EScanlon

I'm betting that the cable wasn't fully inserted into the speedo. This can happen very easily. E

I don't think you should take it as the QUALITY of your work being impugned,. Consider it as follows: you will cover a lot of ground that has been pretty thoroughly investigated and Charlie's fix IS the cheapest and best in the long run. There is no doubt that you would perform excellent work for yourself. To presume otherwise is to presume you hate yourself. Otherwise why wouldn't you do your best? But there are times when it's more cost-effective to have someone else do the work. Trying to find an alternative is a futile exercise as the BEST you could hope to do is to match the price or beat it by a few dollars. When you compute how much time and effort and $ you will spend to do that, you would agree that you ended up "crapping around". Now if YOU did, in fact, own a 48" sheet metal brake, then would you be able to find a better deal than Zeddfindings. Then again, you'd look at the price and know that his deal IS an excellent deal. That's why you're seeing it repeated over and over by various members. Enrique

Not in the manner you might want, but if you check the FSM you'll find the dimensional picture might help. As far as an actual template for that specific part, I am not aware of one. I can understand the enjoyment of doing it yourself, but unless you have a 48" sheet metal brake, you'll have a hard time bending the metal. Have you looked at Charlie Osborne's (zeddfindings.com) floor pans that he sells? For the sizing, the amount of hazzle it takes to bend your own, and the frustration of making mistakes, his price is actually very inexpensive. E

There have been, literally, volumes written on exactly this issue. From discussing weatherstripping, to cracks in the sheet metal joins, to ....... Do a search through the archives and you'll find more information than you think is possible. Keywords to use: Fumes, Gas Smell, Exhaust Fumes. All of these should give you plenty of information to begin addressing the issue. E

Dave: As one of your satisfied customers from your prior product, I have no doubt that you will provide an EXCELLENT item. However, since I installed your Headlight Harness, ALL of my other lights are significantly brighter. Would you be so kind as to explain how this new item would benefit those of us who are using the Headlight Harness kit? Enrique

Walter: Please correct me if I have it barse-ackwards, but the fusible links are there to protect the circuitry from prolonged current at high amperages, and that the alternator has the capacity to generate UP - TO the given amperage rating it is rated for. That's why you buy a high amp alternator when you will be running lots of electrical items, ALL AT THE SAME TIME and you put them on a separate circuit with it's own fusible link / fuse system. But for those times when you are NOT running lots of current eating items, the standard alternator is more than sufficient to handle even a couple of the high amp items .....together. Just not ALL of them at the same time. It is the proliferation of current sucking items that cause the electrical system to fail once you exceed it's current carrying capacity. And by the way, I laughed at your very subtle explanation for the explosive spark that a battery can cause when it shorts to ground.... Thanks for the clarification. Enrique

Doing a Tonya: 555kg X 2.2lb/kg = 1221 lb. EACH, then X 4 wheels = 4884 lb, or roughly twice the weight of the car, for a total package of roughly 7300 pounds. Geez, I think my old 76 Ford LTD weighed less...... That makes for increased gas mileage (snicker) once you get the car rolling.....plays hell on the brakes though.

Yikes! MY GOOF! The switch wouldn't complete the path to ground if the ground appears "upstream". Sorry, sorry, sorry......too much going on and too many eggnog rounds. In thinking it through, I realized that the short would be ONGOING if it were BEFORE the switch. I think you may have to pull at least the tail-light plastic surround to see if you didn't damage the wiring through there. At least you'll be able to see if you can check your continuity through TO there. You DID use a Full-Manual Electric Antenna didn't you? (i.e. it operates only when power is applied to it, and it's grounded) That's cause one of the Fully Automatic Electric Antenna will NOT work with the standard radio and switch without rewiring. Sorry about the mistake. E

Since both wires going back to the antenna become "Hot", depending on which one is selected by the Antenna Switch and presuming that you used an original wiring style antenna (i.e. a totally manual electric antenna), I would check to see if the short could possibly be BEFORE the switch, and when you actuate you're completing the short to ground. E¢

Since you do NOT know what it is hooked up to, AND you DO know that: "When I press it, something in the engine compartment seems to spin into life...", why not have a friend hit the switch while you have the Hood up and you're looking in there, i.e. Without the engine running or set to run. It's not too much of a precaution and it ~might~ save you some repairs. Or force yourself to trace the wiring to it's components. FWIW E

The rubber pad will work any time, but I think the latch, as Ken mentioned, is going to make more of a difference. From the two pics of the door closed, you can see that the top edge of the door is not even with the surrounding dash. Adjust that unevenness and it should clear the problem up. E¢

