Thanks Chris... now that's some "sage" advice! At the same time Im gonna pull the DS mirror (remote job) and free it up. Once again, a lot of problems stem from sitting so long. Most are minor inconveniences, but they are adding up. Generally speaking, whats your schedule (work etc) like? I may need to make a trip to Lemont and would sure like to stop by for the swap. Im very flexible on my end... Are you still OK if I pull the hinges off the doors? Id like to have them rebuilt so a simple swap will have me straight again. As I mentioned, one window got busted the other day (clear glass, not tinted) to get at the door handles. Gotta wait a few days (maybe after kwanza) to get there with the weather front rolling in and all. Please advise; we really need to stop at White Castles for a sack-o-fun at Harlem and Ogden, or Kenosha on the way home. Got the snowblower all set and she did good today. Best $600 I ever spent! Bill Kala Christuyana!
Bill I work from 9 to 6 every day, but I work 3 minutes from the harlem ogden white castle so I can meet u no problem ,I can bring ur parts to my house and we can swap stuff out , get me a list of all the stuff you need so I can get it here for you! ---------- Post added at 10:46 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:43 PM ---------- Door hinges I do not need!
It would probably be just as easy to meet at your shop and swap there. What I really need is anything A/C related from the fire wall forward for the 1972 and that stooped cross over A/C duct under the column. Ive got the 2 doors, LF fender, NICE trunk lid, 6 pc butterscotch door panel set, F&R side lights and a bunch of small stuff. I promise not to take too much time. Ill letcha know, but itll be after Xmas and before Jan 25 (knee surgery day!) Bill in TR BTW to Premier 350... Nice avatar (actually the full sized pic) I can post pics for you or walk you through my method... really easy!!! Bill My two other carbon footprint devices!
That's a 1926 Model T Ford speedster.. Turns an honest 56 second 1/4 mile at 42 MPH! Not bad for 20 hp... The boats' a 1963 Chris Craft Roamer in aluminum, hull #6. My dad bought the boat in '72 and died in '80, when I inherited it. Could say Ive had it for 41 years! Repowered it from 283 Chevies to a pair of 454s in 1990. The cars just another one of many Ive done over the years. Ive probably owned 10 Model Ts and another 10 or so Buck GS's. One boat and 3 wives. Famous quote from wife #2: "Whats that boat got that I haven't got?" ... ENVY ws The other boat is a 65 foot Hatteras that was hurricane damaged from Katrina. I bought it in New Orleans, got it running and drove it 2000 miles to Chicago. Recently sold it to a friend. Still no P51 but has a pair of 12-71 Detroit Diesels! he avatar reference was to the red 69 !
I need to send UTICA GEOFF one GIGANTIC Thank You for taking the time to scan and send 20 some odd pages of door repair stuff from the service manual. Its guys like him that give the hobby a good name. THANKS PAL! Now if that lighter guy would respond we'd all be happy campers! Bill in TR ---------- Post added at 10:28 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:27 AM ----------
Anything for you Bill. It's nice when I can help someone since I've received so much help from others on the board. UticaGeoff
KEE-RIPES !! Sure am glad I had a tetanus shot last week! Just about 6 hours to this point. The worst part was with 100 screws, no two were alike. The absolute worst was the screw that holds the heater door cable (red one) open with the master vacuum switch... the PO had a sheet metal screw in there. The fixture is not threaded so I did a screw and nut with some locktite. Had to have the wife show up to hold a 5/16 wrench while I did the screw from underneath with a mirror and a drop lite that's been trained to point right in the eyes. I struggled for two hours before I called her on it... But as they say; its 11:11 somewhere ! Dash pad tomorrow while the snow flies and the snowblower stays warm! Bill in TR Two lousy pics and the camera battery craps out... left the camera out in the shop last nite and she got cold.
