72 GS Stage1 Numbers Matching Convertible Resto

Ouch, $79 for tje door sticker!

 

Don’t worry helps coming in January! I paid $120 for the two GN door decals.

 

There is a board member here that can make you that decal for your door. I forget who it is. With your vin and the correct date code.

 

I wonder if @BUQUICK is still replicating these.

 

Painting is now complete.

 

Great job Dennis. Glad to see it done, although a little jealous. Happy Thanksgiving.

 

A6 disassembled, cleaned and painted. Still waiting for my o-ring lube and mineral oil to reassemble.

 

Thanks Donny, same to you.

 

Yes, its the a/c compressor. I put a/c new lines on order today from TPP. HVAC module reseal kit is also on the way.

 

I was shocked when I switched on the ac and the compressor engaged and ran quietly. Must have still been some pressure in the system.

 

Not anymore!

 

At an odd point with the restoration. I have multiple projects disassembled, but at a stopping point waiting for parts. A/C compressor waiting on o-ring lube. Steering column waiting on upper & lower bearings. HVAC case waiting on seal kit. Cluster waiting on new lenses. Every bench in the shop is occupied with a 'project'.

I did get new dash & firewall pads installed. That is a thankless job working upside down on your back. But they were included in the Legendary kit and the ones on the car were in pretty tough shape, especially the under dash pad.

Also, a small victory in getting the original clock working again. First challenge was getting the metal back cover off. The studs just spun in the case when trying to remove the nuts. I had to cut access holes in the metal back cover so I could reach in with pliers to hold the studs. Once apart I found the source of the issue was twofold. One of the contact pads for the electromagnet was missing. This caused the opposite side contact pad to foul and lose electrical contact when it closed. I contemplated trying to solder in a new contact pad, but the pad is very tiny. I disassembled an old 12v relay I had laying around hoping to steal a contact pad. But it was at least twice too big in size. I cleaned up the contact pad that was still on the clock and also cleaned the surface on the arm where the other pad used to be. And what do you know, it conducts adequately to work. Not sure how long it will last.

The other problem was just basic lubrication of the clock gear set. A few drops of strategically placed 3in1 oil and viola' the clock works again.

What I found interesting was how the clock functions. I was expecting a DC motor driven clock mechanism. Nope, no motor. The way the clocks works is as follows. There is a main drive gear that is loaded with a spring that drives its rotation through about 90deg. Thru this spring-driven rotation the rest of the clock mechanism gets it perpetual motion. As the main drive gear reaches near the end of its 90deg spring-driven rotation, which takes about 20sec, it causes the contacts of the electromagnet to close. This energizes the magnet which in turn 'fires' the spring-driven main gear back around to its 90deg starting position. And then the process repeats - every 20sec or so.

Pic below of the electromagnet contact, with one of the pads missing. Note the pad is on the right contact, but is missing from the left contact. I do wonder where it went. It was not in the case.

 

Heater and a/c boxes restored and installed. I originally debated whether to replace the heater core. Got the box apart and realized it was a very good thing I did go ahead and order the new core. Ran out of time and didn't get the new a/c lines installed. I did get the steering column rebuilt.

As mentioned in an earlier post, I did purchase the Skylark heater box (with a/c) reseal kit from TPP. Luckily it wasn't very expensive. Not a helpful kit. The rope seal included in the kit, which frankly what you need the most of, is just a roll of foam. It is basically foam backer rod. How in the world you are supposed to use that in place of the original soft butyl sealer is a mystery to me. I ended up picking up some of my own. The only seal I ended up using in the kit was the seal for the heater core plate.

 

Got the gauges, booster, master cylinder and wiper system back in the car. Before moving on to the interior decided to tackle the top. Will be a first for me. Read a lot of horror stories. What's the worst that could happen, maybe destroy the top and end of having someone else do it? Don't know for certain until you give it a go. So here we go....

 

You’re a brave soul Dennis. I thought the deck glass was broken? I seem to remember vacuuming out shattered safety glass from the trunk. Could be getting my cars confused. Anyway, good luck with the top. Car looks great so far.

 

Your memory is correct. The back window and curtain was completely missing from the car. I did have another top from a prior build that I was able to use as a template.