[70RAlll]

Hey Bob.. I am 99% sure that the tape on the door handles stopped in 1970.. I know 71's did not have tape on the door handles with custom trim.. did 72's start using it again?? car is looking nice,real nice.. man you have really had to do a lot of work.. glad to see the car is getting the correct attention it deserves..

[RamAir]

My 72 with custom trim is tape.

[Bentwheelbob]

Originally Posted by Norwood

Bob, are you bringing that car to the T/A Natz?

I have a hotel room reserved and Judge273 has promised me a parking spot. Assuming I can get the bumper on by then I should be there. There's a lot folks I am looking forward to having a beer with and meeting....

Originally Posted by 70RAlll

Hey Bob.. I am 99% sure that the tape on the door handles stopped in 1970.. I know 71's did not have tape on the door handles with custom trim.. did 72's start using it again?? car is looking nice,real nice.. man you have really had to do a lot of work.. glad to see the car is getting the correct attention it deserves..

Uh-oh....I think I am correct, but hate to think I may be wrong. The good thing about the Black Car is that there is really nothing I had to do. Steve had all the mechanicals sorted and it runs and drives so nice. That's given me the luxury of just doing what I want to do to sort out some of the aesthetics. Thanks for the kind words...

[Norwood]

I didn't know the Judge had that much pull......I wish he would promise me the same

[blue71ta]

This is the original door handle off my blue '71 T/A with Custom interior and it has the blue tape on it.

[njsteve]

The color keyed door handles came with the custom trim/deluxe interior. All the deluxe interior cars I have owned have had the color keyed tape: 72 T/A, 72 Formula, 73 SD and even my Gramma's 75 Esprit.

Sorry I sold you such a lemon, Bob. Feel free to return it any time. (After you paint it)

;-)

[njsteve]

I just looked at the prior page's photos. She sure looks nice!


And, yes you will never get that lock plate depressed without that darn $5 special tool.

[70RAlll]

This is why I said 99% sure..wasn't completely confident in my statement. I know my 71 deluxe interior car does not have tape and that car was almost 100% complete when I got it, still had original V belts,rubber hoses etc.. for some damn reason I have it in my mind that the tape wasn't used all years.. who the he!! knows why?? guess I'm getting old....

[njsteve]

I wish someone would sell the correct size, paintable tape inserts. All the repro houses sell the stuff for the shorter, later door handles.

[70RAlll]

yea.. definately wrong.. just found it in the assembly manual under custom trim options.. really bothering me.. who knows.. sorry to have started that..

[Norwood]

Steve, two years ago I wanted to see what they would look like on my car. I just painted some electrical tape and put it on the handle trimmed it with a razor blade. Its still on there.

[njsteve]

I used the whte reflector tape on my T/A and it worked great.

[necdb3]

I bought a roll of 3m tape and painted it. Then I cut it to the length of the handle. It's been 7 years now and still looks perfect.

[Bentwheelbob]

Well the steering wheel is back in place. MPD got his hands on the special tool and that was that - more or less. The ignition lock works great including the accessory position and buzzer, and everything that is supposed to be on one key is on one key. Also got the license plate light and bracket installed on the tail panel tonight. Like a dumba_s I didn't check the bulb prior to installing it and of course it is burned out. Two steps forward and one step backward. MPD is coming over tomorrow evening and we hope to get the bumper installed.

I have a question tonight I need help with. One of the wire retainers/clips on the left front inner fender has lost it ability to stay in the hole. I have spread, bent and prodded, but it keeps coming out. I remember seeing a post recently about where to get these and the quality of the repop's, but can't remember where or find the post. I would appreciate it if someone could point me in the right direction. and where to buy these. Here's a picture of the clip. Thanks for any help.

[RicksGTO]

Bob, the repops of that clip that I have are excellent. If you just need one or two I've got some extras I can mail if you want. Just PM your address.

[Bentwheelbob]

Well we had a little night shift action at the Hot Rod Garage tonight and low and behold the bumper has been installed. It looks great, really great, and it pretty much dropped into place with few issues or tweaking. We measured the brackets and the mounting holes in advance to get everything close, and I am sure that helped. The right side wrap needed some persuasion to get close to the correct horizontal position and we used a bottle jack which worked very well. It looks like it could stand to go up another 1/8" or so, but it's hard to tell with the car sitting on the lift with the side so close to the wall. We also had one rear bracket that was about 1/4" off, but MPD was able to get a gear wrench in without removing the bumper and loosen the bracket. Once it was loosened the bracket had enough play to make the mounting holes.

The list is getting a lot shorter. The plating guys called today and the jack shaft and MC cap are getting plated tomorrow. Now all I need is for a radio to show up and we'll be back on the road.

BTW - I do need one correct long bumper mounting bolt. If anyone has one I would be very appreciative. Here's the pictures.

[70RAlll]

Originally Posted by Bentwheelbob

Well we had a little night shift action at the Hot Rod Garage tonight and low and behold the bumper has been installed. It looks great, really great, and it pretty much dropped into place with few issues or tweaking. We measured the brackets and the mounting holes in advance to get everything close, and I am sure that helped. The right side wrap needed some persuasion to get close to the correct horizontal position and we used a bottle jack which worked very well. It looks like it could stand to go up another 1/8" or so, but it's hard to tell with the car sitting on the lift with the side so close to the wall. We also had one rear bracket that was about 1/4" off, but MPD was able to get a gear wrench in without removing the bumper and loosen the bracket. Once it was loosened the bracket had enough play to make the mounting holes.

The list is getting a lot shorter. The plating guys called today and the jack shaft and MC cap are getting plated tomorrow. Now all I need is for a radio to show up and we'll be back on the road.

BTW - I do need one correct long bumper mounting bolt. If anyone has one I would be very appreciative. Here's the pictures.

The bolt that you need, are you talking about the ones that come from the trunk out?? If yes, post a picture of what you need., I have bags of the original bolts already replated..

[Judge273]

Nice work for sure! Don't bump into anything now...

[Bentwheelbob]

So the paint on the Black Car has been really bothering me. No matter how hard I work, it is 29 year old paint with lots of problems. Not the least of which is acid rain spots. I've been planning to get it painted after this season, so I've decided that I am just going to go with matte black hot rod paint for this season to hide the imperfections. Rustoleum makes a great hot rod black paint that sprays well, and the car is looking good. I can't decide whether to spray the hood or not since the paint on it is in good shape. Here's some pictures...









Of course I might be wet sanding the front of the car and it could be really looking great. Like exceeding my wildest expectations great...

[RamAir]

You're kidding right? you are scaring me with the do it yourself matte black.