Above 1200 Sq/FT Cody's 33'x62' Garage

[OutlawDrifter]

Cable might be toast after all those years...tough to tell.

You know, that light will derate engine HP

Also, that sound deadening/heat shield, will make a HUGE difference, at some point I'd like to strip my Suburban down and do it too, the '49 and the Z28 are both covered in it. Heavy jute under the carpet helps with road noise also.

 

[madison069]

Cable might be toast after all those years...tough to tell.

You know, that light will derate engine HP

Also, that sound deadening/heat shield, will make a HUGE difference, at some point I'd like to strip my Suburban down and do it too, the '49 and the Z28 are both covered in it. Heavy jute under the carpet helps with road noise also.

I’m going to double check the angles on the cables to be sure it’s not binding. Cause I’d hate to order the same cable and get the same results.

As long as the light don’t make me hit any curbs, I will be ok with the little hp lost from it!

I'm hoping it does a good job of lowering the sound in the cab. I will also be installing a headliner with fabric so that should give it a little more heat deflecting too. Alot of folks says the ABS headliner looks good without the fabric but it looks unfinished to me.

 

[OutlawDrifter]

Alot of folks says the ABS headliner looks good without the fabric but it looks unfinished to me.

100% agree

 

[Uncle murph]

Working on the camaro spoiler yesterday and today trying to get the gaps right. Well the passenger side had a wide gap that wasn't going to be fixed by alignment.



So I built up some duraglass on the spoiler piece and waited for it to harden.




Once hardened, I started shaping it and now the huge gap is gone and its consistent now!







Awhile back I got this green metal storage cabinet from a buddy for free. So I took the time and sorted out the toolboxes and cleaned the open shelves up. Put stuff inside the storage cabinet and cleaned this side of the garage up some. The garage is shaping up nicely and I currently have a lot of room in there since I've been organizing the place.



Still selling stuff off and working on the projects but these are some of the noticeable stuff I've done recently.

Hope yall have a nice Thanksgiving day even though it might be virtual this year!

I love those boxes!

 

[madison069]

I love those boxes!

Thanks! I still have the toolboxes. Been thinking of selling them in exchange for a 72” toolbox. But currently I can’t pull the trigger on that due to priorities.

 

[madison069]

So I got the rest of the sound deadening in place on the ceiling, so I started on the headliner itself.

Used 3M 90 spray adhesive to mate the fabric to the ABS board.

All pressed on and sticking.


Now to trim it out and used gorilla tape to hold the overhang on the edge.


I also took the time to paint all of the interior pieces that’s related to holding the headliner in place. No pics but imagine some spritz sound and parts hanging on my clothes rack by bailing wire.

Then it was time to get it all in the car. No pics but I used a blanket on the roof to protect the paint and put a ratchet strap over the roof and under the headliner. Then tighten up the strap to bring the headliner up to the ceiling. Once up I started putting the trims in place and eventually i got all of the pieces in place!


Even tested the dome light and it’s wired up properly so I have constant ground for the map lights and switches power through the door jam switches.


Talk about a time consuming task that makes you look back and go, all of that time just for this????

Oh well, check that off the list and now it’s back to the dash wiring as I wait for some parts to come in. A new shift cable is coming in and a new dome light lens is on the way.

 

[madison069]

Didn’t do a lot yesterday since it was my birthday and so I spent it with the family.

Today though I started identifying all of the wires before I put wire loom over it all.


Got the wires in loom and then ran it over the steering column area and reinstalled the steering column. What a joy that job was.


I called it a night after going cross eye looking at all of the wires.

Next I’ll get the wires roughly in their spots and then make up the missing power window and power lock harnesses. Along with finish up some more of the ac and run the ac harness also.

Maybe some more work can be done tomorrow.

 

[Bob Heine]

Cody, a belated Happy Birthday to you!

 

[OutlawDrifter]

Happy belated, mine is the 12th.

 

[Bob Heine]

Happy belated, mine is the 12th.

Marc, same as my brother (he'd be 81 but gone 60 years). Whatever the drawbacks to gettin' old I love being alive.

