What are these bolted to my firewall?

[Myasylum]

I'm thinking about three daunting task of rewiring my car, however it would be nice to clean things up a bit. What are these items on the firewall? Can they be removed?
I am getting FBO ignition box which gets rid of the ballast resistor, so thats a start.

What is the grey box, and the rusted box?

Thanks!

 

[Aron Gleason]

The gray box is the ecu or electronic control box. That can be replaced with a msd ignition box. Not sure what the rusted part is.

 

[Gold Rush]

I'm thinking about three daunting task of rewiring my car, however it would be nice to clean things up a bit. What are these items on the firewall? Can they be removed?
I am getting FBO ignition box which gets rid of the ballast resistor, so thats a start.

What is the grey box, and the rusted box?

Thanks!

View attachment 1450978

View attachment 1450979

Gray box is your voltage regulator. It could be relocated or if you use an alternator with internal regulator the OEM one can be eliminated. The rusty box looks similar to the seatbelt interlock bypass switch but it looks different from the one in my '74 SE. If it is indeed the bypass and you intend to do away with the interlock that too can be defeated and removed.

 

[NoCar2023]

 

[Davefinan]

Rusty box reminds me of a circuit breaker I’ve seen in the past. Can’t say for sure though

 

[Myasylum]

Oh wow! That's a button? Lol.
What the Hell do I do with that? Weird.
Welll I don't even have seat belts right now, so that obviously isn't working very well.

 

[NoCar2023]

Everything you never wanted to know about this system. You're welcome.

 

[Myasylum]

Weird! I have a 72 though. Must have been a high end option for the 72 SSP! Lucky me!
How I bypass this to remove it?
I guess I can just take it off and see if the car still starts.

 

[QuickBpBp]

Weird! I have a 72 though. Must have been a high end option for the 72 SSP! Lucky me!
How I bypass this to remove it?
I guess I can just take it off and see if the car still starts.

It's obviously not the right wiring harness as a '72 would not have had it as it was not even used yet.. I would buy new correct harnesses for under the hood since it seems you want to clean up under hood items...

 

[Myasylum]

How long would you say it would take to rewire the harness?

 

[QuickBpBp]

How long would you say it would take to rewire the harness?

I would not “rewire” it. I would buy the correct harnesses. All you have to do then is unplug at the firewall. One thing you need to check though since you have an interlock system under the hood my guess someone swapped a 74 harness along with the maybe even the dash wiring. Was your 72 a standard dash Satellite or a Sebring with a rallye dash? You will need to educate yourself as to what you have so everything goes smoothly..

 

[Myasylum]

Yea, it's a mess under there. I bought it this way. He just got it running and sold it. Half the fuse box is in the fire wall the other half laying on the floor.
It does that the standard rally dash..

 

[Geoff 2]

The ign coil, not the 'box', determines whether a bal res is needed.

 

[kiwigtx]

I'm thinking about three daunting task of rewiring my car, however it would be nice to clean things up a bit. What are these items on the firewall? Can they be removed?
I am getting FBO ignition box which gets rid of the ballast resistor, so thats a start.

What is the grey box, and the rusted box?

Thanks!

View attachment 1450978

View attachment 1450979

So do you actually run the wiper arms?

 

[Myasylum]

So do you actually run the wiper arms?

No, I haven't needed too... I haven't drove it in the rain. But they do work!

The ign coil, not the 'box', determines whether a bal res is needed.

I bought the new coil as well as the distributor as part of the FBO kit.

 

[72sunroof]

I would suggest getting a friend that knows these cars, a factory manual (can get on cd or pdf online). Wiring is pretty tedious and knowing the components well makes it easier
OCD me wants that firewall painted to match the rest of the car Fords and Chevys have black engine bays.

 

[Myasylum]

OCD me wants that firewall painted to match the rest of the car Fords and Chevys have black engine bays.

Trust me! I know! Maybe when I pull the engine someday. It annoys me too!

 

[1969 Dodge Coronet]

The rusted box appears to be the bypass relay for your seat belt interlock system. This was a Federally Mandated requirement on all cars starting with the 1974 model year to encourage seat belt use. It was not a popular move with the public at the time. The outcry against it was so great that Congress rescinded the mandate the next year (1975) and the seat belt interlock system was discontinued. If your car is a 1974 model (and it would have to be to have one of these relays) I would say if it still works as intended, then keep it. If it has failed however, there's no harm in removing and discarding it and taping off the harness. That is what I did with my 1974 Dodge Coronet. You won't get into trouble with DOT. To be honest, I don't know if parts are even still available to fix this system anymore.

 

[Danomt]

Careful on advice you get on the internet. Some of the guys here are very smart and others do not know the way up.... Heaven forbid if you hook up a MSD ignition control to your alternator for a voltage regulator. I would love to see the results.