EScanlon

The DNC registry isn't a "switch" that once thrown STOPS all calls. Charities and religious groups, from what I understand, are exempted from the DNC restriction. That's why we've seen a huge increase in the number and type of "charitable" organizations calling in. There are also those groups OUTSIDE the US (and now Canada) who, by not being under US or Canadian law, aren't "exempt" there just isn't any way that you can prosecute them. Businesses that you have current business with are also exempt up to a point and depending on the purpose. Solicitation calls can sometimes fall under this exemption. You can request to be put on that company's individual DNC register, but again, it's up to the company to abide by it. If your phone is listed as a business.... forget the DNC registry, it doesn't apply to you as a business. Only residential numbers are DNC eligible. Registration also has it's problems. For a while there you HAD to call from the number you were placing on the register. This was to avoid "prank" registration calls. Don't forget that for every "block" that people designate, there is someone out there looking to bypass it. Look at the numerous "array" spam attacks... even after the registration process was beefed up. The main thing to do is to simply ask the caller to put you on their DNC list. You may still get some unwanted calls, but eventually they'll taper down. FWIW E

For others who may want further reading: Here's a few links to several articles that address what you're doing. http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/s...ead.php?t=6981 http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/s...ead.php?t=4429 http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/s...ead.php?t=7291 HTH E

You can't disconnect the cables AT the HCP levers without un-bending the "Z" bend in the cable or cutting it. The only option is to disconnect the four cables, both at the Heater Unit and at the Blower. E

A 5mA = .005A, which is indeed a very small current. This amount is normal when the clock is operational. However, I wonder why you would have such a small current, yet still be blowing fuses. Is there another wire that connects to the battery, other than the main battery cables? You might NOT notice anything wrong. The fault could be under a dash support that pinched a wire, a screw that clamped into something far enough that it pierced the insulation....the list could go on and on. A short is the most typical reason for a fuse blowing. This is a simplistic explanation, but the MAIN purpose of a fuse is to NOT allow large current flows through a circuit. Kind of like a check valve, if the flow (current) gets too high, the fuse blows and shuts down the circuit. The ignition being on or off only helps identify which portion of the car's circuitry your short is in. If it were ONLY when the ignition were ON, then you could limit your search accordingly, but with it being on OR off, it tells us that the short is in a wire that is "live", i.e. has 12v+ at ALL times. Have you checked the glove box light? That switch/bulb holder wouldn't need much of a connection to short out. But, out of all this discussion the "signs" point back to the stereo install. That's the "new" item in the mix and your problems date SINCE that point, unless you had never noticed them before. Granted the dome light isn't very bright but surely you would have noticed. You mention disconnecting the stereo, but I'll bet that like most of us, you would have disconnected the connector at the back of the radio and not the individual wires that you fed and connected to the car's circuitry. That may be where your problem lies. It may be the ground for the speakers, the ground for the radio, the antenna connection, the faceplate light, or any one of several other connections. ONE of those may be causing the problem. If you did the install, then it's easy to go back and re-check your work. If on the other hand you had someone else do it, they may have picked the first wire that they could detect 12v from. This has happened many times before and gets repeated time and time again.... check the "new" installation. Sometimes you have to go back to the very VERY beginning, so with that in mind: We are talking about the fuse on the right side of the fuse box, fourth one down from the top, aren't we? I'm sure you have it labeled, or are reading from the lid, but this is also something to check. Have you checked underneath the fuse box to ensure that no wires are touching the fuse terminals from below? Don't think I'm trying to patronize you, I'm not. Sometimes even the "experts" get a little baffled and that's when you have to step back, take a deep breath and relax.... then you start from the beginning. Oftentimes it's the "boneheaded obvious" item that jumps out at you and you realize.... ooops! Walk it through a step at a time. E

