Waiting for the Weather

 No matter how much I would love to be working on the car, I can't compete with the heat. My little ductless A/C does a great job if the temperature stays below 95 F, but we've had about 50 days of 100 F to 109 F this summer and only a trace of rain in over two months. I can sometimes work an hour or two in the morning, but progress is minimal as I wilt fast.

I did get the shift linkage adjusted yesterday, so the starter now operates in Neutral instead of between gears. However, it still doesn't work in Park, so according to the service manual, it looks like I'll have to pull the neutral start switch and make an adjustment inside the transmission. 

I also got the ashtray repainted, the glove box door adjusted, and cut some rubber bumpers for the door. Every little bit helps make the dash look more finished.

I still have a problem with wiring that has me puzzled. With the ignition switch in the accessory position, there is no power to the accessories. They work fine in the "On" position, so it doesn't have to be resolved before engine start, but it will need to be fixed before I permanently install the dash and steering wheel.

I also must have a small drain on the battery with no activity. After sitting for two days, the battery voltage dropped to 11.5 VDC, so it appears I will have to find and fix that little problem. One more thing that will wait for cooler weather.

I continue to search for textured sheet aluminum to make new gold inserts for the side trim. I found a source in the UK that looks quite similar, but I've tried contacting them to get a sample and to see if they have a North American distributor for their products, but after a week, still no response to my e-mail.

Here's what it looks like on a cafe room divider, but it's hard to tell the size and spacing of the texture, but the color of their anodizing is very close.

This close up look at the original pattern is on the gas fill door. You can see how badly corroded the old parts are!

Starters and Trim

 After my post about the starter problems, I was totally disgusted, so I put that problem on the back burner and began repairing, cleaning and polishing the side trim stainless pieces. That job ate up several heat-shortened days, but I finally got back to the starter issue.

When I first began laying out the new electrical circuits, I consulted several manuals and picked the brains of numerous online automotive electrical websites. Most information for wire gauge and fuse sizes were pretty simple, but I should have further researched start circuit requirements, because I discovered too late that expert opinions varied greatly.

One source I consulted said that a typical old design starter for cars drew from 75 to 100 amps, but that the new high torque starters drew 20 to 40 amps. The wire they suggested for a trunk mounted battery was 2-gauge with a 50-amp circuit breaker mounted near the battery. 

Shame on me for not comparing that opinion with a few others when I started. Since then, I found other sites that claim that old style starters could draw as much as 150 to 200 amps, and modern starters from 40 to 75 amps and a 150-200 amp circuit breaker installed close to the battery. They also recommended that I use a 0-gauge cable, and then run the same size ground wire from the battery all the way to the engine block.

So, I'm now thoroughly embarrassed and confused, but decided that for now I will keep the main feed at 2-gauge with the battery ground cable bolted to the frame below the battery. I also replaced the 50-amp circuit breaker with a 150-amp. I might regret not doing more now, but I first want to get the car running to see what else will need modification or upgrade.

Then, to add to the starter problems, the starter wouldn't spin by turning the key to the start position, but it does spin normally when I jumped the start terminal to the main feed. I checked the start terminal, and it receives 12 volts from the ignition switch, but the starter relay does not switch to feed the cable voltage to the starter I ordered a new starter relay today. The one on the car was a new Wells part, the same number as the one I ordered today. I would have rather bought their Standard part, but they were out of stock.

Since the old/new starter appeared to be drawing a heavy load, I decided to replace the starter too. That is rather frustrating since it was a new-build aftermarket part, but now it's well beyond the warranty terms despite the car having never been started. At least I can return it for the $40 core charge. The one I picked up at O'Reilly's. is remanufactured, but it spins like it should.

I can't resolve the starter problem until I receive the new relay, but the starter now spins when jumping the terminals on the relay, so I can now pump some oil around inside the engine.

The stainless trim restoration went pretty well. All the longer pieces are clean, straight and sanded with 1500 grit paper. They will still need polishing and buffing, but I'll wait for cooler weather so I can move that outside where I have more room.  

The small pieces that join the bigger parts will need some repairs that I can't do myself. Six of the pieces will need new studs welded in and some expert skill to straighten and polish. I'm taking the parts in to a local restoration shop this morning.

I'm still looking for sheet aluminum with a texture similar to the stock '56 Fury pattern. The Mylar ones I got from James Rawa look nice, but the pattern does not match the OEM aluminum parts. The only aluminum I've found in North America doesn't look quite right and it is clear anodized, so if I wanted it with a gold finish, the existing anodizing would have to be removed and the parts re-anodized.in gold. No local plater was willing to take on that job.

Yesterday I did locate a company in Great Britain that makes aluminum sheets that are similar to the '56 pattern and they also sell it with a mill finish without anodizing. I hope they have a US outlet for their products as I'm sure it would be horrendously expensive to ship a large sheet to Texas so I can cut out the parts and then ship them to wherever they can gold anodize them.

I can now sympathize with you Forward Look restorers around the world who are faced with similar shipping problems with your American classic cars!