The rivets look great with a factory finish Royce. That is going to be a great looking car when you are finished. Can’t believe it was practically sitting in my backyard and I never knew it.
Got back from vacation and started working on wiring harnesses. This one was in pretty good shape. Some corrosion on the fuse panel was cleaned up with the aid of a Dremel tool and rubber polishing tips.
Masked off the dash area and painted it black charcoal metallic. This is the before paint picture - I wore a mask and left the shop after painting it so no pics of that.
Started today assembling the parking brake handle with a new cable. Adjusted the switch for the parking brake warning lamp - it works well.
This car had some rust in the floor pans that was repaired by installing a perfect original floor pan that had the same date codes. Today I installed the original plugs.
The windshield wiper motor bracket had some surface rust peeking out from the underside so I spent the time disassembling it, bead blasting the bracket, priming and painting it. This is showing it being re - assembled. Last thing I did was install it in the car, along with the arms and wiper pivots. And new gaskets!.
USPS delivered the restored XR-7 fuel sender this morning so I knew what was going to happen next. The fuel tank would go from the floor of my shop into the car!
First step was gathering up all the parts.
I used Vaseline to lube the new gasket before installation. It’s hard to do in the car with the tank upside down. Easy to do on the work bench. First lube the channel, then install the seal. Install the sender with the lock ring - I use a pry bar to turn the locking ring. Had to use a hammer and a brass punch to turn it until it locked in place.
Then it was time to screw the gas tank into the car. The underside of the tank has 3M strip caulk applied to seal it in place.
The orginal piece of fiber board is installed on top of the tank where the jack would sit. Then the acoustic pad is placed on top of everything.
The filler neck, clamps, rubber connector and the screws that secure the neck to the body are installed. Not shown - a new cork gasket between the body and the filler neck.
Under the car I connected the fuel line and installed the connector for the Low Fuel lamp and fuel sender.
I agree the repop is non-functional. However, the originals had a thin rubber flap that made it a one-way valve. It is there to keep the dust and road grime from getting inside the rear quarter.
I think I used NOS originals when I restored the green GT-E. Will try and get pics of those to see if I can modify the repops to work.
One thing that is surprising is that most auto part stores sell the right headlamp switch for our cars. Well almost right…
The new switch is missing the adapeter bracket that is spot welded on the original switches. Here’s a picture of an original switch with the spot welds drilled out so the bracket can be transferred to the new switch.
I use JB weld to attach the bracket to the new switch. I put Vaseline on the threads so that the sleeve won’t stick to the JB Weld.
Then assemble everything and let it dry overnight.
I went out of town for a few days - now I am back.
The headlamp switch, while brand new, had no marking on the vacuum ports to tell you which headlight hose went where. I have an old original one (right) I saved just for that reason.
