Wiper Park Adjustments

 

I had to make a new wiper arm removal tool so I was able to get the wipers adjusted to fully sweep without hitting the stainless trim, but no success adjusting the park position. The service manual contains no useful information to make an adjustment to relocate the park position, and there were no obvious adjustment points. Only thing to do was to open up the motor so I pulled the motor and removed the stamped cover so I could work it on the bench. At that point, it was easy to see how the adjustment functions. At least the notches are visible without removing the cover, and if the service manual had a picture it would have been nice!

This picture shows what lies beneath the cover. There is a reed switch that is actuated by a nylon pin that raises when the motor turns. I couldn’t determine how the reed switch functioned, but in my case, it made no difference at all as there was a broken part that you can see in the second picture. It is made of spring steel and is formed into a ramp shape to raise the nylon pin and use it to make and break the reed switch contact as it rotates. When I removed the switch plate, the broken part of the spring-steel ramp fell out, so. at least I could now visualize how the adjustment is supposed to be made. You can also clearly see the three notches in the rotating plate so it can be moved with a flat screwdriver to change the point at which the pin engages the spring ramp.

I was able to get the wipers adjusted to fully sweep without hitting the stainless trim, but no luck with adjusting the park position. The service manual contains no useful information to make an adjustment, and there were no obvious adjustment points. Only thing to do was to look inside at the controls so I pulled the motor and removed the stamped cover to work the problem on the bench. At that point, it was easy to see how the adjustment functions.

 

 I thought I was in luck as my parts car had the same motor, so it sould be a simple swap, but my joy quickly faded when I discovered that motor was locked up and wouldn’t move without damaging. However, I thought I could at least swap the ramp spring, but it too was damaged with a bend midway up the ramp. I tried straightening that part of the ramp, but the bend was too sharp and couldn’t be reformed properly without breaking the brittle metal.

 Finally, I decided to forget trying to create a park position. As often as I might be driving in rain, I can just use the switch to manually park the wipers. Before I reassembled everything, I removed the sixty-year-old crusty grease, oiled the plate and greased the gears. At least the arms are now synchronized, and the speed is adjustable with the dash switch.

Ice-bound!

 This is the third day in a row that I've been stuck in the house and not able to walk anywhere outside.  I couldn't even get to the workshop so I could get tools to break up the ice around the house.  This is the worst ice storm I've experienced in the 25 years I've lived in Texas. Only one worse I can recall was in Germany nearly sixty years ago. That time I was driving home from the missile site and had to stop and install tire chains. It took about an hour to get them on while crawling around on hands and knees. Guess I should have retired a few hundred miles farther south and closer to the Gulf of Mexico!

Fortunately, there was minimal ice buildup on trees and power lines, so we got lucky that way. Looks like the thaw will start this morning and the forecast is for 60s and 70s within a few days. Then maybe I can get back to work on the car.

 

Console Progress

 Snow is possible tomorrow, so I dodged the housework today and spent a couple of hours in the garage.

I completed the rear seat end of the console top, along with an armrest/cover for the storage bin and fuse access. 

Now I have to work my windshield wiper problem before I can assemble the rest of the console. I read, but don't clearly understand, the steps needed to adjust the wiper park position. The service manual does not have a sketch or photo to make it clear to my fading mind. Sometimes a simple instruction can be so confusing!

More Little Things Mean a Lot

 

This is the time of year when weather is usually at its maximum schizophrenic swings, and it has been happening again. With temps in the teens and snow flurries only a few days behind us, we were blessed with two sunny and calm 83*F days, and then it was back into the forties with howling NW winds. Today our forecast is for Spring-like weather that is expected to last a week or more.

 With the nice weather, I was able to fabricate, assemble and install several interior parts. Both door handles are now in place and functioning satisfactorily.

The latest version of the steering wheel is complete and waiting for the dash and steering column to be re-attached, so the interior is beginning to look like it is finally taking shape. This is the newest version of the old truck steering wheel and the various versions that led up to it. The center section trim will probably change, but I can do that after everything else is done.

This is the stock wheel that was OEM on my '73 D-100 pickup that I purchased new. I disliked it from day one but was like new and I finally found a use for it. 

