Window Problem Update

 

Since I'm working on window operation problems inside the quarter panel, I don't have any pictures, but I did get the modified outer guide bracket reworked and installed and it looks like it will be a better fit than before, as it gives about 1/8" more clearance to make adjustments. 

I had to make a glue repair to a piece of polycarbonate and it will have to dry overnight before I can install the last screw, so it was a short work day. 

With the Christmas rush coming, I doubt I will get much done until after the 25th.

Quarter Windows Day Two

 I didn't have enough time to pull the quarter window today, but I did make a cardboard template of a front glass so I could visually see how much more rotation it will take to seal the quarter window to the door glass. 

As you can see the glass edges on the passenger side are in perfect alignment with about an eighth of an inch  gap that is even from top to bottom.

The driver's side is obviously misaligned by over 5/8th inch at the top, but the rear window hits something that stops it at that point. I can't see much, but I think I could feel where it bumped against one of the guide brackets. At least I now have an idea where the problem lies. It might require modifying the angle of the existing bracket, or making a new one.

Driver's side

Passenger's side

Back at it

 Feeing much more energetic today and I actually found a few hours to work on the car. You guessed it...I immediately encountered another glitch.

I have yet to receive the simpler-configuration door latches, so was concentrating on getting the quarter windows installed and adjusted close to the final settings so I will be ready to install the door windows when the latches arrive and their function is proved out.

The passenger side was simple and it took only a few minutes to adjust them within 1/8" of what should be the final front window contact points. 

Naturally, everything went to hell with the driver's side. For some reason, the window needs to rotate around the pivot pin approximately another 5/8", and move forward 1/4", but everything hits a dead stop before it rotates  that much, and for the life of me, I can't find a way to accomplish that much adjustment for either problem! 

There must be an adjustment I have yet to discover, or maybe it's a case of post-Covid-19 brain fade! Sure wish the service manual contained a better description of the adjustment process. I'll pull the window again tomorrow and see if I can find something bent in the track or pivot point that might cause it to bind.

At least the beautiful weather is supposed to last for one more day. It's 77F and clear with light westerly winds today! Weekend will be cool, wet and windy with a slight chance of snow near the Red River. Bah, humbug!

The latch company sent the four clips that attach the cables to the latch, so at least they haven't forgotten about my order yet! Now if the latches will arrive soon after new years day, as promised....

“You unlock this door with the key of imagination. Beyond it is another dimension: a dimension of sound, a dimension of sight, a dimension of mind, a dimension without time…!”

 If my experience is anywhere near typical, a couple of weeks in the embrace of Covid-19 closely compares to a Rod Serling excursion into the Twilight Zone!

In most ways, the symptoms were mostly like the typical seasonal flu, but in addition to the list of normal flu symptoms, I had the displeasure of experiencing crazy visual effects that several times took control of my concentration. They probably appeared and disappeared as my mostly mild fever changed, but that's only a guess.

Though I felt lousy, I continued to do housework and pamper my wife while she suffered through several days with a nasty headache.

We never experienced a shortness of breath, or other extreme respiratory problems, so I guess we were lucky in that way, but we had prepared for those issues weeks earlier, and I think it helped.

It was indeed one of those experiences you will never forget, nor will you wish a return visit!

Now, if my strength returns a little bit more, I have a ton of things to do on the car!

WuHan How I Hate You!

 

Usually, when I feel guilty about the slow progress on my car, I struggle to find reasonable excuses for dragging my feet, but this time I actually have a legitimate reason and I can assure you, it hasn’t been fun!

I’m beginning my second week of quarantine with the nasty COVID-19 virus. After all the months of caution and staying home, my wife decided to spend a few days with a good friend she hadn’t seen since the WuHan virus arrived. The friend lives in a tiny town in farm and ranch country about a hundred miles away where there were no crowds to avoid, so there seemed to be little risk of infection. The second day she was there, the friend returned from a business meeting with the news that one of her workmates had been in brief contact with a person who had been in contact with yet another person who had tested positive. My wife was worried and asked what she should do, so I told her to come home just in case her friend had been exposed enough to contact the bug.

By the next day, she had developed a cough, and two days later I did the same, so for the last week we have been fighting the endless glut of symptoms that damn virus has in its arsenal. Since we are both in our seventies, we had the concerns that go along with age and the normal maladies acquired by being on the planet that many decades, but fortunately neither of us has serious heart or lung issues.

This morning I woke up and actually felt like I might show up on the survivor list! The heavy cough and congestion were finally breaking up and the body aches were easing, although food still tastes like unsalted cardboard and my eyes continue to burn and drain.

Thanksgiving dinner is ruined, but all we are seriously looking forward to is being rid of this bug.

From what I hear, the total exhaustion that began on day-one is the last symptom to leave, and it can go on for days and weeks, so I guess I can still milk this excuse for sitting on my butt! Seriously, I hope I can get back to the Plymouth in a week or two.

Checking In

It seems to happen more now than even a few months ago. I just can't find enough energy or inspiration to make real progress on my car. While the months hurry by, the humdrum demands for keeping a household functioning seem to take priority whenever I have to allocate time. 

The only car related job I've worked on for two weeks has been organizing and checking wiring schematics so I can get serious about the remaining tasks. With all the circuit-merging from three different vehicles to create my Frankenstein-Plymouth, I simply have to get everything documented and tested before I dare apply power anywhere.

Also, I've not been totally satisfied with the operation of my exterior door handles. They function okay, but lack the smoothness I want, so I decided to do some more research to see what other latch designs are available out there that would allow me to simplify and replace the dual trigger system I designed. 