.. just giving this thread a walk through for the first time and the ammeter raised a flag - In order for one to work properly, it would have to be wired first from the main Positive feed off the alt/batt circuit routing it up through the cowl into the dash, across the gauge, and then back out again which is a very bad idea if done improperly. In fact, many a car has burned when the Pos lead(s) direct short on the firewall passthrough. I'd be giving that whole shabang a serious looksee .. Oh, tell either of your flyboy pals that if they're ever in the NY area that I WANNA RIDE !!!! (esp. the F104 :shock
That's the whole deal... The ammeter itself would need to handle maybe 70 amps across itself (in series) or be run parallel off a shunt of a known resistance. I never trusted internally shunted meters let alone one made in a Chinese prison camp. Hmmm... A volt meter on the other hand will tell you the system condition just by the voltage output (my opinion!). Unless you really know how to read an ammeter its telling you nothing. Dodges used to put a voltmeter in their cars with an ammeter face (!) because dodge people cant read a voltmeter much less an ammeter. It showed movement so all is good in Dodgeville. I swapped the ammeter for a vacuum gage anyhow. A periodic test with a voltmeter is good for me. ws The F104t guy gives rides, but you need your own G suit and they aint cheap. I think he told me a trip was $1K per hour... I stick to 15 mpgs! Thanks Chris... I am waiting for the guy that OWES me one for a trade... one more week and Ill post his ID. The cable and brackets were worth maybe $20 as is plus shipping for a $5 lighter. I shipped the next day and now this guy aint home.
.. I would get rid of the wires To/From the old Ammeter - you don't want unknown, unfused main power leads running through the firewall is what I was getting at. The VoltMeter can be run off the lead for the aftermarket gauge lights 1K per hour for a F-104 ride I would totally do .. sourcing a G-suit for the ride would be problematic
looking good. did you have to touch up any of the orange gage needles? If so what did you use? Need to touch up a fuel gage needle on my 64
As is the usual practice, gage companies give you an oil pressure, water temp, and the ubiquitous ammeter which no one ever hooks up. For a volt meter, a stab on anything hot plus a ground will give you immediate accurate (usually) results. In my own opinion, if the alt. is putting out 14 volts its got amps backing it up. An ammeter shows supply, minus the demand. You constantly need to do the math which still wont tell you much. I too wouldnt run wires through the firewall with out good grommetage (!) and a fuse. Ultimately, I may get a four pack set with a voltmeter, but being old school I like the vacuum gage too. Engine vacuum has multiple diagnostic uses... intake leaks, valve condition, and initial start timing (valve and crank position vs. timing marks) Fortunately, the later gages (OEM dash gages) have pretty good gasketing and the faces stay clean. If the needles are bleached (mine weren't) get some fluorescent spray paint and an artist brush. Spray a shot in the cap and dab the brush in it. Some guys like to paint the needles white as a primer but I don't usually find that necessary. Polish those lenses inside and out while its apart... that's the hardest part, well, that and re-assembly... my paws are really sore after yesterday. ws Gage with no lense is still pretty crisp looking; after re-install still looks good kg ---------- Post added at 11:36 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:21 AM ---------- Those G suits need to be custom made/tailored as well. The 104 guys' a real character. For real kicks he's got a '71 or 72 cutlass with several 502s on stands for and each one has maybe 20-30K invested. Car runs low 9's, that's on the street BTW. The guys vehicle of choice? a 1977 International truck with a utility box on the back, and his cell phone does two things, sends and receives phone calls... what a concept. Its one of the original Motorola shoe box phones that was a small fortune in '75... I mess with him about it and he showed me the LED face with 88,000 calls, Never a dropped one he says. His flight team was at an AFB in Alaska for a show and no one could get a signal with the flip phones with all the garbage on them. They all got a good chuckle out of Tony's phone until he passed it around for guys to make calls from... then it wasn't so funny... "Dragon Day" (the movie) is coming soon! WATCH IT!!! ws
Happy Festivus everyone! While the wife was cooking lasagna all day for four, she let me get out to the shop (and outa her hair) so I could continue on. Got most of the stuff at the 90-95% stage.. a few loose ends to finish up then its fun time. As of right now the wipers work at one speed with a cruddy connection at the motor. The red dash lights are just a tad dark (that'll lighten up as the red falls off, and theres 2 white bulbs on the bottom of the gas gage. Tuff ta-ta's. I even change out the burned out ash tray light; so there! The dash pad went on, and off, and on about 3 times to get it right. Next time I wont be as nearly as intimidated taking it apart. TINKERING TIP !!! Put about a Q-tips film of grease on the dash pad snap pins and spring clips for a smooth install. Finished up with a 5 star rating. Lasagna was pretty darn good too... Bill in TR Geoff... don't ever think those PDFs ever go to waste!