That you are reading 12.5V between any two points in a circuit explains that there is a circuit running at 12.5v... but it doesn't tell you what amperage is running through there. That's the part that will blow a fuse, hence the ratings on a fuse are based on AMPS and not Volts. You could have 12.5V and an amp reading in the hundredths of an amp... yet still have that 12.5V voltage potential with a high enough resistance in the circuit. Or the opposite, 12.5V with an extremely low resistance (as in a dead short) with an amp reading in the hundreds of amps (amp reading = current). Your short is causing enough of a high amp draw that it is blowing the fuse and presumably draining the battery. Voltage, Resistance and Current are the three basic components in electric circuits. E = I * R E = Voltage or Potential I = Current or Amperage and R = Resistance Your voltage is considered fixed at 12 (or in this case 12.5V). Your amperage, since you're blowing a 10A fuse is apparently higher than 10A, which points you to a resistance of 1 Ω or thereabouts. But NONE of this is helpful in determining what is causing your problem. So, go back to the light bulb in the cable clamp... does it cause the bulb to glow? If so, how brightly does it glow? That will tell you more of how much current (amp) you're running, plus give you a visual indication of the problem still existing until you can locate it ( by disconnecting the offending item). When you installed the stereo, did you have the Heater Control Panel off the car? If so, did you then have the Map Light disconnected? What about the clock and glove box light? It is possible that you may have connected one of those wires to the wrong item? It isn't hard, especially the clock and glove box. Remember the clock receives BOTH a power and a ground wire. The windshield washer wouldn't receive power unless the switch at the combination switch is continually depressed. Step lamps weren't installed on the early vehicles although the circuitry is there. The Step Lamps or Courtesy Lamps were due to be installed on the door panels, that's why you have the funny little rounded rectangle "cut-out" that isn't cut out on the panels. Did you recently unwrap the wiring for the step lights? It's at the extreme ends of the dash wiring harness, closest to where the wiring comes off for the actual room lamp door switches. They're usually wrapped in blue tape and have protective flexible sleeves on them. They're also both bullet receptacles so that you can't connect them to each other (which would short the circuit out). Other than this, check to see if you accidentally pinched a wire when re-installing components. Again, not hard to do. But that should give you something to start checking. FWIW Enrique

Stephen; I'm confused by your comment that in checking the "draw" you are reading 12.5 VOLTS at the fuse box. Yet to my understanding what you are measuring is 12.5 volts of potential at the fuse box and not the DRAW, which should be in AMPS. So, do the following. Get a 1156 bulb (single filament lamp) and insert it into the battery wire clamp of the negative cable. Insert it such that it won't slip out or through. Next, lay the bottom solder ball of the bulb onto the negative pole of the battery. If the bulb glows.... you have a current flowing; no glow, either no current or so small as to not be the cause of your discharge. (Although over time it CAN deplete it.) Now, with the bulb aglow, start disconnecting fuses. When the glow disappears, you have found the circuit that's causing the draw. That's where you begin. Now, if you haven't got a glowing bulb, insert the Dome Lamp fuse and see how bright the bulb then glows. Checking the value of the current draw (by connecting your multi-meter inline with the battery cables) is helpful only in knowing that you have a High or a Low current draw. FWIW E

From the picture on the eBay auction, I outlined the spot welds I could discern and guesstimated the location of the others. Those are what you would drill out with the tool Arne located for you. As far as buying the replacement metal, if your tray is already so far gone that it needs replaced, then probably the underlying fender metal may also be suspect, at which point that item makes perfect sense. If on the other hand your tray is just surface rusted, you'd be spending way too much money, IMO. E

My prior comment may be more misleading than helpful. If one of the wires going to the switches at the door, or at the dome lamp makes contact with the body metal, i.e. grounds itself, it will complete the circuit for the dome lamp. That will drain the battery within a short period of time. However, I doubt that it would blow the fuse. A 50 amp draw? That's a major draw... more like what I would expect a starter or the headlights (combined) to draw. Once again, I would check the radio installation as that seems to be the common item. E

The dome light wiring is always live.... ignition on or off. Sounds as though you have one of the wires at the door pillars or at the connections (at the extreme ends of the dash) making ground. Since you just installed the stereo, are you sure you didn't tap into the dash light circuitry with the radio's wiring? FWIW E

