More progress. Sorry, no pictures this time.
Everything inside the doors
Now that the weather is a little warmer, we dug into a chore that I knew would be time consuming. The El Camino has manual locks, but power windows. Over the years, my uncle, father, and brother have all done various maintenance work inside the doors with varying degrees of effectiveness. Then, the car was parked for 20 years. After sitting for so long, everything inside the doors was dry, stiff, and in some cases, not operable. So, my son got a crash course on field stripping a G Body door.
Once we were inside the doors, we cleaned and lubricated everything:
- Door strikes and latches
- Latch release levers and linkages (interior and exterior)
- Door locks & linkages
- Window tracks, pivots, and gears
Then, we replaced the disintegrating outer windows swipes.
Next we turned our attention the windows electrics. Even after the new switches, the driver window worked, but the passenger window didn't. After a little exploring, we discovered a broken wire on the connector behind the passenger side window switch. That connector doesn't appear to be available on the aftermarket and the driver side connector runs over $100. So, the only option was to fix the connector myself. I pulled the connector apart and soldered the wire back on. The connector isn't intended to be serviceable, so it didn't go back together neatly. But, it all works now. Time will tell how long that connector lasts. The electric windows are as slow as you would expect, but they do work pretty smoothly. Depending on how annoyed we get with the slow windows, we may invest in one of those snazzy "Window Racer" units. I would love to hear from anyone who has installed one. Thoughts?
www.dixierestorationdepot.com
As we reassembled the doors, we corrected a few more family sins. Neither of the pull straps were installed correctly and the driver side pull handle (the little pocket thingy in the door arm rest) wasn't screwed down. We hunted up the correct screws and tightened everything down. Everything works the way it should now. You can open (and close) both doors without fear of destroying the interior panels. The only thing left to concur on the doors is the passenger side outside mirror. The mirror glass and the mirror pedestal were both broken by a vandal. I found new glass at O'Reilly and a forum member is helping us out with a replacement pedestal. That will all get installed when we do the body work on the doors.
Windshield Washer fluid pump replacement
The factory pump (integrated with the wiper motor) gave up the ghost at least 25 years ago, but the wiper motor works just fine. So, rather than sourcing a replacement for the anemic squirt-squirt-squirt pump, we stuck to our modernization theme and opted for an aftermarket electric pump.
Free Shipping - TRICO Windshield Washer Pumps with qualifying orders of $99. Shop Windshield Washer Pumps at Summit Racing.
www.summitracing.com
This is easily one of my top 5 favorite upgrades to the El Camino so far. The new pump provides a steady high pressure stream of washer fluid, like our modern daily drivers. MUCH better than the weak spirting factory design. The pump is so small that it virtually disappears in the shadow of the washer fluid tank on the inner wheel well. And, the wiring was simple. With a little help from the wiring experts here on the forum, I identified the correct wires on the factory pump.
White wire = 12v positive
Pink wire = switched negative.
Now, when you hit the washer fluid switch, the windshield is clean, RIGHT NOW! I can't recommend this upgrade enough for anyone who plans to drive their G-body in inclement weather.
What's Next?
If the weather cooperates, I'm hoping to spend some time finishing up the intake cover. I'm eager to see it finished. It should dress up the engine bay nicely.