tunnel reconstruction 1

I was making plans to remove the engine now that it is totally positioned and start adding more structure to everything.  I decided to go ahead and put the trans tunnel back now while the trans was still in place so I could be sure of clearance.  First I put the hvac unit back in so I could see if it is possible to clear that too:

Looks possible.  You will notice two electrical connections on the transmission.  The lower one is the reverse switch  which makes the reverse lights go on when you shift into reverse.  I will need to remove the connector from the mustang and be sure that my tunnel allows clearance for this switch.

The top switch is the neutral gear switch (NGS).  This is different from a neutral safety switch which prevents automatics from starting while in gear (that job is done by the clutch safety switch on manual transmission cars).  This NGS is used on cars with factory EFI to communicate with the computer.  Since I will have aftermarket EFI or a carb, I expect to not need it.

My plan is to make a few bends in some 18 ga steel to cover most of it then cut a bunch of little pieces to connect it around the perimeter.  Should look awful, but no one will ever see it again under the carpet.  I started bending up some poster board to lay it out.

This think will have no stiffness which means I still have a 2 1/2 foot long hole down the center of the body.  Looks like my transmission mount is going to do more than just hold the transmission.  I am glad I made it stiff.