[junktardis]

Figured I'd post an update on the nearly finished rear fog mod!

First off: The retrofitted reverse/backup lights are not complete. I have purposely not installed the bottom screws yet, as I have some screw covers I am paint matching in Marine Blue Pearl to blend with my car. Secondly, the photo makes it look off-angle - but it is not actually crooked at all in person. These are E marked lights, legal for use anywhere in Europe when I eventually take the car over.

I do have front/rear fog light indicator lights fitted in the dash to show them on/off as well as switch set on the radio bezel. I am planning to actually wire in LED's to the existing cut-outs inside the actual speedometer for an OEM look. Though that can wait until after I am done with the transmission swap.

I did end up ordering a donor transmission with 30k on it, and have just got finished replacing all of the seals, pans and RTV. Now it's ready to go on the car. I have 2gals of genuine Mopar ATF+4 ready to fill it with, as well as a brand new dipstick tube and dipstick. Also replaced the shift solenoid and gasket with a brand new Mopar unit, and replaced the speed sensors. Additionally, I have got all the T fittings I need now to finally add in my transmission oil sensor, 18 months after I got it. For anyone in the future wanting to know, the transmission cooler lines are your best bet to T from, and they are 1/8 NPT fittings.

Anyway, enough waffle. Here's some pictures.

 

[2ndPT]

Very cool. Got pics of the switch you put in for it?

 

[junktardis]

Very cool. Got pics of the switch you put in for it?

I sure do! The switches I have are 17mm, and are as follows:

On/Off - Front Fog
On/Off - Rear Fog
On/Off - Underglow - I had this switch custom made for my car using my own icon design
Momentary - Trunk Override Release (So I can open the trunk from the cabin. Future mods may include adding a pneumatic lifter to push the hatch up) - this was also a custom made switch

On the left of the steering wheel I have the Front and Rear fog indicator lights. None of the lights fitted are blinding when I drive, but appear very bright in the photos as I took the first one at night

Front fog glows the correct green when they are on, and the rear fog indicator light glows the correct amber when activated. These are 12mm lights

 

[junktardis]

Very cool. Got pics of the switch you put in for it?

Meant to add, all of the switches run to relays I have added in the engine bay. Since I removed the stock airbox, it opened a ton of space so I installed a mount along the inside of the engine bay (Ill try to get a pic when I am done cleaning the wires away properly). I have four relays, and it is fused on the battery side, and also fused through the add-a-fuse T-taps for ignition power. None of the accessories I added will work without the ignition being on first. This will prevent accidental battery drains by me being an idiot and forgetting to turn them off.

Relay 1 - Front Fogs
Relay 2 - Rear Fogs
Relay 3 - Underglow
Relay 4 - TCM Bypass (I have replaced the PCM since the TCM failure, but I kept the bypass in place. It literally forces 12v into the transmission when the car is on. Thus avoiding the common P0882 TCM Input Voltage Low code the '06's are plagued with. I actually overcame this by flashing a PCM from an '08 where the issue does not occur). But I am paranoid, so the bypass will stay. It is not harming anything.

 

[2ndPT]

I really like those switches. Very nice!

 

[junktardis]

I really like those switches. Very nice!

Thank you!

 

[Papio9]

I'm curious -- when you get Whitney into the UK, won't you need to accommodate the wider license plates? Or can you use special plates for certain 'imports'?

The European export-spec PTs do indeed have a wider 'cove' for the wider plates, and the red rear fog lights too. I wonder what they do for the 'backup' (reverse) lights, then?

 

[2ndPT]

First I think the fog is on one side, and the other side is reverse. And good point on the plate. How will you do that?

 

[junktardis]

I'm curious -- when you get Whitney into the UK, won't you need to accommodate the wider license plates? Or can you use special plates for certain 'imports'?

The European export-spec PTs do indeed have a wider 'cove' for the wider plates, and the red rear fog lights too. I wonder what they do for the 'backup' (reverse) lights, then?

I've actually given this some thought and checked into the legality of various options. The DVLA for the UK states that any vehicle imported from North America can use the equivalent North American sized UK license plates, the rectangular ones like in this picture:

This is probably the approach I will take. Though I am considering grabbing a euro style PT rear bumper to use the standard European plate size. I am kind of on the fence about which route to take. I may actually get a European style bumper with the wider gap, just to keep in the garage. I can keep it stored at my parents until I moved, since they still live in the UK. As for the European style fog lights, it is typically split. So one of the backup lights is a fog, and one is a backup light. This switches sides depending on left hand or right hand drive.

The left (passenger) is reverse, and the right (driver) is fog.

 

[junktardis]

First I think the fog is on one side, and the other side is reverse. And good point on the plate. How will you do that?

Correct! Right side contains the fog, left side contains the backup lamp. This is switched when you go to Left Hand Drive countries such as mainland Europe. As for the plate, I will likely use this style which is legal for US and Japanese imported vehicles. It is a very similar size to the standard US plate, and should fit nicely. I will likely use this style front and rear, as it will retain some of the American heritage my PT will have since it's a US citizen at this age.

My bigger challenge will be the headlights. Right hand drive PT's all have electronic headlamp levelling (and hella headlight housings). This is controlled on the black control panel that has the hazard light. I may remove the feature entirely, and install the reflectors and lenses in a standard US housing. This should retain the correct beam focus for a right hand drive country, but remove the headlamp electronic levelling. I can still adjust the beam focus using the manual adjuster screws on the standard housing

 

[junktardis]

I'm curious -- when you get Whitney into the UK, won't you need to accommodate the wider license plates? Or can you use special plates for certain 'imports'?

The European export-spec PTs do indeed have a wider 'cove' for the wider plates, and the red rear fog lights too. I wonder what they do for the 'backup' (reverse) lights, then?

Oh, I should also clarify. I did purchase a UK style backup light - in case I ever choose to do the standard 1 fog/1 backup lamp split they have there. But I like symmetry, so I went dual rear fogs and dual backup lamps. The only frustration is to register the car in the UK at import, it needs to pass strict import rules regarding the SRS system (which will pass just fine), and lights. Lights must all be E marked (safety tested for Europe - like the DOT testing in the US), and have side marker/repeaters for the blinkers, and have the correct right hand drive headlight housings. Thankfully, I got a set of used housings on eBay and will restore them and modify them a little. The backup lamps, I had to obtain from a kit-car website in the UK in order to get road-legal ones. It was tough to find them in a rectangle shape, in the size I did to install either side of the license plate. Not to mention, cost an arm and a leg.

 

[chuzz]

Are you still going to be able to drive with only one arm and one leg? LOL 😂😇