I'll give that "mini" restoration a MAJOR Thumbs Up! Here's a link to an article I wrote some time back on removing the dash. Hope you find it helpful: http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6981 As far as removing the over-paint on the "O", you can try the above mentioned felt tip pen (a fine point Sharpie works well), and hope that the black blends into the background well enough that it doesn't cause it's own problems. Another thing you might try is to scrape the excess paint off. I've done this with a regular pin, or with the very tip of a #2 X-Acto Blade. Scrape very carefuly and you should be able to chip off the excess. To ensure you minimize problems with your HCP removal, etc, LABEL the connections as you disconnect them. You only need to use some masking tape and tag both connectors "A" and "A", then "B" and "B" and so on. Label both sides so that there are no guesses later. No need to get fancy with the label as A/A and B/B is easy, be careful with numbers as 6/9 can be confusing when read upside down. Good Luck; Enrique

Chris: Off the top of my head, and not because I've tried or know these work, just proposing some thoughts: Got any gun collectors in your circle of friends? Ask them if they have a Black in the same form as Gun Metal Blue (Which I've been told just brushes on). I've seen Sharpie's (kind of a "magic marker" pen) used with considerable success (i.e. not noticeable), but not on the face metal, but on the back metal which is hidden behind the needle. E

Take a look at Post #16: http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=10384&d=1135124145 I goofed and should have said "The 810 with the GREEN ice scraper scoop". E

Can't really argue about their going too far as, to be honest, it's customizing done on a very small budget. I'm still perplexed as to why they would be allowed on the road. To me the white rolling door stop and the green 810 with the ice scraper scoop (don't let SBlake see that one) really give it away. I can almost see Speed Racer racing against either one of these. Then again, remember some of the Hot Wheels that were out in the late 80's? FWIW E

I don't know if I'm showing my age, (second childhood) or if I'm really regressing, but I DO get it. It's A N I M E Art applied to automobiles. Granted, it is - - interesting - - BUT..... I'm more surprised to find that they're considered roadworthy....... Although that white rolling ramp would be the way to go for cities with low number of parking spaces.....they could double as speed bumps. Oh well.... E

This bears repeating to anyone with the very rare and EEEK-spensive Early Heater Control Panel with the chrome in good condition. The stress of holding up the radio WILL cause the chrome to crack and lift off the plastic. Chris, on this faceplate, (if it's a pic of one you own and not a reference pic) could you confirm that the chrome around the dial indicator and push buttons IS reflective (i.e. "true" chrome) as opposed to the silver SATIN paint that you see on the other surfaces? AFAIK the surround around the antenna switch is also Satin painted and not Chromed (shiny/reflective). Thanks E

I ~think~ the radio should fit (not sure AFAIK I've never done it), but if it's the same size as in 73's then it should. The only item I'm not sure would work is the faceplate. I seem to recall that the angle of the Center plate inverted when the 260 came out. E

By the way Chris, that metal faceplate that's just below the plastic faceplate, it's face down. The cutouts on the corners are for the screws that hold the HCP to the car. In your Hitachi-AM 5 pic, you can see that it extends BELOW the radio's faceplate, which it should NOT do. E¢

Nice Pics Chris, but I can't see that you have a need to refresh this face plate. Corners, if they are missing completely are the hardest to fix. The problem isn't in finding a strong enough repair compound, it's in restoring the "grain" of the embossing on the face. Eastwood had a product some time back (haven't bought nor received their catalog recently) that you molded onto a good piece to make a proper mold and you then put it onto the broken piece. Then mix the repair compound and pour. The substance would cure to a milky white clear which would then need painting. I have had some luck using plain old "Plasticene" and JB Weld, using another faceplate as the "donor" of the pattern and hoping for the best match. Part of the problem with this method is that there seems to be more than one mold from which the faceplates were made...that's how I discovered the difficulty in making the grain pattern match. But on the seat mechanism covers, the faceplates and other pieces that I've repaired, once painted they look very well and if I didn't tell you where to look, you wouldn't note them. I've found that for the bulk of the chrome trim on the console, something I posted about years ago provides the BEST reproduction of the "chrome" trim....that's plain old nail-polish. Sally Hansen Chrome Nail Makeup, #01 Pure Chrome yields the smoothest and most consistently even silver than any other paint I've ever worked with. Unlike model paint which can leave swirls and streaks where the metallic particles have settled differently, Sally's #01 yields a truly beautiful finish on the raised letters on the radio face plate, the dash nameplate, and others. The other metallic finish, and I would venture to say that it appears that your faceplate does NOT have the finish that my later one did, is a smooth SHINY and REFLECTIVE chrome finish. In my case it goes on the raised edge surrounding the dial indicator and the push buttons. I can't tell if yours has the REFLECTIVE finish or the SATIN finish which is the same as on the raised letters. Your faceplate in fact, looks as if the lettering is on a label sticker. Don't know that I can help you out with that. My lettering was raised, which is why the nail-polish works so easily and well. I'll see if I can find pictures of a before and after faceplate so you can decide. Enrique

