{Chrysler 300} Going forward in reverse - aka my white 300H saga

[Kurt Brueske <kurt.brueske@xxxxxxxxx>]

Hi friends -

I thought I would post a question to knowledgable club friends to determine the best path forward with my "new" 300H.  I'm quickly learning that a low-mileage car that sat for 30-40 years is a car with 30-40 years of deferred maintenance (at a minimum).  This car has kicked my butt and it still hurts to sit.  I'm also learning to better appreciate including additional schedule slack when planning a project - especially low volume old cars.

Working through the brake system with the end of the tunnel in sight, I ran into a problem with the single reservoir master cylinder having worked through the entire remainder of the system (new everything) [Insert good experience:  Midwest Manufacturing LLC on brake booster rebuild:  https://midsteeringandairbrake.com].  Sparing the gory details, the brake bleed and adjustment became need for a new master cylinder. The combination of time crunch and lack of timely single reservoir availability led me down the path of upgrading to a dual reservoir master cylinder via a quick phone call to a trusted buddy (same route I took, same mechanic, with my '64 Imperial with a happy ending).  Friends with Chryslers are the best kind of people.

After last-minute, Johnny-on-the-spot hardware delivery, I get a phone call from Shawn (mechanic) the next day "You want brakes or cruise control?"  Huh?  The Autopilot occupied the space in front of the single reservoir master cylinder and wouldn't allow installation of the dual reservoir unit.  In order to move forward at the time and get my car off the lift at Shawn's shop (can't sit there for 4-5 days impeding his ability to work on other cars...did I mention I needed to leave Omaha for work-related travel?), Shawn carefully removed the Autopilot and successfully completed the dual reservoir installation and I now have brakes.  The car runs and drives after decades of sitting.  I'm thrilled...but:

I no longer have a working speedometer;

I no longer have cruise control;

I have three cables (one for setting the speed, two (i think) for communicating through the Autopilot, the transmission pinion gear/cable, to the speedometer) zip tied to a hard line under the hood.

Question:  Is there any way forward with reinstalling the Autopilot (with a modified bracket and linkage) or do I "have to go in reverse to go forward" and uninstall a new/perfectly functioning (and safer) dual reservoir master cylinder and replace it with a single reservoir master cylinder in order to get my speedometer and cruise control back?

If you've made it this far, I admire your tenacity!  I honestly appreciate any/all feedback.

Thanks!

Kurt

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