At 12:34 PM 7/27/99 -0700, Mark Willis wrote:
>Just for my own rig, myself;  I figure that as I re-do everything on my
>next Mustang-type car, (Dad found a '68(?) with a decent body), might as
>well make it something rather fun.  I figure I'll do a complete re-wire
>job on it, replace brake hoses & lines, etc., why not have the whole
>beast's controls go digital as well?  That & I'll probably move the
>battery to the trunk, as that's a healthier place than in the engine
>compartment...  Could use Fiber Optics, though, might be more "in
>period" than going completely digital.  I'll see as I get there (I want
>to definitely improve a few things from stock.)
>
>  Mark
>
>Tom Handley wrote:
>>
>>    Mark, are you doing this for your own rig or is it commercial? Back
>> in the 80's I wanted to monitor the headlights, breaklights, and turn
>> signals in my old Ford F250 pickup. I ended up using low-cost plastic
>> fiber optics to monitor the lamps and used small, snap-in LED lenses,
>> in the cockpit. This eliminated the electronics and was very reliable.
>>
>>    - Tom

   Mark, sounds interesting. I used Heathkit displays and cruise control
in my old Ford. I had since upgraded to a 79 Ford pickup but now that
it's 99, I may upgrade but I don't want to go too far or I won't know how
to work on the engine ;-)

   I've been wanting to add a HUD and a few other things like the lamp
monitor I mentioned. I have a Futaba 20x2 line VFD sample that I've
interfaced to a PIC. This display is basically an Optrex/Hitachi LCD
clone with a few differences in software. It's actually easier to talk
to. I was going to use similar displays in the cockpit. The nice thing
about older vehicles is that you can strip the old wiring and instrument
panel and do your own `thing'. In my case, the body looks like hell since
I worked it on a farm for years but I kept the engine and chassis in
great shape. I'll find out about the engine this week as I need to renew
my tags and Oregon's (great and many foul words deleted) DEQ changed the
rules and raised the fees so I need to once again run the truck through
the DEQ test...

   - Tom


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Tom Handley
New Age Communications
Since '75 before "New Age" and no one around here is waiting for UFOs ;-)