'73 2.0, a yellow storage unit find Options

[arne]

Picking away at tasks this weekend, as I try to stay cool and out of the smoke. Door seals (inner and outer), floor vinyl, starting with carpet, new speakers in the new speaker pods, and taking a stab at fixing the slipping grip on the steering wheel. All good so far, although the verdict on the steering wheel won't be in until tomorrow.

Not much to show in pictures yet, just the speakers.

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads/post-20799-1504548986.jpg)

[ConeDodger]

Seatbelt light delete. I dig. Always felt it was a bit VW 412.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/agree.gif)

did that on my 73. looks great!

Yup. I looked at that when I took it out and thought, "Now why would I want to put that back in?"

Send it to me. I want to make an "ejection seat" light! This one no longer functions with the DME.

[arne]

Let me think on that, Rob. My thought was to leave it in the glovebox in case the next owner might be so silly as to want it.

[arne]

I have an appointment tomorrow for the new windshield. So I've been making sure that it's ready to drive, and that everything works. Put some gas in it yesterday. Here in Oregon, we still have gas pump jockeys (no self serve to speak of), and the car has not failed to baffle the young kids manning the pumps. Yesterday one asked me if it was a kit car I was building. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/confused24.gif)

I've got most of the interior together now. Waiting to put on the inside windshield trim until the glass is in place, of course. And I'm not going to put the backpad in until I figure out what to do about the interior light. (See Using a 911 dome light? )

Still need to get the glass into the doors, and then the door cards, then refinish and install the rocker covers. That should be it, appearance-wise.

Other bits will be getting all the heater ducting reinstalled, installing the billet taco plate, replacing the upper steering shaft bearing in the column, and anything I find wrong in the test driving phase. On track to wrap this up by the middle of October, I figure.

[rhodyguy]

Turned out very nice. Does the lense on the 911 switch toggle on and off? I bought one, it didn't fit at all and i wasn't willing to cut on the backpad. A generic beetle switch sorta fits if you play with spring tabs.

[ndfrigi]

Congratulation Arne! One of the fastest restoration! Started March 2017 and before the end of this September, your car is already on twisty road of Oregon!

[arne]

Turned out very nice. Does the lense on the 911 switch toggle on and off? I bought one, it didn't fit at all and i wasn't willing to cut on the backpad. A generic beetle switch sorta fits if you play with spring tabs.

I probably wouldn't consider cutting on my backpad if the light opening didn't already have issues. The vinyl has shrunk, exposing the fiber board. So if I open the opening and re-stretch the vinyl to fit the bigger light I also fix the appearance issue. The 911 light does toggle, the entire lens pivots from side to side.

Congratulation Arne! One of the fastest restoration! Started March 2017 and before the end of this September, your car is already on twisty road of Oregon!

It has gone quickly, but I hesitate to call it a "restoration". More of a major refresh. And being retired, I have the luxury of being able to work on a project like this quite a bit during the week. Working on it 4 to 5 days per week goes a lot faster than people who only have weekends.

[ndfrigi]

Turned out very nice. Does the lense on the 911 switch toggle on and off? I bought one, it didn't fit at all and i wasn't willing to cut on the backpad. A generic beetle switch sorta fits if you play with spring tabs.

I probably wouldn't consider cutting on my backpad if the light opening didn't already have issues. The vinyl has shrunk, exposing the fiber board. So if I open the opening and re-stretch the vinyl to fit the bigger light I also fix the appearance issue. The 911 light does toggle, the entire lens pivots from side to side.

Congratulation Arne! One of the fastest restoration! Started March 2017 and before the end of this September, your car is already on twisty road of Oregon!

It has gone quickly, but I hesitate to call it a "restoration". More of a major refresh. And being retired, I have the luxury of being able to work on a project like this quite a bit during the week. Working on it 4 to 5 days per week goes a lot faster than people who only have weekends.

About your back pad, you might consider just doing like this. Borrowed pic from online. several members did this already. Looks clean and space for small items at your rear seat.

[914_7T3]

I have an appointment tomorrow for the new windshield. So I've been making sure that it's ready to drive, and that everything works. Put some gas in it yesterday. Here in Oregon, we still have gas pump jockeys (no self serve to speak of), and the car has not failed to baffle the young kids manning the pumps. Yesterday one asked me if it was a kit car I was building. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/confused24.gif)

I've got most of the interior together now. Waiting to put on the inside windshield trim until the glass is in place, of course. And I'm not going to put the backpad in until I figure out what to do about the interior light. (See Using a 911 dome light? )

Still need to get the glass into the doors, and then the door cards, then refinish and install the rocker covers. That should be it, appearance-wise.