 

[madison069]

Happy belated, mine is the 12th.

Happy belated birthday to you too!

 

[madison069]

Marc, same as my brother (he'd be 81 but gone 60 years). Whatever the drawbacks to gettin' old I love being alive.

Getting old isn’t for the weak as I was told by a lot of old timers. But, like you said, you get to see thing that you wouldn’t have if you were already 6ft under.

 

[madison069]

Worked on the power window harness and realized that the switch isn’t going to work for the window motors I got in the car. So I order the right pigtail and switch for the window motors.

Then I made a new lock harness and the locks wasn’t working. The only thing that worked was on the passenger side switch it would lock both doors. Closer inspection and the switches looks funky and corroded along with the pigtails. So I ordered new pigtails and switches. Another case of one step forward two steps back.

Either way, here’s some pics of the new connections and harnesses that goes across the firewall behind the dash.

Driver side,


Passenger side


The middle of the firewall where the harness is ran.


I’m open to suggestions for better wiring harness holders, I’m currently using fuel line clamps and they seem to work like the kinds that bends around the harness. But I’m not sure if I want to stay with them.

 

[madison069]

Got some more wiring done.

Power window is completed with the correct switch. Just need to terminate the power wire and plug it in it’s place. I got new door lock switches coming cause after trouble shooting I’ve determine the switches are bad. We will see for sure with the switches but if I can jump the pigtails with jumper wires and be able to actuate the lock solenoids properly, then my wiring has to be good. I got the ac wiring under the dash done mostly. I need to connect the two key positive wires for the ac between the two aftermarket wire harnesses. I just ran the wires under the hood so I can deal with that when I’m under the hood.

As I continue to run wires across the dash I’ve realized I’ve reached the capacity of the fuel clamps I’m currently using. Apparently what’s factory is called a J strap clamp, but for $4 a piece plus shipping I decided to just order bigger insulated clamps that’s used for wire harnesses too, $10 for 10 of them with free shipping. Too bad in my haste of my youth I just threw stuff away thinking I didn’t need it. Well I needed a lot of it.

Photos of the firewall under the dash. Getting close to where I can mount the upper dash in place.

The bubble wrap part is the ac control board, didn’t want it to get damage so I wrapped it in bubble wrap til I can mount it in its correct spot.


I had to drill a hole for the condensation drain, so I had to use my angle drill for the tight spot to get the hole started. I’ll put a little silicone around the tube soon.






Other news I was at the West Virginia vs Pitt game over the weekend. Spent the day with the wife since she graduated from WVU.



This coming weekend is Texas Tech University vs WVU so we will be there for the important game between me and her!

 

[madison069]

Started prepping the dash to be installed. I took the time to paint the camaro script with a chrome paint pen.



I really should go through my bucket of hardware that came from the camaro and other various projects. I found some wiring harness holders.



Got the dash loosely installed in the car. Need to go through the dash and put all of the little screws in their places.




Then it was time to do some cleaning. I was having a hard time keeping up with all of the tools and bits and pieces cause it was just getting to be too unorganized. So, I removed everything from the car that didn't need to be there. Heck I just put everything in it's place just so I can find it!


Messy benches,



That's better! Now I can actually work at the table.


Need to repair and clean the gauge bezel so I can determine if I need to order a new one or if this will work. Trying to figure out what to do with the old defroster switch hole and if it's possible to remove the seat belt light bar along with make it look nice. The gauges I want to go with has built in turn signals so I don't need the factory turn signal location either. Just don't know how to go about eliminating them or just let it be.



I also removed the wiper motor so I can bench test everything easier. Just haven't gotten around to doing it yet.

That's the gist of the weekend other than clean the Subaru, fix FIL step on the stairs, and went to a football game.

 

[madison069]

TOok me several hours to bench test the wiper motor and switches. Had to disassemble a non-reproduced switch to clean the contacts. Reassembled it and it works but not perfect.



I will disassemble it one more time to tweak the springs and contacts some more to get it to feel right. But it does work just feels weak.

