Wiring diagram VE Valiant 6 cylinder Auto Wagon (not regal)

Bet you thought I had died. Haven't done a lot with the old girl for ages, and she won't run on petrol, which is a bit of problem since I moved to Queensland two and a half years back. LPG isn't that common north of central NSW, so I dropped the Val off at a local carburettor specialist. He called me about three hours later and said he won't touch my carburettor because the wiring was generally untidy and he was certain that I would blame him if anything ever failed on the wiring (which had nothing to do with the carburettor). Okay took public transport back there again. Three hours spent travelling but I didn't spend the $545 he quoted for the job he was supposed to do.

Determined to tidy the electrics myself and unemployed as a result of the pandemic, I drove home happily in the knowledge that I'd fix her up myself, then rebuild the carburettor myself.

The first issue was that the circuit diagram in the manual was not what you would call easy to follow. Observe below.

So if you have a wire that goes along the full length of the page, or worse, diagonally, following it is a nightmare. I spent about eight hours re-drawing the page using Inkscape.

The result is the same as above except that the wires aren't just labelled, they're coloured too. It makes a remarkable difference in my ability to follow a wire. It's a vector diagram, so you can make it any size you want without any loss of detail. Print on A3 if you want the detail. 

Here is the file. It's in SVG format, and you can view it with just about any vector image software or do that plus edit it with Inkscape.

Rust repairs

I'm simply not up to some repairs and cutting out rusty bits and welding mean I had to leave it to the professionals.
Black Edge in Bayswater, like all body shops, aren't cheap, but I've found that they're very thorough. The Val had a lot more rust than initial inspection suggested so it was a lot of money and two weeks without the car, but she's as solid as new now.
Three areas were attended to:
1. Left rear panel (inner and outer)
2. Right rear panel (inner and outer)
3. Plenum/firewall.

#3 is really really common, and I think that living at Torquay for nearly four years made all of these much worse than they should have been.

The rear panels can be bought from a place in Queensland for $125 a piece. The guys told me it was much cheaper buying these than getting them to make them.

This was a few weeks ago. Yes I've been neglecting maintenance issues, mainly due to financial constraints. The weekend just gone I did another job that's been hanging about for a few years.

The Electric Fan part 3

The two thermo switches I got from the wrecker were rendered useless: I heated one of them with a blow torch (then discovering they're very sensitive) and dropped the other on the concrete floor, breaking it instantly.
So, what to do when the world seems to be letting you know it doesn't want you to is to stop trying to do it. I fitted a nicer switch on the inside of the car and made it slightly more secure (but still hanging down from the dash). Since it's Winter now, I rarely have to even switch it on, provided I avoid heavy traffic (*very* difficult in Melbourne these days).
Found out the following about how it heats up:
1. Putting the car into neutral when coasting downwards (don't speed, though) is great for reducing the coolant temperature.
2. Putting the car into neutral at red lights no longer has any cooling effect, since the fan is now gone, so doing it is now a no-no.
3. Provided I never forget to look at the gauge every minute or so, the car will always operate at the right temperature.
4. Rain doesn't necessarily cool it better.
5. Cold air does. Driving through the mountains saw the temperature gauge drop quite a bit.
6. Travelling at 60-70KM/H is good for cooling, 80 is OK, but 100 will heat the coolant. The engine has to work proportionally harder at 100 to overcome the additional air resistance and produces much more heat, whereas at lower speeds the wind blowing through the radiator is more cooling than what the engine produces.

The car seems to use less fuel, and (this could be imagination, but) it also seems more responsive.

Thanks for reading.

Unemployment really curbs the restoration

Well, not that I'm restoring the old girl, but having no money means that when (for example) the A/C lost its R134a (a few weeks ago - loose fitting at the evaporator), I can't even pay for a re-gas (yes, poor me, there there). Trying to convince oneself that the quarter vent open all the way is just as good will only work until Summer really hits :-( Probably have to do it anyway, considering my ten year old bundle of... well, something (love you sweetie, really).
This car will not be restored, ever. I love it as a daily driver and will continue to patch things up (properly) and drive it, and enjoy it.

