Jump to content

Avanti Rescue


Recommended Posts

May 1, 2013. 1 year ago today I went and picked up the Avanti from the shop in Falls Church, Virginia, where I had taken it two weeks prior to get the the final tasks done to get her roadworthy. It was expensive, but worth it to have professional mechanics with Avanti experience get the old girl on the road. When I stopped in around lunchtime that day 1 year ago I had not driven an Avanti more than a couple of hundred feet before. Certainly not on the road - what a new experience that was! A lot of work has been done in the last year, from working through the overheating problem to just working through the list of so many things to do. It has all been recounted right here, so if you want a list of what I have been doing, merely rewind a year and read, read, read.

Today I headed to the storage unit, it was a beautiful day so I had decided to take the car to a gas station and vacuum the trunk out. I got to the unit and checked the fluids in everything. After I got her ready I hopped in and fired her up - she started nicely. I drove toward the gas station and stopped at a light. After a while I happened to glance at the tach - the needle was bouncing gently around 1000 rpm - is the tach working now? I gunned it a little - yeah, she works til she gets to 1500, then sticks there. Well, at least it was moving a little, which is more than I have seen in a while. I headed to the gas station and vacuumed the trunk out - it was nice to have a powerful vacuum to make short work of it. The main mud wasp nest remnants are still there, but will be scrubbed off soon enough. Since I had the old rocket out of the silo I figured there was no sense wasting a good ride opportunity. Off we went, man, she was running sooo good. I swear the old motor likes the Sea Foam in the fuel - it just has a nice sound and quickness when running. I rode around here and there - the only drawback I have noticed on this ride (and last week's ride to see the Fesers) was that the turn signal flasher is acting up again. Or, should I say, the flasher connection. Looks like I'll be spending some time working through that little problem.

After a while I reluctantly headed back with thoughts of playing hooky floated around inside my head. But I was the conscientious worker and decided to put the toy away and head back to my desk. But first I measured the spot for the striker plate for the dome light switches and glued them in place with Krazy Glue. Then I installed the bulb in the courtesy lamp and closed the door. Light went out. Opened the door - light came on. The way it's supposed to work. I believe, however, that the striker plates are too thick - looks like 1/8" will be sufficient, so I will shave some of the thickness off of the driver's side. Before shutting everything up for the day I checked the striker plate on the passenger side and found that the wood had actually split after the door was closed on it. So much for that - I'll work on the solution tomorrow. I'll pull that striker off and stick something thinner on - keep working the problem until it's solved.

After I headed back to the office I called Alan Himes at the shop where the car was worked on a year ago. I just wanted to remind him that it's been a year and compliment him and his mechanics on a job well done. The car runs great! He was happy to hear it and asked me when I was going to paint it. "Well, if I could find the right person....." My mantra. You just have to find the right person. He said he might know just the person, he just has to remember the guy's name and number (see, other people can't remember stuff either). He'll get back to me on it. Meanwhile I'll mull over paint colors....

post-81474-143141880642_thumb.jpg

post-81474-143141880656_thumb.jpg

post-81474-143141880669_thumb.jpg

post-81474-143141880682_thumb.jpg

post-81474-143141880696_thumb.jpg

post-81474-143141880709_thumb.jpg

post-81474-143141880723_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Chris, glad the wood shim worked. And I forgot to tell you, I noticed that one of your brake lights is out. I think the left side. Saw it for an instant as you were pulling out of the fire station last Sunday. Maybe it is affecting the turn signal too.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Back to the storage unit at lunchtime! I rolled up and headed straight back to the passenger door to have a look at the striker plate that split in two right before I left yesterday. I figure it was because the striker was too thick and the mounting screw heads of the switch caused the wood to split. I ran my finger across the smaller piece of the split wood and it came off in my hand. I grabbed the larger piece and that came off too - the Krazy Glue didn't get a good grip on the painted surface. Well, it gripped the paint fine - the paint just didn't grip the fiberglass so well as you can see in the picture below. I figured I might have a problem with that when I glued it - however, it turns out to not be a problem as you will learn in a moment. I dropped the 2 pieces on the floor and headed over to the driver's door. I grabbed that striker and tugged - she held fast. I figured that too, the driver's door was devoid of paint so I glued straight to the fiberglass. So, since the striker plate was too thick, I grabbed a hacksaw blade, wrapped a garage rag around one end, and proceeded to saw half of it off along the length of it. As is the usual case when sawing with a hacksaw (at least when I saw with a hacksaw) the cut was not even. I ended up with more of a wedge shape, with the wide part of the wedge toward the outside of the car. I had expected that and planned for it - more on that in a moment.

