Lawson's 818C

  • Finished my work term with GM, so I’m back working on the kit. Planning to work pretty extensively until the school semester starts back up in January.
  • Engine
    • I’m hoping to get the engine running this week. Wiring and cooling are the big tasks that still need to get completed.
    • Alternator and AC compressor are mounted and the alternator belt is installed. I’m waiting to install the AC belt until the entire system is setup.
  • Wiring
    • Repaired the ignition switch wiring that was poorly spliced by the previous owner.
    • iWire Harness
      • I’ve unpacked the harness and begun figuring how everything is going to route and mount. The fuses and ecu will mount with 6mm rivnuts and I will cable tie the harness to the frame as it’s routed.
      • My fusebox is located on the front side of the passenger firewall rather than within the footwell because I plan on installing a Vintage Air AC system there.
      • I drilled a 3″ hole through the aluminum firewall to route all the cabling through, Brian from iWire suggested splitting the firewall in two pieces so the hole could be smaller but I found this to be more work than it was worth after looking at it. The cabling did indeed squeeze through the 3″ hole though it was a close fit towards the bulky part of the harness,
      • Initial impression is very good regarding the harness and the service!
  • Chassis
    • Throttle pedal mounted. I chose to not use the Factory Five pedal mount because I didn’t like the location it put the pedal and because many have complained that it’s flimsy. I mounted directly to the aluminum firewall and added a piece of the FFR mount to support the backside. I may add a better bracket later if I decide it needs it.
  • Fuel System
    • I made the FFR modifications to the fuel pump and sending unit. I also modified the fuel pump to move the pump up higher to accommodate my hydramat at the bottom.
    • Fuel tank has been installed and the fuel lines have been run to the engine. 
    • I plan to setup the fuel vapor canister somewhere but I haven’t decided where just yet.
    • Fuel filler neck installed
      • FFR does not include any instructions for the new-style filler neck. So I had to figure it out based on some scattered forum photos I could dig up.

  • Feeding the wiring harness through the firewall


  • Unpacking the harness


  • ECU mounting location


  • Pedal box setup, they’re mostly inline for-aft


  • Fuel filler neck install


  • More fuel filler


  • Repaired ignition harness using heat-shrink crimp connectors


  • Fuel tank install


  • Alternator install


  • The expert splicing jobs of the previous owner