A mixed bag, but at least some progress
Posted: Fri Jul 31, 2009 10:47 pm
Since getting home from Carlisle, I've been out in the shop almost every evening doing at least a little something on Project Blue Bird. Yes, thanks to hanging out with Gary and Pam, I've gotten inspired to get back out there and work on what I can - even though time and money are both pretty tight.
I've been spending a good bit of time working on the aluminum tracks for the sunroof, trying to get them cleaned up to the point of being presentable. I've been a bit discouraged with the condition of the parts that I have, and have been trying to figure out what I'm going to do with everything. Some parts (the corners and the motor gear housing & cover are actually pretty decent, while the straight segments between them leave quite a bit to be desired. The long slide tracks that the door runs on are ok - but they could use some work too.
Anyway, as anybody who was following the updates from long, long ago might remember, I have 2 sunroof setups - the one that's in the car (a 19.5" door) and one that came out of a C-body (a 21" door). The front cable run parts are identical between the 2, and I've been missing (since the whole move with Operation New Nest) the two extra straight pieces, along with a couple other things, including the rear spoiler stanchions. Well, digging around in the shop tonight, I found a box that contained BOTH the stanchions and the extra sunroof pieces.
The mixed bag on the evening is that the 2 extra pieces are in a LOT better condition and with a bit more polishing time should turn out to be pretty acceptable for 38 year old parts.
The bad of the evening is that my one of my nicely painted stanchions collected a chip along the way, and is going to have to be repainted. I did get the other one installed though - and boy does it look sharp against the blue paint!
I've been spending a good bit of time working on the aluminum tracks for the sunroof, trying to get them cleaned up to the point of being presentable. I've been a bit discouraged with the condition of the parts that I have, and have been trying to figure out what I'm going to do with everything. Some parts (the corners and the motor gear housing & cover are actually pretty decent, while the straight segments between them leave quite a bit to be desired. The long slide tracks that the door runs on are ok - but they could use some work too.
Anyway, as anybody who was following the updates from long, long ago might remember, I have 2 sunroof setups - the one that's in the car (a 19.5" door) and one that came out of a C-body (a 21" door). The front cable run parts are identical between the 2, and I've been missing (since the whole move with Operation New Nest) the two extra straight pieces, along with a couple other things, including the rear spoiler stanchions. Well, digging around in the shop tonight, I found a box that contained BOTH the stanchions and the extra sunroof pieces.
The mixed bag on the evening is that the 2 extra pieces are in a LOT better condition and with a bit more polishing time should turn out to be pretty acceptable for 38 year old parts.
The bad of the evening is that my one of my nicely painted stanchions collected a chip along the way, and is going to have to be repainted. I did get the other one installed though - and boy does it look sharp against the blue paint!
some pics would be nice