Lighters been promised to be sent. I really need a smoke in the GS... even have the red ash light tray working. Playing make believe with 12 inches of snow can best be done in the shop. Still have stoopid issues like having to wiggle corroded head light plugs etc and clean them up and ad a dollop of dielectric grease to each one which seams to help. I think I need a high speed blower relay. Still have only low and high on the switch. Middle or MAX aint there. Same for the wipers thing. I really need to find an old Buick mechanic from the 70's that dug working on GS's. Think of the stories he could tell... Now I gotta sit and wait for Santa to get here with a 3:42 posi carrier out of an Olds. Kinda weird how much you remember, but worser, how much you forget. Ive also got a mirror map lite that's wired to the ignition... mine were always hot. Bill in TR
Bill: Just let me know if you want me to ship you a lighter. If the headlight plugs are a little loose, try cutting off the spade end of a male solderless connector and slipping it in the plug before plugging in the headlight - that's what I had to do on one of mine. On my 71, the maplight is wired to the ignition as well. UticaGeoff
Geez... I just called this place a bad name; there wasn't a reply box. Dummy me, shut the bozoputer off for a cleaning and had to re-log in. Merry Christmas to everyone and especially Geoff in Utica... You've really been a great help already, and Im gonna give Marx the benefit with seasonal delays etc. before I call in yet another favour from you Hahahaha! I cant really rag about the snow, as a lot of you New Yawkas get it from the lakes as well, but as I sit here recouping from this mornings removal round of another 6" (just to keep up with it), I am looking out over Lake Michigan with nasty looking black clouds. We call Two Rivers "Americas Coolest City" as we are on a large peninsula out into the lake. We get snow slapped in the face then a slap on the back of the head when its on the way out as well. Right now Im too pooped to pop. Its just about time for the city to come by and do the streets and make a 3 foot mound at the end of the driveway. We should be in Florida right now, but in August down there we'd be begging for here again. Anyway, Im in no rush to get the GS back outside. No snow/salt driving on this guy! That's what all the electrical connects remind me of is salty air. They are all really dry and kinda gray looking. Everyone I clean (!) I also ad a dab of dielectric grease to. The headlights all work but at random ya gotta wiggle the plugs. Even the dimmer switch is sticky feeling from non-use. Same deal on the stooped wiper motor (I hope!) The PDFs you sent on that can really get confusing unless you keep it in perspective... The motors' hot all the time, and the switch grounds it in various configs to park it and change speeds. Anyways, see ya'll in a while; the hot coffee is calling me, then we move furniture as Pats' having her knees scoped in the morning before her insurance expires on 1/1/14. Next time please vote for the correct candidate LOL... Fergot! On my other 70s and 71s that map light was alwys hot. I was ready to tear into that one next, then checked with the key on... BINGO!!! Bill in TR
So obbumercare is already taking its' toll! Pat was scheduled for double knee scopes yesterday, and the good doctor was 1-1/2 hours behind. He had 12 scopes scheduled for yesterday as everyone is trying to beat the Jan.1st deadline. As she cant do stairs, we both slept on the two couches last night with several pain episodes around 2 and 4 a.m. Its just the way it is. Plan on getting in some shop time today or tomorrow to finish up the "mad dash" job. A few more days and the main streets will be clear and dry (!) from salty slush. Really don't need any additional corrosion issues, ya know? I do however really wanna hear that Q-Jet open up in low gear! Oh well... still plenty to keep me busy for a while! Gonna go make Pat some grub; maybe itll stay down today. Yesterday was ruff on the tummy! Bill in TR
