Unseasonably warm weather has resulted in making some progress on
the car that isn't normally possible around these parts because of the
cold. Here's a before and after sequence on the engine.
Hit refresh on your browser to see it again.

I picked up all the finished upholstery. Of
course, I had to try some of the pieces out to see how they look and
fit. |
 |
The door handles were dyed to match the leather
color. After I had these done, I found a set of new old stock ones, so I
will keep these as spares. |
 |
The back seat is just setting in there, but it feels
really good. Something tells me I won't spend a lot of time there.
Its odd but the armrests show a different color to the camera, but in
real life they look exactly the same color. SEM dye was used to change
them and the other door handles. |
 |
Front view looking back. These blue seats are
starting to look pretty strange. I'll put the front seats in after the
carpet gets put down. Don't know when that will be just yet. |
 |
This side shows the door panels front and rear.
I have to decide if I want to keep the B pillars black (done at the
headliner install shop) or make them tan. The seat belts normally cover
them up anyhow. |
 |
Decisions, decisions. On your project, don't be
afraid to change your mind once you see it bolted in place! |
 |
Put the fan belt on to see if the fit is correct.
My old alternator had a hard time making up all the slack. That is
because the bushings were shot on the bracket from the timing cover to
the alternator. |
 |
I didn't mention it before, but the alternator has to
be removed to install it into the car. When you put it in, you
have to remove the fan and pulleys on the front and it's easiest to
install it from under the car. You put the parts back on after it's on
the mounts. Note in this photo you can see how close the blades
come to the fuel line. My car cut that line once with the
alternator and immediately I smelled the gas. That was a scary
repair in a convenience store parking lot. I'm trying to devise a
cover for this so that doesn't happen down the road. There are tabs down
there I think I can work with, or the frame rail itself. |
 |
I put this in the car 5 years ago when we got it
running. It's still fine. I needed a better location for it. |
 |
I ended up mounting it under the coil. I put all new
wiring ends on. I still have to buy a Ballast Resistor for the new Bosch
Red coil rated at 1.8 ohms. |
 |
A critcal note I will dupe over on the bumpers page -
you have to extend the wiring harness to make the euro bumper lights
work. I drilled a hole adjacent to the passenger side bumper
mounts first. |
 |
Built a new positive line (they ground into the
bumper electrically) that attaches to the old + line from inside the
trunk. I used a rubber weather tight o-ring seal here. |
 |
I snaked the wire through the hole the bumper bolts
are accessed with. This is a new hole. Note the silica still
finding its way out of the body cavities !!! |
 |
It came up through another nearby original factory
hole and was connected to the harness. |
 |
I CAN SEE !!! More to come.... |