I have 2 of these 1979 Camaro delay wiper switches and for the life of me I couldn't figure out where the white and orange wire is supposed to be connected and what's its purpose. After studying the wiring diagrams I've determine the white and orange wire are for the delay feature on a 1979 Camaro delay relay board which explains why the motor wouldn't move when the switch was in the delay setting. What I have is a 1980 Camaro pulse delay board on the wiper motor that doesn't utilize the white and orange wire, and they don't sell 1979 camaro pulse delay board either. The 1980 camaro only uses the dark green wire but the switch is different internally without the white and orange wires.

With the curse of being one year only parts, the aftermarket just didn't see the profit margin to justify re-producing these parts. So, the 1979 Camaro delay switch cost $250 for an old one that might not even work on ebay. God forbid if someone sold a NOS one for less than a Kidney price. Same goes for the delay relay board that controls the motor, I still haven't even found one for sale on ebay.

But now that I know how it works and how it's wired, I can now sort out the wiring end of the wiper switch and also create the harness for one dark green wire I need from the pulse delay wires even though the delay doesn't work without the white and orange wire hooked up. Without the dark green wire, the whole motor doesn't work.

My bench test and jumble of wires that only I understand at the moment.



Oh and I identify with port was the one that needs to be ran to the washer fluid reservoir when I get that installed. Have to have windshield washer installed on the car to legally drive it on the road in PA. Something I didn't have to deal with in Texas.

This is where the heat shrink print tape for the brother label printer would of been handy.....

 

[OutlawDrifter]

One year only stuff *****. I have been down that rabbit hole many times including a '78 El Camino and a '95 GMC Sierra.

 

[madison069]

One year only stuff *****. I have been down that rabbit hole many times including a '78 El Camino and a '95 GMC Sierra.

I’ve crossed path with one off stuff on fords, but this is the first for me when it’s a chevy vehicle. Usually chevy is pretty good about using something at least 2-3 years unless it’s trim or something special.

Who do we know that could maybe help restore this lense? Once I polish the lense to remove the scratches, I’ll need to replace the white lettering. If I could provide measurements would someone be able to print the vinyl stickers out? These are 1/8” tall white letters. So small job. I might try the local vinyl print shop at the mall, maybe they might could help me?

 

[bj383ss]

If you polish real careful the letters might not be effected. I did this on the 64's heater lens. The paint on the lettering was very thick and durable.

Bret

 

[madison069]

If you polish real careful the letters might not be effected. I did this on the 64's heater lens. The paint on the lettering was very thick and durable.

Bret

I found out quickly that the letter must be chaulky or something cause just soap and water made the letter faded so I stopped before it got worse.

 

[madison069]

So I started repairing the gauge bezel cause for $275 for a new one just seems crazy right now when i got other things to get for the camaro.

So i turned down an old plastic wing nut I had to make the new stub for the wiper switch where the old one broke off. I used plastic JB Weld to attach the new to old part.



Using a belt sander, I got it roughly round and in shape that I needed.



Holding it in place while the glue set.



cleaned and slowly reshaping the center console. Seems the ABS plastic distorted from the Texas heat and I'm sure something was on top of it while in storage. $500 for one of these console just makes me want to question my hobby....



Then Back onto the gauge bezel, I put a piece here that broke off to match the other side.

Broken part in process of repaired, had to shape the missing part.



The original that I'm copying.


I'll sand the glue down and then fill in the area with high build primer before I tape off all of the aluminum and spray the black section with the same paint that I painted all of the other plastic parts.

Also, I took the time during the waiting period of letting the glue dry to remove the back glass. It didn't take me long to do the job but it was a workout pulling the cutter through the glass adhesive. Glad I did it cause I can see some surface rust at the bottom of the glass and also this gives me room to work on the package tray area now.




That's pretty much the progress from Yesterday. Not sure what I'll do today cause I'm planning to go fishing Saturday and so I wanted to go through my tackle and so on.

Oh and i'm going to talk to a trophy shop or an engraving company and see if they could take the lens for the wiper switch and engrave the letters in their place so I can go back with white paint and fill in the etching. Crossing fingers that this works.

