The Quadraphonic Gremlin Progress report....

[Soundfield]

The Ford Anglia was imported here as early as when I was a boy, maybe early 60's? Maybe sooner IDK but I never saw many of them. I remember the kid across the alley got one and put a straight exhaust on it. It always looked so different than the US cars on the road, except maybe my Aunt's old rambler. Boy was that a strange looking thing! But the Anglia sure brings back old memories. Don't believe I've seen one in prolly 40 years or more (in the US).

Even the Police used them in the UK in the sixities - great for chasing criminals (as long as they didn't go above 40mph)!

 

[Q-Eight]

Hasn't been a whole lot of progress with the weather misbehaving and I'm still trying to get that '88 Ram of mine together, too!

Interior door panels are on the Gremlin now. Took 18 months for SMS Fabrics in Oregon to reproduce them, and then they hung around my basement for the last three years.
Was nice to finally get them on. Nice sheet of mylar behind also as a water/moisture barrier. I don't want these warping like the original ones!

A little bit of POO came out when cutting the opening for the remote mirror control. This car never had a remote mirror before but I scored an NOS one during the last Portland Swapmeet. Figured what the heck. It'll be a nice addition. Only with the reproduction door panels, they don't tell you where to cut the opening! At least, thankfully the mylar insulation sheet had the cut-out so that gave me a basic idea of where to cut.... plus a member on the AMC board sent me measurements this morning and that helped tremendously. Still.... there was some sphincter puckering going on. One slip and that's a whole lot of money down the tube. The pair of door panels cost me about $1000 US plus they destroyed my old panels in the process.

Work is slow, but progressing. If the weather behaves this week and I can get some interior plastic re-dyed, I should at the very least have the interior done.

 

[Q-Eight]

Today/Tonight was all about door sills, kick panels and the parcel shelf under the dash. Work is a bit slow since I'm having to re-dye much of my interior plastic. A lot of it was from another car with a TAN interior, and the old black dye hadn't taken well and was flaking off. Of course, nothing can stay the same and I can't get that nice, semi-gloss dye anymore. The only stuff I can get now is either WAY too flat, or way too glossy as you can see how shiny the driver side kick panel is. The other side is done, parcel tray is in and the windshield trim also went on.

Not to fault the shop that did the paint & body.... but I think they got a little sloppy. I noticed my fuel gauge not registering anymore.... and a quick investigation revealed they must've tugged too hard on the rear harness and broke the wire leading to the fuel sender. Not a big deal I mean.... stuff like that happens. But then I noticed my dome light not working anymore either - by the door switch OR the dash switch. Did the usual checks and it wasn't until I installed the parcel shelf that - if you'll pardon the pun - a light came on. As in, the courtesy light UNDER the dash which is attached to the parcel shelf. Both courtesy lights came on. But they're on the same circuit as the dome light....

Simple continuity check to the dome light connector shows..... nada. So, it too either got cut or disconnected from the main harness. Problem now is that means pulling the back seat out, removing the driver side trim panel, and then drilling out a dozen pop rivets to gain access inside the body.

All for a frigging dome light.

 

[Q-Eight]

Well there's your problem. Seems like somebody's zip-disk went through the rear wiring harness. Sure explains why I had no dome light, brake lights, park, turn or tails.
Fixed now, except for the parking/marker lights. Dash lights seem to have died, too. Suspect the switch at this point. I've had a new one waiting in the box for years just for such an occasion.

Tail lights got a scrub and a new lick of paint. Also new gaskets and sockets! No more leaks for this Gremlins' bum!

 

[Q-Eight]

Wow. Guess it's been a while since I posted an update. Well, between jamming on the truck, getting ready for winter, raising new kittens and then being lazy.... oh, and setbacks! We can't forget the setbacks!! No Wipers yet on the Gremlin because when installing the linkage, I stripped out the passenger side windshield wiper post. Not to worry, about an hour away, a buddy had one from a '76 Gremlin. Is it the same? Heck no! Can I make it work? Sure! Are the posts not rusted, spin freely and the same Green as my car???

Do you see where I'm going with this?

So, the posts have been soaking for days. They're free. Today, I laid down paint.... left them outside to dry.... and it started raining. Luckily, the paint had set but man did that get my heart jumping.

The seats are in, the grille is in, wiring repaired, everything works. New horns put in..... I mean, I am making progress.

Fresh, Dual note horns. I had really fought hard with this one.... about getting reproduction Sparton brand horns. But they're $140 US for a set. These were $50 for the pair at Cambodian Tire. I'll upgrade later.... maybe when I have a job.