Other bits will be getting all the heater ducting reinstalled, installing the billet taco plate, replacing the upper steering shaft bearing in the column, and anything I find wrong in the test driving phase. On track to wrap this up by the middle of October, I figure.

Looking good Arne! The car is so clean, you should already have a few World Members lined up to buy it.

[arne]

Looking good Arne! The car is so clean, you should already have a few World Members lined up to buy it.

No, no one is lined up to buy it so far. But I suspect that it may not be clear to most of the World that I will be putting it up for sale as soon as I'm convinced it is ready. A few of you understand that, as we've chatted about it in person or on the phone.

But as you've gathered, for someone looking for a decent weekend driver, it should end up being a nice car. It will not be perfect, and I may leave a few simple things as minor projects for a new owner. But it will drive nice, and no one is likely to be embarrassed to be seen driving it. And judging from what I've experienced with it even not completed, it WILL attract a lot of attention. The yellow with black accents guarantee that.

[arne]

A few additional thoughts. The car's ride seems better than when I drove it prior to the paint job, but I think that's just because now that the rear window and other bits are all properly secured, the car doesn't rattle like a death trap over every little road irregularity. The ride is firm, but controlled and not harsh. Very appropriate.

One of the things I may leave for the next owner is tires. Tire choice can be rather personal, and what I might pick for the car may not be pleasing to a potential buyer, either for brand or performance level. I will just need to be upfront about the need for tires and price the car accordingly. I could even facilitate new tires of the buyer's choice if they want them on before delivery.

Speaking of tires, I took a good look at them recently, and that has given me reason to think the car was sitting unused for much longer than I had been led to believe. I was told the car drove into the storage unit under its own power 6-8 years ago.

Maybe. But the tires on the car are nearly new, wear wise. I doubt they have more than a few hundred miles on them. They are H rated Toyos, nice tires, no signs of rot. I figured they were installed shortly before the car went to storage, so 6-8 years ago.

Not so. I finally got around to hunting down one of the date codes on the back side of the tires. Turns out they were built in 1996!

So while the car may have been started and driven a bit now and then before the 6-8 year slumber in the storage unit, I figure it hasn't really been on the road in more like 20 years. So the rescue of the car is more significant than I had thought.

[arne]

The new windshield was installed yesterday, along with the new trim. Today I got the glass, associated bits, and the door card and hardware installed on the driver's side. Should be able to do the same on the passenger side tomorrow.

[raynekat]

Looking great!

[napasteve]

Looks fantastic Arne. Great work.

[arne]

More progress today. The passenger door assembly is complete. Considering that the door cards and armrests/pockets/pulls are original, they came out looking pretty good. Not perfect, but totally in line with my vision for the car. Replace what is needed, but keep as much original as makes sense.

Also, I was talking about the car today with someone who noted that the wipers looked rather high when parked. I re-evaluated how I had them installed, and brought them down some. (If you are reading this, thanks, Andrew.)

[Cairo94507]

That is a terrific looking car and someone is going to be quite happy when you list it and they buy it. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

[IronHillRestorations]

Did you take the wiper rack out Arne? If not ignore the following advice.

If so, I'd recommend taking the wiper arms off and making some little pointers on the wiper shafts with masking tape. Turn on the wipers to make sure it's moving the correct direction.

It's possible to put it in wrong and have the wipers move the wrong way and gouge out two big chunks of paint out of your shiney new paint right there on the cowl for all to see. You can guess how I know this

[arne]

That's a good tip. Perry. I have experienced similar issues on other cars, so I intentionally did not pull the wiper rack this time. And even so, I tested the rotation and proper park position prior to installing the wiper arms. Just to be certain, you know...

Just now finishing up installing the billet taco plate. Really nice part.

This makes the 3rd oil change since I got the car. Fresh oil prior to first start, 2 changes since. I think it should be clean and good to go inside now.

[LowBridge]

OK.. I thing I can speak for everyone here.. slow down you are making the rest of us look bad (IMG:style_emoticons/default/av-943.gif) .

Seriously what a fantastic job, very impressive on the speed on this project..

well done (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

[arne]

Ran some errands in the car after the oil/taco plate change, mostly to see how the oil temp gauge works with the new sender. (With the original sender the gauge was flakey, if it registered at all.) The gauge seems to work fine now, the readings look sane, and - as expected - not running hot.

Going to start on cleaning up and refinishing the rocker panel covers over the next few days.