Courtesy Lights

I'm making some small progress with wiring. The 18 gauge pink wire, LED courtesy light bulbs, sockets and new door jamb switches have all arrived.  The courtesy light wiring is installed, but I learned that the Dorman universal door jamb switches are not quite universal when it comes to Mopars, but that's no surprise. A search for switches with a better fit turned up nothing, and a dozen different supplier part numbers that are supposed to replace the Mopar number show the Dorman part. I can modify the ones I got, but I can't locate the 90 degree terminals needed to provide clearance for the shaft to move inside the jamb. I'm trying to de-rust and salvage the old terminals, but they are in bad shape and may crack when I try to re-crimp them on the non-conductive post, and I'm sure they are far too rusty to make a decent solder joint.

I also had to devise a non-stock method to mount the courtesy light sockets in the housing, as the OEM method is unique and there are no similar replacements available. Since the LED bulbs will be much cooler than the stock bulbs and should not damage a good epoxy, I used J-B Weld and a
homemade bracket to secure the socket.

Finding decently priced replacement lenses is another challenge. Apparently no one makes reproductions, and NOS parts are priced from $35-$45 apiece. Nearly every used lens I can find is cracked, and all of them have been scorched where the bulb comes close to the plastic. LED bulbs should not generate enough heat to be a problem, but I'm not even positive the slightly larger and different profile LED will clear the lens and I might have to use incandescent.

I'm watching lots of youtube videos and educating myself on the newest fiber-glassing methods before I order any materials for the headliner shell. It's been over 40 years since I did much work with fiberglass, and I've already discovered lots of new products that should make the job easier. The buck is painted and ready to use as soon as I get the appropriate glassing materials.

Another garage project is underway to make organizing parts and pieces easier. The temporary bench setup I had was much too small and was too low for my bad back. I had been wondering what to do with a homemade twin bed platform I kept from our other house, so I decided to re-purpose it for a low work bench. I also had a 24" X 72" heavy piece of glass that fit almost perfectly for a work surface. Three new parts bins will hold more nuts, bolts, washer and electrical parts stock, as well as more drawers for small car parts that tend to get lost. I didn't even take time to paint it, but so  far, it looks like a big improvement over what I had. The bins are US made and much higher quality than the Chinese crap I had before.

One other non-car job that got finished was hooking up the 20kw generator that has been serving as nothing more than a lawn ornament for the past three years. The price about put me into cardiac arrest, but it's an improvement over the way it was installed at the other house. It now has dual, smart transfer switches so it will sense the total demands and power the entire house. not just selected circuits. Lots of junk hanging on the house, so it looks like I'll have to plant some shrubs to hide it.