Hiatus?

The eviction and repair problem with our East Texas house has intensified, and it's about put a halt to my car project. I got the bid for the painting, repair and cleanup, and it was ridiculous, so it looks like I'll be doing much of the work myself.  That means two and a half hours travel each way, so like the last time I'll probably be camping in an empty house several nights and working all day. To give you an idea of the crazy painting bid, they want more to paint the interior walls in five rooms than it cost to paint the entire house, inside and out, when we built it!

I'm going to look for more bids, but apparently everyone is so busy with new construction that they don't want re-paint jobs, and that means I might be doing the job alone. No matter which way I go, it's going to eat up most of my time for the next few weeks.

The only car work I've accomplished the past week has been fabricating console sheet metal and experimenting with different ideas for the front turn signal lights. I'd like to have amber lenses, but trying to simulate the OEM size and style is proving to be difficult. The existing housings on both cars are too far gone to salvage, and since my car will not be original, I'll leave the few good parts out there for the folks working on an original restoration.

I will be ordering carpet material so I can try different ways to cover the sides of the console. I've decided on black, as that was used with several different interior colors, including the Fury, but the material will be plush cut-pile instead of loop.

The Sounds Of Silence

Somehow these two old guys and their old song seem to fit my mood perfectly.

No Progress

Despite the beautiful weather the past few days, I've been unable to spend much time on the car. Mostly I've been working on evicting the couple that was going to buy our old house, and getting that house ready to re-list. At least they have moved out and repairs are scheduled to begin next week. Owner financing it not on the list this time!

I'm about to give up on installing the final piece of stainless on the rear window. An hour trying again this afternoon was wasted. I've tried every trick I can think of to make it fit, but I think I will have to call the guy who installed the glass to come back and see if he can adjust the glass and seal so the trim will slip into the slot in the seal as designed.  At least he has a selection of special tools and a second set of hands that might help my ineffective effort.

Meanwhile I've also spent more time on the final design for the console. If I didn't keep changing my mind about the features I want, I might have it built already!

About the only accomplishment I can brag about is getting the shop swept out and things put away so I can find them the next time.

Console and Shifter

The console finally has a skeleton to build on. The shifter rod is complete and mounted to the transmission bracket so I could determine the final dimensions for the console mounting. After concern that the shift mechanism might not fit clear everything, I was pleasantly surprised to find a perfect fit. I am going to re-make the top plate to incorporate a couple of features, but that’s not a big deal.

The shifter frame required the mounting bracket to be modified. Once again I left it stock, but welded a couple of spacers on the mounting tabs to hold it in the proper position. They can be ground off if the shifter is ever used on a body it was intended for.

 Here is the lengthened shaft and the parts it required.

 I debated welding the extension on the old shaft, but it was substantially harder steel than the grade 8 bolt I used for material and it might have been difficult to get a good weld. It also saved the shaft if it’s ever removed and placed in a stock body. The collar should be fine for light usage and it fits exactly right to function as a retaining spacer instead of drilling the shafts to use washers and cotter pins to hold it in the different body than was intended.

What's a Flipper?

A reader reminded me that I need to describe what I refer to as a "flipper".

If I took the time to look up the real nomenclature it might help, but I don't have the parts manual, and I'm  too lazy to look it up if I did have one! The part is the hinged stainless trim piece that goes above the door on the hardtop models. It flips open when the door is opened with the window up, and flips closed when the door is closed. There is fuzzy weather stripping on both sides of the trim that grips the window to help prevent rattles and wind noise.

The springs hold the hinge in both the open and closed positions as needed. I found three different versions on my two cars, so there may be even more. Two styles used two springs each, one had three springs, and one style had longer spring legs on one hinge only. I think I managed to figure out which way to install them, as they do work okay.

The flipper in the photo has had weather stripping installed on one side only, but gives a better view of the springs than with both sides installed.

Flipper Springs

When the thermometer drops to 8*F and the wind blows, it’s time to retreat to a small corner of the shop and turn on both space heaters.

Since I now have the stainless steel spring wire, I worked on a winding tool and made a few springs for the window flippers. The acceptance rate was very low as I had to modify the tool several times and learn the best bending technique, but I now have enough to replace mine, plus a few to spare.  

It’s difficult to duplicate the results every time, and since my old springs are rusty and have been stressed for decades,  there is no way to know the exact angle to bend them, but  I think they are close enough to the originals to function properly. The darker springs are the ones I removed.

You’ll notice, there are two spring configurations. The size is the same, but they are wound differently and to be honest, I didn’t notice that before I removed the old springs so I’m not sure which way they are supposed to be installed. If anyone has an original with the springs still in place, I’d appreciate the info. I’m only guessing, but there are probably left and right side versions, so I’ll try them different combinations to see what works best.

Weather Sucks...SRT-8 Dodge Mirada Doesn't

Low twenties, sleet, light snow, 30mph northerly winds...too nasty to stay for long in the workshop.

I did work out there long enough to try making a couple of sample springs for the window "flippers". I'll have to make a small modification to my homemade bending tool, but I got one bent very close to the original. It's much stronger than the old rusty ones and really makes them snap closed. Practice makes perfect...at least I tell myself that. I should have plenty of spring wire to make all I need plus a few more.

The collar to extend the shifter shaft also arrived, so that will be a project for next week when its supposed to be in the mid-seventies.

Yesterday I got to see a beautiful, just completed, custom Mopar. It began life as an '81 Mirada with a slant six, but after years of work is now mildly modified Mirada sheet metal covering a 2007 Charger SRT drivetrain, suspension and interior. It is a work of art, and he documented the entire build on Facebook: SRT-8 Dodge Mirada

The builder lives in the same tiny Texas town as I do, so I got to see it when he was preparing it to be shipped to the owner in Bellingham, WA.

I'm sure it will be in the Mopar magazines before long, but meanwhile here's the video of the build. It goes by to fast, but most of it is covered in Facebook photos and text. It sure puts my pathetic rebuild to shame!

ABBA, and a New Year Begins

Swedish enthusiasts do such a marvelous job of saving and restoring our Forward Look cars, that it seems appropriate to welcome the new year with one of my favorite singing groups of all time.

 Meanwhile, I’ve been working on locating the shifter. I wasn’t lucky enough for the shaft that links the shifter to the transmission to be the same length as the B-body it was removed from, or for the rubber floor seal to fit at the same angle. Once again I have to fabricate an adapter so I can attach the seal to the transmission hump. The shaft also needs to be longer, so I ordered a collar to add a 1-1/2” extension. Once I finish the adapter, that job goes on the back burner until the collar arrives.

At least I have dozens of small jobs to fill in the waiting time.  For the time being I’m installing the new cat whiskers on the various side glass trim pieces.

Also, there are a few things to be done before installing the dash and they will keep me busy for a day or two. Then when the dash is in, I can begin work on the steering column.  The cut point to splice the truck column to the ’56 box has to be determined and the parts taken to the machine shop for the shafts to be milled for the “Double-D” and splined splice collars. I hope the local shop can do the splining, but I might have to send the parts out for that operation. An option would be to have a double-d cut on both shafts and then remove the keying spline on the steering wheel and align the steering from that point.

Still thinking about a way to get the trim installed around the back glass without hiring a helper, and the deep-thinking stage is where I’ll leave it for the time being. I had hoped to get the trunk lid installed, but it’s so much easier to reach the rear glass when you can stand in the trunk, so that job also waits.

Disorganized for sure, but no shortage of things to do!