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Thread: The further adventures of #2613

  1. #1
    Owner since 2007 Farrar's Avatar
    Join Date:  May 2011

    Location:  Fort Lauderdale

    Posts:    4,740

    My VIN:    02613

    Club(s):   (DCF)

    The further adventures of #2613

    #2613's engine replacement thread started getting way off track so I decided to start another thread devoted to the other repairs/modifications I've made to the car. I'll start with the interior lighting.

    Using the same dome lights that John Dore used in his DMC-24, I cut 2" holes in the headliner, one just behind the stock dome light and one above the parcel shelf. #2613 still has the original cardboard headliners and the cloth is not in great shape, so the idea was that if I didn't like it, I could go back to stock when I upgrade to fiberglass headliners.

    I got really tired of the old plunger switches so I replaced them with magnetic reed switches. They're activated by a magnet glued to the inner surface of each door's trim.

    The result:

    interior lights finished.jpg

    As you can see, moving the dome light rearward slightly also improves visibility in the footwells. However, I will probably add footwell lighting at some point in the future.
    3.0L, automatic, carbureted

  2. #2
    Owner since 2007 Farrar's Avatar
    Join Date:  May 2011

    Location:  Fort Lauderdale

    Posts:    4,740

    My VIN:    02613

    Club(s):   (DCF)

    Hella "Supertone" horn upgrade & relocation

    3.0L, automatic, carbureted

  3. #3
    Owner since 2007 Farrar's Avatar
    Join Date:  May 2011

    Location:  Fort Lauderdale

    Posts:    4,740

    My VIN:    02613

    Club(s):   (DCF)

    Working on the trunk area

    Today's work:

    - replaced hood release cable with a new stainless steel cable from DMC Texas
    - replaced hood release spring with a new stronger spring from DMC Texas
    - replaced hood release cable bracket with a new stainless steel bracket from DPI
    - replaced hood intrusion brackets with new stainless brackets from DPI
    - replaced hood strut mount brackets with new stainless brackets from DPI

    old trunk release cable bracket.jpg

    new trunk release cable bracket.jpg

    3.0L, automatic, carbureted

  4. #4
    Owner since 2007 Farrar's Avatar
    Join Date:  May 2011

    Location:  Fort Lauderdale

    Posts:    4,740

    My VIN:    02613

    Club(s):   (DCF)

    Stainless stuff & work in the trunk area

    I decided to tackle the rusty hardware in the trunk. The hood stops threw me a loop: when I removed them, the tops came apart.

    broken bump stop.jpg

    I improvised a solution with 1/2" black nylon nut covers. They don't look half bad:

    hood bump stop.jpg

    New stainless hood intrusion brackets from DPI. Of course I installed them with stainless hardware:

    hood intrusion bracket.jpg

    Stainless trunk strut brackets from DPI. Yes, all of the hardware in this photo is also stainless: the screws are black anodized. I could have gone with plain stainless, but I like the look of the original black screws so I decided to replicate it. However, instead of split washers I used Belleville washers. Belleville washers are conical so they have a smaller outer diameter than a flat washer. That's why they just barely peek out from under the screw heads.

    hood strut bracket.jpg

    More uses for black anodized stainless steel 13mm hex nuts:

    louvre bracket lighter.jpg

    louvre strut hardware.jpg

    trunk strut hardware.jpg

    I just love little details like that.

    The trunk area still needs some TLC: The seal is cracked and falling off, and the carpet pieces are also beginning to let go. I could also paint the area, perhaps, but I don't mind certain parts of the car showing its age, and the inside of the trunk is hardly ever seen, anyway. I will replace the seal, though. Also, the masonite backing for the lower carpet piece is warped, either through heavy cargo or through moisture intrusion over the years. I will make a waterproof replacement.
    3.0L, automatic, carbureted

  5. #5
    Owner since 2007 Farrar's Avatar
    Join Date:  May 2011

    Location:  Fort Lauderdale

    Posts:    4,740

    My VIN:    02613

    Club(s):   (DCF)

    Houston, we have mold!

    Well, I had a misfire problem and while I was troubleshooting (I ended up just buying new wires) the car sat for a few weeks all closed up.

    Little did I know that the last time I drove the car (in the rain) water intruded somehow. So a few weeks later when the new plug wires were installed and I was ready to fire it up, I opened the door and smelled something horrendous. Then I saw little spots of mold on the seats, the console, the steering wheel... I've never seen mold intrusion like that before!

    I bought a portable dehumidifier, set it on the passenger floor, turned it on, and closed the door. It's been running for over 48 hours straight and the humidity gauge shows 61%, down from 69% when I first started. This is going to take a while.
    3.0L, automatic, carbureted

  6. #6
    DMC Timeless's Avatar
    Join Date:  Nov 2016

    Location:  SW FL

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    Club(s):   (DCF) (DCO) (DCUK)

    Whoa... you locate the source of the moisture intrusion?
    ~LXA~
    Dunmurry | Stuttgart | Leipzig | Munich | Tochigi | Fremont | Bratislava | Sindelfingen | Kansas City | Oakville | Coventry

  7. #7
    Senior Member
    Join Date:  May 2011

    Location:  Burnsville MN-Moving to Kalispell MT. in June 20111

    Posts:    886

    My VIN:    2691

    moisture

    The whole state of Florida is moist!

  8. #8
    Owner since 2007 Farrar's Avatar
    Join Date:  May 2011

    Location:  Fort Lauderdale

    Posts:    4,740

    My VIN:    02613

    Club(s):   (DCF)

    Quote Originally Posted by Timeless View Post
    Whoa... you locate the source of the moisture intrusion?
    No, not yet. However, judging from the location of the most water I'm guessing one of my body-hole fixes has failed. #2613 has an early-VIN body style with the vent holes underneath the rear quarter panels. Before I sealed them (with aluminum flashing held in place with a ton of RTV silicone) that's where water would show up on both sides after driving in rain or being parked in rain.

    The interior of the car is too stinky and hurts my throat to deal with right now. Once it is mitigated by the dehumidifier, I will spray white vinegar (or Lysol if I need something stronger) on the affected areas, then remove the D-pillar trim to see if the body hole patch has failed.

    ...

    In other news -- despite the fact that #2613's ignition distributor is in a different location from a stock 3.0L, the plug wires I ordered are just fine. Some of them a a bit long, but I tidied them up with zip-ties.
    3.0L, automatic, carbureted

  9. #9
    Owner since 2007 Farrar's Avatar
    Join Date:  May 2011

    Location:  Fort Lauderdale

    Posts:    4,740

    My VIN:    02613

    Club(s):   (DCF)

    The interior of the car smells much less toxic now. Today I dumped 20 ounces of water out of the dehumidifier's tank. At that time the humidity gauge had gone down from 69% to 54%. Now it's down to 50%. That's actually less humid than it is outside and in the garage. (Garage is not climate-controlled and it has been raining and above 80 degrees here for almost two weeks.) The dehumidifier is still running and will keep going until it hits 20% humidity (yeah, right) or I turn it off. Maybe by this weekend I will be able to get in the car, take the interior out and begin mold remediation on it, and start looking for the source of the leak.
    3.0L, automatic, carbureted

  10. #10
    DMC Timeless's Avatar
    Join Date:  Nov 2016

    Location:  SW FL

    Posts:    737

    Club(s):   (DCF) (DCO) (DCUK)

    Good luck!
    ~LXA~
    Dunmurry | Stuttgart | Leipzig | Munich | Tochigi | Fremont | Bratislava | Sindelfingen | Kansas City | Oakville | Coventry

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