I got rid of the plastic center pad and created a new center from the original '56 Plymouth Mayflower cap and a stainless-steel wheel center cap from an aftermarket truck wheel. I liked the look, but it didn't work out well as I could not come up with a way to attach it reliably to the horn mechanism.

The final results don't look much like a modernized 50s era design, but it functions like expected and the text can easily be replaced or changed at any time if I can come up with a nicer design.

I still have the problem of the windshield wipers not parking when turned off. When I tested the motor with a power supply, it was working fine, but I can't understand how running on battery power would change how it operates. I hate to fasten the dash panel without getting it fixed while it's accessible, but I also hate not being able to install the remaining console and heater controls. I do have an extra single speed motor that checks out fine, but it requires minor wiring changes and I would much prefer a 2-speed wiper. I saw there is a way to adjust the park setting, but the last time I read about it in the service manual I was confused...but that's normal!

  

 

 

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Roy Clark Greatest Hits and a Short Progress Report

Despite surgery for cataracts, lots of visitors, projects for the wife, cold weather, and health issues, I've been putting some time on the car. I've had the workbenches curtained off from the car, so I don't have to heat the whole garage and am concentrating on several small jobs, like finishing my custom-made interior trim parts.

I got the door handles back from the plating shop, so they are now in place and waiting for the gold plugs that will fit in the ends of the grips.

I finally settled on a configuration for the arm rests, so I'm now making the parts for the other door.

The steering wheel design I had planned on using proved to be a problem merging the '56 horn rim to the truck steering wheel. I'm now totally redesigning those parts and it's been a hassle! Functionally, it now operates must better, and I am creating a new center section trim piece.

Hope to make more progress over the holidays and should have a few pictures by then.

I need to listen to this more often so I can get fired up to get back to work on my project! I had almost forgotten how talented he was.

https://youtu.be/IR3aVmM5h-

All the Dash Lights....Finally!

 My speedometer and tach were returned from the manufacturer yesterday. The backlighting did not function on those two gauges, though the four small ones work just fine. I had assumed that the pigtail and connector were tested with the gauge when the set was purchased, but that was not the case. To make a long story short, when the factory tech support verified that the gauges were fine and sent them back to me, they gave me a set of new pigtails to try. That solved the problem and I now have a brightly lit dashboard! Some of the original pigtail wires were apparently crimped on the insulation which damaged the conductors. Note to self...When things don't work like they should, trust nothing and don't assume. Check everything!

I still have a problem with the variable speed windshield wiper park feature and will have to fix that before I can re-assemble the dash.

I had expected the plating shop to have shipped the interior door handles by now, and now that the updated version of the door latch is working as designed, putting the door back together should be a half-hour job when the chromed parts show up.

In the meantime, I'm researching the things I'll need to install a temporary flexible pipe from the manifold to the muffler. I don't have a trailer to take the car to the muffler shop and was hoping to get the engine running before really cold weather arrives. I know my neighbors wouldn't enjoy hearing it running through open exhausts long enough to break in the camshaft.

The Good...the Bad..and the Ugly!

 

I'm back to waiting for parts again, but for some reason, I'm feeling a bit more optimistic than I have in a long while. Maybe it's because cooler fall weather has arrived 

I was notified that the speedometer and tach I sent back to the manufacturer for repair have both been repaired and shipped, so I should have them in hand sometime next week. If they actually fixed them this time, I'll be able to reassemble the dash and console enough to test the HVAC operation and all the electrical dash and console controls. 

I'm also expecting the chrome plating shop to ship the interior door handles next week. While waiting for them, I redesigned the passenger door latch to see if I could improve the outside door handle operation and durability. So far so good, but I'm anxious to get all the door latch parts together to see if it works better than my original design.  

This is the original mockup, using light weight material to test feasibility.

Below is the redesigned part simplified and made from heavier gauge material. It's still ugly but operates and sounds much more rugged. Since it is out of sight inside the door, I'm not concerned about beauty as long as it functions properly.

  

For what it is worth, I've been looking for a stock actuator from some kind of Mopar vehicle and thought I had found one in a '79 Aspen, but it wouldn't quite fit between the glass and the door sheet metal. I'll keep looking but for the time being I'll use my homemade parts until I get the car running before I get too old to finish the job!