For both the black and silver knobs: Grasp firmly at opposite sides of the knob and gently but firmly slide towards you. Both black knobs go on splined shafts while the silver ones go on the outside shaft collar for the splined shaft. Once the knobs are removed you should see two very thin nuts, unscrew counter-clockwise. Face plate just lifts off stems. The rectangular black knobs take a little more from you. Pull on them as if you were resetting the station assigned to that button. Once you have it pulled out, observe the UNDERSIDE of the knob, you should see the means by which these are held on. I don't have my spare radio available, so if you would take a picture, I'll tell you what to pull/push. If you are willing to be a test-guinea pig, send me a PM and your face plate and I'll "restore" it with something I'm testing. I guarantee you'll like the results. Enrique

I believe Arne is in urgent need of the dash wiring harnesses. Can you maybe PM him and ask him if he's interested in your removing/shipping for him? E

A Z owner walking along the beach came upon a genie's bottle. Quickly polishing the sand encrusted bottle and just like in the movies....pooof a Genie appeared. The Genie explained that due to budget restraints, instead of the usual 3 wishes, nowdays only ONE wish could be granted, and even then was subject to budgetary considerations. The Z owner pauses and enthusiastically exclaims; "I want a highway to Hawaii, it's the last state I need to drive my Z on to be able to say I've driven her in all 50 States!!! The Genie suffers an apoplectic coughing fit and finally getting his breath back yells at the Z owner; "Are you crazy? Can you imagine the cost of all that concrete in all the pylons?? Forget it, think of something else......" The Z owner says, "Well, I'll settle for understanding the ways of women." The Genie pauses, looks up unto the sky, rubs his chin.....and asks: "This highway, did you want ONE or TWO lanes??" E

IMO, it all depends on how you get to work on it, whether you looked to buy it or you fell in love at first sight...the car has something that immediately grabs you...whether you see the possibilities for modification or the perfection in it's factory look, you were drawn to the vehicle and bought it. Then: If you find that you DRIVE the car often, you end up wanting response from the car, as that is how you mostly see the car....from the inside. If you don't drive it as often, you tend to LOOK at the car more, and view it proportionately MORE from the outside. In either case you start tweeking this and that, whether it's new spark plug wires because the car will run better or the correct Series I Ash Tray /Fuse Cover with riveted handle because the molded in handle isn't ~correct~. You start "perfecting" it to YOUR taste. Sometimes you start by cleaning up and replacing those items that are gone....and the car seems to .... suddenly drive better.... things that never worked before start to flicker into sporadic life and sometimes causing problems. Then it accelerates, and you find yourself making changes to the changes that you are hoping to receive the parts for, day after tomorrow. And the simple fix the cigar lighter / engine bay light becomes....... But you ask anyone and there's a surprisingly large number of guys who will say..."I've got the parts in case I ever want to put it back to the way it was.....". So is it the destination or the journey? E

Couple of fast comments: You don't want metal to be hot when you start trying to knock out a dent. Not only would it be hard to feel the metal to see if you did remove the dent, but you'd also be BENDING thee dent out, not knocking it out. Be ready for a LOT of warping. Next, undercoating that has been properly applied and allowed to dry is basically a really THICK gunky tar. It's protection of the metal is in that it absorbs and deflects rock/dirt/pebble impact by deforming. When it's as old as most of our cars are, this stuff turns into a linoleum-like coating. Once you chip past the edge it starts lifting easily. New undercoating is hard enough that you won't be wiping it off easily, but it isn't hard as a rock. Since it's basically like a hard putty (still pliant yet has a definite skin) it will absorb most harmonic vibration in the sheet metal panels and quiet the car's metal from resonating. Unless you've left a coat of dust on the POR, the undercoating should stick. Remember, this stuff is basically liquid tar mixed with snot, it sticks and stains like silicone on everything except standing water, and even there it will make it's skin. E¢