83 Mondial QV - EV conversion project using Tesla LDU

All:

Q: During normal operation of a stock Mondial, when do the dashboard buttons on the left side of the console (fog lights, rear heater, trunk/frunk/engine release) illuminate?

- I suspect they would turn on when ignition is on but please confirm.
- I'm trying to understand how these "fancy" buttons operate; I cleaned them up but I want to understand if they are working as expected.
- For all five button modules, the illumination power seems to come from the yellow wire going into each module. I've traced that wiring back through the loom and it terminates in the HVAC push lights (just like on AB's wiring diagram).

In my car though, I've removed all the HVAC wiring so i will need to reroute this to my new fuse+relay panel. That's fine.... I just need to know when to give it power. I assume it only needs power when ignition is on vs when the batt is connected (24/7) but please confirm.
Maybe there's a light switch I'm missing but I doubt it.

Thanks,
-g

 

After a little experimentation (and returns), I found these oval grommets to be pretty effective even though they are slightly larger than the holes between the engine bay and the cabin and the cabin and the frunk.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08LYN7JS4?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

I first tried cutting them in half to reduce the overall length of the grommet (when in two pieces) but found a better technique was just to notch the grommet itself (like taking a slice of pizza) and force the curve around the oval hole. I probably took a little more than necessary for the front but I have a lot more wires running through this hole which pushed the grommet outwards (removing about 90 degrees of arc was sufficient).
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All the excess wires have been removed now (all tracked down and used/removed).
I just need to mount the fuse panel, reconnect all the wires, and finally tackle the popups.

 

Between my wife falling sick with strep throat and me having to take care of our kiddo myself along with my day job, progress this week has been slow.
The good news though is that I finally finished the 12V fuse panel replacement by getting the pop up headlamps to work using my own relay module.

- For starters, I wouldn't have been able to accomplish this without Afterburner's wiring diagrams AND spending the last few days testing
- As I understand it now, the first relay (POPUP Control) receives a signal from your switch. It then directs power down the green or grey wire depending on which direction you want to go up. POPUP_CTL then tells POPUP_L and POPUP_R to supply current down the red and red/black wires to move the motors until 12v returns from the pop-up motors down the brown wire. This stops the movement.
- I still have to fix these annoying "fog light" and "rear defroster" dash switches BUT the underlying wiring for both is in place all the way to their respective devices.
- I'm inordinately proud of being able to replace the stock fuse panel with this small module of 8 relays


- I then cleaned up all the wiring and will decide the final mounting spots for these two boxes. FWIW, this is a LOT cleaner than my wiring on my track car (I think I ran all my extra circuits into an EOTECH holosight case for that car).
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Next Step: mount the Tesla LDU

 

Took a detour and decided to fix my two dashboard buttons that activate the foglight and rear window defroster

Here's the DIY I wrote.
https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/diy-mondial-push-button-dash-switch-repair.664993/#post-148727562

 

I took another detour as I realized that I only had my ignition key and NOT any door keys. I dunno why (I guess I thought the door keys and the ignition keys were the same). I ended up taking the driver's side door lock to a local locksmith and he cut a new key using a ILCO F91CR blank

I now just need to reinstall it.

 

Thanks Jay. I reinstalled the door lock mechanism and... I think I could use an explanation as to how this is supposed to work as it seems like some adjustment is necessary. What would help is if one of you owners can more accurately explain what is supposed to happen from the outside and if you know what I should be expecting to see inside the door when the door is in its "locked" and "unlocked" states.

- I took the door card panels off the passenger door for reference (and because I will eventually remove them so the car can be painted).
- I see that when you use the key in the key tumbler, a wire bracket moves a bar down that is also attached to the automatic door solenoid.

Q: Can someone explain how the lock mechanism is supposed to work? If I turn the key clockwise or counter clockwise, what is supposed to happen?
Q: What I don't understand entirely is what position is the bracket and lock supposed to be in when the door is "locked" and "unlocked". Is the bar supposed to go down and stay down?

If key lock is "locked" though, are you still able to pull the exterior door handle out? This part stumps me a bit.

 

Another random question, the exterior door handle gasket seems to be
Ferrari part #61084400
https://www.ebay.com/itm/400796659354

It looks to be nearly identical to the door handle gasket for a 71-94 Alfa Romeo Spyder Door handle gasket Alfa Romeo part #AR-SP-371
https://www.ebay.com/itm/204000242512

Q: Are these indeed the same part?