While I could get by with the design I have, I know I would kick myself every time I opened the door from outside and felt and heard the too-crisp release. If I can find a better solution now, before I install the power windows, it will be a much easier job. Unfortunately, the new latch is not a design that is normally stocked by distributors, so my wait for parts from the factory will be a long one. With luck, Santa could have them on his sleigh, but more likely it will be a January arrival date. My fingers are crossed

Speaking of January, the past week has been unseasonably cold and nasty for Texas and feels more like January than October. This is the first day with seasonable weather in nearly two weeks. Twelve days ago, the temperature was sunny and in the low-nineties, but lately, nighttime lows have been barely above freezing and only reach the low forties during the day.

I wish my designs were as robust as those of the F-15. This is almost unbelieveable!

Not Much News...Just Plugging Away

 Received most of the parts I ordered, including re-chromed trim, but not much to show in photos or to describe. I get a few minutes a day to take care of minor projects, but they don't really show up as progress.

Most visible progress is the headliner installation, including visors, mirror and chrome windshield surrounds. So far, so good, but I'm still not sure how I want to finish the B-pillars. I tried headliner material and black vinyl, but I think matching brown vinyl would probably look the best.

Received the wire bundle for the dual cooling fans, fabricated a bracket to mount the relays, and re-routed the wiring to better fit where I want it installed. 

Also started fit-checking seats and panels to verify they will fit, but will take them out again.

Here are a few pictures without explanation.

Headliner Install

Having enjoyed mostly moderate weather for a few weeks, August returned to normal summer temperatures in the 100-105F range. so by noon the little AC unit in my garage can't maintain comfort. Despite that, I have accomplished a few things recently, and the obvious one is getting the headliner in place. It was the usual  struggle doing it alone, and I managed to damage the fabric in a couple of places, but it is now temporarily mounted.

Since this is not a show car and the design was my own creation that had to be proved, I'm satisfied with the results. I'm also pleased to find the substitute vinyl molding color is a good match and it fits as I hoped.

The courtesy lights were difficult to install due to the severe screw angle combined with the thickness of the fiberglass shell, but they should be okay. 

I have yet to create some covers for the rear pillars, but they look doable. Once I get the headliner complete and installed permanently, I'll post more pictures.

All the parts and material I had previously ordered showed up on Friday and the black vinyl J-molding that supports the back of the headliner shell did the job and looks great. 

The extra long oval head stainless steel screws to attach the headlight bezels are perfect, but now the fit of the grille pieces will need some tweaking before everything fits properly. I also have 96 extra screws that I will never need again. If you need some, let me know.

Waldron delivered the dual stock mufflers and tailpipes, so that will probably be the next project I tackle. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the non-stock changes to the rear suspension and fuel tank don't create any fit problems. If I can at least get the mufflers hanging in the proper location, I can join the parts with flex pipe and start the engine if I get anxious. 

Hood Lettering Repair

As usual, the majority of the pins that locate and retain the hood letters were broken or missing. They had already been re-chromed, but whoever did that job neglected to repair the pins before plating. Since I had been concentrating on installing the brite body trim, the Plymouth name on the hood was next on the agenda. The repair process was time consuming, but not difficult since the results of the pin installation would not be visible from outside the car.

I prepared the letters by first cutting the broken pins flush with the back of the letter and drilling new holes in the original pin locations. A new, very sharp, 1/16^th inch drill bit easily cut the old pot metal, and the holes were then finished to size with a Dremel and a small bur tip. I oversized the hole enough to fill with plenty of five-minute epoxy to hold the pins securely. The new pins were cut from small panel nails.

I let the epoxy cure overnight and then installed the letters with a dab of trim adhesive where the pins protruded through on the back side of the hood sheet metal. It was just one more thing that wasn’t stock but the results worked out fine for a daily driver.

No pictures yet, but I installed the headlights today. Once again I’ll have to loosen several bolts that mount the grille parts and adjust every attachment point before the pot metal headlight surrounds will clear the grille. It must have been frustrating for the factory workers to custom-fit and adjust every car coming down the line.

I'll have to wait to accomplish the final tweaking when the re-chromed hood-lip pieces return from the plating shop.

Hood and Headliner

I repainted the hood three days ago and while it is better, it is still far from perfect. Remnants of the shallow hail dents are still visible, but I think most will disappear with color sanding. The paint has cured for three days now and should be ready to sand. 

Since I’ll be helping my wife celebrate her birthday today, I might not get time to work on anything car related, but I am anxious to finish the hood and get the last sheet metal installed so I might sneak into the shop for a little while!

 

While waiting for the repainted hood to cure, I replaced the cat whiskers in the door glass flippers and installed the headliner shell so I can determine the final trim lines.

 Ireceived the generic vinyl trim I ordered to see how it would look with the fiberglass shell. The factory pieces were cracked and broken and even if they had been usable, the OEM configuration wouldn’t work with the shell.
The fit seems to be okay but looks much different than stock. The color is more gray than it appeared in the manufacturer's catalog and I would have preferred a gold or tan tone. However, if I can find a fabric with a close color match it should do the job. Internet colors never look the same on a screen, so I’ll have to visit an upholstery shop to order from their sample charts.

The rivets I needed to replace a part on the flipper assembly arrived, so that job is done. I had to order a package of 100 to get the two rivets I needed, but a package was only $5.55 and I now have a lifetime supply!  If you ever wanted to know the part number and a source for those tiny rivets, here’s the info, and if anyone needs some to repair your project, let me know and I can send you a few for the price of postage.