Final Summer '22 Blog Entry

 

After several weeks of life's responsibilities getting in the way of fun, I was able to spend much of this past weekend working on frustrating wiring problems. To my relief, the results were generally successful. At least all the important lights and controls are now operating properly.

The major problem I’ve had so much difficulty resolving was integrating the late-seventies steering column controls into the added fused circuits, aftermarket parts, and the ’56 dash controls and switches.

The '79 turn signal controls worked out quite well, even the emergency flashers, but the ignition switch continued to be a pain. First, the new column mounted ignition switch wiring for ’77-’79 trucks did not match the factory schematic in either wire size or color. When I finally managed to identify the function of each switch wire, I had to rewire some circuits to make certain the wire and fuse size matched the electrical loads of added and upgraded equipment.

FWIW, long ago I upgraded the original 60-amp alternator to an 80-amp square-back and increased the wire size in the charging circuits. I’m still debating the idea to add a 50-amp circuit breaker near the alternator as suggested in an article I read, but I’m also told that’s overkill. Even after having worked in the electronic field for thirty-plus years, I still don’t trust my knowledge and instinct for the science.

At least I can now replace all the cable ties I cut off during trouble shooting! When that job is accomplished it's time for a good car and shop cleanup and then I can go back to work on some mechanical tasks I put off earlier. 

More Wiring, More Problems, Less Time!

 The harder I try to find time for my cars, the more demands I have on my time, but then that's nothing new.

I'm still working on wiring issues, but we're having hot weather that pretty much eliminates working afternoons in the garage. The little air conditioner keeps the office area nice and cool, but the garage area gets a little too warm when the outside temps are over 100F.

First major task was replacing the ignition switch as I discovered there was no connection to the starter relay when turning the original switch to the start position. Had I checked that before installing the steering column, I could have saved myself a lot of time and grief. The new ignition switch operates much smoother than the old one

Since I then had a new connector with the new switch, I opted to use it and eliminate the individual crimp terminals. It now looks much neater, but I can't take a photo as it is not in a position to get access.

I decided to upgrade the overall quality by eliminating many of the other wire-to-wire connections and replacing them with mating connectors at the dash-to-firewall bundle. It was time consuming but looks a hundred times better as I've eliminated probably two-dozen individual connections. Modern connectors are so inexpensive, I kick myself for not doing it the right way the first time.

I'll try to get a shot behind the speedometer wiring when I complete that area

I did get one picture of the tachometer connections.

I don't think I mentioned that my wife ordered a new car last March. Her back pain is getting so bad that she has difficulty climbing into her 2014 Chrysler 200 convertible, so she special ordered a 2022 Chrysler 300 sedan. The dealer called three weeks ago and said her car has finally been built and is now in the rail yard ready to ship. Last week he called to report that it is still sitting in the rail yard.

She's previously owned a 2005 and a 2009 300 and loved them both, so I hope it works out for her again. She has only logged 24,000 miles in nearly nine years on her 200 convertible and with her age and driving history, the new 300 should be the last car she will need. 

Sidentta Mai

 I planned to wish my Norwegian readers a happy Constitution Day this morning, but as usual, I'm running late, so instead I'll offer my sympathies to anyone suffering a painful celebration hangover! 

My father's grandparents came to America from Norway in the 1870s and my grandmother and her sister came here when they were both teenagers in the late 1890s. They crossed an ocean and then half of the United States all by themselves to homestead on the frigid North Dakota prairie. My grandparents always kept the Scandinavian culture alive and today would have been a special day to feast on a table filled with traditional food.

My Plymouth hasn't got much dedicated attention lately, so I'm still working on wiring. problems. Right now, I'm trying to isolate a short-to-ground in the taillight/backup light circuit, but I can't seem to find enough time to troubleshoot. I just get started and then something around the house takes priority, so I forget where I am and have to start over.  Getting old and forgetful sucks.

Got my speedometer back from NVU warranty repair and the backlighting still doesn't work and there was no message about what they fixed...or didn't fix! I decided to install a connector between the speedometer and the wire bundle so the speedometer can be removed without cutting and splicing wires. When that's done, I'll verify the wiring and contact them to find out their story. Since they haven't billed me, I want to make sure my work is correct before I make waves.