Seats are back in. My back is back out.

Grille back in, emblems on.

Looks just as good going as it does coming.

 

[Doug G.]

Beautiful!

Doug

 

[Electric Moo]

Yes that is pretty impressive. It's REALLY green!

 

[Doug G.]

Green, green, the cars are green, on the far side of the hill...



Doug

 

[Q-Eight]

Yes that is pretty impressive. It's REALLY green!

You gotta see it in the sunshine. They should've named it "Ouch! My retinas! Green".

 

[scifi]

Cars of the 70's

 

[4_everyman]

Cars of the 70's

Dafuq?

 

[ar surround]

@Q-Eight , so how goes the battle...Green Gremlin and aching back?

 

[Q-Eight]

@Q-Eight , so how goes the battle...Green Gremlin and aching back?

Snow moved in, motivation moved out. My shop isn't insulated and it's just no fun working when it's -6°C or worse. The '88 Ram is also at a standstill. Dropped off the driveshaft 2 weeks ago to have it shortened. Hadn't heard a peep from the shop in a while, so I popped in for a visit only to learn they closed for Xmas and won't re-open until January 3rd. With the truck, it's one of those catch 22 deals where without the yoke from the driveshaft in the transmission, I can't fill the trans with fluid. Well, you can't run an engine on a dry transmission, because you'll cook it. The trucks "To-Do" list is minuscule now: Repair/Heatshrink 3 wires, install ignition wires, install new backup/neutral safety switch and install driveshaft. Literally an hours work but without the driveshaft I'm just farting in the wind. I might as well just wait until the weather begins to warm up again.

Gremlin is down to: install wiper linkage and wiper motor, reconnect underdash tape player, and re-dye rear cargo plastic and install. Problem is, it's too cold to dye plastic until Spring, so there again, no major rush.... I'll get back on it when the weather improves; which should be March or April.

I just kinda got burned out on cars.... I mean, I did a ton of work to my Daytona last year so much so that it even came out to play in 2021! I had it insured and drove it almost daily for three months. Then all the jamming on the Gremlin before it went for body work, then buying that '88 Ram to put back together.... It's fun until you hit a roadblock, then while you wait for parts, you just sit there and stare at it. Normally, I like to have all the parts ready to go well in advance. That was hard to do with the truck as, like I've even had to explain to my mother; How do you build a puzzle if you don't have the box? I got VERY lucky that a local wrecker had ONE, single V6 Ram in their collection. That got me almost all the little missing pieces I needed.

I'm just going to take a little break, re-group, search out some pieces I'd really like (like a front sway bar for the truck!) and get back on things when the weather improves. In my neck of the woods, we're literally under cover of snow for 6 months out of the year.

 

[GOS]

Darn it. I like this thread, and was hoping for a major update. lol! Good luck my man.....warmer weather is just around......well, maybe not.

 

[ar surround]

I just kinda got burned out on cars....

It happens. It's supposed to be a hobby, not a full-time job. I get that way with my train layout sometimes and I'll stop working on it for several months...and start rebuilding AR speakers or installing bookshelf speakers in the ceiling.

 

[mandrix]

Snow moved in, motivation moved out. My shop isn't insulated and it's just no fun working when it's -6°C or worse. The '88 Ram is also at a standstill. Dropped off the driveshaft 2 weeks ago to have it shortened. Hadn't heard a peep from the shop in a while, so I popped in for a visit only to learn they closed for Xmas and won't re-open until January 3rd. With the truck, it's one of those catch 22 deals where without the yoke from the driveshaft in the transmission, I can't fill the trans with fluid. Well, you can't run an engine on a dry transmission, because you'll cook it. The trucks "To-Do" list is minuscule now: Repair/Heatshrink 3 wires, install ignition wires, install new backup/neutral safety switch and install driveshaft. Literally an hours work but without the driveshaft I'm just farting in the wind. I might as well just wait until the weather begins to warm up again.

Gremlin is down to: install wiper linkage and wiper motor, reconnect underdash tape player, and re-dye rear cargo plastic and install. Problem is, it's too cold to dye plastic until Spring, so there again, no major rush.... I'll get back on it when the weather improves; which should be March or April.

