MADMAN Go's Ricer...Has a Bright Idea

[Bullitt-]

  I've had a coupe of inquiries as to the origin of my non-OE dome lamp I posted along with my radio install thread so I thought I'd let everyone know what and how if your interested.  One of the things lacking in my '73 Challey has always been interior lighting. Other than the dash lights the only source of illumination was the standard dome lamp.  I dreamed up the possibility of replacing the OE lamp with an aftermarket piece or something from a more modern vehicle. There are several easier to install possibilities, check a late '90s Mustang, but this early '90s Mitsubishi piece came up on eBay ( $9.00 Shipped) that spoke to me from both a looks and function standpoint. Not knowing what I was really getting I was hoping for a simple install but that ended up not being the case as this design is meant to snap into a recess which for me to use necessitated some creative thought.  I sought out something that would at least come close to housing the fixture & ended up with an item from work, an intercom surface mount frame (Nutone IA15 if memory serves me). Although the frame was too large in one dimension I was able to remove some of the midsection & re-attach the two ends. Still not quite right I glued a few layers of closed cell foam, available at Hobby Lobby, & sanded that to match the contours of the lamp fixture. Over that I originally glued on some stretch vinyl that ended up too thick to fit well, just tonight I recovered the frame with a lighter weight stretch vinyl acquired from the remnant table at a local fabric store. Rather than gluing I used a lightweight staple gun to tack from the inside & was able to get a somewhat better result. Wiring for the lamps was direct change from the OE with the exception that for the spotlights to function a separate ground was required. I also took this opportunity to run extra wires from the new fixture to power two additional lamps located at the bottom of each end of the dash. I would like to find a relay with a time delay circuit to add to these.   Mounting was straight forward, using a couple of nylon spacers & longer sheet metal screws to keep the base of the fixture at the appropriate distance. I may have had to drill holes in the base for these but can't remember for sure, be very careful that the longer screws are not too long or the roof could be damaged. Once all this is done the outer bezel of the fixture holds the frame snug to the headliner once it is snapped into place.













Passenger side lamp below dash

[Aussie Challenger]

 Looks very smart, amazing what can be done with a little thought.   
 My interior light is very dull, I don't need to read a book by it but a few more rays into the cabin area would be great.   

[ViperMan]

That's pretty neat, Bullitt.  Considering all the time I've wasted putting stupid things like neon lights or LED switches and stuff into my daily driver, it's nice to see how much time people put into something as seemingly minute as a dome light.

I like it - looks nice.

Jeff

[Grancoupe]

Where's the pic?

[Bullitt-]

Where's the pic?

I attached several pics, there must be something blocking your view

see if this link works for you   http://s262.photobucket.com/albums/ii100/wbullitt99/tech/

[Street_Challenged73]

Bullitt, a little off-topic, but here it goes.  Since I know you're familiar with this particular dome (from a 3000GT/Stealth), do you know how the map lights are wired into the assembly?  I'm assuming it's fed by the same power the dome light receives, but is obviously set to turn on at separate intervals.  I currently only have my dome lights working and cannot figure out why my two map ones won't turn on.   I ran a voltmeter to the assembly and got power, but no lights came on (probably worn out switches in the buttons?).  Any information is appreciated.

Oh, and the car it was pulled from isn't a typical Ricer's car. (the TT'd models beat out Corvettes stock for stock)

[Bullitt-]

 Switches for the map lamps do use the same positive source but require their own body ground, I'd guess you have lost that ground.
 See the gray wire in my 1st pic. that is the wire, if I recall correctly, that was on the backside & probably had a mating surface in the original vehicle, I had to rearrange it to ground with my mounting screw.

[Street_Challenged73]

Alright, I'll have to look into that ground wire then.  Thanks for the information and again, nice job integrating that into your Challenger.