As I was fooling around with the driver's door something occurred to me. Could it possibly be that the driver's door was the only one that didn't engage the switch? I turned the battery cut-off switch on - the courtesy lamp came on. Now if I closed the driver's door and the light went out, then the passenger door was engaging the switch by itself, because the striker plate I stuck on yesterday had failed and wasn't on the door. I closed the driver's door - the courtesy light went off. Open, close, open, close, on, off, on, off. Hmmm, looks like my work on the passenger door was all for naught. I closed the driver's door - light went out. I went to the passenger door, opened it, light went on. I was happy - now I only had half a problem.

So, on the driver's striker, I ended up with a wedgie, so to speak. The striker plate was cut crooked, but as I said, I planned for that. Last night, on the way home from work, I stopped at Sears and picked up a Surform shaper for wood. I took that and shaped the striker until it was flat - worked like a charm! I tested the door closing and light switch operation. That worked like a charm too - before, when the door got to 6 inches from closing, the light went out. Now, the light went out just before the latch caught the first position. I love when something works out! Before I left I checked the brake lights, watching the wall as I depressed the brake pedal - looks like they're working. Hope I don't have a loose wire that makes them work only part of the time. I'll check into that.

I closed up shop and headed by the house to grab a bite to eat before heading back to work. There was a box on the front stoop - a box from Summit Racing (I love how fast they ship!). Ah, My lug wrench must be here. It was. Oh well, I guess I'll have to go back to the storage unit tomorrow to see if it fits in the spot next to the spare tire well!

post-81474-143141882872_thumb.jpg

post-81474-143141882886_thumb.jpg

post-81474-143141882899_thumb.jpg

post-81474-143141882913_thumb.jpg

post-81474-143141882926_thumb.jpg

post-81474-14314188294_thumb.jpg

post-81474-143141882954_thumb.jpg

post-81474-143141882967_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Slow day at work, so I decided to finally unload all the rust I removed from the Avanti over a year ago. I had stashed it behind the storage box at work, in one corner of the parking lot behind the dumpster. I fished all the stuff out - a couple of wheels with tires (I already removed a couple earlier), the Swiss cheese exhaust, the beat up exhaust manifolds, the rusty dinner plate brake rotors, the crusty calipers, and a few other things. All of it went in the back of a truck, and various other odds and ends (non-recyclable) went in the dumpster. As soon as I was finished the trash truck arrived and emptied the dumpster (timing is everything). I went back in my office and called the local scrap recycling company - "How much are you paying per pound?" "7 cents". Ha! Not worth the trip. To the county it was going, but first I had to stop by the tire shop and get them to remove the 2 tires from the rims so I could toss the rims. They can keep the tires. 18 bucks for removal and disposal - I was happy to pay it and be on my way. I inspected the rims - one was not bad on the inside. I hated to throw that one away, so she was spared the big magnet at the smelting plant.

I headed to the storage unit and traded the good rim for a bad one I had (see earlier post, when I was trying to find a decent rim for my new spare tire). While there, I checked to see if the new lug wrench would fit in its spot in the trunk. Yep! Like I have said before, I love it when things work out! I grabbed a bite to eat and headed to the County Transfer Station, where all the trash and recycling gets processed. I backed up to the pile at the metal recycling section and pitched it all - 50 year old iron, going to be re-made. May end up as a Caterpillar or something - I hope it remains American made in any case. Mission accomplished, I headed back to work.

Yesterday I received the little power supply box I ordered from Amazon. Cheap price for a stout little box - I hope it works. I dug out the horn button switch I bought back when I was fooling around with the horns, trying to get them to work. I hope to set up a little bench top power supply with switch (the horn button) that I can hook up to the dome lights that I remove from the car for rebuilding. I hope to test the lights as I work on them - not sure what I will see when I try to take the lights apart, hopefully they are fixable. But first, the trunk gets washed and carpeted!

post-81474-143141883882_thumb.jpg

post-81474-143141883896_thumb.jpg

post-81474-14314188391_thumb.jpg

post-81474-143141883928_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Really beautiful weekend, so I slacked off on working on the Avanti. However, late today I was given a pass so I hurried to the storage unit and picked up the Avanti and brought her back home. She ran super - a pleasure to drive. Once I got here I set about washing the trunk out with Spic N Span. Scrubbed up pretty well, then it was back to the storage unit. She ran super on the way back too! A fun little outing late on a Sunday - I'll take any of those I can get!

