[urq] '83 Dash upgrade

[Ben Swann]

I did not have to do anything drastic when I upgraded my '83 dash to one
form an '87 4000.

I don't recall having to redo any ductwork, but if I did do anything, all
parts were available from the 4000 and slipped right in.

The only retrofitting I did was to splice in the newer style light switches
and window switches and rigged up a special button for the diff.lock
push-pull switch.  Maybe a few other things, but the most difficult thing
was to find which wires to match up on the switches because they were not
1-1 correspondance between connectors - having to resolve 2 different
diagrams and some trial and error.

I don't understand why you need to redo anything for EFI.  Is this because
you are putting in the updated fusebox?  I plan to do this with mine when I
go EFI, but have had no problems with the older style having relayed the
major electricals.  I expect updating the wiring for the newer fusebox would
come with its unique set of problems, but assume you'd have all the wiring
from the donor car.

There is a fitment problem with installing the MAC-02 ECU in place of the
smaller Jetronic unit that was in the 4000, but the larger MAC-02 can be
made to fit.  I would expect one could fit all the EFI into a small enough
box to install right or glovebox, but there is room that can be made to
install something elsewhere, providing the harness is long enough to reach.
Gotta admit they could have designed the glovebox to fit more seamlessly.

Ben

p.s. Just got back from a 2500 mile round trip from MD to FL and back, with
no problems on the 1k mile stretches!

[From: Thatcher Hubbard <thatcher.hubbard at gmail.com>
Subject: [urq] '83 Dash upgrade
To: Urq List <urq at audifans.com>
Message-ID: <7cd43ae20504271237224b358d at mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1

I need some help from those who have had this experience before.  I
took the dash out of my car because I need access to everything behind
there for my EFI conversion.  I also removed the heating ductwork, but
the heater plenum is still in the car.

The removal is bringing up as many questions as it is answers.  The
first thing I notice is that even with the dash out there is still A
LOT of stuff between me and the firewall.  Specifically, where the
vaccum line and the large conduit that connect to the ECU, which is
where I was hoping to mount my new EFI ECU.  Do I have to remove the
heater plenum and the entire AC system to get to that or is there a
shortcut?

The big thing though is my desire to do a dash/fusebox upgrade at the
same time.  My old dash is in terrible shape.  If I were to do that
upgrade, what would I need in addition to the dash itself?  I'm
figuring the obvious ones like the instrument cluster surround and
switches, the center console and the panels that belong on it, etc.
Where I'm not sure is things like the dash harnesses, the heater ducts
and outlets, stuff like that.  Would my best bet be to get everything
from the front of a later 4kq?  There's a lot of wires under the dash,
and even more in to the back of the fusebox, it's a little
intimidating for a guy who doesn't know a whole lot about electrical.]