Odds and Ends,

Another busy few weeks with lots of little things being added, finished, and/or corrected as I prepare the car for operation..
I finally got some proper riv-nuts to use to install the passenger toe board blanking plates.
The black painted plates are screwed in place with some scraps of interior Armacord sandwiched under them to dampen vibration and create a better seal - as original..

While I was at it, I cut some little squares of Armacord to glue to the tops of the inner bonnet hinge plates - I found these on my car when I originally removed the front shroud, they clearly provided some cushion and vibration dampening to the front shroud...

I installed the original spec tar paper on the main floors and then bolted in the seat runners and tracks, so the seats are now properly mounted...

I finished off some electrical by adding the short white/black wire pigtail that goes from the coil to the distributor, soldering it in place to join to the coil lead, and then finishing the joins with some black heat shrink...

After hooking up the battery and testing some of the lights, I found that my original flasher unit from '53 that I'd spent so much time on restoring the outer finish - was unfortunately pooched inside!
So I purchased a brand new unit and proceeded to carefully pris open the 2 casings and swap the new internals over into the original printed casing.
Then I also had to drill and tap the new terminal ends to accept the original old screws..

My new fresh air hose arrived in the mail this week and I have decided to use it. I feel it looks closer to the original than any I've seen yet -

I encountered a steering issue when my car was on axle stands. I immediately assumed it was the steering box and promptly made a proper gasket/spacer for the end cap, which had been missing from mine..

However on further diagnosis, I discovered the RH steering arm was fouling against the top edge of the A-arms!
The LH side was close too, but not quite fouling..
- the foul is only noticeable in the jacked position where suspension is fully sprung open..
So, a bit of careful filing remedied the sharp corner that was causing the bind,.. had I not jacked the car up it probably wouldn't have been noticeable at all!

Also arriving in the mail was a proper cork seal for the gas tank sending unit and, a new friend David who follows this blog was nice enough to send me some of the correct style cheese head screws for installing the sender unit - several of my originals had broken or been replaced - thanks David!

I've now fully charged both batteries and installed them with the correct hardware.
I also ended up replacing the original shut off switch with a new one, I then transferred over all my original hardware to it including my original switch knob..
With the batteries now hooked up I've been able to test much of the electrical and I'm happy to say all the dash lighting works, the heater motor, the wiper motor, the ignition and starter - all working as they should!

I'm just waiting on a few more essential parts before I turn the key and press the starter button for the first time,..

Until next time...