EScanlon

Lance: Excellent! 1 minute after I posted, you did. Blue Leaf; I hope you understand that you're getting advice from not only the professional end (JackBoxx) but also from those of us hobbyists who have been painting cars for over 20 years. The old "rule of thumb" that states that you must strip a car to metal for a really ~good~ paint job is probably more than 50 years old as I only recall a painter referencing it when cars were repaired with LEAD instead of bondo. But again, that's just MY 2¢ E

Yikes Walter.... You can use 36 grit on a D/A sander and get rid of paint VERY quickly, but you should always follow that with 180 and then 220 to reduce those scratches. If you used a rotary disk sander (i.e. NO random orbital) with only rotational movement....YIKES! No wonder you're battling the scratches. Blue Leaf: JackBoxx owns and operates a Maaco franchise and the first line of his post says : "for really bad old paint" . Believe him in that what he means is REALLY bad old paint, i.e. cracks, chips down to the metal, burnt through to the primer and below. and last but not least, weather beaten to the Pool Cue Chalk stage. On paint that hasn't reached that stage, you might be better off using a D/A sander to smooth the body as A7DZ and Beandip mentioned. Sometimes the best base for a new paint job IS the old paint job.....IF ..... you prepare it properly. Remember, any and ALL of the prior dent / blemish repairs will have to be replaced if you get stripper on them. Stripper works by using various acids and other nasty solvents. Most that I'm familiar with will give you a real nasty chemical burn if you get it on your skin. They will seep into the tiniest of cracks and crevices and dry up....waiting for you to paint and then they'll react with the paint and leave you with blemishes in your new paint job. All of them will destroy and permeate any Bondo / plastic filler you may have on the car, rendering it impossible to paint over. Want a paint shop to refuse to paint your car? Tell them you used stripper and you "saved" the bondo by only scraping off the top layer. The razor blade method might seem faster....until you STILL end up having to sand the body smooth, except now you're sanding hundreds of little uneven depth scrapes....talk about setting yourself back a couple days. Even if you scrape to the metal, there's going to be dozens of scratches from the razor blade on the metal that will need to be addressed. That is, if you have any feeling in your hands afterwards. For a good looking daily driver paint job that doesn't cost an arm and a leg...D/A sander to smooth and prepare the surface for the sealer and then the paint. OR Save yourself a bunch of hazzle, clean-up and a bunch of other stuff and take it to Jackboxx's or one of his fellow franchise owners and have them do a job that will leave you quite satisfied. Remember, unless you currently DO own the tools to do the job right AND have the experience and knowledge, you might find it cheaper to have it done professionally. 2¢ Enrique

With only 2k miles in two years, at an average of 6 mi. per ROUND trip.....that is 3 miles in the morning, 3 in the afternoon, DEFINITELY nowhere near enough time to warm up the engine adequately at any time. You might even have a plugged Cat. Converter which did NOT get better with a 20 minute warmup. I'll leave the rest to the proper Mechanical Guru's, but IMO you need to take the car out for a SERIOUS drive every once in a while. Heck, you might even consider taking the LOOOONG way to work. Not only will you enjoy the drive more, but you'll do your car a world of good. A car that doesn't get driven much is sometimes MORE problematic than one that gets regular and moderate distance put on it. FWIW E

OFF TOPIC: Actually Will, I bid on the item you referenced (got to keep it secret) for the purposes that you and I discussed a few weeks back. I know that you've already progressed somewhat, but haven't heard that you've gotten further along. I have a few contacts that might be able to re-produce them and would like to have a set to show. ON TOPIC: Waylon: If you are still completely baffled, IGNORE the wiring color of the individual components, but DO trace the individual wires to their individual contact points to know where to connect. You could also replace both the Combination and Turn Signal Switches, except that finding the connectors for the dash harness may prove to be MORE difficult than finding a replacement dash harness. (Ask Arne about finding the right 6 spade connectors.) Please post if the PM I sent you helped. Enrique

Take a look at the wiring schematic I linked in the PM I sent. You should be able to identify the wiring in the wire harness you have to the wires in your column since that's the identification page from an early harness (70-71). Then using the Multiple Wire Connector diagram, and the Single Wire Connector I also linked to, identify what wires went in to each of the connectors and rewire or replace as needed. Again, those diagrams are for the 70 and 71 vehicles. After 72, there were additions and changes to not only the wiring, but the connectors themselves as well as location of connections. OR Buy a complete Dash Harness (not going to be cheap, ask Arne) that matches the one in your engine bay and rear end (again not an easy task) and replace the cobbled up one in your car. OR Buy a complete set of wiring harness' for the whole car to ensure they mate with each other. FWIW E

