72 2 Door 510 Restoration-25 years in the making

[Rush]

Absolutely! I can't believe the difference it makes!

[Rush]

The weather is starting to get halfway decent so I've been chipping away at some things on the car. Over the last couple of days, I fixed my horn that has never worked (video link included), I made a 3rd brake light with a modulator so it flashes when I press the brake pedal, I made a rearview camera system, and designed a mount so I wouldn't have to drill a hole in my car and finally, I installed new tubing for my 80's era air shocks & they actually work! Briefly. LOL!!

Horn fix video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fw8joVL ... UxMCBob3Ju

3rd brake light:
I used a COB LED. I ran 22ga wires just in the edge of the rear window gasket. I stuck the light to the glass using clear 2 sided tape.






Rear camera:
I bought a basic camera & a screen from Ali Express for $11. I wired it to be switch-operated instead of rear lamp triggered (mainly because my reverse lamps are always on when the car is on and I haven't figured out why; I have no bulbs in them right now). I wasn't interested in drilling a hole in my car so I designed & printed a mount for the camera that allowed me to run the wires through the hole in the bumper and then under the car into the trunk. For a mere $11 I think it's pretty fancy! lol! I'm not quite finished cleaning up the wiring & I haven't mounted the screen yet but you get the idea.

[BEO 510]

Thanks for the educational horn video, i would for sure messed up that nut inside there. Planned for thirty years to open some horns, now i know how to and how they works. I onced makes them horn scream by replace the relay and put bigger wires direct from the alternator.

[Rush]

You're welcome! I thought it was a pretty interesting contraption! I bet if you take them apart now, you'll make them work. It doesn't seem like a whole lot can go wrong with them but corrosion is their number 1 enemy, I think.

[bertvorgon]

Whoa...hold the phone, rewind the camera.....

What's with the licence plate screws....on such a beautiful build and we have sub-standard mounting screws.....

I used some nice socket head stainless with washers, looks really good.

That camera is too cool! I worry when backing into curbed parking spots that I might hit my exhaust pipe.

[Rush]

Lol! You're right, they ARE ugly! Alright, alright, I'll go get some nice ones.

[Rush]

I finally got new KYB AGX adjustable shocks to replace my clapped out 80's air shocks. The ride difference is huge!
Old

New


The adjuster is facing outward bwcause otherwise it would hit my exhaust. I needed to clearance that bracket a bit but not a big deal.

Yesterday, I took my car in for an alignment. It's literally no better than the alignment I did on my own with a caliper and string. About all it did was make the steering feel heavier at low speed and not any more stable at higher speeds. Lesson learned, I guess.

Oh! And I put new bushings in my torsion control rods. Bit by bit!

[Rush]

Today, while I'm trying to figure out my high beam LED headlight issue I decided to measure the holes in my firewall and 3D print some plugs for them. Sure, I could probably just order them but what fun is ordering $.89 rubber plugs when I can print them myself with a $300 printer and $40 filament?

These are printed in TPU (flexible) filament & the design is parametric so they're super easy to size in Fusion 360 for whatever hole you need to cover. The guy who designed them did a very nice job. Here's the link to the file if you're a print dork like me: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:6266485

[Rush]

And check out these dead sexy bits! Stainless sills! My goodness!


And I rebuilt my hinges. Springs?! They have frickin' springs?!
This job was actually a real bear to do but after all the other work I did on this car, I feel like a quitter if I don't suffer through yet another nightmare job on it! All those pins LOVED living in those holes and needed a LOT of persuasion in the form of a hack saw blade on the main pins and then a punch & BFH to get them out. Shockingly, such brutal treatment did zero unintended damage. The new "supplemental" pins on the lower hinge needed to be peened over like the originals which was also pretty time consuming to get right.

My passenger door closed beautifully, but the driver's door was kinda droopy and took a little more oomph to close than I liked. The hinge rebuild fixed it and it closes beautifully now, too. $115 well spent on those, I think.

Upper. Notice the brass bushings. Bye bye mangled nylon!


Lower. Loads of fun with this one.


I also installed a new stereo because my other one crapped out. I'm putting the least expensive stereos in that I can since it's not the most secure car on the planet & I don't want to give anyone a reason to rip it open when I'm at the grocery store. I guess $23 was a little too cheap! Lol! I upgraded to a swanky Jensen.

[RONSLYCHUK]

Nice work on the hinges Rush. I agree that they are a PITA!

[Rush]

Thanks! Yeah, I'm hoping they last another 52 years because I don't want to mess with them again!

[Rush]

Project "Spring has sprung" has begun! Yesterday, my new springs arrived so I dug in! It took me a few hours but I got the back end finished! I still need to get under there and clean, prep & paint but not today. No one should be looking that closely at my rear end anyhow!

I was afraid my car would be super low since these look quite a bit lower than the springs that came out (no clue if they're stock ones that were cut or what) but it's just tad lower. For as rusty as parts of the body of the car were, I'm always surprised that in general, the bolts come right out of everything without snapping off.



New rubber spring pocket thingies






Today, I'm doing the front which hopefully, won't take as long since I've had that apart before. I've never touched the back end of the car so I wasn't familiar with what to do back there. The second side went WAY faster of course, but lining the sway bar back up to the heim joints was a real treat!

[Rush]

Well, the front is finished! That job was a real struggle by myself. The struts/brakes, etc., are so heavy & awkward to maneuver alone but I got it. Thank goodness for mini floor jacks!

These springs were taller than the ones I took out so I hope it doesn't look like a gasser hot rod after it settles!

I also figured out what the mystery ticking in the passenger rear was; I had one of the shock bushings in upside down so the shaft was ticking against the mounting hole when I hit bumps. I fixed it & now it's nice & quiet! Not a single clunk, rattle, whistle or squeak in the car anymore.

[Rush]

Here's the overall stance. It's a little high in the front but I guess it is what it is.

I also scored a set of roof racks for $30! I won't run them all the time, of course, but I want to take the car camping and it'll give me a spot to haul my tentcot since it won't fit in the car anywhere!

[bertvorgon]

That looks good. You will have gained a bit of camber at the back, so that is a good thing.

Possibly some at the front too.