Mopar to ya
Well-Known Member
I spent a lot of time on the Dart today but didn't get as much done as I had hoped. I put in the driver's door lock cylinder which looked like it was going to be a real *****, but was pretty easy. Nothing was very accessible but I have a magnet on a flexible semi hard wire that made it a piece of cake. I decided the time had come to replace the front rotors with the cross drilled / slotted ones I bought to match the rears. Since I had to pack the bearings I ordered the seals and had them turned just enough to be sure they were true. I went to pick them up and one seal was right, the other was mis-boxed. Had to order another for tomorrow. Then I though the time had come to replace the dash pad. I heard the horror stories, but it looked like crap. Everything came off pretty darn easily. I was wondering what all the stories were about. The only issue was the middle nut that you can barely feel. Wouldn't have been so bad but after 15 minutes of frustration I figured out that some SOB used a different sized nut. Took a break, barbecued some steaks, and went back. I had a front speaker bracket, so with the pad off it was very accessible. I took the old speaker out ... a Sparkomatic! That name gave me chills. I used to sell Sparkomatic crap at Best Buy back in 1984! Top of the line AM/FM cassette for $13. Yikes! I test fit the bracket I bought from a member here and found the ears were just a hair too long, so I cut a hair off. The mounting holes were too small, so I drilled bigger. Once it fit I mounted two 3.5" Infinity Kappa speakers and then fought for 45 minutes to get it bolted back up. I got all but the center nut back on the dash pad before I ran out of daylight. Since the instrument cluster is out I am replacing the inoperable speedometer with a used one I bought from a FABO member. Tomorrow morning if all goes well I can spend a small amount of time buttoning it all up. Oh yeah ... I always suspected the car was originally red, and now I have confirmed it. Check out the pic!
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