Fuses

My attempt earlier in the year (April) to replace the original fuses with one from a Hyundai ended up with my throwing the new part away and investigating the old one. Although basic, it actually works very well until one of the fuses blows, which stops everything connected to it from working. I found out that my wipers and interior light were connected to the fused side. Here's how it works:

There is one power feed from the battery (always on) and one from the ignition (only one with the ignition). Keep a good supply of 15A fuses (a packet in the glove box), you have four options for any device you connect.
Do you want it fused or not? Do you need it on all the time. I'd recommend not putting the wipers on the fused end. For that matter the interior light shouldn't be fused either. If you have an alarm and the interior light doesn't work, neither will your alarm!
Definitely have the heater (and A/C if you have one) on the ignition side, and I have mine fused in case my stupidity or carelessness results in a short circuit (disconnection prior to working on the electrical system is advised here. Take note, me).
If you want extra safety, put in-line fuses on your devices. I've found it's so much easier to use the simple system Chrysler engineers put there.  Oh, and the diagram was just drawn by me: It won't necessarily look exactly like the fuse connector (which is more square and has a plastic cover). The fuse connector is located about halfway along your dash, and is secured with a screw. Remember that before taking a screwdriver near it, one part is connected directly to your battery!

Free Wheel Alignment for the old girl

A while ago I replaced the DS wishbone and ball joint. My Valiant guy's advice was to spray paint over the blah blah adjusters and I won't have to do a wheel alignment. After I replaced it, it was obvious I'd sprayed in the wrong place and so the wheel alignment was horribly out. The best thing I could do was to adjust the camber by eye for the driver's side (that's what DS is, incidentally) and take it to an alignment place later.
Alignment people said they could do a toe-in only alignment for $35 odd, but that a proper alignment would take a couple of hours at $85-$110 an hour! Needless to say I didn't take them up on it. About 6 weeks ago I happened to buy something off ebay for my daughter and picked it up where the guy worked (wheel and tyre place). He said he couldn't do an alignment until next week (it was about 15KM from home, so that was a no) but that it looked like a good job I'd done by eye.
Finally had enough of vague steering this morning and went to my Dad's place. He was a mechanic and is very good at improvisational car repair. He made up a camber tool with a spirit level and piece of angled aluminium, which he cut to the exact diameter of the rim. Placed the aluminium against the rim and the level against the aluminium (the aluminium piece was effectively an adaptor, needed because the level would be fouled by the tyre). The setup was made as vertical as possible and the bubble observed. What we should see was almost level but out very slightly at the top. I.E. \               /  
This is exaggerated of course. The angle should be about 0.5 of a degree.
Results? It seems I had the DS absolutely spot on, but surprisingly the PS (passenger side) was waaaaay out! Surprising since I hadn't touched it at all. It must have been like that for years. To fix it, I first of all measured the length in mm between the front and rear bolts and the panel on the inside. I moved it in by 3mm on both F and R, tightened the bolts, measured again, put the wheel back on (couldn't get at the bolts without removing the wheel) and moved the car back about 3m then forward (I don't trust the push down on the bonnet method of levelling). Measured with the level again and it was perfect. So, did a toe-in check, then correction, since adjusting the camber changed this then a test drive. Although it's not like power steering, it's noticeably lighter. Also, the steering is much more predictable than before which certainly makes me fell better about jumping in and taking my 10YO to school. Dad advised me to swap front and rear tyres (which I did), since the PS front is now looking a bit scrubbed thanks to running on the outside for so long.
Still a lot to do but at least she'll point straight and true :-)
Happy motoring!

P.S. The toe-in adjustment is very easy. You just need a steel measuring tape and (optionally) a piece of masking tape. With tyres facing perfectly forward, measure the distance between the two front tyres at the front-most part (that you can reach - the engine and chassis get in the way) then the rear-most part. The tyres should be 3mm (1/8") closer together at the front. If they aren't, adjust by loosening both parts of one side's tie rod ends and adjust. Tighten TREs, roll car back then forward about 3m and measure again. If you have a helper or really stiff measuring tape, you won't need the masking tape.

