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OK, so I am sorry I haven't been able to keep anyone updated on my progress here, but this week is fundraising week where I work, plus I had a math test and a paper due. Next week is Spring Break and my girlfriend will be out of town for six days, so let's hope that I can get some work done!
I might take this quiet opportunity then to voice up and let you know I am one of the lurkers that have been following every post in your thread for more than half a year now and enjoy sharing your journey - cheers :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Farrar
Thanks, Chris! Is it cool weather down there yet? I was sweating buckets today after just a few minutes inside the car and wishing that I had a/c in it.
One step at a time, though, right? Here's a quick video to show where I am at the moment.
http://youtu.be/t24Owr9cCV4
Oh my. Now I want to take my car apart.Quote:
Originally Posted by Farrar
You will end up scratching your head a lot.Quote:
Originally Posted by stevedmc
The plastic piece above the battery that the electrical bracket is attached to seems to be simply glued on each side. It's very flexible. As for how the bracket is fastened to the plastic, I have no clue. There are no holes for screws under there, and besides if you used a screw to hold the bracket on, the screw would poke down into the battery compartment.
My friend Lewis and I made an appropriate wood panel in a matter of minutes with his saber saw. I am currently cutting the necessary bevels around the wood piece with my Dremel tool's router bit, and about to glue on the top piece, then drill holes in it. I might paint it black before putting it in, but I'm not sure I will considering the amount of time that would add to the project.
The relay bracket has one screw in the back and I think should have one or two on the right side. My right side screw had to be ground off so I installed one new screw more in the middle of the bracket down into the battery compartment with a nut inside the battery compartment.Quote:
Originally Posted by Farrar
Dave, I am glad to see someone has done this, because I was thinking of the same thing... good to know that you can get a nut and the end of a screw in there without interfering with battery placement.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bitsyncmaster
In other news, I beveled the edges of the wood panel where necessary using my Dremel tool's router bit at the lowest speed. With that done, I applied Liquid Nails to adhere the small piece to the top rear of the panel -- I was tempted to just use wood screws, but since I had it I figured I might as well use it. I may put screws in just for peace of mind, though.
With the wood pieces set aside for the adhesive to dry, I am getting other work done: currently I am making templates for my custom console build. Here is where I am so far as I take a break for dinner.
Attachment 9367
I used ordinary posterboard for the templates for a couple of reasons: first, it is cheap and plentiful; second, I can cut it with ordinary scissors; third, I can fold it and rip it to shape while it is in the car; fourth, I can tape sheets of it together to make adjustments without the result being too thick to move around in the car. Of course, it was so humid outside today that it started wilting almost immediately after I took it out of the apartment, but that is not a problem so much as a surprise.
I realized that the plastic I bought from McMaster in late 2010 (when I first thought about doing the console and nothing else more important had cropped up) is too small. For the long side pieces, I need about five feet by two feet of a flexible plastic material which is easy to cut, like ABS or nylon. Is there a source someone here could recommend?
OK, never mind that question. I found TAP Plastics online. They will sell "cut to order" plastic sheets.
Nylon would be ideal, but they don't have it. My choices are PVC or ABS.
PVC at a minimum thickness of 1/8" would not have the flexibility I need, plus it would be too thick when the foam and vinyl are applied.
ABS they sell at a minimum thickness of 1/32" but I think that would be pushing it in terms of flexibility. I think 1/16" would do nicely, but they don't have that, either. My choices are 1/32", 3/32", 1/8", or incrementally greater. I will go with 3/32", I think. That should be about the thickness of the original cardboard, and also thick enough to hold the hardware I need to install into it (L-brackets, thread inserts, etc.).
To quote James T. Kirk, "Well, that's... just... lovely."
I finally got back to the replacement panel, and when I was drilling one of the holes, the drill bound up inside the plywood.
Attachment 9600
... and it tore off the piece I had adhered to the back.