 

[OutlawDrifter]

Heavy curved glass makes me anxious

Nice repairs! It's amazing what they have available for repops, but they damn sure don't give it away. I'm not willing to admit what I paid for the shift knob in my Z28

 

[madison069]

Heavy curved glass makes me anxious

Nice repairs! It's amazing what they have available for repops, but they damn sure don't give it away. I'm not willing to admit what I paid for the shift knob in my Z28

I don’t understand it either. The console from the factory is wrapped in vinyl. The repop is just plastic. So, I still have to wrap the new one with vinyl if I want to get rid of the plastic feel.

So, I’m going to repair this one and also modify it for some cup holders, phone holder, and charging port.

It’s sad when something important like the windshield is $140 but a console is $500!

 

[madison069]

Not alot of work done on the camaro this week. It was more of a order more parts and wait week for the camaro.

But I did take the boat out Saturday and was able to play with the fish finder some more. Didn't catch a fish, just some bites. One bite was pulling hard enough to bend my pole over and was working the drag on the reel, but then it just released the lure like it was holding the tail of the lure where no hook was in the soft body. Got the lure to the boat and the soft body was mangled up on the end of the hook bend.



This fish finder is pretty cool. It's not the live scope, but it does show the trees and stumps on the bottom of the river. I'm also learning how to read the other options on the screen as I think one does a really good job of showing the fish that's on the bottom. The bottom right is the down scope shot, the top right is side scope shot, and the left side is sonar with real time sonar in the middle.


Then I met up with a buddy who was cleaning out his FIL's house and the guy had a lot of plastic models in his collection. I picked out some that looked interesting and brought them home. I'll put these in totes for now, but the plan is to work on models after the camaro is mostly done, just to have something to do in the winters.



I did a bunch of house chores/repairs. One of them was this exhaust fan in the first-floor bathroom. The new fan was $25 but I figured I could fix this one. My wife was complaining about the fan making a grinding noise. So, I took the gut out of the fan assembly and took it to the garage. This particular model was very easy to disassemble and so I cleaned the rotor and stator. Then I cleaned the little bearings and applied some oil that I keep for motor bearings. reinstalled the fan assembly and the wife says it's the quietest it's ever been. Then I replaced an electrical outlet that got damaged by the wife from accidently tripping over the cord that went to the fan in our bedroom. Easy fix, but the outlet was on the third floor and the breaker box is in the basement. So, I placed a light in the window so I could see when I got the right breaker tripped without going up and down the stairs. I then took the time to find all of the outlets and lights that was on the breaker and wrote it down for the future. Only pic from all of this was the fan assembly.




Then I came across two mowers set out for trash so I loaded them up during lunch break and brought them home. I'll get them fixed over the winter to have them ready for the spring sale when everyone starts cutting grass again.





I took a bunch of old 8mm films to a shop that converts 8mm to digital format and also had them all put on DVD. These 8mm was from my mother side of the family. It was nice to see my grandparents as it's been 23 years since I seen my pawpaw and 16 years since I seen my mawmaw on my Mom's side of the family.

They are always on my mind, especially if I'm doing house remodeling cause my pawpaw was a general contractor, and my mawmaw anytime I'm canning or doing sewing, gardening related stuff.



Oh well, That's been pretty much it around the garage lately. Hopefully I get back on the camaro this weekend cause I need to finish removing the adhesive from the rear glass track on the camaro and work around the rear package tray area so I can have it ready for the rear glass to go back in place.

 

[madison069]

Went to Cape May, NJ again due to the wife and MIL wanted to go again. While there I was able to photo this sunset and figured ya'll would enjoy it.


Even though the water was cold, me and the youngest took a quick dip in the ocean. Good thing we did it the first day of the trip cause the rest of the trip was rainy or too windy to be in the water.


Took a ride on a boat and caught 14 of these black sea bass while other there.



Back home after the weekend trip, I was able to work on the camaro between other house chores and car repairs.

I made my own package tray board and once I was happy with it, I covered it in vinyl for a clean look. I also got the speakers installed and mounted in the back.