post-81474-143141886455_thumb.jpg

post-81474-143141886468_thumb.jpg

post-81474-143141886482_thumb.jpg

post-81474-143141886495_thumb.jpg

post-81474-143141886509_thumb.jpg

post-81474-143141886523_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The other day, when I was sprung from my leash, I made a beeline to the storage unit to fetch the Avanti and bring it home to wash out the trunk. When I was nearly there I remembered that the last time I drove it the signal light flasher was once again refusing to signal its intentions. After I pulled the old car out of the storage unit I squeezed myself into the space between the seat and the kick panel. I fiddled with the flasher, wiggling, pushing, pulling, twisting. I could barely get one flash out of the turn signals. So I grabbed a small screwdriver and pushed one side of one of the connectors almost closed. I pushed the flasher in and tried the turn signal lever - success! It lasted almost until I returned later that evening. Oh well, something else to find a solution for.

Also that evening, when I was approaching the house and maneuvering up to the garage the horn was sounding as I wrestled the wheel this way and that. "Oh, that'll go over well inside the house", I thought. Ever since I had the steering wheel off and re-installed it the horn has been happy to announce its presence, usually at the most inopportune time. Pulling into the park while a couple of folks sat in their cars eating lunch - *honk-honk*. Driving down the road - *honk-honk* Turning a corner beside another car - *honk-honk* Driving by a jogger girl - *honk-honk*(maybe that one was mine ;)). All this noise must make people think I'm nuts. After washing out the trunk I headed out to return to the storage shed. *Honk-honk* as I backed out of the garage. *Honk-honk* as I wrestled the wheel around. *Honk-honk* as I turned the corner. *Honk-honk* as I turned the next corner. When I returned home later my wife asked dryly, "What's with the horn? Can we get that fixed?" I chuckled. So, on the list it goes....

Today, in the monsoon, I headed back to the storage unit with the first piece of trunk carpet in hand. I brought along my power booster and drop light - I plugged the light in the booster and turned it on. Light! With my new found illumination I studied the inside of the trunk. Hmmm, maybe I should scuff off some of this old adhesive. I grabbed the sanding pad and had at it. Soon, I had the surface to be carpeted smeared with DAP Strong Stick construction adhesive. I stuck the carpet in place and, after re-positioning a couple of times, had it where it's gonna go. I pressed it flat all over, up and down, all around. Man, that's a hard reach, awkward to bend over and reach up against the back surface of the trunk. After a while I was getting a little warm, sweating a bit. I kept after the pressing for a while until I was satisfied that the carpet was staying put. I was happy to pack everything up and head back to work. One piece of carpet in place, 12 to go!

post-81474-143141889521_thumb.jpg

post-81474-143141889535_thumb.jpg

post-81474-143141889548_thumb.jpg

post-81474-143141889562_thumb.jpg

post-81474-143141889576_thumb.jpg

post-81474-143141889589_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Also that evening, when I was approaching the house and maneuvering up to the garage the horn was sounding as I wrestled the wheel this way and that. "Oh, that'll go over well inside the house", I thought. Ever since I had the steering wheel off and re-installed it the horn has been happy to announce its presence, usually at the most inopportune time.

When I was doing the Avanti model, I saw on some pictures that there is a plastic insulator between the horn "levers" and the metal part of the steering wheel. Maybe it was a late addition to solve a similar problem. As you removed the steering wheel, those "levers" are maybe no more correctly centered and are touching the steering wheel arms when you are turning the wheel.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the input Roger - maybe you're right. Studebaker International sells those plastic pieces, I believe. I might try a set, even if just to see what they look like. I will study the problem in the coming weeks and resolve it - just another one of those things that are eternally popping up on one of these old cars!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Another day, another visit to the storage unit at lunchtime. I headed straight there and hooked up my power supply and drop light. I had brought the two side pieces of carpet with me and I stuck those in their spots to see how they fit. Satisfied with the fit I proceeded with the gluing - of course the glue gets everywhere and a couple of spots make their way onto the carpet. Not a big deal - I wiped any spots up and worked on getting the carpet in the right place. Once I was satisfied that each piece was aligned I went about pressing the carpet firmly in place. Round and round I went, flattening and straightening, then I took a minute to wipe the sweat. Then I went back and flattened some more. Whew! Too much like work! Pretty soon both pieces were in and it was time to go. I had my exercise for the day, plus it was time to go back to work. A couple of more pieces down, several more to go!