Attachment 9601
So that project is now ruined. I no longer have access to my friend's shop or equipment, because he's going to be too busy to help me over the next few weeks. So it looks like I will put the original damaged wood panel back inside the car. The confidence I had in myself which made me think that I could make a new console vanished instantly as soon as that back piece was ripped off. Nonetheless, I will go ahead and buy the plastic; as with all of my projects, the original pieces and parts will be kept on hand so that in the event of failure the stock parts can be put back on.
Since Liquid Nails was unable to adhere two pieces of plywood together under the stress of a 3/8" drill bit, I doubt the same product would be strong enough to adhere a piece of wood to a fiberglass body shell under the stress of heat, humidity, and vibration. What adhesive would y'all suggest?
That is surprising since they use it to hold houses together. Are you sure the plywood was clean?Quote:
Originally Posted by Farrar
Windshield urethane is my default nevergonnacomeapart adhesive of choice, although I have not tried it on wood. Actually the most common wood glue is plain old (Elmer's) wood glue!
Not really. I have never worked with plywood before, so I just followed intuition. I sanded it until it wasn't rough and blew it off with canned air, and made sure nothing came off on my hand when I touched it, but that's no guarantee.Quote:
Originally Posted by DMCMW Dave
Perhaps I did not clamp the pieces together tightly enough. Either that or "project grade" Liquid Nails is not as good as the regular stuff. I just bought that variety because it was in a smaller tube and I did not want to be wasteful.
I have made some progress.
Vacuum hoses replaced with silicone:
Attachment 9613
Attachment 9615
Attachment 9614
As you can see, I also replaced the hard plastic vacuum tube with a silicone hose. From the tank in the left pontoon to the smaller hose at the HVAC control, it is now one continuous piece of silicone hose.
The best construction adhesive you can buy is "PL Premium". You can find it at Menards in the caulking section. Lots of different grades of PL, but Premium is the best. It's Urethane based similar to the windshield adheasive Dave mentioned. As long as the surfaces are clean, it will never come loose.
I've never heard of Menards but I will look for that product. Thanks! :)
It's a pretty big hardware store chain here in the Midwest. Worked there from 5am - 9am, M - F the summer before my freshman year of college. Not a bad gig.Quote:
Originally Posted by Farrar
OK, I really need to change out that oil seal and put somewhat of an interior back in the car... A few days ago when the work crew started putting the siding on the next building, I asked if they needed me to move my car. "No, it's not in the way," they said. They put caution tape around it, but today one of my neighbors saw a guy working on the third floor balcony lose his hard hat, and it fell inches from my front bumper! Needless to say, I moved the car when I got home from work today ... but by pushing it instead of driving it. :( Electrically almost nothing is connected inside, and I was afraid that if I re-connected the battery and turned the key, I'd start blowing fuses.
*sigh* I wish I had more time and money to work on my D... but then again, who doesn't?
Personal note: this morning I heard on the radio that it was the birthday of a writer who decided to move to Oregon and take up mountain climbing, then got a job as a salmon farmer to support his climbing habit. It's backwards from the way most people are taught to think about their jobs, but in a strange way, it makes sense: he knew he'd have a boring job, but always enough money to do what he really loved, even though there was no profit in it. I thought that was an interesting way of looking at things. Anyway, nighty night.
My DeLorean budget is now severely limited by the unexpected $650 I just spent on my daily driver. I probably will not finish my current to-do list before Orlando. *sigh*
The AFR gauge I bought (before my PT blew my budget, of course) arrived today. I will install it when I get the chance. It has a ten-year warranty -- I'm impressed.
At this point I am not sure I want to go ahead with a complete re-vamp of the car's interior. I may simply do the console and leave it at that -- concentrating instead on getting the engine vacuum-leak-free and the transmission gear-oil-leak-free first, then get the air conditioning going. *sigh* I will never finish this car...
Finishing's no fun :) It's a journey, not a destination.Quote:
Originally Posted by Farrar
Even if you don't agree, keep telling yourself that :)
Sweet. Does the AFR gauge just hook up to an oxygen sensor?
For what it's worth, I checked my plugs using Bill's dual plane manifold and size 48 jets. My plugs are perfect.