Dave: I had to refer back to remember...I was referring to the Turn Signal / Parking Lamp (aka Driving Lamp) housing. Since this was posted (3-10-2004), I have acquired a pair of the JDM Front Turn Signal Housings which is what I was referring to there. There are some distinct differences in both the HOUSING and the LENS. I've got them put away for now, so pictures will have to come later. But I'll describe the differences: Where the "standard" U.S. market Front Marker Light, the one that mounts below the bumper and the sugar scoop, has a single compartment housing and lens, the JDM has TWO compartments. One is wider than the other, and both have reflectors with their own independent bulbs. There is a distinct line noticeable in both the Lens and the internal shield separating the two compartments. This is undoubtedly to prevent either bulb from lighting the whole lens. One bulb is a Dual Filament (1157 style: Bayonet with offset pins) and the other is a Single filament (1156: Bayonet w/out offset pins). The connector on these instead of being the standard Spade connector, is now a 4-PIN connector with a rubber boot, similar to those you find in the later years cars (Late 73 and Up as far as U.S. market). U.S. market lights have a SINGLE DUAL FILAMENT bulb, although the back of the housing shows the molded in contour for the second bulb. Hope that answer your questions. Enrique

Waylon; Problem is those members that DO know how to help you....have been forced off the site by the DarkFarters, the Tonyas and the other gutless nincompoops that endeavor to destroy this site as they did their prior home. Sorry, off my soapbox; PM forthcoming which should help. Flame suit on; CHECK! E Those that I'm referring to will speak up and voice their opposition.

Bog = Bondo (aka Polyester Body Fill Material) I've repaired a couple of these, and it is decidedly NOT easy. It CAN be done, but unless you have the various different tools you need, and a welder, and the time, and the expertise.....you'll find yourself overwhelmed. But that's just MY opinion. Why not see what the other member's have to say. E

And having gone to look at the Roadster one in my garage....I think you're right! E

Simplest motivation of all...Wash it and get whatever paint you have on it looking nice and shiny. Heck...if you're not going to do much with the paint for a while....polish and wax it. Unless all you have is primer and burnt and peeling paint, that is all the motivation you'll need. And if that' doesn't work....then you're done, sell it and go find a Yugo. FWIW E

No, it actually looks as if it came from a post 68 Roadster either the 2000 or the 1600. Ask Victor Laury, he'll know in a heartbeat. E

Choose by Tread Pattern. The first two are the Bridgestone, then the Yokohama...the third is a lot more money at $81.00 each, but they do make a bold statement, they're Yokohama AVS ES100 in your size. FWIW E

If CLEANING is what you're after, then simply find a plastic spreader knife / spatula, the type used to fill holes with spackle (household repairs). Cut the Scotch Brite Pads to fit over the spreader blade, then using your favorite method of gluing the scotch brite to the blade, or using your fingers, or a nylon zip tie, then scrub the vanes. You're basically covering a flat stick with a scrubbing surface. This will give you, essentially, a stiff scotchbrite stick, to insert between the vanes. As you press towards one vane, the softer ends of the bristles of the opposite side will scrub the other side of the opening (i.e. the OTHER vane). Then a couple of good scrubs on the other side and you'll have scrubbed BOTH sides of the vane separation hole. In this manner, although labor intensive, you can apply as much/little work per vane opening as needed. While the cross buff's mentioned are excellent for POLISHING (i.e. with ROUGE and other metal polish), you may find that the spacing between the vanes is ROUGH CAST, or at least to my memory they were. Due to the description of the cross buffs as being able to provide a "mirror-finish" ("Use with metal polish for polishing inside diameters such as lug nut holes and contures of aluminum wheels. These felts will also provide a mirror finish in exhaust ports, combustion chambers and carburetor venturis. 10/pack=$32.00") you may find that the rough cast surface is rougher than a lug nut hole and you go through a couple of packs....and you're up to $64.00 plus shipping. If your openings are smooth, then that's a different story, but I can't even imagine how much it would have cost to have those professionally polished to begin with. FWIW E