AC guy, soul and conscience-free solicitors and damage repair

I won't be recommending the AC guy, because of a couple of things. He broke my heater core (green water leaked all over the new carpet), removed the gasket between heater box and air intake, then renegged on the deal that we had. He kept changing his mind about what he wanted and finally said the deal was off and he was unilaterally changing it so I had to pay him a heap of cash! If I didn't pay? He threatened to "send the boys round" to collect this fictitious money. He also refused to acknowledge the damage to the heater or the removed gasket. The gasket is actually a large piece that seals the air. Without it, the air box is effectively always 100% open! My 9YO daughter didn't approve, particulary returning from Bendigo through the mountains during Winter.

So with that, I now agree with my mate Dave, who has a '74 Charger. He said he has never found a mechanic in any field who does things properly. I'd thought he was just cynical but every time I've not done something myself, I've been disappointed.

I dropped the car in a few weeks ago to have the wheels balanced and was extremely nervous when it took longer than expected. It was almost certainly due to the floor guys not knowing about the Val's left hand thread on the passenger side and turning the impact driver up to 11. The nerves were because this will damage my rims. The spot where the nuts sit when tight gets thinner every time someone does this and you will eventually have to throw the rim away or risk the wheels falling off while you're driving.

So now the damage from last October is finally being fixed. The one week in December at the repair shop started but when they finally got round to starting it (on Wednesday. It had been sitting doing nothing for Monday and Tuesday!) they hadn't contacted the bumper bar people and I had to go get the car and re-book it (sigh). So, last week it was finally booked in again. Nothing by Friday, so I contacted them. They had decided to keep it for another week because the aforementioned bumper bar repairer were dragging their heels! Of course, they hadn't thought to let me know I would be without my car for another week. Who would really miss their car an extra week anyway?!? This is almost three weeks they've needed to fix some very small damage. Thanks a lot Dave, you were right again.

Had an accident on 19th Dec in my GFs car. A taxi performed a rapid left hand turn from the right turn lane of Spring St, Preston. Pretty obvious whose fault it was, since I was going straight ahead and the driver was definitely familiar with the post accident procedure. Received a bill yesterday from a solicitor for the damage to the taxi, three days lost wages and their expenses in issuing the threat to pay. They stated it was 100% my negligent driving that caused the accident (apparently I caused him to put his indicator on then violently accelerate into my rear wheel arch). My GFs insurer said that this solicitor represents the taxi company, who has no insurance (really. I thought this would be necessary, given the number of accidents they cause) and they were very aggressive in pinning the blame on the innocent party. Occasionally they also win in court. This would obviously necessitate their side lying about what happened and where it happened. Really, you see it on the news and on drama series, but do people really do this for a living and sleep at night? Sure the AC guy lied about quite a few things, but that was mostly about his ego, and the money he demanded was part of this, since to him it meant he was therefore right about everything. These solicitors know they are lying. They know they should just pay up. They know I am the victim already, yet they are OK with suing me for thousands of dollars and making me pay for the repair of my own car too. Yes Dave, I'm sure you knew about this too but I don't feel great about it.

A/C is with the guy

OK, been dragging the heels with this. The guy now has the Val and assures me he will put a really neat setup under the dash (including replacing the heater).
Should get it back by the end of the week. Bought a '96 Verada as a runaround car for the Summer (it has a wonderful A/C unit), and was also built in Tonsley, SA. Well, it was the cheapest A/C equipped car I could get that was built in the same factory :-)
Going to the U.S. later this year, and hope to get a classic car. Don't really have the money for a classic I want (1970 Dodge Challenger) so may have to settle for a Pontiac ('67 firebird 400 if cheap enough, or 1960s Bonneville convertible). The latter seem quite affordable, whereas the big hemis are a fortune (up to $75,000).

P.S. http://www.nostalgicairparts.com/air-conditioning/170-225cc-six-cylinder-chrysler-compressor-mount-kit-306.php You can get ALL the parts you need, manufactured for $US266.97 plus shipping.
Even with shipping, it's bound to cost less than how I did it.

