New company and new products. 'Classic Retrofit' 911 Fuse Panel and CDI+ ignition.

[Jonny H]

Hi Pelicans,

I am proud to announce the launch of a new company - Classic Retrofit . My colleagues and I usually design 'mission critical' electronic/software systems but we have turned our attention to old Porsches. Our aim is to improve some of the more troublesome electrical systems in the car.

As we are UK based, we have teamed up with Pelican Parts to distribute our products in the US.

First up, we have a replacement fuse panel for impact bumper cars 1974 to 1989. The fuse panel replaces the original fuse blocks without the need for tagging wires, crimps or any soldering. The fitting is easily accomplished in under an hour by most. The fuse panel has integrated 'fuse blown' leds and headlamp relays.

21 fuse ways with screw terminals:



Led fuse blown indicators:



Built in headlamp relays:



Available now from our host.

More information and a long-sighted fellow with a bad back (me) doing an install of the fuse panel on our website.


Secondly, we are in the final stages of testing our mappable CDI+ box. This is a a plug and play system requiring no changes to the original wiring harness, coil, leads or distributor. The timing is microprocessor controlled and we also have hard, soft rev limiters, shift light output and more...

Original case (CNC replica case available):



Custom electronics:



Setup software:



You can read more about the unit here

Not only can the software change the operating parameters, but it can upgrade the unit allowing features to be added that we haven't thought of yet(!) We want to encourage folks to have input into the function of the unit and build new features in over time. I will keep you posted on the launch date.

I hope you like our products and if you have any questions feel free to contact us (info@classicretrofit.com) or reply on this thread.


Cheers,

Jonny Hart

(Technical Director)

[jdbunda]

Fantastic!!!!

Any plans for a longhood replacement fuse panel?

[onboost]

Very interesting units..

Fuse board looks to be high quality and upgraded CDI box will be a welcomed addition for many.

Thx Jonny Hart & Pelican!

[TheSt|G]

This is all very exciting.

[joe payne]

Great news for our aging cars. •Double spark at all RPMs? Are the stock CDI boxes single spark at all RPM's? Can't wait to hear aboput the improvement it made on your 82 SC.

[Sicklyscott]

I love the fuse panel. I was debating upgrading mine but this makes it all too easy.

[Reiver]

Very nice.

[SGO930]

That fuse panel looks like just what the doctor ordered.

[RFP]

Are the terminals/individual fuse holders mechanically secured to the board or are they soldered on? Thanks!

Rob

[djb25]

That's some impressive stuff.

It's nice to see new companies stepping up and assisting us with our aging electronics.

[Doug-DBP]

What a beautiful piece of work. You have set the "Kuehl" standard for these fuse panels. Pretty $pendy for now, but if I ever tumble on a used one............

[azhodge]

classic example that competition makes the product stronger.

[SoyRacer]

Signal input from a map sensor on boosted cars for mapable boost timing retard

[grahamkissack]

Love the product and its apparent quality but dang that's expensive ... I sure would need to have some significant electrical problems before jumping in to that as a solution. Not a while you're in there item for sure.

[BertoSpid]

Great !!

[slow&rusty]

Wow..amazing!! Thank-you for this contribution and assistance in keeping our cars on the road.

[Jonny H]

Hi Folks!

Thanks for the feedback. To answer some of your questions:

FUSE PANEL:

Originally Posted by jdbunda

Fantastic!!!!

Any plans for a longhood replacement fuse panel?

Quite possibly. It all comes down to numbers. Our current feeling is that early car owners favour originality. Technically, we would not be able to fit the blade fuses under the original longhood covers. Having said that, a '72 race car is currently having our fuse panel fitted vertically in the original location and that gives 3 extra fuseways.

Originally Posted by RFP

Are the terminals/individual fuse holders mechanically secured to the board or are they soldered on? Thanks!

Both! The fuse holders and terminals are mechanically locked into holes in the PCB. The PCB is then flow soldered which makes the solder wick up and under the terminals. We have destruction tested a board and it took a torque wrench on the screw to cause damage, but it was only the screw head that was damaged!

Originally Posted by grahamkissack

Love the product and its apparent quality but dang that's expensive

Our fuse panels use the best quality US made screw terminals and German made Pudenz fuse holders (OEM on many cars). Our PCB is a custom 2.0mm board (standard is 1.6mm), the copper thickness is 3oz both sides (standard is 1oz). There is little point in offering a solution to improve reliability and then use poor quality components - your Porsche deserves better! This is a designed product, not a collection of parts.

Other solutions that use crimped on spade terminals can take many hours to fit - fine if your time is 'free'. Not so much if you take it to a workshop. I also question the logic or introducing 42 more crimp connections into a wiring loom unless you are prepared to pay $$$ for a professional crimp tool. Our fuse panel can genuinely be fitted in under an hour with just a screwdriver. No drilling holes either.

Factor in the diagnostic LEDs and the headlamp relays built in and we think it represents real value for money.


CDI+

Originally Posted by SoyRacer

Signal input from a map sensor on boosted cars for mapable boost timing retard

Great idea! We are currently looking at lambda sensor and MAP inputs, also a '7th injector' that can be used to lower control pressure at set RPM to increase fuel.

Cheers

Jonny

[Craigeo]

Ordered.... I'll keep you posted when I get mine and how the install goes.

[RFP]

Originally Posted by Jonny H

<<< snip >>>



Both! The fuse holders and terminals are mechanically locked into holes in the PCB. The PCB is then flow soldered which makes the solder wick up and under the terminals. We have destruction tested a board and it took a torque wrench on the screw to cause damage, but it was only the screw head that was damaged!

Excellent, your product seems very, very well designed and certainly up to the quality levels of these great cars!

Originally Posted by Jonny H

Our fuse panels use the best quality US made screw terminals and German made Pudenz fuse holders (OEM on many cars). Our PCB is a custom 2.0mm board (standard is 1.6mm), the copper thickness is 3oz both sides (standard is 1oz). There is little point in offering a solution to improve reliability and then use poor quality components - your Porsche deserves better! This is a designed product, not a collection of parts.

Other solutions that use crimped on spade terminals can take many hours to fit - fine if your time is 'free'. Not so much if you take it to a workshop. I also question the logic or introducing 42 more crimp connections into a wiring loom unless you are prepared to pay $$$ for a professional crimp tool. Our fuse panel can genuinely be fitted in under an hour with just a screwdriver. No drilling holes either.

Factor in the diagnostic LEDs and the headlamp relays built in and we think it represents real value for money.<<< snip >>>

Sounds like a real winner! Here's wishing you every success!

Rob

[jdbunda]

Jonny -
Thanks for the additional info. One more slightly technical question about the headlamp relays. How are they wired? The traditional way of doing this (e.g. the Jwest relay kit sold by our host) puts the headlamps on relays, but leaves the instrument lights unfused, unless of course one puts an inline fuse on the the low current side. Just curious if your kit takes care of this.

Thanks,
John