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Before the Restoration

After the Restoration

After the Restoration (2018)

Goodbye

July 1, 2002

July 2, 2002

Spent the rest of the night sewing a reinforcing patch on the car cover for the antenna hole.

July 3, 2002

Also discovered another oil leak. I don't know if it's new from the last time I had the valve cover off, or if it was always there, but it looks like it's coming from the front of the right valve cover. Crap! I thought all the fluid leaks were fixed...

In the evening, I took a look at the idler arm situation. I found out that the replacement idler arm that came with my front end rebuild kit is incorrect. But it turns out I didn't need it anyway; by simply torquing down the idler bolt a little more, the mounting ears were pulled together a bit, removing the vertical play in the arm. Problem solved without having to remove the idler arm.

Next, I replaced the stock clutch fork washer with a solid steel piece I had bought on ebay. Also installed the clutch fork spring. Then I played around with the clutch free play again to make the clutch easier to operate. Didn't have any success; I think it's just the combination of the late-style diaphram clutch in consunction with the original clutch pedal spring. The diaphram style clutch just doesn't require as much pressure as the original Borg & Beck.

July 5, 2002

So, I spent the rest of the evening installing the right interior door handle and panel. In other words, completing the process of getting the door "finished". Everything went pretty well; I ended up painting the arm rest base, as the original plating had rubbed off in most spots. I cleaned up all bright metal in the usual fashion, and put a coat of armor all on the door panel and arm rest. I had saved the original water barrier, so I used that as a template for cutting a new one out of a plastic drop cloth.

The only PITA was getting the locking clip on the end of the rod that runs from the handle to the latch. But for the most part everything went smoothly, and the door looks great! This is a lame picture; I'll have to take one in some sunlight:

July 6, 2002

I installed the new valve cover gasket. I used some new kind of gasket sealant/dressing. Time will tell if the leak is fixed or not; I'll just have to drive it a couple times and crawl under the car to look for oil.

Next, I was going to install the driver's door panel and handle like I did the previous night on the right side, when I realized I need to fix the hole in the door first. Once I install the door panel, I won't be able to remove the mirror any more, and painting the hole will be easier with the mirror off.

I removed the mirror, and by the end of the night had 2 coats of primer and 1 coat of green on.

July 7, 2002

But then I discovered the value of rubbing compound. I was able to undo most of my mistakes, and by the end of the night things were looking pretty good. I still need to put the clear coat on, but I'm now convinced the result will be satisfactory.

July 8, 2002

All in all, it looks ok. You can definitely see it, and I'm sure Scott could have done a better job, but given that I was actually filling a hole (and not just fixing a chip or scratch), I think it turned out ok.

Finished up the evening by installing the mirror, and then the door panel. The driver's door is completely done now.

July 9, 2002

So, the entire night was spent trying to remove that spring. It's an *extremely* stiff spring. One person suggested using the pedal to stretch it to its longest point, inserting washers between the coils, and then returning the pedal to the point where the spring would be stretched the least. Sounded like a good idea in principle, but that didn't give me enough play to actually remove the spring. I spent the entire night with my head under the dash trying to get it out to no avail.

July 10, 2002

So, I said "screw this", and cut it out! Damn, that felt good! Five minutes with the dremel tool, and no more spring! I just hope I never need it again (not that it would be possible to re-install it anyway...).

I bolted everything back together, and re-installed the push rod (between the pedal and torque shaft). I also put a much weaker return spring in there, just to keep the pedal up when no pressure is applied. I found a generic one at a hardware store.

The clutch action is *much* better! The car will be much more fun to drive now.

July 16, 2002

So, I got under the car and wiped everything down so I'll know if it's still leaking. While I was under there I removed the bolts that were plugging the holes in the manifold from the missing heat riser. The PO had put them there, and I assumed they were snugged down/sealed, but they weren't. As long as I had them out, I cut them down to size (they were too long and invading the exhaust passage). Then I put some gasket sealant on the threads and put them back in place. I'm hoping this was the source of the exhaust leak (at least I *think* I heard an exhaust leak).

July 17, 2002

First thing to do is watch the video I shot when taking everything apart to see what order things need to go back in. And also to see how the water barrier for the rear "door" panels need to be cut. I also got out the various panels and figured out how they all fit together.

I cut the plastic for both quarter regulators, and used weatherstrip glue to put it in place. Originally some kind of caulk was used, but this should work fine.

The rest of the night was spent cleaning up panels. A couple of them have rust on them that I'll need to deal with, and all panels have enough scuffs/scrapes that I'll need to paint them. I put a coat of armor all on the regulator panel, and shined up all the bright trim. Once I get the panels derusted/painted, I'll be ready to start screwing pieces back into the car.

July 18, 2002

I did all this outside, and there was a breeze, so the panels didn't turn out body-shop perfect, due to crap in the air landing on the panels while they were wet. But they look pretty good.

July 19, 2002

It started off fairly smoothly; in fact, I had all 4 left/rear panels in place. However I did put a couple nice scratches in one of them, as sliding them together take a little force. One slip and you've got scratches. Oh well...

Then I realized that a couple things needed to happen before the final piece (just below the quarter window) gets screwed in place: the windlace needs to be installed (it goes under that panel), and the molding that coveres the edge of the headliner also needs to go in. That put an end to that night's progress.

July 20, 2002

Before installing the headliner molding, I thought I should make sure it went under the A-pillar trim, as I thought it did. Guess what? I was wrong. The A-pillar trim goes under the headliner molding, so that needed to be installed first. It was cracked, so I glued it and cleaned it up quickly, then installed it.

Next I tried to install the headliner molding. From looking at things, it appears as though it needs to be dovetailed with the stainless piece that the weatherstripping fits in. Well, I tried for probably 30 or 45 minutes to get it installed. After much cursing and sweating, I stopped, as I just couldn't see how it could be done.

I posted a question to the email list to ask people either how to get it installed, or if it even fits the way I think it does.

July 22, 2002

1. installed the headliner molding piece (later discovered it could've been installed after the courtesy light panel, and should be, as it got scratched a bit while installing that panel)
2. installed the panel that holds the courtesy light (some rapping with my hand and soft hammer helps to get it in place)
3. installed the courtesy light
4. installed the cat whisker piece; ended up using the original one, as it was in excellent shape and the reproduction piece is a little too long and I didn't feel like cutting it
5. installed the regulator panel (the vinyl piece)
6. installed the window crank

July 23, 2002

Rest of the night was spent getting the cargo area floor refurbished. I ripped off the old carpeting, scraped off some (not all) of the old glue, sanded some spots where mice had camped out. Then I scrubbed it down and put some POR15 where the metal was bare.

July 24, 2002

The replacement carpeting is very nice; almost an exact match for the old, although it is slightly smaller. This made wrapping the carpeting around the sides of the floor somewhat difficult; there wasn't much carpet to fold over the edge.

I used weatherstrip glue for all this, and let it set up overnight. In the morning I screwed the floor into the car. It looks very good. The car is starting to have an interior!