 

By forward, do you mean counter clockwise on the left side of the car and clockwise on the right side of the car?

 

Thanks for this explanation.

Hrm. I don't think my door lock mechanism is adjusted properly (RH exterior lock AND LH interior door).
I have both door card interior pieces removed.
I also have this nifty bussman push button circuit breaker wired in now (the original battery disconnect KNOB was no longer working) so I can quickly connect/disconnect all power within the car.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0024JHQ02

Starting with the passenger side (RH) door lock mechanism (b/c I didn't remove this one from the car)
- When I rotate the door key CW, I can move the key about 90 degrees (presumably to unlock)
I can only remove it from the lock after it reverts back to the vertical 12 o'clock position.
- Door handle opens the car.
- When I rotate the door key CCW, I can move the key about 90 degrees (presumably to lock). I can only remove it from the lock after it reverts back to the vertical 12 o'clock position.
- Door handle still opens the car - NEEDS ADJUSTMENT

On the driver's side (LH) door lock mechanism (the handle I removed from the car) - WORKS
- When I rotate the door key CW, I can move the key about 90 degrees (presumably to lock). There is more resistance. I can only remove it from the lock after it reverts back to the vertical 12 o'clock position.
- Door handle does NOT open the car (Locked).
- When I rotate the door key CCW, I can move the key about 90 degrees (presumably to unlock). I can only remove it from the lock after it reverts back to the vertical 12 o'clock position.
- Door handle opens the car (even if it previously locked)


Ok, on the INSIDE of the car, I understand that each interior doorhandle has TWO flat sections: the forward and the rear piece.
- For the rear piece, you pull upwards and the door opens. Works on both sides.

- Q: How does the forward piece work? I believe this triggers the door locking mechanism.
- Seems like you can rock it forwards (forward tip goes down) or push the rear part down (so the forward end goes up).
- With the battery connected, you can hear the LH interior handle actuate the lock mechanisms on both doors when you tip the forward part down. The RH interior does nothing. I suspect that some bracket is loose because i can see both rods move but there is no resistance on the RH horizontal bar.

 

Everything you need is here (including QA1 part numbers).
https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/posts/148293350/
https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/posts/148441359/

You WILL need to do some machining work to make some custom sleeves
(4) operations to trim the OD of the stock top mount to fit the ID of the QA1 spring - Did this on a mill
(4) spacers to sit between the shock top mount and the new QA1 spring - did this on a mill
(4) custom sleeves made out of tubing to hold the stud mount threaded onto the QA1 shock to the stock top mount - made this with a lathe
(4) custom sleeves to hold the bottom of the shock to the LCA - made this with a lathe

 

Glad you've gotten to enjoy your mondial. work with my day job and helping coordinate the annual fundraising gala for my son's school haas distracted me for a bit.

I just received the tabs ordered from sendcutsend.com and picked up some 1.5 x 3" rectangular tubing to fabricate the brackets so progress will be made soon.

 

Man, work continued to be more involved with training a few new folks for our team and I we picked up our first family dog which is a nice distraction but I finally managed to work on the mounting brackets.

Basic idea is that the Tesla LDU will be held by 3 brackets.

I mounted the first one with two tabs on a new horizontal bar. My welding wasn't great so a friend who is a retired union stagehand helped me out and did a far better job even with the same dinky Lincoln 120V MIG welder.
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The rear one will be supported by a rectangular tube that will be bolted to the bottom of the subframe and made by notching + bending the rectangular tubing.
Here's a minor lesson: if you want to create a 45 degree notch, you cannot make one cut vertically and the other at 45 degrees offset. Instead, you must make one notch at -22.5 degrees from perpendicular and the second notch at +22.5 degrees.
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This totally makes sense once I thought about it as the crossectional areas are different (like slicing a steak vertically vs at an angle to make pieces for a stir fry) so I had to chuckle at myself once I realized what happened. I also used an angle grinder and a handheld bandsaw so my cuts could stand to be cleaner (resulted in more weld being required to fill these in). I may add an additional metal rectangle for additional gusset support and a buddy just lent me his benchtop stand for a portable bandsaw which should help improve my cuts.
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Final product, bent so the top part is 90 degrees from the bottom

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Assembled; I will need to cut down the vertical portion of the bottom support before attaching and will need to drill a hole through both the bar and the subframe but you can get the idea of how this will work here.
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I hope to have all three brackets in place so I can reassemble the suspension and order the drive shafts.
Once the battery boxes arrive, my next excuse will be ski seasons and the distraction of prepping our UTV for the 2024 Mexican 1000 this spring

 

Anyone know why these pics aren't loading properly? I just insert image with the URL and while I can see the pics in the editor, I cannot see them in my finished post.