Attachment 9767
Correct, but only a narrowband one like the DMC-12 originally came with. The fancy wideband sensors like the EFI folks have are too awesome for this unit.Quote:
Originally Posted by stevedmc
It has a digital readout which will indicate levels from 8.82 to 19.1, and next to it an LED which will indicate yellow (lean), green (stoich), or red (rich).
Farrar
I would only trust that indicated value around 14.7. That is all a narrow band sensor can do. That is why they had to develop the wide band sensors.Quote:
Originally Posted by Farrar
I wondered about that... the gauge can only be as accurate as the information it's given.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bitsyncmaster
In other news, it looks like my interior redesign is going to be placed on hold. My car is being treated like a piece of furniture by the construction crew working on my apartment building, so I need to get it moving again. If I have driven it to work, they can't eat their lunch on it. (I am threatening to sue the company if any damage arises from this mistreatment, and will report them to the BBB as soon as I have their name, phone number, and address.)
Once again, the DeLorean suffers from its movie star status and becomes, in the minds of plebes, "public property." What. The. Fuck. People.
jesus, the nerve of some people...
They must be cheap. Anyone know how to say "Get the fuck off of my car, you bastards" in Spanish?Quote:
Originally Posted by dvonk
uhh... I know 'carro' and 'bastardo'Quote:
Originally Posted by Farrar
8 years of Spanish classes... sigh :)
I think would lose my mind if that happened to my car! I might actually have to call the police... to keep them safe from me! the nerve of some people! :hatchet:Quote:
Originally Posted by Farrar
My insurance comany required me to submit a signed statment saying I would agree to always keep it in a garage a night. I would be nervous not to. I kept it out in the day last week to treat the leather in the sun, and when I came back, I could swear there were fingerprints that were not there before I left. I'm afraid that if I left it out over night, some drunk guy or girl would want to sit on the hood, or something...
Anyway, I'm still looking forward to coming down and meeting you guys (Gulf Coast Deloreans) for a tech day, I'm just waiting on some parts for my fuel system. :grouphugg:
Are they eating sandwiches or buckets of chicken?Quote:
Originally Posted by Farrar
Apparently their supervisor gave them hell for it. I am guessing someone looked at it and saw the interior all messed up with wires everywhere and thought it was an abandoned vehicle (despite the current license plate).Quote:
Originally Posted by David_NYS
Before I left work, I thought about a plan to bring out my Claymore if I saw them lounging around it again.
Best plan is just to get it running again. I will put the interior back in it. I will forget cutting a new wood panel for behind the passenger seat -- the stock one, damaged though it may be, is going back in for now. After that, I will do the electrical stuff (RKE and interior lights), and work on that output shaft seal.
By the way, Steve -- what did you need for the transmission final drive drain/fill plugs? I will have to buy one. Since it seems I am doing this job every year or two, it will be worth the investment. It's a square bit, right? What size?
How about I come by Saturday morning to offer my services? I was going to help Jim with his AC but he hasn't called me back yet.
I've got no clue what tools are needed but I know they are in my car.
We can even do brake pads if you want.
Btw, if memory serves correctly we will just need a small socket for the plugs, a punch, a seal puller, and a big socket for tapping the new seal in. All of that stuff is already in my car.
I think a Pump Shotgun is universal language.Quote:
Originally Posted by Farrar
Quote:
Originally Posted by stevedmc
OK, thanks! I will go to O'Reilly tomorrow, and I will get the pads, gear oil -- and brake fluid: in order to avoid pushing crap up into the system, I am told to open the bleeder when you compress the piston back up before putting the new pads in, and top off with fresh brake fluid.Quote:
Originally Posted by stevedmc
Also, O'Reilly has one more oil seal in case I manage to frig this one up. By the way, you can add National Part Number 1962 to yout crossover parts list -- it's not rubber, it's the exact same metal/spring/rubber as OEM which lasted almost 30 years.
I need to go to Harbor Freight to get a trickle charger. I will ask for a seal puller, too. Anything else?