post-81474-143141891166_thumb.jpg

post-81474-14314189118_thumb.jpg

post-81474-143141891194_thumb.jpg

post-81474-143141891208_thumb.jpg

post-81474-143141891221_thumb.jpg

post-81474-143141891235_thumb.jpg

post-81474-143141891248_thumb.jpg

post-81474-143141891262_thumb.jpg

post-81474-143141891276_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Roger - maybe so - I'll know more today! I looked at that yesterday and figured that the edges of the pieces already installed are not "nailed down" tight and I can slip the edges of the small pieces (the 4 pieces that cover the wheel humps and those other two little humps) under the edges of the side pieces if I have to. I'll work it out. And like Paul said, the floor pieces basically just lay there.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Another visit today to the Avanti storage spot. Once again I headed straight there and got to it - it's the only way I know of making any progress on the thing. I hooked up the drop light and started fooling around with the four small pieces that cover the wheel humps and the other 2 "protrusions" on the trunk floor. Turning this way and that I figured out what went where and got some nice test fits. I ran into an obstacle with the radio antenna strap, which ties the antenna assembly down. It has a strap that reaches over to the wheel hump and a screw passes through the strap and wheel well and has a nut on the wheel side of the well. Of course the nut has no intention of coming off the screw, so here we are, turning round and round. I put vice grips on the nut and then of course the screw head slot doesn't have enough left to turn the screw. I could cut the strap off because I plan on getting a new antenna assembly someday ($140), but I want to get rid of the screw instead of having a bump under the carpet. By this point I was sweating buckets so I decided to come back to that.

I had three carpet pieces that I had stuck into position as a test fit. I had lifted up the edges of the carpets that I already installed and slipped the pieces under the edges. I was ready to glue - I pulled each piece out as I went, applied the glue and carefully fit the piece where it went. As careful as I was, I still got a little glue here and there which I wiped off using a damp cloth (you can see the damp spots in the pictures, couldn't see them with the naked eye). In the end the sweat was pouring and the pieces looked pretty good for an amateur. I was happy to get back in my daily driver and blast the AC. Whew! This is harder than I had planned on! Next time I'll attack the antenna strap screw with vice grips on both sides and get that left wheel hump piece installed. Making progress!

post-81474-14314189278_thumb.jpg

post-81474-143141892794_thumb.jpg

post-81474-143141892808_thumb.jpg

post-81474-143141892822_thumb.jpg

post-81474-143141892835_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Easiest way to get that screw out is, next time you have the car out, stop by your favorite auto repair/muffler shop and have them cut it off with their cut off tool(die grinder). In 20 seconds it will be off and save you alot of sweat. Looking better every day.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Pat - yes, like it was made for it! And a great price - 8 bucks! I couldn't believe it when I found it - something I was looking for, exact size and type for cheap! Something must be wrong here! ;)

Dale - thanks for the advice and compliment and for not busting my b---s for installing the carpet in the wrong order. Ha! On my way to the storage place this morning I remembered that I forgot to bring my own Dremel tool with cut-off wheel to cut the screw off. So I did it the old fashioned way - with a hack saw blade. Details coming up....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Man, the work has ground to a halt at my regular money making job. Like someone turned a light switch off - I keep checking the phone to see if it still works. After a few days of staring at the ceiling and overloading on surfing the 'net (did you know that the Packard factory covered 45 acres?! It still stands, a decrepit monument to the death of a once great city, Detroit), I decided I was going to take a few hours off and continue the trunk carpet install. But first I would go in to work at the regular time and check to see if maybe I had a phone message or email. I cranked up the computer - it wouldn't "boot", I restarted it several times and it just got worse, first it started out with a display, then blue screens, then darkness. Oh boy - I just love computer trouble. I shut the unit down and headed out to the storage unit.

As I mentioned in the earlier post I decided to attack the rusted screw with a hacksaw blade, since I forgot the Dremel tool and cut-off wheel. I hacked away and pretty soon the screw cried "uncle" and fell out. I cleaned the wheel hump and scuffed off some of the old adhesive with a sanding pad. After wiping everything up I did a test fit - looked OK to me, so I coated the hump with adhesive and pretty soon the carpet was in place. And, as you will be able to see in the pics, it is not perfect. It's a good thing I don't plan on showing the car or having it judged. I merely wanted to stop the deterioration of the old classic (hence the name "Avanti Rescue) and drive it around and have fun. So, the carpet hidden in the trunk looks just fine to me - a heck of a lot better than it did.

