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Thanks for the responses.

Hello, I have a 1930 Plymouth with the 4-cyl engine. The engine has internal oil leaks of some type and is fouling the plugs quite badly, probably valve guides or piston rings or both, I'm guessing. I would assume it will need machining as well. The internals of the engine most likely have 40+ years of carbon, scale, and sludge inside as well. It's time for a rebuild, or at the very least, to take the engine apart and give it a good once-over. I have a few places in mind, but can anyone recommend a good shop from anywhere from Richmond, VA to maybe Baltimore, MD that could take on a job like this, preferably a place with its own machine shop? Thanks for any thoughts and advice! -Chris

Installed overhead lighting today (see photo). I will also be putting in 4 more of these units at waist level on sawhorses when I'm ready to start painting.

Still available...

I have an ID tag from one if you happen to find one without an ID tag.

I've been buying lots of paint booth supplies in the last week, like plastic sheeting to cover the walls and block other parts of the garage off, metal wire cable to hang parts, 8 LED lights to mount around the booth, along with other bits and pieces. I'll be getting a Tyvek suit and other safety equipment next week, and maybe buy paint after that. Today, I also made a filter box (Photo 1) to put under the garage door as an air intake to go along with the exhaust fans I'll be putting at the window at the rear of the garage. So far so good. Can't wait to get the MG finally painted.

Jeff, no problem. I charge $200/hr + all travel expenses to Georgia.

I'm now 16 hours over two days into thoroughly cleaning my garage. I removed almost every object from the garage (Photo 1 is about 80% of everything removed), blew off the walls and ceiling with compressed air, then swept the floor. I then started to blow each object with compressed air and wipe down with a damp cloth to remove all the sanding dust (with the garage doors closed so more dust wouldn't blow in), then put each item back in the garage. I still have about 4 hours of work left to get it finished. It should be about 90% less dust than before. No way I'll be able to get it any cleaner than that, as anytime spent cleaning will still kick up some dust, which will resettle. I was also able to purge about .5% of it as junk or recycle, as well as bringing out quite a few old parts that I will try to sell or give away, which will free up a little room as well. When the garage cleaning is complete, next step is to complete a plan and materials list for a basic paint booth, along with referring to a couple friends and articles for reference. Hopefully my photos will be a little less boring starting now, as compared to the last two years.

It's been over a month, but I'm back to the MGA. I took a 3-week vacation and then spent over a week just catching up on home life. Caught the tail end of a nice day today, so raced to get the touch-up primer on the MGA body. Primed about 25% of the trunk again and a few small touch ups on the rockers and inner support brackets. SHOULD be a little more sanding and finally finished with the body. I should have most of the day Friday to finish the small amount of sanding. I still have some minor touch up on some of the other body panels, but this can all be done outside later, which means I can finally start cleaning the garage and building a de facto paint booth after the minor sanding is done. No photos, as it's just more of the same.

That trunk is so nice, it looks like CGI or a deep fake. Could that possibly be real??? Maybe it should go to a Craftsmanship museum instead of on the back of a car. Beautiful artwork!

I'd put the vette outside and buy a high quality UV protected cover and let it wait its turn. I want to see you finish the Merc...just my opinion. It's a win-win either way. -Chris

I have a scan as well, but would like an original. Thanks, I'm always looking around, too. -Chris

Not the same car, as the one I've seen has not run in at least 20 years. The one I saw is still for sale. I'm always thinking about it, but I have nowhere to put it, nowhere to restore it, as my garage is full with another project, and I'd end up putting way more money into it that it is worth. Thanks for the post. Lots of sympathy for the car, but no one can take it on so far.

Thanks, I think I am getting down to what the problem is, but now have to find the exact place where it is broken.

