Hi, folks --
I got down and dirty with the '66 coupe this weekend, first getting the
dust off the exterior with the help of a pressure washer (thanks, Kenyon).
Next removed the rear seats, front seats, center console and driver's door
panel.
The FSM was little help with the front seats. Happily, I had a similar
experience with the '91 so I knew to move the seat forward to remove the
front retaining bolts and backward to remove the rear. BUT... the car has
no engine. Doh! The FSM does say that 12.6 volts is the input for the
relay, so I scavenved a jumper wire with the appropriate connector from the
horn and hooked my battery charger's positive clip to the jumper -- "It's
alive!", shouted the doctor.
Also cryptic in the FSM was the reference to "stud nuts" that need to be
removed to get the seat tracks out. I looked and looked for stud nuts and
found none. Then it occurred to me -- what's on the other side of the seat
track? The floor pan. What's on the other side of the floor pan? The
underside of the floor pan! Sure enough, there were my stud nuts. Quick
work with a 1/2-inch driver and they were off.
Carpet is a total loss but the hair and jute pad underneath and the sound
deadener below that are perfect. Rust? What rust? You could eat off the
floor pans. Watershield behind the door panel needs to be reglued, but
other than that the doors are great.
Since the car is sitting in my driveway sans front bumper (removed for
polishing) and with the crumpled front quarter panel, I figured I better do
something to offset its forlorn appearance. So I gave the top a vinyl
treatment and it looks as good as new. Really. Then I polished the
exterior chrome from the door handles up and cleaned the windows inside and
out. Most of the chrome is in excellent condition, but a few pieces --
most notably the rear window moldings and the triple bar at the base of the
vinyl top -- have some pretty bad pitting. Funny how some parts have help
up so well over the years vs. others going to the Dickens.
Question: Does the metal underneath the plating have something to do with
how well the plating holds up through the years?
I tried to apply voltage from my charger through the positive battery cable
through the fuse box, removing all fuses except accessory, to get the
windows to move using the driver's master control switch. First the 2-amp
setting -- nothing. Then the 10-amp setting -- I heard motor noise on all
six windows and the interior lights dimmed, but I got no action. Finally,
out of desperation, I tried the 50-amp car start setting. I figured the
20-amp fuse would protect anything, and I was right. But still no action
on any window.
Next step, I think, is to remove said motors and see if they spin. If so,
then I will move on to mechanicals like regulator gears.
I need to clean the entire interior. Little wear, but lots of dust and
cobwebs and insect larvae. I also want to redo the wood as I saw in one of
the repair articles on the web site. One thing not addressed is how to
remove the metal backing to which the wood is bonded.
Question: How do I get the wood off the dashboard, steering wheel, door
panels and seat backs? How do I get it back on?
The dash pad is perfect (car has been out of the sun since 1975), but the
metal strip between the pad and the windshield is rusting.
Question: Is this simply painted metal or am I missing some sort of
covering? Should I be able to just strip, prime, paint and reinstall?
Black to match the interior? Maybe the same flat black as the stripes
between chrome strips on the exterior?
Last question: How can I tell "elk grain" vinyl from conventional '66
vinyl? I don't know if it was an option on the '66 coupe, but I'd like it
know if there is a code on the fender tag or on the broadcast sheet to
indicate elk grain.
I shot about half a roll of film. I'll post the photos after I shoot the
rest this weekend. If you want to see what it looked like after 25 years
in an abandoned chicken coop and 5 more years in a warehouse, go to
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/desperate_not_serious/album?.dir=8a82
Thanks,
David
'91 K-Imperial driver
'66 Crown Coupe project
'66 Newport 383 .030 over 4bbl dual exhaust Eddys/Hurst/Cragars daughter's
first Mopar
Back to the Home of the Forward Look Network