After getting the carpet glued tight and sweating more buckets I decided to see how the floor pieces would look. I threw them in the trunk and moved them around here and there until they looked about right. I was pleasantly surprised with the results - again, not perfect, but not bad. I just laid the carpets in to see how they fit - when I had the car in the shop a year ago they put a new tag light in and attached the wires of the light to the trunk release cable with little zip ties. I cut those off and tucked the wire behind the carpet that runs along the rear of the trunk. I haven't figured out exactly where the trunk release cable will go - part of it can go under the carpet but when it gets to the trunk latch it has to be above the carpet. Dunno, I'll fool around with it.

The next mountain to climb is the vinyl edging that came attached to the carpet that runs around the spare tire well. I'm not sure if that is the same setup as original - I kinda don't think so. It's going to be tough to get that edging to fit tight in the groove where the spare tire cover fits, plus it might make the cover not fit so well. Another thing to study and make a decision on - I'm half tempted to take the pieces to a seamstress and have her just pull the edging over the edge of the carpet and sew it tight. Make a finished edge like the other edges. We'll see....

I had had enough of the trunk work - I straightened up the storage unit, swept it out, and took some trash to the dump. Then I went by the house and picked up a spare computer I had. I spent the rest of the afternoon at my desk getting updates installed, anti-virus installed, hooking up to the work network, etc, etc. I still have programs and files to find and install, but overall I made some progress on the Avanti and a new computer setup so I'm not "dead in the water". I think I'll take a couple of days off!

post-81474-143141894507_thumb.jpg

post-81474-143141894522_thumb.jpg

post-81474-143141894536_thumb.jpg

post-81474-14314189455_thumb.jpg

post-81474-143141894565_thumb.jpg

post-81474-143141894579_thumb.jpg

post-81474-143141894593_thumb.jpg

post-81474-143141894608_thumb.jpg

post-81474-143141894622_thumb.jpg

post-81474-143141894636_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, a couple of days away from the old Avanti - just to get re-focused on something else and ponder things. Today, at lunchtime, I headed back to the storage unit, called by the work to be done and just to pay a visit. A boy and his car, or, the old man and the car. Take your pick. I got back in the trunk and removed the floor carpet pieces so I could take them home to work on them. I decided I was just going to fold the vinyl edging over and glue it fast. Then I'll just lay the carpet on the trunk floor. While I was in the trunk I went ahead and glued the vinyl edging of the carpet affixed to the partition between the trunk and fuel tank area. There is a little strip of metal that juts out at the bottom of the partition and I assume the carpet folks intended for that vinyl edging to wrap around that. I grabbed some silicone and a piece of metal strap and some clamps. Pretty soon the vinyl was glued and clamped - I'll cut a couple of slits in it by the edge of the spare tire well to make the side pieces fit better.

Tonight I took the floor pieces and folded the vinyl edging around to the carpet backing and glued it in place. After trying some clamps on the first piece of carpet I decided that wouldn't do. So I stacked a bunch of heavy stuff on the pieces - I hope they stick fast.

post-81474-143141898161_thumb.jpg

post-81474-143141898175_thumb.jpg

post-81474-143141898188_thumb.jpg

post-81474-143141898202_thumb.jpg

post-81474-143141898213_thumb.jpg

post-81474-143141898227_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

post-64181-143141898344_thumb.jpgI've been watching your thread. It looks like you started with the same basic car I did back in 1995. I don't have it any longer. Regarding the trunk release cable. Do a little forensics and find a series of holes that go along the route the cable would naturally take. The original was clamped down in at least 3 maybe 4 places. I know that unless my cable was clamped properly it was very difficult to open the deck lid. In fact unless you have some extra slack somewhere it looks like yours is too short. It is completely hidden by the carpet but if I remember correctly one of the clamping spots is on the wheel well.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Also, unless you are going for a 100% original concours restoration any antenna will work if you add a ground to it. The strap you are speaking of on the original is the ground.

My 64 was modified, somewhat, 200 4r GM overdrive, 4 wheel disc brakes, R3 headers, aluminum driveshaft, Crown Victoria rims, Edelbrock carburetor with the original AFB R2 top, aluminum pulleys, HO supercharger, larger intake valves, R2.5 spec cam, center console and stuff I've probably forgotten.

