Starting on the nasty 81

Thanx Wayne, your efforts have been the inspiration here.

I needed the Mojave desert summer heat this morning for the nose. Probably like your weather. I've got heat lamps going all over it and it's coming in but for one section on the right front. Exactly the same mismatch as on the old one so I suspect someone got creative with the filler.

Oh well, IT'S A TARTUP:huh:
 
OK, for the first time since I got it ten years ago, the 81 has an air baffle under the nose. I don't know how long it will last but it's there today:bounce:

So that of course leads to a question, is there a joiner of some kind between the two halves of the rubber spoiler strip that hangs below? Looked in the goofy Assembly Manual but couldn't find the page detailing the rubber lip.

I'll be putting that on tomorrow I think.;)
 
Nope, they come together at the middle, at the bracket that supports the baffle. There's likely to be a small gap there, but no big deal.
 
OK, looking at HyonTorques 75 respray brought me back to a point I've been pondering.

Opinions please...

I put a new urethane nose on this thing because the old one was so torn up. Do I do the same for the rear or go Fiberglass? I don't want to do a ton of filing and shaping to match contours and I don't intend to fill the seams.

The present rear is all wavy and scraped, how well do the old urethanes take to sanding?

How well do the glass pieces fit?

Enquiring minds wanna know:fishing:
 
Wow, a lot of progress since this thread started. It's probably gone off to another thread cuz I'm kinda dumb that way.

Thing is, the car is road legal again today with everything but the passenger door painted and polished. Brand new rebuild carb and careful tuning has it running sweetly. Idle is too high but that is a quick fix.

My car could be back soon!:drink:
 
GT6Steve said:
Wow, a lot of progress since this thread started. It's probably gone off to another thread cuz I'm kinda dumb that way.

Thing is, the car is road legal again today with everything but the passenger door painted and polished. Brand new rebuild carb and careful tuning has it running sweetly. Idle is too high but that is a quick fix.

My car could be back soon!:drink:
Click to expand...

The 'Back from the Dead Thread'......:drink::drink:
 
Thanx guys, Iv'e been drivin' the shit out of it today and SO DAMNED HAPPY to have it back. The passenger side door is still a mess but that is only one committed weekend to resolve.

Damn I'm having fun with this POS back on the road!
 
I'm driving the 81 daily for the last few weeks and enjoying it. In it's last iteration it was a daily driver but it was just that. Nothing but a Rapid Transit System to get across the desert to and from work and it suffered under that duress.

Now I'm fixing a million little niggles that accumulated and it's turning into a pretty decent car.

Not saying I Bubba'd it, but it was certainly driven hard and put away wet:twitch:

Taking out the Speedo/Tach panel today knocked four issues off my list as I found a burnt trace on the circuit mylar. Fixing that fixed the turn signal indicators, the hi/lo beam indicator being backward, the lights and I found the speedo cable had merely come adrift from the speedo head.

This list is getting shorter so I guess a new list will develop soon!:push::yahoo:
 
Wow! The 81 has been languishing lately as the passenger door still needed to be done. A few weekends ago I dug in and pulled it off. Lots of sanding and painting later it went back on without any drama or aggravation. ?? Who'd have expected that?

Eventually I got to the mirror that had to be painted and reinstalled before the window could go in. While I was gonna be spraying again I prepped the hardtops I got a few months ago. I just gave them a quick and dirty cuz I didn't much care but at least they're the same color as the car, right?


Holy Crap! When they sat on the car they seemed immensely more beautiful than the glass tops. I'm tickled to death!

Can't figure how to post a pic just yet as I just got the Ipad. Shouldn't make a differenc but I'll update when I figure it out....:lol:

Ipad028_zps1a5fc0c2.jpg
 
Last edited:
Looking good !!!



GT6Steve said:
Can't figure how to post a pic just yet as I just got the Ipad. Shouldn't make a differenc but I'll update when I figure it out....:lol:
Click to expand...



Apple products don't support most forum uploads, when I use my Ipad or Iphone I use the email upload function to Photobucket.
 
Windows in and the adjustment is seemingly perfect. Damn suspicious about that:harhar:

I'll put the door pads back on tomorrow BUT I'm suspicious of how slow both windows move. Surely fresh grease will help but do the motors tire over time?
 
GT6Steve said:
Windows in and the adjustment is seemingly perfect. Damn suspicious about that:harhar:

I'll put the door pads back on tomorrow BUT I'm suspicious of how slow both windows move. Surely fresh grease will help but do the motors tire over time?
Click to expand...

Grease does a wonderful job atracting dirt..... I never had much luck greasing window tracks, it works great while the grease is fresh and clean, once the dust and dirt gets to it it's like glue slowing the track and the motor....
 
I'm gonna drive it again for a while to see what develops. The passenger side window always worked very well as it had so little use. I'm thinking new weather strips and adjustments are the issue.

I'm about to finish the door panel install and then we'll hit the car wash. The 3/4 of the car that was painted a couple years ago doesn't shine like the new stuff so I'll have a go at that after it's clean.

Glad to have it back....
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Back
Top