Then I rolled out the carpet to get it to lay better. It's a pre-molded carpet but it still needed help. At first I was using the weight of the salt bags, but they weren't helping much. So I got the upholstery steamer from the MIL and was able to get the carpet to relax some more. I did put more insulation under the carpet, kinda like a jute kind of insulation.




I got the passenger side trimmed out and installed the plastic that holds the carpet down in place.



Each simple project has been one that resulted in me having to remove pieces that I've previously installed due to they have to go back in the car in a certain order. Since there's not much guideline that I've found on the internet I've been learning that process the hard way.

I would of been done with the carpet but the carpet kit didn't come with a high beam switch grommet so I have to wait for that to come in the mail tomorrow. Then I can finish the carpet trimming and so on. I am also going to start installing the radio once the proper terminals come in the mail tomorrow. I did order seat covers for the original seats, and I found out there there's a 16 week wait for them. So, all I can do is wait for the cover. I'll mount the ones I got from the junkyard in place if I am able to drive the car before the new seat covers come in the mail. I'm still picking at the dash, so slowly but surely it will get done. I also had to figure out how to handle the neutral safety and the reverse light switch since the dual hurst shifter doesn't have it installed and I would need a bunch of linkages for the steering column version to work with no guarantee of fitting due to the headers. But, hopefully a neutral switch from a 1970 Olds that was installed on a dual gate shifter will do the trick. Hopefully it comes in soon so I can get the shifter back in and work with the new cable, along with finish up that part of the wiring harness.

 

[OutlawDrifter]

Looks like you got the carpet to smooth out fairly well Cody, nice job! That extra jute will make a huge difference in noise dampening. It really helped in my '49 GMC.

 

[madison069]

Looks like you got the carpet to smooth out fairly well Cody, nice job! That extra jute will make a huge difference in noise dampening. It really helped in my '49 GMC.

Thanks! It was a pain but steam and some bag weight seemed to help flatten it some.

I think the jute I put in was called Boom Mat. Seems it had some good review.



The carpet had some jute but it was thin and only in certain spots. Hopefully it makes a difference cause I do want to hear the motor, but when I roll the window up I’d like to be able to hear the person beside me! Lol

 

[bj383ss]

Looks awesome Cody! What did you make the rear package tray from? I am going to have to do this for the Caprice. I was thinking of using some 1/4" plywood and supports glued underneath to make it strong. I think the original is a heavy cardboard type like they use in the door panels. It's amazing how awesome the interior becomes after you start getting all the new stuff installed. Does it have a good smell again?

Bret

 

[madison069]

Looks awesome Cody! What did you make the rear package tray from? I am going to have to do this for the Caprice. I was thinking of using some 1/4" plywood and supports glued underneath to make it strong. I think the original is a heavy cardboard type like they use in the door panels. It's amazing how awesome the interior becomes after you start getting all the new stuff installed. Does it have a good smell again?

Thanks! If there is a smell, I'm not noticing it. With the doors open all the time and no front or rear glass, the smell isn't being captured.
Installing the interior has been challenging though. Seems each time I put something in, I find out that I forgot something and have to take it all back out again. Yesterday I worked on buttoning up the lower dash and get all of the screws installed along the bottom. Seems I had used some holes that was for the lower dash for another part of the underside of the dash and I was also missing a bracket for the driver side AC vent. So I had to remove the lower half of the dash just enough to remove the screw that was in the wrong spot and also pull part of the wiring harness out to gain access to the bolt holes for the bracket. One step forward, 3 steps back in this case.

I used a 3/16" hardboard temper panel that has a smooth white side. I also painted the other side so the material isn't effected by moisture as much if it was unpainted. Like you said the original was a cardboard that didn't last very long and was destroyed by the element when I got the car. The very corner of the panels aren't supported by metal but the rest of the board has a metal support under it. Between the speakers, side panel, rear metal trim under the glass, and the back of the rear seat it should be locked in place pretty good.

Speaking of the seats, I got updated that the seat covers are on backorder and estimated to be 16 weeks before they are shipped.

