I went to town with a wire wheel on a drill and afterwards used some kind of rust killer spray that turns the rust black on my dash bar. I thought about painting it with some rustoleum too, but decided it was good enough as long as the rust has been killed.

No need to spray the shit out of something that will never be seen, function>form.

That sentence may be taken the wrong way I guess. I will be removing the rust. Also certain parts (wasn't really talking about the parts where I removed rust) of the interior will be plasidiped. I was mostly referring to some interior panels that are looking quite old.

The parts I will be plastidipping will be seen. No unseen parts will be harmed in this operation ;)

The parts where the rust will be removed are going to be covered in this rust resist crap that I used to coat where I drilled holes in the chassis when I installed the roll bar on my 97'

Anyways just logged on to print out wiring diagrams for the W/I, AEM gauges, and 93 harness. Time organize and rebuild!

Pretty worried about your planned use of solder. How are you planning to use that?

There is a reason that the manufacturers use crimped connections. And it's not because they are saving money.

Solder is OK for:
1. Wire repairs (stip both ends of a broken wire, twist together, solder and heat shrink); and
2. Circuit boards.

Other than that, you should get a quality crimping tool and crimp. Unless, of course, you plan on removing that dash on a regular basis for Easter egg hunts. (Are we allowed to say Easter?)

I appreciate the tips guys. There will be absolutely no issues with my soldering, plastidip, rust repair.

I cut the wire, strip it, insert heat shrink, twist the wires together, properly solder them, cover with heat shrink, done. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this. Especially if the wire is supported properly, which it will be.

For the record I understand that solder creates a solid piece of wire. This can cause it to fatigue at the ends, and eventual failure. BUT to be honest I've seen plenty of crimps fail (one actually fell apart on me today as I was moving the harness around) although I know that the ones that fail were done improperly (but that can be said about solder too).

I was taught to solder at a young age, it's what I grew up with doing, so I feel most comfortable working with what I know. Plus I don't own a good crimper. It's on my list.

I got quite a bit done today. I have to prepare for my calc test tomorrow though which makes me sad. I'll finish up the dash tomorrow and then I'll be working my way backwards to the trunk. I'm sure I'll catch flak for the sound deadening that will probably be used excessively.

My solder:
The wires look dirty but they were freshly stripped and the bare wire was clean. I don't always twist them together, but it's force of habit and I know it's better to tin both sides, touch them and apply heat. Also disclaimer, this isn't my best work, just the only pictures I had available.
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1375416683

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1375416683

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1375416683

If I'm doing it wrong let me know, I'm not trying to be defensive, tips are always welcome.

I crimp because its way faster, but soldering is fine too.

are you putting a PC motherboard in your car?

That looks kind of like the connector that goes into the back of the AEM guage. Maybe they are used elsewhere on his setup too, like for his WI ?

I am installing a floppy drive...

That's the AEM gauge wiring ;)

Nothing wrong with your solder job. If you look carefully at my post, you'll see I listed 2 types of repairs where use of solder yields reliable results. You are doing repair type #1. Proceed.

What were you referring too then? Did you think I was actually making the connectors?

Yes. A lot of people use solder-type wire terminals on cars. That's a poor solution for a high-vibration environment.

I didn't know what exactly you were doing behind that panel, which is why I listed the two instances where solder is OK. For the record, when I have a broken wire, I repair it exactly the way you are doing. But when I make a wire termination, I always crimp (and use aviation terminals for good measure).

Ah gotcha.

After my test today I'm free all weekend and will hopefully have the current batch of repairs done and driving the car. Taking pictures but probably won't post until I'm done.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1375478244

What is this single wire out of the mspnp? It was connected to nothing.

boost or o2 i bet.

Boost as in like an ebc?

The o2 comes out of the other 2 main connectors. This one is odd. I think it ended near where the radio was... dunno. Guess ill find out eventually.

you know theres a pinout for that...

Eh im sweating my balls off in 115 degree heat right now. Ill find it later

I'm betting wbo2 before he switched it to the other connectors