Captain Obvious

I'm currently messing around with putting A/C into my 280 and I've got some HVAC parts on the bench. Here's some pics that might help you with your quest. This is a 260 faceplate from an A/C car: And this is a 77 280 faceplate from my non-A/C car: But what might help you with your quest is that the faceplate comes apart, and the only part unique to your car is the colored silk screened lens piece in the center. Here's the back of one of them with the light pipe removed. You're looking at the back of the silkscreened lens and the inside of the light pipe reflector assy: And here's the front side of the lens removed from the rest of the housing: The only unique part is the silk screened lens. Everything else is the same between a 260 (with AC) and a 77 280 without. I imagine if those two extremes are the same, then everything else from 74 to the end of 78 does too, regardless of the option set. They even all have the same part numbers molded into them. That should make finding a replacement a lot easier than struggling to find the exact replacement.

I'm going to be in the Boca Raton, FL area for a couple days next week. Getting to Boca on Sunday April 2nd, and will be there until Friday. Any tips and tricks and things I absolutely must do while I'm in the area?

Whaaaaaat?... I can't imagine a reason someone did that. I wonder if there was some weird HVAC customization planned that necessitated opening that slot. I cannot believe he simply didn't realize it was upside down!! As for replacing the label, don't forget that it's backlit. It's actually a piece of polyester on which they silk-screened the colors and text on the back side. Light shines through it. I doubt you could (ever) purchase just that label independently from other parts of the assy. I've had that part of the assy apart a couple times for my dash light LED conversion, but I can't put my fingers on any pics of that part of the process. I suspect I was in a hurry at that point and stopped taking pictures.

I've been thinking about the external adjustment concept a little more, and while I believe it's possible, I'm concerned about the amount of potential confusion and tuning issues it may CAUSE as opposed to fix. Just think about it... If you can externally adjust the height of the entire bowl assemble WRT to the nozzle, you can effectively get the fuel height correct even if the bowl level is in correct. Conversely... You can get the fuel level WRONG even if the bowl level is CORRECT. Can you just imagine the amount of documentation required to keep that situation under control? Haha!! Who want's to try to explain how to tune that to people who already don't really know what they're doing? I've got my nozzles six turns down and my plugs are black. Should I lower my bowls a little? Please advise!!!

I know you have already identified the car as a 72, but I wanted to point out (redundantly) that the carbs are the water heated 72 variety. Keep that in mind if you start mixing and matching carbs or intake manifolds. If you keep the same carbs with the same manifolds, you'll be fine. But if you start mixing and matching parts from other years, you'll need to take care of some other details.

From my brief experience with blasting, I found it was more than just from the car....

Crap. There they go again!!

I didn't even notice that until you pointed it out. What's up with that? My 260 (which had A/C) didn't look like that. It had two separate slots for the temp and fan controls. I see that the chrome is missing from the middle of the top slot... Maybe someone removed the section between the two slots and mounted it upside down? I know I'm reaching here and I don't know why someone would do such a thing, but that's all I got.

Cool. Give me a call if you need any help!

Crap. There goes my recently announced political aspirations!! If you are browsing the forum without signing in, you show up as a bot. I usually don't log in unless I have something to say. So most of those guests are probably people just reading, but not posting.

240260280, Did you ever finish building that Esper photo analysis machine? That would really help here!

Mee too!! I'll race ya!

There have been a number of changes in the way PA has handled their state inspections over the years, and I'm no historical expert on what changed when, but with a combination of fading brain cells and digging around on-line, I can provide some insight. - Back in 69/70 (at the time of the stickers in question) state inspections were required twice per year and expired on one of four quarterly "cycles". The cycle number is the big number on the sticker and was easily discernible by cops from a distance. - As far back as I can remember, you were allowed to get your vehicle inspected during a three month window ending on the day your sticker expired. So for example, if your sticker expired at the end of January, you could take your car in for inspection in Nov, Dec, or Jan. So decoding what I can from the sticker that SteveJ posted as an example... Prior to the inspection sticker shown here, this vehicle would have carried a cycle 2 sticker expiring at the end of Jan 69. The punched out date at the bottom of the sticker shows this vehicle was inspected on Nov 17, (1969), which is during the three month window leading up to the end of cycle 2. A car due at the end of cycle 2 could taken in for inspection during Nov, Dec, or Jan. The current inspection expires on June 31, 1970 which is the end of cycle 4. I believe the inspection station number to which the sticker was issued is the ID dot coded at the top of the sticker. If that's the case, then this sticker was originally issued to station A122 (whoever that is). As for the reference to the PA Department of Revenue, that's who got the fee for the cost of inspection. Even today, when you're sending the check to pay for your yearly license plate registration, you make the check out to the PA Dept of Revenue. In the case of inspections, the station buys the stickers from the state and then the station sells them to the customer. it's just where the money collects at the state level. Some other neat details and pics available here: http://www.bufs-plates.com/windshield/pennsylvania/pa-ws-1969-1983.html Did I ever tell you that I've got my PA state inspection mechanics license? Never officially inspected a vehicle, but I took the certification tests and have carried the license for quite some time. The mechanic owns the license, but the station owns the stickers. A certified mechanic working for an authorized station is who performs the inspection, and that's not me.

Yeah, there's all kinds of changes between the A/C and non A/C manual system. One of the differences is that the only way I can change mine from fresh to recirc is to move it to OFF. In other words, the only time my system closes off the fresh intake is when it's in the OFF position. The fan still works even in OFF and the ducting is in the VENT position, but the only thing I can do is recirculate the same stale unheated air out the dash vents. I wish I had independent control over that duct, and it's on my list of pending future changes.

Bow Chicka WOW WOW! Mine's bigger.

I touched a roadster once as well. Or was that a roadie... It's kinda blurry.

zKars, An eccentric bolt on the bowl mount is a really interesting idea. I think I'll poke around with that too when I get a chance. So simple!

Site, That won't work. You need to change the height of the float with respect to the height of the nozzle. Any changes you make with the routing of the tubing will have no effect. Think "water level" when building a deck. The tube position/routing doesn't matter.

Who wants to head up my special task force to investigate spindle pins?

Haha!! I'm honored! And appointments to my cabinet would certainly be whatever you desired. You guys are doing a great job with the suggested appointments as you have absolutely no experience or legitimate reason to exist in the posts you are looking to fill. That's perfect! All, however, with the exception of Cliff... He's well suited for the not so secret service guarding the football and growler. Someone's got to be the behind the scenes brains of the operation. I think that'll be him because it sure won't be me!

Haha! Way to paint yourself into a corner! That's one I'd love to have...

Nuh uh:

Haha!! Thanks guys! Those are beautiful, but I've already started building my own using stone knives and bearskins. Now about the president part... I'm up for that!

I'm so glad that after all that effort you got something you're satisfied with. Lot of effort, but finally something suitable!! About your dash LED's... I redid my whole dash system maybe a year or so ago and am thrilled with the results. My prediction on yours? You may find them to be way too bright. If I can see them that bright in the daytime, then once everything outside the car is dark, I'm thinking you're going to need sunglasses to look at the instruments. I solved that problem by modifying the LED bulbs themselves, and converting over to a PWM dimmer.

Happy Birthday Mark!! You guys are making me feel young!!