Aircon update

Well, there are sporadic outbreaks of Summer now. Even though the temperatures aren't soaring in the open, the sunlight is obviously much stronger, and the cabin of the Val heats rapidly now.

It seems I haven't done due diligence on the evaporator/heater. That same model is $157 from a professional custom AC specialist. Rather than try and take it back with a lie (e.g. I changed my mind, it doesn't fit, etc.) I'll just take the near $100 hit. Own fault really, but learn my lesson, people. I've found that ebay holds very few bargains these days. The other day I couldn't find a particular computer CPU for less than $279, but it was $199 in a local shop! Sellers also complain about ebay's massive increase in charges over the past ten years. I've all but abandoned it now for other, sometimes more traditional, methods.

Speaking of which, the custom AC professionals in question (frozen air Keysborough) were recommended by a work associate. Franck spoke to me for ages about exactly what my options are regarding this. Being able to work on my own car has great cost benefits. Well, OK I knew this but it applies even more when doing AC work. Franck took the wind out of my sails a bit by telling me of all the things that can go wrong with putting second hand stuff into your car. Hope returned when he let me know how cheap the parts are! A brand new AC compressor can cost as little as $200, a condenser (the radiator bit) is only about $120 and of course the evaporator is about $157. The difficult and therefore expensive thing is mounting this cheap compressor on the slant. Brad from Valiant Spares will be doing this for me next week, at $750 - $800 estimated cost. Hoping to get the whole thing up and running perfectly for around the $1700 mark. It's ebay for the Ford parts now :-(

Oh, and one more thing, You can get all of the brackets for a DIY job. See http://www.nostalgicairparts.com/air-conditioning/170-225cc-six-cylinder-chrysler-compressor-mount-kit-306.php for details. This will save you a heap of money. Unfortunately I am a bit "time poor" now. The brackets and pulleys are extremely expensive to have made otherwise, as they'd be a one-off (and cost about $500!).

Welcome to my new blog

Valcook is a pseudomyn mainly because my top interests at the moment at cooking and ... my Valiant! The Val was in very poor condition when I got it. Spent a fortune on it and now it's a daily driver, quite comfortable and has central locking and a car alarm, which I fitted. Someone else fitted the extractors, which massively increased the efficiency - much better power and fuel economy.

This space will include things I have done to my car and things I intend to do, as they happen.

At the moment I'm a bit obsessed with efficiency and the carburettor doesn't work very well. On LPG it takes a full ten seconds to start the engine! Once started it will run brilliantly on LPG, but it uses almost twice the fuel it did when running well on petrol. What could I possibly do? Well, tried putting a kit through the carby but this did nothing more than cost me money. The fact is that it is almost certainly wear in the throttle body causing the drama. Haven't mentioned the drama? Sorry...
The drama: It doesn't start at all on petrol usually. If it does, it runs like crap until warm, then still exhibits a massive flat spot at the start of acceleration. So, there's a pretty major problem running either fuel, AND I don't know how efficiently the thing is running.

The Solution: So how about EFI? I've been doing a bit (a lot) of reading about it and it seems that the whole thing can be accomplished using an old Ford EEC-IV coupled to an Aussiespeed four barrel EFI slant six manifold (don't laugh, they really exist). I'll have to at least heavily modify the fuel rail or even make a new one. I get the manifold ($435 from a 1987 ZL Fairlane) tomorrow and the rest on Sat morning from a wrecker (he said $250 for the whole lot). So, is it worth $685? We will see. I'll take a lot of photos and put them up as the project goes. Also decided to have a go at putting an oxygen sensor into the exhaust to help tune it. These sound like a fantastic diagnostic tool and I happen to have one sitting in the shed. Advantages of EFI I'm keen on are:
1. Easier to start the car
2. Tunable fuel system
3. Better Fuel economy (it's a 3.7L slant six).
4. More power
5. Less pollution. OK, I don't care much about this, but it is a side-effect nonetheless.

Reliability was going to be in there too, but I can't imagine the Val being more reliable than it is.

More after I get the manifold.