I don't check in that often but I've done everything but paint on that '64 even recovered my seats and installed the entire interior so please feel free to message me if you have a question on anything.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Oh goodness, Chris, did you not wear a respirator while using that carpet glue ? Look what you've done, installed some of it on your house floor instead of in the car trunk !! The smell of that stuff can really affect judgement and ability, ha ! ( looking GOOD ! )

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks Ernie, now things are a bit clearer. You are right, after thinking about it I realize that the route the cable is supposed to take is along a wider arc than it is taking now. And yes, the trunk release doesn't work nicely like it should. I have to pull the handle and hope it sticks a little, then run to the back of the trunk and pull up. Repeat this process until the trunk opens with a decent tug from me. So, all this fun, improper routing of the cable, limited functionality, cable won't fit under carpet correctly - what is to blame? Reproduction parts, that's what. I'm sure the cable is shorter than original, taking a tighter arc to the latch. I guess I just deal with what I got - thanks for the info and offer of help Ernie - I'm sure I'll need it from time to time.

John Byrd - you didn't even mention the purple elephant in the pictures - wow, that glue is strong stuff! (Thanks!)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, now I'm not so sure. I stopped by the storage place at lunch and had a look at the trunk release cable. If anything, it looks like it may be too long. In the first picture you can see the rust line on a curve where the old cable was. In the foreground, a couple of inches to the left of the lug wrench, by the bend in the wrench, is what is left of a hold down clip and screw. Long since given up any semblance of a screw or clip. That's the only hold down I can find along the route of the old cable. If I try to hold the new cable to the path of the old one along the rust "ghost" line I can't do it because the new cable is too long. Doesn't matter, really - it works well enough. Maybe I'll rig up a remote electric opener to the latch, something that can be removed for the purist out there who wants to restore it.

Since Ernie informed me that the strap I was removing from the antenna is the ground, I can now see, whereas before, things were blurry. When I took the antenna ground off the other day there was a short, flat piece of metal hanging there. I figured it was probably some type of conductive strip or something. But it was just hanging there, long ago wasted away by the oxidation monster. And today, since I knew that is was a ground because Ernie told me, I easily could make out the "ghost" mark of the old grounding strip that used to run from the antenna strap, down the wheel hump to the trunk floor, across the floor to the nearest body bolt (which in this car is now a rust blob and no longer resembles a bolt), thereby grounding the situation. Easily seen in the second picture (first picture too, for that matter - almost identical pics ;))

Next, I put the pieces of floor carpet in and just left them there for now. I plan on fine tuning things and taping most of the carpet fast, except for the area I need to lift for the lug wrench. I threw the spare tire in, then the spare tire cover on, then I put a couple of heavy items on top of the carpet, just to flatten it some. I'll leave the trunk for a while and fool around with something else - there is always something else to do in case I get bored with one thing.

post-81474-143141899893_thumb.jpg

post-81474-143141899906_thumb.jpg

post-81474-14314189992_thumb.jpg

post-81474-143141899933_thumb.jpg

post-81474-143141899946_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The ideal situation with the cable is to have as long a straight piece coming off the latch as possible and no sharp turns anywhere. I believe it goes up onto the wheel well hump so you may have to pull up that one piece of carpet. All that really matters is that it works.

I drove the car for years without the trunk latch installed and never had the lid pop up.

Edited by ErnieR (see edit history)
Link to comment
Share on other sites

A quick check in - what a week! Monday morning saw my computer at work fail to "boot", and after several attempts at coaxing the old machine to wake up I gave up and retrieved another computer I had at home. Then the fun began - one never realizes how much they depend on something until it is not there, then they realize how important that thing is. My computer, for example - the one that gave up the ghost served faithfully for 8 years (except for a hard drive failure 5 years ago), and I could always depend on it to deliver when called upon. It never balked at anything I threw at it - just kept running and running. Until Monday. So, this week has been taken up with dealing with getting the new computer loaded with different programs, updating this, updating that, dealing with programs that don't want to load because of little conflicts with this or that. And I'm still not back up to speed - more fun awaits.

