Since it was feeling pretty damn good to finally be putting parts back together on this thing, I decided to keep rolling with it. What the hell right? I can always sleep when I’m dead.
There’s a rubber air damn/deflector thingy that had to go on, I cleaned it up and reinstalled it as well with the original clips:
Next up was the tracks. Since they were already cleaned up/out and painted, they just needed lubricating before installation:
All the tracks and cables were done, even inside the cable tubes:
Time to get those installed in the assembly too:
Buoyed by the high of reassembly, I kept on rolling. The cable guide was next, all the 39 year old grease was cleaned out of it...
... then hit with some fresh stuff. I’m using white lithium grease here in an aerosol can, with the precision straw it’s very easy to get it exactly where it needs to be.
Align and bolt it to the assembly, and then I had to shut it down for the evening. Not bad for a single night’s work.
Friday night I took off from the car, and spent it with the better half. Weekends are usually our time.
Saturday evening I resumed with where I left off, I removed the drive gear from the motor and cleaned all the individual parts up:
Fresh lube here as well...
... then attach it to the cartridge. I was almost caught off guard here, after I had reattached the motor, I noticed the rear brackets attached to the cables weren’t in the same location in the tracks side to side. Apparently the one cable shifted in its tube when I was installing the tracks, I had to remove the motor and guide plate and realign it. Then reinstall the guide plate and motor again.
Here it is assembled correctly now:
Overall view, it’s coming together!
Earlier in the day Saturday, we had stopped in at the local speed shop and I grabbed a box of this stuff:
From the factory, the underside of the outer pan assembly had this jute insulation stuff attached to it. It was in pretty poor shape though:
After cleaning the underside of the pan with wax and grease remover...
...and cutting a piece to fit, I simply peeled the paper from the self adhesive backing and stuck it firmly in place:
This is why I wasn’t too concerned with having a perfect finish on the underside of the pan when I painted it. You don’t see it anyways. As you can tell, it’s quite thick at 3/4’s of an inch. This was desirable to me, as the original jute was the same thickness. This should serve as sound deadening and insulation both.
Works for me, end Saturday.
Today, I had Mike swing by to give me a hand. I didn’t have much for him, but for what I did, two sets of hands were absolutely necessary. I needed to get the outer G Body Parts weatherstrip seal glued into the gutter of the outer pan assembly.
It was quite the process, and we had to go about it in steps. First off, we began by masking off the primer on the topside. Then we stretched the seal and pushed it down into place in the gutter. After massaging it to ensure it was stretched evenly and not stressed, we placed 4 spring clamps on the 4 corners to keep it in place.
Using some black 3M Super Weatherstrip Adhesive I picked up a while back, we did one section at a time. A thin bead has to be applied to each surface, spread out to evenly coat both areas, then allowed to tack up. Peeling the seal back between the corner clamps, I applied the adhesive, and Mike tooled it out with a cut down disposable paint brush.
We did the back first, then each side, then finished with the front. The Fisher service manual calls for the adhesive to be applied to both the bottom and sides of the seal, but Mike and I only did the bottom for now. I’m going to have to mask off this seal when I go to paint the car, and I wanted to be able to get the masking tape in between the seal and the side of the pan when the time comes. After the car is painted, I will go back and glue the sides as required.
Here’s the seal all glued in place finally, it still has the clamps holding the corners fast:
And finally, tonight after letting it set for several hours, I unmasked it once again. It looks pretty good, tomorrow I’ll do a little cleanup on it and touch up a couple spots where the adhesive took the paint off the very edge.
Ready to go back in the assembly now:
This thing is nearly done and ready to go back in the car, the slider board is now the only thing holding me up. Friday I stopped in at a customer of mine, an auto upholstery shop, and ordered 3 yards of claret headliner material. He was kind enough to give it to me at his cost, 80 Canadian pesos. It should be in late next week. That 3 yards is also enough to re-cover the entire headliner according to him.
👍🏻
That time frame should give me ample time this week to get both sides of the slider board epoxied and painted, then when the headliner material comes in, it’s just a matter of attaching it to the slider and putting the slider and outer pan into the cartridge.
Providing that all happens this week, I’ve tentatively arranged for Mike to give me some assistance reinstalling the whole thing back into the car, possibly on Monday. (We both have that day off).
The end is in sight!
That’s all for now, thanks for taking the time to read through this huge update. As always I sincerely appreciate it. Also, feel free to let me know your thoughts and opinions.
Until next time friends,
D.