Is this the thread you're thinking of? http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=31320 E

Are you looking for original function or just a power antenna? Also, will this be with the more "modern" radios or with the original Mono 4 watt unit? E

2tone: Check the wiring at the distributor and ballast resistor. You've inverted one of the black/white wires. That's why you're not getting power on "Run", but yes on "Start". Not sure on the other, unless you also recently installed a radio and tapped into the positive side of the brake circuitry.... don't do that. FWIW E

Steve; Your viewpoint misses the point that without someone BUYING the VIN plates in the first place, then there is no "profit" in selling them. No need to punish, just don't reward. You espoused buying the plates to "prevent" their misuse... but that would just encourage the sale of the VIN plates in the first place. Instead of this kind of sale NOT happening, now it would become common. Unless you bought each and every VIN plate offered to the general market you would not prevent their falling into nefarious hands. Recently in California, some cars were crushed because they were found to have stolen car parts installed. The premise is that if the buyers of stolen parts have more to loose than to gain from that acquisition they'll not buy the parts. That is NOT what you are proposing. Whether or not you advise the seller of your intentions with the VIN plate is irrelevant, you will have promoted the sales of those types of items.... hence multiplying the possibility for misuse. Allowing thugs to intimidate while you keep quiet is exactly what they want. It is the notoriety and glare of the spotlight they shun. If you scream loudly enough, you'll atract attention and hopefully there will be someone to step in and assist. If you don't wish to scream, you can always move away. Yes, discretion is the better part of valor, but this isn't about a local "protection" or "damage insurance" scheme, it's about not allowing people to sell VIN plates AND firewall stampings for vehicles in which we have an interest in. All that would result in is that in the future each and every sale for one of our cars would have to have some form of "title search" to verify the VIN data. Your "solution" is to give in to the "inevitability" of the action. Didn't someone say that in order for "evil" to triumph all that is required is for good men to do nothing? FWIW E PS: For those that wonder what the "OMGWTFBBQ" stands for: From: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=omgwtfbbq

Ahhh, an "excellent" idea.... more suited to "Dumb and Dumber". Let's see, if we "reward" the seller by buying his plate, then tell him we're going to destroy the plate this will show him the error of his ways and encourage him to stop!!! He won't go looking for more data plates to sell because we would only BUY them all and destroy them.... thereby foiling his dastardly plan. We could apply this to burglars too!! Just buy the wares they've stolen and destroy them! They'll soon get the idea that if we're just going to destroy what they steal, then there's no real purpose in stealing it in the first place. The money is nice, but since their real intent is to take something from someone to give it to someone else to use..... yeah, riiiiggght!!! Hey... even prostitutes. All we would have to do is hire them for the night, each and every night and then they wouldn't be out on the streets!!! All sorts of illegal actions could be solved this way. Car thievery.... just pay the guy for the car and destroy the car, or go ahead and use it. You'll be "solving" that crime. Identity theft ... (which is the crime closest to these scenarios) just let the guy use it... after all all that needs to be done is to pay for what they charge up. So, Steve, where do you want the bills sent or do you want to pay up front? Sean, you can obfuscate it any way you want but the bottom line is simple, if someone had bid (or DOES bid) for the plate, are you stating flat out that you would NOT go through with the sale? Nothing you've said yet, points to that answer. It would appear that if you DO receive an offer to buy you just might go ahead and sell the data plates involved. So while you may say that you're just being an "agent provocateur", it seems you're "complaining a wee bit too much" for being as "innocent" as you claim. 2¢ E

Walter; Are you sure that was Alum a Seal (Solder Seal) and not Barrs Leak? Aluma is mostly solder and aluminum shavings (dust actually), while Barrs is tar based (they look like rabbit dung pellets). I've never smelled the Aluma but know what you mean about the Barrs leak, that stuff is putrid... period. FWIW E