Needless to say, I haven't had any Avanti fun this week. I did make a break for it tonight and rushed to the storage unit for a quick visit. I started the old girl and we went out for a few runs around the local area. What fun! Much too short of a visit. After returning to the storage place I removed the two dome lights so I could work on them this week, as I probably won't get to visit again for a few days. Pictures tomorrow.....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just a few pics of the dome lights coming out. I was going to start working on them to try to get the sockets cleaned up and working, but I didn't get started on it yet. So, we will set sights on tomorrow - also, I need to work on some type of fix for the flasher set up. Maybe run some jumper wires from the the electrical block to the flasher. Try to get a better connection at the block, if possible. It seems that the little connectors on the flasher aren't making good contact at when the flasher is plugged in. So, I hope to attach some decent connectors to short pieces of wire, then insert those into the receptacle where the flasher would go. On the other end of the jumper wires I would have connectors that the flasher can plug into. I know it sounds jury rigged, but that way I could control the connections better - I even searched for gold plated connectors so I could try them. They work good for computers - however, I couldn't find any for a automotive application.

Yesterday, when I was driving the old car I turned around in a parking lot of a business office park. Some of the buildings had ground level windows and I was able to back up in front of the windows and see if my tail lights were working. It looked like one tail light was out, but both brake lights worked. Yay! But as I got ready to drive away I realized the the backup lights weren't working. Ah well, looks like there is some various electrical housekeeping to do.

post-81474-143141908237_thumb.jpg

post-81474-143141908252_thumb.jpg

post-81474-143141908265_thumb.jpg

post-81474-143141908279_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I started fooling around with the dome lights and pretty quickly I realized that, "Houston, we have a problem..." Mainly, on the right side light, the backing material (bakelite?) for the socket that holds the contacts for the bulb, has disintegrated. Imagine that, only 50 years old and it's falling apart. Not really surprised, I guess. After determining that the right side light was toast I had a look at the left side dome light. Hmmm...contact assembly in better shape, but light doesn't work. So, I cut some lengths of wire, crimped some connectors on them, hooked one end of the wires to the old light connectors, then hooked the other end of the wires to my new electric machine. I flipped the switch - nothing. Not surprised, really. I got my electrical tester and checked the current coming out of the machine. Exactly what the machine says it's supposed to be. I tried the contacts in the bulb socket but couldn't get anything. I cleaned the old contacts with sandpaper and was finally able to get the correct voltage at the contacts. But everything had to be fiddled with and perfect. I inserted the bulb in the socket, but could never get it to work. I believe there just isn't enough contact there, due to weak springs behind the contacts as well as corroded contacts.

So. it looks like new sockets are in order - the search begins for those tomorrow. While I get that together I will start on the flasher setup. Chasing the electrical gremlins - reminds me of my Volvo days and working on the infamous Lucas (The King of Darkness) Electric parts.

post-81474-143141909283_thumb.jpg

post-81474-1431419093_thumb.jpg

post-81474-143141909315_thumb.jpg

post-81474-14314190933_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A couple of days get by me without getting anything posted - I was having trouble getting stuff to post. Computers - ya gotta love 'em. Hopefully I'll be back up to speed by this time next week. The other night I fooled around with the one dome light assembly that had the socket contacts that came apart from the socket. The contacts now hang free so I sanded them with some sandpaper to make sure they would make good contact with the bulb I had. The bulb for the dome light has two contacts, presumably so one contact can be positive and the other contact can be tied to the main electrical ground for the wiring system. Presumably because the car is fiberglass. Or maybe because the dome lights mount onto a vinyl covered panel. After I cleaned the contacts I hooked up my little electrical supply box and connected the wires to the plug in connector of the lamp. Then I held the bulb against the two free hanging contacts (the contacts that the bulb would mate to in the socket) No light came from the bulb. Hmmm. Thinking that maybe I was missing grounding the bulb because it wasn't in the socket, I took a length of wire and held one end against the metal body of the lamp and the other end against the side of the bulb base. Then I touched the bulb to the one free hanging contact that had shown voltage on the meter. I got light. Hurray!

Next, I tried holding the bulb against the two free hanging contacts while grounding the bulb to the light body (it gets tricky holding all these wires together). I didn't get light. To clarify, the second contact wire comes from the little slider switch of the light, the switch that turns the light on when the door is closed. I figured that the little switch was probably all corroded inside so I took it apart. Sure enough, the contacts were corroded, so I cleaned things up and re-assembled it (tricky little operation, also). After finally getting the little slider and its copper contact bar back together I tried the light again - still no light. Baby steps here, baby steps....

