Just an update for those of you quizically following the lack of progress on the abhorant Spit Wad.
No, Denise; but thanks all the same. The plastic window crank donuts did not work for this application. I've saved them, however, and will be returning them to you in July. I appreciate your effort, and jumping to my aid when i asked for parts. The door panels that I made all by myself look fantastic. I was told by a skeptic that i could not possibly make them look as good as one from a catalogue......but i beg to differ. Especially for about 25% of the catalogue price, i think i did rather well. the experience emboldened me to do something similar soon to the Spider.
The "samples" of webbed grommets worked great. Does anyone have a source for webbed grommets? No one at any part store around here is old enough, or curious enough to assist. I could use a few more webbed grommets in various sizes for the assorted trips through the firewall. Every piece of rubber on this vehicle is 38 years old, and either brittle or gummy.
A brand new windshield was installed, and it looks good. Soon, the gauges will get a fresh set of glass as well. My wife was impressed with the appearance change once the new wind screen was installed.
I am getting better at US fine thread fastener identification. On several occasions I have correctly guessed a fastener head size without even looking at it, based on blind finger touch! This is turning out to be a great time saver, cuz the US sized wrenches are on the other side of the garage from the metric wrenches. Tech tip....to save time in the shop, do not mix US wrenches with Metric wrenches, unless you have REAL GOOD eyesight.
I was so strongly impressed by the upholstery job performed on the dash top, that i am seriously considering similar techniques for a Spider dash. When it gets installed, i will post some pictures. tick tock...we wait on elecrical miracles.
If anyone is ready to pitch a Spider dash, please don't. Send it to me so I can practice.
Which brings me to the current topic LORD LUCAS VERSES ITALIAN ELECTRICAL GREMLINS. Seems that the Brits have their own issues with old wiring, old connections, and old equipment. Their favorite saying goes something like "LORD LUCAS, THE KING OF DARKNESS". for you totally uninitiated, Lucas is the #1 auto electric manufacturer in England, very similar to Delco or AC here in the US, or our favorite Marelli from Italy. There seems to be only one major electrics supplier in the UK - LUCAS, as opposed to the several on this side of the pond.
So, LUCAS - LORD OF DARKNESS currently reigns over my project car. The previous owner claims innocent ignorance about the wires yanked from the steering column, has no knowledge of the random wire cut in two in inaccessible locations, or does not know why several wires are not attached to the fuse panel.
Eventually, i have found several circuits and traced them on the crude colorless wiring diagrams supplied by Haynes. Even after tracing their supposedly correct path, and hook them up "correctly" i still find no light at the end of the tunnels. What? Missing a ground wire here....no bulb there! And every light fixture has at least two specialty gaskets. Each gasket sells for $2.50 to $3 each, so you gotta figure out how to make your own as many times as possible. I just paid $12.95 each for a pair of special head light assembly gaskets. Talk about budget over run!
Those advocates of all things British will brag to you about the consistancy of the wiring color codes used by the UK manufacturers. What they don't say is that almost every other wire is Christmas green with a red stripe. Thanks for making all ground wires black, but there is a BIG difference between right turn signal and left turn signal. That they are both the same wire color IS NOT color coding effectively.
Ok? So, yeah, Guido didn't do a great job either. But at least no one gives him credit for being an electrical genius. Give us a break LBC lubbers! Lord Lucas is King of misdirection and confusion in addition to darkness.
Yeash!! The project has met a huge hurdle. Fixing major issues in wiring. I am weeks away from legally driving on the street, so I won't be needing that uphosltery vinyl or that top for a few more months.
More later.
Lord Lucas verses Italian Electrical Gremlins
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racydave
