1973 Custom Cruiser

Awwwwwwwwww.

 

I knew you would do it I am so glad for you

 

Good job Jaunty! You have to be so psyched and rightfully so. See that, persistance overcomes resistance! I must say I'm glad you didn't enter into any situation on the way to the parts store that required immediate emergency avoidance maneuvers. I dare say, they would've been somewhat delayed as you had all your brain functions working on the relay problem.
Congratulations. Job well done.

 

What is gratifying is actually solving the problem as opposed to simply jury-rigging new wiring to go around it. Much better to find the actual problem and correct it.

Just think how good I'll feel when I track down the problem with the rear keyswitch and the short in the taillight circuit!



By the way, here are some photos of what you would have seen if you were around my house shortly after lunch today.

 

Yesterday it was the dash tailgate switch, today it's the rear key switch. Who knows what tomorrow might bring!

Yes, boys, the rear keyswitch that operates the window and tailgate that USED to only open the window, now (as of 3:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on Sunday, April 18, 2010) opens BOTH the window and tailgate just as GM and God (or God and GM) intended it to.

So what was the problem? Yesterday, it was a completely unexpected missing ground. Today, the problem wasn't electrical at all!

No, the problem was mechanical. I removed the rear window regulator so I could get at the back of the keyswitch to remove the connector and check it for 12 volts at the appropriate leads as I had long been planning to do. But before I could even get that far, I noticed that the keyswitch was barely attached to the lock cylinder at all. I found that if I held the switch up tight to the cylinder, turning the key WOULD operate both the tailgate and window. (It helps to have arms that are 10 feet long and bend in all kinds of weird ways.)

I discovered that the keyswitch actually wasn't physically attached to the lock cylinder at all. All that was holding it in place was that it was resting against the back side of the window regulator. A clip was missing.


Look at the figure below to see what I'm talking about.



Item #2 was being held against item #1 by resting against the backside of the window regulator (not shown) because item #3 was missing. I fashioned a serviceable replacement out of a piece of coat hanger wire, and, voila, a nicely functioning rear tailgate, and the lock cylinder is tighter in the back of the car now, too.


Now, it's off to the taillights!

 

Congratulations Jaunty!!!

"The Case of the Troublesome Tailgate" is finally solved!
"The Case of the Cantankerous Clamshell"
"The Case of the Groundless Glide-Away"

(I'm watching my Perry!)

I'm really happy for you, Jaunty! This is great news!
You are a super sleuth!

David

 

Thanks. I'm hoping that tracking down the taillight circuit short problem will be as "easy."

 

Wow, Jaunty, you are on a roll. Do you want to take a crack at the nations's economy? Based on your past two day's results, there's a good chance you may be able to find a fix for that as well!

 

Oh man, fixing the economy is a snap compared to tracking down these wiring and mechanical problems!

To fix the economy, you

1. lower taxes
2. reduce government spending and thus government borrowing
3. repeat

See? That was easy!


P.S I got #3 off of a shampoo bottle, but it seems to apply here as well.

 

Our wagons are like our ladies, they want attention or they get snitty.

Great news Inspector Clusod! Well done.

 

Had a chance to do a little mid-week work on the wagon.

Here's the rust in the front footwell areas coated with POR-15 after being treated with Marine Clean and Metal-Ready.




Now, here's a shot looking forward before I removed the old carpet. It was quite a mess, particularly in the front footwell areas, which isn't at all surprising given that it's a 37-year-old carpet.




Now here's a couple of photos of the new carpet just loosely laid in. It is a few inches larger in all dimensions, so some trimming will be necessary, but I really like that the rear carpet will be able to tuck several inches under the front carpet for a nice, clean seam between the two. With the old carpeting, the front and rear pieces just barely touched where they met. Of course, being under the seat, you never saw this, but I like the overlap just the same.






Now, yes, before anyone says anything, the new carpet is a little redder than the old. But it's not as much redder as you would think. The old carpet is very worn and faded, but if you look at areas that were protected all these years, such as under the sill plates, it's surprising how much more of a brown-red the old carpet was. It has faded to a dull green-brown now. I like the little extra touch of red, too. Livens things up a bit!

 

I noticed at the BOPC in Atlanta that the dashes sometimes contrasted the carpets, subtly of course, but from what I remember, it was not unusual for pcs to be close but no cigar, esp if diff components, i.e. door panels, dash, steering wheel, even kick panels. so I say "it all blends"

Looks great! And I know that carpet did not just unroll itself and lay down. Even dry fitting is tedious work.

 

No, I had it laying out flat for several days after getting it before putting it in the car. Had to get all the folds and stuff out of it after getting it out of the box.

 

Jaunty, you can slow down the fading using 3M's Scotchguard before you install it. It's got UVA and UVB protectants.