Nevermind. Fixed the issue by reviewing the BBE code tags (last button on the editor toolbar)

 

So i made more progress and finally found time to build all three of my motor mounts. Definitely a bit more of a learning experience as the only other motor mounts I built before was a simple "two hockey pucks, a bolt and a fender washer" to replace some worn OEM mounts on my lemons car. I still have to make a shim for the driver's side mount but the LDU is mounted solidly enough (and straight enough) that I can now look into ordering custom axles. The bar that picks up the rear mount is tacked onto the subframe for now but i'll cut those tacks since I have bolts through the frame now. I just wanted to keep everything as straight as possible as I drilled the 12mm bolt holes.

Rear mount, completed
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Front mount again w/ the rear mount bar tacked and bolted to the subframe
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Half of the driver's side mount tacked down before cleaning up the seam where I cut off some flange on the subframe (welded afterwards)
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Seam on subframe welded back, front half of the side mount welded to the frame. That rearmost side of the suspension mount isn't totally vertical (because italian) so if I welded it on, a bolt going through the rear flange, through the LDU mount and into the front flange wouldn't be perfectly perpendicular. I'd have to egg out the front flange hole which would add slop to the mounting.

The solution was that after my rear flange was securely welded (not just tacked) into place, I reinstalled the motor on the subframe and bent the top part of my front flange every so slightly on my vice (<5 degrees) so that a nut would sit perfectly perpendicular on the hole. I then tacked the flange into place, removed the motor, and then welded it properly. Not trusting my own welding, i called in the favor of a neighbor who was a retired union stage builder to help me make better welds. While not perfect, you can see JD got a little better over time (less rusty) and I'd say probably no worse than what came out of Maranello in the 80s

Not perfect but will should be strong enough to resist the force of the motor lifting up on this side when max torque is applied by the motor
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. Both the head and the nut side of the 120mm bolt sit perpendicular with the flanges. You can see where a shim needs to go. Good thing I have another neighbor with a machine shop in his garage including a vintage navy lathe.
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Assembled subframe.
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- Next stop is to check wth some friends to see what shop (Bay Area, CA) I can either truck this assembly to for custom axle measurements. Now, some shop might have some dummy CV joints I can rent/borrow to take the measurements as well.
- I know I can buy custom axles online but i'm not 100% i will be able to measure the axles properly within 1/8" or so without having some stand in stubs for the CV joints at each side.
- I also need to start the process of ordering my custom brakes (inc the emergency brakes). I know Girodisc built a custom setup for Eric Hutchinson including the emergency brake, the 308 guy who started me on this path so I plan to check in with them. Any other suggestions would be appreciated.
PS. Had to wax my kids skis as well. Like I said, distractions.

 

Oh, Eric @ ElectricGT (now a subsidiary of Tremec) sent me pics of my completed battery boxes. Since I'm only building one of these cars, I preferred going to a single source of parts whenever possible. Yeah, I could have bought a 360 Modena or Tesla plaid for what I have into this project at this point but whatever, its fun.
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Finally, it looks like most all of my major take-off parts have been sold except for my fuel tanks, radiator, and the HVAC blower assembly. I still have a random assortment of smaller bits (check control computer, that rod that goes between the shifter and the transmission, coolant pipes, and some heat shields) but I have recouped a lot of my initial car investment. My exhaust manifolds went to a guy in poland and my fuse panel helped a guy in the UK and the guy in Poland sent me a vid of his car running again. Even if you don't like this project, hey, my parts are keeping other Ferraris on the road.

 

Battery boxes are on their way.
I took off my rear rotors and was starting to take off my front rotors to upgrade to a big brake kit but had a question:

Q: Am I seeing this right that the front rotors are hub over rotor and the the big staked axle nut holding the rotors in place? Or am I just staring at decades of corrosion and just need to use more penetrating oil to separate the rotors from the hub rings.

I suspect if I'm doing all of this I'm inclined to replace the bearings as well.
It seems SKF bearings are sourceable for the rears but the fronts are pretty much unobtanium unless you want to pay $1100+ a side.
Is that right for an 83 Mondial QV?
-g
https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/mondial-rear-wheel-bearings.81485