rd brake light. I don't think anyone else's bulbs would render a different result using a similar bulb in the markers, however; a different type/style bulb may render better results, I wont know until I try them myself.
what works on a Fairmont may not be suitable for another vehicle.......
a little patience and that a/c control will be done, I hate those dammed cables on the fox mustangs, but now would be a great time to add some PTFE grease or silicone spray to the exposed cable ends.
we had a guy years ago at our place who used to paint cars, he would wet sand them with 3M wet or dry 1000, 1500 & 2000 grit sand paper, then polish them to get that candy/glass look. i'm thinking he used to clear coat, but i'm not sure.

The thing that stinks about the notchback 3rd brakelight assembly is that the bulbs are vertical, so I couldn't use projector lens ones there. They are 912 bulbs which are just a 194 base with a larger bulb on it, so a 194 LED is what you use to replace it. The assembly I got didn't come with the wire harness & sockets, but I found out that the sockets from the side marker lights are the same, so that will make them easier to track down. I also discovered yesterday that the front turn signals have two bulbs in them. One is a 194. Good to know, haha. And also, I didn't replace all the taillight sockets with 3157 sockets like I thought I did. I'll probably do it when I change the bulbs though, just for the added reliability over the 1157s.

My dad agreed to the halfsies deal on the polisher. It sure would be cool to save him the expense of a new paint job. I think once I get a little practice under my belt, i'll be more willing to try actual car painting because wet sanding and buffing can save you if your finish is uneven, haha. If I ever get around to buying an LTD front clip to put on, I would have to imagine it won't be silver, and I would need to paint it.

Say, I have a question for you. Was that you that was telling me you wired up your taillights to all work like original where when you brake, the whole thing lights up or for turn signals, the whole side blinks? Where-as for mine only the outer bulbs are brakelights and the inner bulbs are turn signals. I was thinking of making them function like original, but I was looking at the '79 and '90 wiring diagrams, and hit a snag. I noticed that on the original wiring, the brake light signal passes through the multi-function switch, and there's only one "bright" signal wire going back to the taillights per side. And then there's just a jumper going between the two bulbs so they light up together. That way, the brakelight signal wouldn't interfere with the turn signal. Well, the '90 harness has TWO "bright" signals per side. One for brake, and one for turn, since on the Mustang taillights, they are different bulbs. If my description doesn't make sense, I can post the diagrams tomorrow. Anyway, what could I do about that? What could I use to stop the brakelight signal from interfering with the turn signal back to the bulbs so they could function together? One possibility I was thinking of is wiring a Fairmont multifunction switch inline to do what it's meant to do, haha. Or maybe it's not even a problem... is it? Or maybe I could put diodes inline since they only allow power to flow one way?

Good deal on the polisher, that will make your dad happy to have a shiny flat paint finish!
Yeah man, I ran into the same issue when I did the fox dash install. I tried like heal to resolve the issue, even called my old boss who is even better than me at electrical system, he drew a blank after 30 minutes of scouring the diagrams….
I actually overcame the issue using a turn signal switch from a 93 cougar; however I also used the transistorized flasher unit system cougar system because I wanted the system tu use only I flasher unit. I think the switch assembly connector had to be replaced, but I believe they are the same as a mustang,,,,,,  I think I may had to rewire the signal light wire in the cluster ans short the hazard flashe can connector.
I also believe I used a Taurus m/funct switch for a while, but it failed, so put the cougar switch back in, now that did interfere with the high low switching when using the tilt column because the cougar switch lever hit the wheel, if you can find a diagram for a 93 cougar or ??Taurus, you will see the wiring diagram is the same or similar and resolve the turn/brake light issue as there is no separation for the turn/brake lights.
It must be noted that if you use the cougar switch, you’ll need to drill a hole for the flasher unit switch in the upper portion of the steering collum cover.
I like electrics; and my ego has to be fed regularly, so if I get some time, I see which switch interchanges with the mustang switch connectors or you can find the info also.
I wish we could get hold of fox81, he has all the wiring alterations that I wrote down for that dash swap.
I couldn’t deal with the separated turn/brake lights, I don’t roll that way.
He may be on the other sites. He’s pretty cool and laid back, I’m certain he would help out by scanning a copy or 2.
I do remember it was a pain to figure out the first time.

Yeah, I enjoy playing with electrical too. Some people hate wiring, I'm not afraid of it at all. I'm not surprised the MN12 Cougar stalk had a funny angle. remember when I was looking at a steering wheel from one? They mount the same, but the wheel itself is like 4 inches farther back. I didn't want to mess up my ergonomics, haha. Maybe I'll talk to my brother. He's an electrical engineer. Maybe I can build a little module that will do the signal/brake light job.

I spent a lot of time yesterday trying to make sense of all the cutting/polishing compounds and buffer/polisher machines that are out there. There are SO many, and they all call themselves something different. They should just give them all numbers. This is a #1 course compound. This is #2, finer compound etc. Nope. Sometimes the #2 is called "swirl mark remover". Sometimes it's called "rubbing compound". Sometimes what is supposed to be #3 is "polish". Sometimes it's "glaze". And THEN there's all the different foam and wool pads! Trying to learn about this is as bad or worse than trying to make sense of all the LED stuff.

sounds kinda mumbo jumbo, I'd ask the detailer.
yeah yor right about the cougar steering wheels.....they did look nice though.
yeah my boss was a ford wiring freak, way wicked, had a way of belittling you if you asked for help, I found it was in the way you approached him with a problem and if you could prove that you tried, everything went well.
the 90's mustangs are very primitive in design, however with out a lot of work and a box of diodes and relays or transistors, It's just easier, faster & more reliable to change the switch and a few wires around.
I see if I can find the wiring diagrams for both cars, I may have it stored on some all-data references. I think the Taurus was the same, just a different stalk.

Yeah, the dual action polisher I'm looking at is supposed to be very capable and gets a lot of good reviews, but a lot of guys say a dual action will take forever to get out sanding scratches. The direct drive rotary ones are supposed to be a lot more powerful. The thing is though, I'm trying to look at what I'll use it for in the future too. Mostly light maintenance polishing and wax application. And a dual-action is supposed to be a lot safer for the novice. Pretty much zero risk of burning through the paint. And I can't afford to buy two machines! This is what's kept me from even considering going down this road until now. Expensive initial investment, and just confusion in general. I'm sure when the time comes, I'll just call the tech line at Autogeek, tell them exactly what I want to do, and see what their recommendation is. I am excited to do the work though. If I can make my dad's car and mine shine like they do in those videos, that would be pretty awesome!

I think you're right about just replacing the switch. That would certainly simplify things. Then I could run the brake light signal through it and pretty much be done! I know the early Tauri had separate bulbs for brake and turn in the taillights. The '92-95s didn't though. I think pretty much every Ford used that same type of multi-function switch except the Escorts, Tempos, Probes, and Contours. Even the F-series joined in with the '92 and up models. I remember replacing a LOT of them when I worked in the dealer though. And mine is brand new, so it kind of sucks not to use it.

I did email my brother, but I don't think I did a good job of explaining to him what I want to do, haha.

i reckon that you got the correct sander, take your time, do the job right, reap the benefits. our detailer has a big dewalt sander/polisher, he doesn't run it fast though.
I may be wrong, and quite often am, but I still believe it was a Taurus. sometimes you can change the stalks over if the resistances and 4 wiring pins are the same, some are.