Nah, we should be good for Saturday but you're doing most of the work. I don't want to get too dirty since I've got a BBQ to go to that night.Quote:
Originally Posted by Farrar
Btw, James has some cheap black carpet (new) for $400 if you are interested in it.
http://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?36...2063#post52063
Go for the carpet, man. It's a great deal. I bet black would look really sharp in there too.
i should, since i live in "Little Mexico" (i.e., South O)... we're a minority in our neighborhood.Quote:
Originally Posted by Farrar
im sure everyone cares. :lol:Quote:
from Wikipedia:
The largest concentration of Mexicans and Mexican Americans in Omaha lived near the packing houses and Union Stockyards of South Omaha.
Today the majority of Mexicans and Mexican-Americans live in South Omaha, also called the Southhood or South O. A strong Mexican-American presence thrives there, with numerous public murals and exhibitions of Mexican culture throughout the community. Along with a variety of businesses, churches and community organizations, the area features El Museo Latino. [...] In 1998, the community was estimated to have 20,000 Latino families.
You need a hat.Quote:
Originally Posted by Farrar
A Magic Hat
A Magic Green Hat
Just leave it sitting on your passenger seat. Problem solved.
http://artoftrolling.files.wordpress...legitimacy.jpg
Forget Border Patrol. I need a hat with "INS" on it.
None of the local parts houses have front or rear brake pads in stock. Sadness.
Edit: holy crap, you can actually buy those hats!
I almost forgot what the old guy at Autozone told me a year ago when I asked for brake pads for a 77 Mercuri Capri. He basically told me he didn't have any in stock and that I should get rid of the old Capri since its getting harder to get parts for cars that old. I just kept my mouth shut and left.Quote:
Originally Posted by Farrar
Don't forget you will need DOT4 brake fluid.Quote:
Originally Posted by Farrar
Success! O'Reilly is overnighting my brake pads (front: 1974 Mercury Capri, rear: 1993 Jaguar XJS Base) from their hub to my local store, and I will pick them up first thing tomorrow morning, along with a good amount of DOT 4.
Btw, don't sue me if something goes wrong. Remember I don't have a brain.Quote:
Originally Posted by Farrar
I will be doing all of the work, remember? You can just sip Cheerwine and supervise.Quote:
Originally Posted by stevedmc
Well, "Brake Pad and Final Drive Oil Seal Day" has been postponed thanks to an incredible amount of rain which has just been dumped on the region in just the past 45 minutes. (And it's still raining.) Nonetheless, I went out and bought front and rear brake pads, brake fluid, gear oil, seal puller, drain plug socket set, and battery trickle charger.
At this point I have all of the tools necessary to change that transmission oil seal myself -- except for the seal installation tool, which I can rent from the auto parts store. Prior to today I was planning on using Steve's seal puller and drain plug socket, but those tools weren't that expensive.
Farrar ,
Did those pads come with anti-squeal shims? I just put on a fresh set of Ceramic pads (so called low dust) I bought from Hervey 4 years ago. After about a day of driving (break-in) they squeal like pig now. The pads appeared to have an anti-squeal backing bonded on them. I guess I'm going to have try and resurface the disc and put anti-squeal compound on them. Since I already had the car up on jack stands for New tires, it took all of 3 minutes per corner. Be sure to push the pistons back with the old pads in place then remove them. I found that a 90° nail puller works well for this. I used a screwdriver styled pry-bar facing inboard on the inside pad and the short end of the 90° nail bar on the outer pad. All I did was catch the pad backplate (with pins in place) then leveraged the bars against each other creating an outward (push back) movement. Once there was enough space between the disc and pad I slid the nail bar between them leveraged them the rest of the way back. Eventually, I am going to do a caliper rebuild, but I'm not ready for that yet. Btw. It is recommended that when you push the pistons back, you open the bleeder and drain the Old fluid out rather than push back up the system then Do fresh fluid bleed.
A c clamp works good too for pushing the pistons back in. I have two in my tool bag.