I just kinda got burned out on cars.... I mean, I did a ton of work to my Daytona last year so much so that it even came out to play in 2021! I had it insured and drove it almost daily for three months. Then all the jamming on the Gremlin before it went for body work, then buying that '88 Ram to put back together.... It's fun until you hit a roadblock, then while you wait for parts, you just sit there and stare at it. Normally, I like to have all the parts ready to go well in advance. That was hard to do with the truck as, like I've even had to explain to my mother; How do you build a puzzle if you don't have the box? I got VERY lucky that a local wrecker had ONE, single V6 Ram in their collection. That got me almost all the little missing pieces I needed.

I'm just going to take a little break, re-group, search out some pieces I'd really like (like a front sway bar for the truck!) and get back on things when the weather improves. In my neck of the woods, we're literally under cover of snow for 6 months out of the year.

Know exactly what you mean. Seems like every time I took a block to be dipped and/or mic'd, have camshaft bearings installed, etc the shop work would hit a busy season and I sit and look at whatever car I had with no engine, hood off, tranny laying on the concrete or ground. Wait, wait, wait, hitchhike to work, all that stuff) The guy that did my work had a parts place/shop and most of the time no employees so the wait could stretch into weeks at times. Then he'd want to rebuild it for me and I would say I don't think so, I need it this year. lol. Always did me right on price though.

 

[Q-Eight]

Know exactly what you mean. Seems like every time I took a block to be dipped and/or mic'd, have camshaft bearings installed, etc the shop work would hit a busy season and I sit and look at whatever car I had with no engine, hood off, tranny laying on the concrete or ground. Wait, wait, wait, hitchhike to work, all that stuff) The guy that did my work had a parts place/shop and most of the time no employees so the wait could stretch into weeks at times. Then he'd want to rebuild it for me and I would say I don't think so, I need it this year. lol. Always did me right on price though.

I've been in situations like that before myself. I hate waiting on other people. There's even a colloquial term in my neck of the woods called "Kootenay Time" which generally means if you're going to rely on somebody to do something, they'll do it when they feel like it. Even if they set a date or time, that'll get delayed, pushed back, gramma died, etc....

Thing is, I have a friend who is a retired machinist. His personal shop is more equipped than most fabrication shops. He does things on the side to keep busy. Problem is, he lives an hour away, and traveling to his place requires traversing the highest paved, year-round mountain pass road in all of North America. Sure, he'd do the driveshaft and even balance it.... while I wait.... but getting there (and back) in the winter is quite an ordeal.

But, if y'all want an update....

Here's my backyard right now:
(hidden somewhere in this picture are my '87 Shelby and '73 AMX )

Shop, packed with with Ram and Gremlin:

Even the poor Mustang has been relegated to the breezeway!

 

[mandrix]

Brrrr I do not like snow, at least not to live in. I believe I would just stay home and let the driveshaft go until spring!
I have never been nor would ever claim to be a machinist, but the welding and machine shop I worked at for a few years
built/rebuilt driveshafts. I got sort of a crash course in it one day and went on to build quite a few on an ancient 14 foot long bed lathe.
You would not believe how many people when doing some engine/tranny swap would cut a section out of the middle of the d/s then
want you to "just weld it back together" lol. For those that don't know, you usually chuck the d/s up in the lathe and use a bit to remove
the weld from one end to separate the yoke, then again with a bit to cut the excess tubing off then reweld the yoke to a flush tube while aligned on the lathe.
Or at least that's how I was taught.

 

[Q-Eight]

Brrrr I do not like snow, at least not to live in. I believe I would just stay home and let the driveshaft go until spring!
I have never been nor would ever claim to be a machinist, but the welding and machine shop I worked at for a few years
built/rebuilt driveshafts. I got sort of a crash course in it one day and went on to build quite a few on an ancient 14 foot long bed lathe.
You would not believe how many people when doing some engine/tranny swap would cut a section out of the middle of the d/s then
want you to "just weld it back together" lol. For those that don't know, you usually chuck the d/s up in the lathe and use a bit to remove
the weld from one end to separate the yoke, then again with a bit to cut the excess tubing off then reweld the yoke to a flush tube while aligned on the lathe.
Or at least that's how I was taught.

Oh yeah, there's a total process to it. Cutting one in the middle is the perfect way to ruin a shaft. It would just be nice to know if I have a runner or not. I've heard tales of people having bad luck with the fuel injection on these trucks. Thing is though, it's eerily similar to the system on my Daytona so I think I've got a leg up there over the next guy.

Waiting until January is no big deal, it just would've been nice over the holidays to finally have the truck in one piece and then move on to the next task.

 

[Electric Moo]

That's a nice view! Looks like a good place to go backcountry skiing?

Good luck with the vehicles!