 

[OutlawDrifter]

Speaking of the seats, I got updated that the seat covers are on backorder and estimated to be 16 weeks before they are shipped.

Anyone else making covers that you'd be interested in? Or is there a local shop that can beat the time?

 

[madison069]

Anyone else making covers that you'd be interested in? Or is there a local shop that can beat the time?

Thinking of talking to my paint buddy and get a hold of his upholstery guy. See what he can do for me. I do know the one shop here in town is out of their mind when it comes to pricing.

 

[madison069]

So several parts came in and I was able to get the carpet mostly down. I still got to install the footwall piece that goes on the firewall under the steering column and put all of the holes in the carpet for the seatbelt and seat bolts. After seeing this terminal kit on someone else's page, I got it for the installation of the amp for the 4 speakers in the car.



Nice little kit, wasn't hard to figure it out. But it still took me over an hour to wire the amp up. Just the positive wire needs to be installed and I'll get it in place when i get the door lock and power window positive wire in their place too.


Originally I was going to cover the amp with the console but after test fitting the console, I found out there wasn't enough room for it. So I'll be putting it in the little cubby space on the console and hiding it with a block off plate.


Then I had to do some trimming for the headlight dimmer switch. Talk about a tight area for that switch!



Then I installed the sill plate along the door and called it a night.


Maybe tonight I'll get the foot piece installed under the steering column and then try my hand at adjusting the window again. Lets just say it was testing my patience the last time I tried to adjust the Door Glass. It almost seems like I need to bend the track some so the glass can come out a little more in the front of the door. The glass track was maxed out but it still wanted to roll up on the inside of the cab. We will see how it goes if I get to mess with it.

 

[68400BIRD]

When you start making holes for the seat belts bolts try using a soldering iron. It melts right through the carpet and seals up the hole.

 

[OutlawDrifter]

When you start making holes for the seat belts bolts try using a soldering iron. It melts right through the carpet and seals up the hole.

I just use a piece of black pipe that has been chamfered on the inside and sharpened on the outside to match. Cuts through the carpet and jute no problem. Added a "T" to my current revision as a handle.

 

[bj383ss]

I just use a piece of black pipe that has been chamfered on the inside and sharpened on the outside to match. Cuts through the carpet and jute no problem. Added a "T" to my current revision as a handle.

We need a pic of said tool.

Bret

 

[OutlawDrifter]

We need a pic of said tool.

Bret

I'll see about getting you guys a pic snapped!

 

[madison069]

I was going to use a pick to identify where the holes are from the underside of the car, then I was going to use a solder iron that's in my scrap bin of electrical stuff to make the holes. But I need to see your tool Marc as that does sound like a possible solution. You don't have any issues with the carpet edging around the new holes when it hasn't been heated?

 

[OutlawDrifter]

I was going to use a pick to identify where the holes are from the underside of the car, then I was going to use a solder iron that's in my scrap bin of electrical stuff to make the holes. But I need to see your tool Marc as that does sound like a possible solution. You don't have any issues with the carpet edging around the new holes when it hasn't been heated?

I've been using this trick for 20 years, no problems that I've noticed yet, it's a super clean cut and I generally used a piece of pipe just bigger than the bolt head. Learned it from the head of vehicle maintenance at Chadron State College, Cliff was a great teacher, dude had tricks for everything. He could put a Quadrajet together with his eyes closed in a manner of minutes.

 

[madison069]

I've been using this trick for 20 years, no problems that I've noticed yet, it's a super clean cut and I generally used a piece of pipe just bigger than the bolt head. Learned it from the head of vehicle maintenance at Chadron State College, Cliff was a great teacher, dude had tricks for everything. He could put a Quadrajet together with his eyes closed in a manner of minutes.

One of the nice thing about your tool is I can poke the ice pick through the carpet and then place the pipe end over the pick to ensure I hit the right spot.

 

[OutlawDrifter]

One of the nice thing about your tool is I can poke the ice pick through the carpet and then place the pipe end over the pick to ensure I hit the right spot.

That's how I do it.