Here comes Summer!
Winter was reluctant to give up, but the next two weeks forecast is for temps to be in the 60s and 70s with the chance of a couple days in the 80s with not much chance of precipitation.
I've done almost nothing on the car for a couple of months, but I did receive the gold vinyl-wrap material I ordered, so I cut a practice piece to see if I could install it correctly and if the color is something I might consider in place of the Mylar. My success with the wrap had mixed results, but I learned quite a bit about working with the material, so I trust that I can improve a lot if I do everything like the YouTube experts say to do.
Here are pictures of the results to compares to the Mylar. Comments welcome!
In the photos, the Mylar looks closer to the original color, but the vinyl doesn't have as much "greenish" shine as the picture shows and of course the texture is incorrect or missing on both products. Big problem is the wide Mylar pieces are not quite big enough to use the stainless trim without modifying the stock pieces to fit. I hate to do that with rare Fury parts.
One side of me says that nothing about the car is anywhere near a stock Fury anyway so neither would please the purist. The other side of me says to make up my mind and do it the fastest way possible and finish the damn car!
One other thing about the stainless trim installation problem is that I had to give up on finding the preferred 3M PT1500 trim-tape. I finally talked to a 3M regional sales rep and they have no way to determine who might have a stock of the tape. He offered a suggestion of how to use the common 1/4 inch tape that they stock in the paint store, so I'm going to try some samples his way to see if it will do the job.
Medical status...still not back to normal and I'm temporarily carrying a plastic tube in my belly to drain fluid buildup around the skin graft surgery site. Maybe it will be removed next week so I can take advantage of the great weather!
Wish I had some progress to brag about, but not much is
happening. I’ve tried to get a few problems resolved, but the arrival of winter
has just slowed me down even more. Too many household jobs for me to dedicate much
time to car hobbies, and I don’t have enough strength to do everything.
I did identify a wiring problem that was created by too many functions routed through the ignition switch, but I’m
going to wait until it’s time to fire the engine before I do any rewiring. The
ignition circuit looks right, so the car should run the way it is wired. It
appears that only the accessory switch position has a problem. If I had a
diagram of the internal workings of the switch, it would be a lot easier to
verify.
Installing the side trim is also problematical. as I need a certain
type of 3M tape to attach the stainless. It is a standard product listed in
their catalog, but I can’t find it available anywhere on the Internet. The 3M
customer support will not talk to me because I’m not a business and they won’t
deal with individual customers. Now that the holidays are over, a body shop
friend of my son says he will try to contact them, but promises are cheap and easily
forgotten.
Speaking of the side trim, I’m having second thoughts about using
the embossed Mylar fabric. It just doesn’t look right enough, so I’m back to looking
for a better material. At least that problem is not stopping me from finishing
the mechanical tasks. First problem is filling and bleeding the brakes without
a partner. No helpers around when they are really needed. The remaining
mechanical work depends on the weather
and my health, neither of which is predictable.
Only major car news for me is that I traded my ten-year-old
Chrysler van for a new one. It’s a leftover ’23 that was discounted so much
that I couldn’t pass it up. After all these years, I realize that I just bought
my last car...one unloved Chevy and fifty-some Mopars!.
