Adding a PowerPort to Mid-Century Van Doghouse

Old vans have a lot of character but not too many comforts or modern conveniences in their stock configurations.   One thing my 1965 Econoline lacked was a cigarette lighter / powerport or the hole for one on the dashboard.  It was not part of the original package.  Rather than drill an ugly hole in my otherwise flawless dashboard I decided to make use of one of the existing "mystery holes" that someone had drilled into my doghouse during the past 47 years for unknown purposes. 

There are 2 advantages to having the port in my doghouse:
1. My phone usually rests on top of the doghouse while I'm driving so the wire doesn't need to stretch across the cab from the dash creating clutter.
2. It is very easy to tap into the hot lead from the horn relay, or other power source, to power the plug... and the dog house is already grounded so the ground ring doesn't need a wire.

I made it at Tech Shop  where I first discovered the beauty of the Step Bit .  http://www.techshop.ws/
They have a fantastic collection of useful tools.  Here's what you will need

0. Auto Powerport / Cigarette Lighter Assembly
1. Step Bit
2. Power Drill
3. Soldering Iron & Solder
4. 14 - 18 Gauge wire


Lets get started...

Step 1: Drill a Pilot Hole or Use Existing Hole

First drill a pilot hole or, if you already have an existing hole in a good spot then use it.  I considered using the empty heater control hole since that would look pretty nice but I wanted to make sure this would work AND if I ever want to return my doghouse to stock I'd have a really big hole to patch before I could fit the control  knob back in.

Go to an auto parts store and find a good metal power port or cigar lighter assembly.  It might include a metal ring for mounting under the dash.  I tried it that way for a while but I don't like how it looks with the exposed wires and the port hanging down.  My dash is too beautiful for that.  ;)  You can unscrew the two halves and remove the mounting ring if necessary so that it will fit into the hole we will make in the doghouse.

Comments

[audreyobscura]

Would it be possible to modify a modern car in this manner?

[OrbitalMindControl]

Sure. You just need to find out where a good source of 12 volt power can be accessed without doing any damage. These old cars are fairly primitive and raw exposed 12 volt sources can be found in numerous places. The newer cars get the more complicated their electrical systems are, eventually incorporating computers. I'd say the best way would be to run a wire from as close to the battery as possible...unless you are really good with wiring diagrams and feel confident you can open a bare wire somewhere and splice into a 12 volt line. The other problem being whether your want to port to be always on or switched by your ignition. That's another issues where the wiring diagram is necessary.