I've used it on a some of my cars.... but I'm not a mechanic. So with that disclaimer... I used it to give me what it promotes it can do.... a fast fix to a leaky cooling system. Is it the proper fix? I've been told that it is a band-aid and that I should have the system completely checked and fixed properly. I've also been told that if there aren't any other problems that I should leave it be. The first instance and introduction to the stuff was when I had a pheasant jump up right in front of my 74 Mercury Capri and the car "inhaled" it through the plastic grille and the bird's beak punctured one of the vertical cooling fins. With the aid of the nearby farmer (this was in Iowa), he used his needle nose pliers, closed off the fin above and below the puncture and then inserted one tube of the "Solder-Seal" (which is what Aluma Seal was known as back then). He then gave me a second tube "just in case" and sent me off down the road. I never had any more problems with that car. Now granted, 6 months later I got divorced and she got that car but I never heard anything more about it (and I would have). It also functioned flawlessly during those 6 months that I know about. I've used it on cars that have had minor leaks in freeze plugs (Iowa and Michigan), without any problems. I keep a tube of it .... just in case. Is there a possibility that it can plug a passage in the engine or heater or .... absolutely. But I'll leave that to the grease guys to complain about. That's my experience with it. FWIW E

Wouldn't "C'est la même chose!" apply as well? (Same thing?) But duly noted and reported. E

Having seen the terms: "True Value" and "Market Value"; being used in this thread, I'm wondering if anyone has come up with a nice succinct way of expressing those nebulous meanings. The only adage I remember is from an Economics class back in High School: "The value of an item is that value that that item will receive at the time and place of it's sale." The examples given were Ice in the Arctic versus in the Sahara, along with a warm blanket in the cold versus the tropics. Everything surrounding value boils down to demand and supply. The supply of 240's is not only fixed (no more being produced) but shrinking (rust and parts-car cannibalization). Demand has been rising for some time causing an increase in prices. A #3 car in the West Coast will barely get glanced at, yet that same car on the East Coast will likely get bidders/buyers. Toss in any kind of "unique" feature or salient point and the perception of those "added" benefits can raise the prices extended for those cars. To some people if Mr. K signs your dash the car is automatically "worth" more... where to others the dash is now marred. The market lies between those two extremes. Add in a numeric goal.... one of the "first" 500... and you can now compare how much closer to the "0" car you are than someone else... and presumably it's worth more. Which, it is... simply because of a perceived added value to the "true value" of that car. Where to others, they're the "beta" versions... with all the known bugs being worked out. Some people would label the 73 as the "best" of all years of the 240, simply because of 3+ years of "improvements" over the base production mock ups (pre-69 if there were such). And all of these are "True Value" indicators .... to those who value in that manner. Since I'm not planning on selling, therefore my car is invaluable. I wonder if I could get an insurance company to insure it for me if I were willing to pay the premium on an "invaluable" car.... I bet I could. Might not be cheap, but that would allow me to set the price (ahem... value), and pay premiums based on that figure. So once again, could someone define "true value" and "market value" for me? 2¢ E

That you ask what the problem is, speaks volumes. I take it that a little irregularity in the serial number of a car, such as it being totally fake, would not bother you in the least? Just asking... E

Mike; In the realm of possibilities, it may be that the rollers you did NOT find were simply at the bottom of the doors. The metal clip and shaft holder is infamous for corroding very quickly and if not, cracking at the cut-out for the tab bend, then cracking off on the other side. (See the above pic posted by Ron/Kinfish.) When we had a boneyard that only catered to Z's (now defunct...sob!), Gary/Beandip and I scoured that place and found mostly cracked or missing rollers on the doors. This doesn't mean that the 280 did or did not have that roller, I'll leave it up to Stephen to answer that one. I'm just pointing out that they DO rust/break easily. FWIW E

Rick: I would presume that the 260 has at least ONE, and more than likely shares the 240's door construction and can accept two. Shouldn't have to remove glass, the outer SS trim definitely and possibly the door panel (to remove the "whisker" strip). Other than that, as Bonzi Lon mentioned. HTH E

Ron, can you post a picture of the area closest to the back of the window opening? That's where you'll see the second notch. E