I know it's been a month and a half since the last update, but I've mostly been doing research and collecting some things. I've also had a funky schedule at work but have gotten some time in the past couple weeks to look at the car.
So, last time I drove the car (back in April), it randomly shut down on the street. I assumed it was the battery so for a month I had the battery on a battery tender. A couple weeks ago, I put the battery back in the car and it started right up. I let the car idle for 20 minutes and took it out for a 15 minute drive. So, there's hope! I'll have about a week off next month and during that month I was planning on doing a radiator flush and replace the battery (just in case).
Now, I'm looking at the creature comforts and how to make my car a more enjoyable driver.
Driver's door window is missing two rollers and won't roll up and down easily. Between the missing rollers and the glass railing not being aligned properly, I can't close my door when the window is up as it hits the drip molding and the back windows. Side note: Driver's door is off of a '69 or newer Dart.
On the passenger doors, the locks are binding. The shaft for the lock on top of the door buckled and will only lock the door when it's open. My key won't even lock the passenger door. It's stuck.
Anyway, with the position of my roll cage, I can't roll up or down my windows while the door is closed (i.e. driving). So, I'm not sure what I'm going to do with the doors as they both need work of some sort. For sure I was going to make fiberglass/CF door cards as my driver doors was toast. I'm not sure I have the skills to pull off a composite door and don't feel too safe about that one if I were in a collision. I was hoping I could remedy some of these problems with aftermarket keyless locking mechanisms but I'm still looking over and thinking about it.
On to the dash. My glovebox doesn't exist, my radio doesn't work, I have AC controls with no AC, my top dash pad is cracked, front decorative panel is cracked and fell apart, and half of my gauges on the dash don't work. Originally, I was just thinking about removing the entire dash and starting over (with composites in mind), but looking at it, I think I'm going to just modify the dash as is and put in some composite touches. I started peeling away the insulation under the Dart that's been in the car for 50+ years. When I get time next, I'm going to remove the gauge cluster, AC, and radio. I am still looking into it, but I am thinking about putting in an aftermarket gauge cluster and putting together an aftermarket stereo system.
I know it's a long winded post without that much progress, but it's a learning process, right?
View attachment 1715428208
View attachment 1715428209
View attachment 1715428210
View attachment 1715428211