Paul, I unplugged both connectors and turned on the defogger. I am getting power thru the main wiring harness to the connector on the driver's side, but there is no power on the "tab" connected to the driver's side grid, no power to the "tab" on the passenger side grid, and no power to the ground wire. If I plug in just the driver's side connector, I get full power to ALL grid lines, but (I'm learning this as I go), there is no resistance, as my test light will light up if I touch a grid line anywhere on any line. My understanding is that I should get a bright light on the driver's side, but it should fade as it goes across the grid to the passenger side. If I plug in the passenger side connector, at this point, I will get the proper resistance from the 9 upper grid lines, but nothing from the other grid lines (except the very bottom one). I did find an electrical wiring diagram in my factory shop manuals for this car, but I'm not the best at reading it. It is attached. I figured out that the connector on the passenger side is simply a ground wire, but it leads thru a large part of the rear wiring harness and ends up in the trunk. I found the ground attachment and cleaned it up, but there was no change to the situation. On the wiring diagram, there is an item called "J150" towards the lower center of the diagram. It leads to "G3," which is the ground that I found. I don't know what "J150" would be, I don't know what that symbol is, so I wonder if this has anything to do with the situation. It also looks like there is a relay to all of this under inside the lower dash, so I'll have to find that and look at it. It seems the more I learn, the more complicated this thing gets. I may have to try to find a professional auto electrician to figure this one out. Very frustrating. Thanks for trying to help me out with this. -Chris

Did you ever find your parts? If not, I have an unlikely but possible lead.

I'm making progress, but haven't quite figured it out. I tested out the far side vertical connection and noticed there was no vertical connection under the 9th row from the top. So, I took off the trim and discovered a wire connector right at that point (Photo 1). Sure enough, if I disconnected it, then no grid lines work. There is power going to the wire at the connector, so everything seems to be going fine here. I then took off the trim on the far side (passenger side) and found another connector (Photo 2). I unplugged the connector and all grid lines now worked on the rear glass and there was power to the wire that leads into the connector. When I plug the connector back in, the same grid lines (most below #9) go dead again.My question to the electric pros on the forum is, would the connector on the driver's side (black wire leading back towards the rear of the hatchback) be the ground wire, I'm assuming? Why would the lower grid lines lose power when I disconnect the connector with the black wire? What might be wrong here? Obviously, this should be plugged in. It's also obvious I'm missing something simple, but I'm not much of an electrical guy. Main fuse is good, everything else seems good.Any help is greatly appreciated, as usual! -Chris

White Post Restorations in White Post, VA does excellent brake rebuild work. You can find them online, just google them.

Body back on the dolly and chassis back in the rear of the garage (Photo 1). Had John Deere help me out a little with the chassis with the blown out flat tire. Next nice day that I'm not busy with something else, I will try to finish the primer touch up.

If it makes you feel better, this is every shop in the country, all the time, based on my experience. If someone says it will take 2 weeks, multiply it by 8. I think the problem is that there are no workers, but these shops still need work. They will lie to you to get your business, then they will have the .5 employees they have work on it, but it will take forever, because there are no other employees. If you call them and ask what the problem is, they will lie to you even more. I can name a few "reputable" businesses that are doing this to me right now.

He only has the reprint of the First Edition; I need the third and I need an original. Thanks anyway!

Still looking for this manual...thanks.

For Sale- NOS 1973-77 Chevrolet Chevelle Malibu 4-Door Edge Guard Kit, #994499. Comes in original packaging, but original packaging has deteriorated quite a bit from being in storage for 45+ years. Great original accessory. Shipping will be pricy due to shapes of pieces. May be able to deliver for free or very cheap depending on your location. $10 + shipping or Best Offer.

For Sale: NOS Vintage 1955-57 Chevy Electrical Fuse Box Panel. This piece is not a reproduction, but an original NOS piece, but does not have the original box. Excellent condition, but is a little dirty and shows some age from 60+ years of storage. $65 + shipping or Best Offer.

For Sale: NOS vintage GM slider double door latch/lock. Made by Eberhard Manufacturing Co., it has a GM part number of 3751670. Fits 1958-63 GM Vans with factory Union City Body with front sliding door, 1961-1973 GM Step Vans with front sliding door. Can be made to work with other applications, or use it for a custom application. $35 + shipping or Best Offer.