So, I have a hot contact and another that I now believe is also hot (when the switch is on). So, I guess I'm wrong about the two contacts being one positive and one negative. I now believe both are positive, with the ground being provided by the bulb base against the socket, with the light assembly tied to the main electrical ground. Whew! Electricity can be confusing! Ah well, I believe I have made progress in figuring things out - I need to find a couple of new, double contact sockets that I can rig up in the lamp base and solder the wires to the connector wires. Sounds like fun! I think I'll go make a couple of jump wires for the flasher now. More on the dome lights soon.

post-81474-143141913444_thumb.jpg

post-81474-143141913458_thumb.jpg

post-81474-143141913471_thumb.jpg

post-81474-143141913485_thumb.jpg

post-81474-143141913499_thumb.jpg

post-81474-143141913553_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

post-64181-143141913754_thumb.jpgIn case you haven't figured it out already the white wire in an Avanti is always a ground. Since the bulb needs to ground to the base the spring tension in the socket is important. It should take a good push on the bulb to get it in. If the bulb holder is loose on the housing the ground may not be good enough to lght the bulb. And, of course, since the actual ground is at the other end of that white wire the problem, if it still exists, can be far away from the light itself.

Grounding is an issue with the Avanti. I had to supplement the ground at the regulator by running a strap to the frame inside the wheel well. I added another from the engine to frame.

On the automatic equipped cars the neutral safety and back up switches are, to take a quote from Wheeler Dealers, "rather fiddely". I don't know about the 4 speed cars but if it's not something simple at the rear then the swtch may be a bit loose and shifting around making contact sometimes.

Because I converted my car to an GM overdrive I had to fabricate some kind of back up light switch set up. I opted to put two red LED bulbs in there and wire them into the stop light circuit instead. I had occasion to be behind my car at night and the stock lights are so tiny especially compared to modern day stuff. I didn't want to put a 3rd stoplight in so I gave up the back up lights for stop lights.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the info Ernie - yes, my light socket springs are too weak to hold the contacts against the bulb. Plus, it almost seems like the bulbs fit a tad loosely in the old sockets - not sure why. So, I will seek out new sockets and install them into the light assembly. I hope it works out that way. I'm not sure what is going on with my backup lights - they did work at one time, maybe just more socket problems. I will be checking that out in the coming days too.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks Ernie - I've located some possibilities. They all seem to mount at the front of the socket like your standard tail light assembly mounts. The dome lights mount at the rear of the socket - I might have to end up soldering the socket to the lamp housing. I thought about using JB Weld, but I need to maintain the conductivity of the mounting, so as to maintain ground. I'll rig something up...

Well, we just got back from several days at the beach, where we just kicked back for a while. We did take a few hours one day and traveled to the Military Aviation Museum about 15 miles south of Virginia Beach in the small hamlet of Pungo (think strawberries). The museum is a fairly new (7 years) facility that has a surprising amount of hardware, from a Wright replica (one of Greg Cone's?), a Jag of the same vintage as unimogjohn's (I believe, some displays are lacking in signage). There is also a picture below of the 5th Air Force insignia that reminded me of my father, the same insignia was on his uniform during WWII.

The last couple of pictures show a B-17 bomber, the airborne angel of death that wore down Germany to the point where allied ground forces could finally kill the beast. Of course, we paid a terrible price in lost flyers on these B-17's that never came back. On the second picture you can see the belly turret that housed a brave gunner who watched for German fighter planes sent up to intercept the bombers. Reminds me of the series by Ken Burns called "The War", where an elderly gentleman recounted his time in a belly turret. He said he was a dumb kid who signed up for B-17 duty (didn't realize what he was signing up for) and ended up in the belly turret spinning around looking for fighters. On one flight an anti-aircraft shell came up through the turret, passed through his arm, and struck the flight navigator seated above the belly turret, killing him. The belly gunner said he was bleeding all over the turret, the blood was freezing and turning into marbles of blood rolling around the turret. And all he could think about was how he was going to get in trouble for bleeding all over the plane.

A brave bunch of boys, all of them, in the air and on the ground. We owe them a tremendous debt of gratitude - here's remembering them on this Memorial Day weekend with a proud and hearty "Good job!!"

post-81474-14314191716_thumb.jpg

post-81474-143141917174_thumb.jpg

post-81474-143141917188_thumb.jpg

post-81474-143141917202_thumb.jpg

post-81474-143141917215_thumb.jpg

post-81474-143141917229_thumb.jpg

post-81474-143141917243_thumb.jpg

post-81474-143141917256_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...