[unruhjonny]

Most people would have been clueless that it was anything but stock.

[unruhjonny]

Stopped on route just outside of Chicago (complete with clipped on mudflaps to protect the still very fresh paint);

And finally - I got this off their facebook page this last year;

Proof enough?

Sorry, but the "settle down" comment (hopefully unintentionally) caught me off guard, and if anything kinda bugged me a smidgeon.

It was a REALLLY long drive...

[Norwood]

Great job the car looks Fantastic

[Judge273]

All those are modified near your car? What a road trip!

[unruhjonny]

Originally Posted by Norwood

Great job the car looks Fantastic

Thanks!

Too bad the paint didn't hold up so well (it was a single stage acrylic, and apparently a cheap one at that)...

Originally Posted by Judge273

All those are modified near your car? What a road trip!

As I recall the cars were parked kind of randomly;

For the most part they were parked by generation - so 2nd gen cars parked together;
On the asphalt were fourth gens and the heavily modified cars.

It was an experience, and a great road trip, but I learned some hard lessons on that one;
Like for example, I enjoy being part of discussion here, and I can seem outgoing, but I am very much an introvert, and for the most part, felt to be very much an outsider compared to forum members with whom I was supposed to hang out with (I don't think it was members here)...
I also over extended my self financially to make the trip, and probably should have booked at a more reasonably priced hotel rather than the 'suggested host hotel' the forum members all wanted to stay & meet at.

I did meet some great guys from Australia, and once I met up with them, I had someone to hang out with;
We went (in my car of course) to the Tipp City cruise - that was surprisingly the highlight of the show for me;
Surprising because I didn't know anything about the Tipp City cruise prior to actually being at the Nat's, and enjoyed it more than the actual show (but that might have had something to do with the guys I was hanging out with at the time).

I did see a couple Fire-Am's though - that was cool!

[OVERULD]

I finally got all my parts to get the speedometer operational again. Spent most of the afternoon under the car trying to fish out the broken-off drive gear from the tail shaft. Took a couple of hours and a few beers.

Here is what happens when you install headers and don't take into consideration how close they are to important stuff like...oh, I don't know...maybe speedometer cables?











New parts ready to go in





And here is a link to a fun little video. I had to resort to using the video camera on my phone to be able to see into the hole to figure out where the gear was and what I needed to do to get it out.

https://youtu.be/G3KhBKWn9ck

Finally got it out and the rest of the install was uneventful. Glad to have a fully functional instrument panel again!

BJ

[74 SD455 Formula]

Those headers had a heat wrap on them when I sold the car. Dont know what they looked like when you got the car. And the speedo worked as well when i had the car. The only problem i had was it ran a little hot due to timing issue's. I do like what you have done so far. Please keep it up.

[njsteve]

Reminds me of the fun I had getting the broken tip of the dipstick out of my oil pan. I had to drain the oil and then go fishing with a flashlight held at an angle, and used a magnetic probe inserted in the oil drain plug hole for an hour before I was able to fish the piece out. Whew!

[OVERULD]

Drove the car a good bit this evening and it runs awesome now with the 3.08 gears. The kick-down works now and drivability is much better. I am hearing a noise from the new speedo cable. I did not lube it before installing as I presumed it was pre-lubed. Did I presume wrongly? If so, what is the easiest way to lube it?

BJ

[77 Canamman]

Use graphite lube. The cables usually come dry and require lube.

[OVERULD]

NOW NO DASH LIGHTS!!

Yesterday I pulled the speedo cable out and lubed it per the instructions in the document posted above, and no more noise. I may have created a new problem however...I drove the car to meet some pals for steaks last night. When I got in the car to drive home (after dark) my dash lights were completely dark. I tried the rheostat but no luck. Crawled under the dash with my cell phone flashlight to check the fuse - it looked fine. Drove the car home with the dash dark - that sucked! When I got home, I pulled the panel below the steering wheel and looked around to be sure I hadn't knocked a connector loose. I pushed on the top and bottom of the main electrical connection to the gauge cluster to be sure it was fully seated. I then pulled the gauge fuse and tested with a multimeter, and it checks good.

My tach still works, and my turn signal bulbs operate, but no gauge lights and no light in the radio. Need some help here - not sure where to go from here.

BJ

[SD455DJ]

BJ,
I had the same problem in my 71, but my headlight switch fried on me while driving, no dash lights, radio light, anything. Yours probably just got old and died. I could see mine was messed with sometime earlier in its life when we pulled it out to replace it with a parts store piece. I'm not saying this is definitely your problem, but something to consider.

Did you get your exhaust straightened (no pun intended) around yet? You are doing that car a major justice and I can't wait to see it in person.

Dennis

[77 Canamman]

Common to have the variable resistor in the headlight switch fail. I would start there after checking fuses.

[johnta1]

Might check to see if the main ground wire is OK?
(didn't knock it loose or broke it)

[OVERULD]

Thanks for the input guys. I haven't had a chance to do any more T/S but I did figure out that the fuse I checked was for the Guages, not the I.P. Lights. The original owner's manual in the glove box shows a small 4 amp fuse for the I.P. Lights. I'm hoping it is just a bad fuse.

I spent Sunday afternoon giving the car a good waxing, while listening to my Pandora stations in the garage with a refrigerator of cold adult beverages just a couple steps away. Nice way to spend an afternoon! The car is back at my office under a cover in the warehouse. I'll get to the fuse and T/S the problem this weekend hopefully.

Just made my reservations for the TA Nationals - Mailed my registration in today and got a room reserved at the Homewood Suites. I arrive on Thursday, and head back on Sunday. Looking forward to seeing/meeting all those who will be attending. Keep me in the loop on any plans. I also registered for the Tipp City Cruise.

BJ

[OVERULD]

Well the brilliant minds at Photobucket got me...this thread is worthless without pictures! Well...onward. Time to search for a better option and try to recreate some of it.

BJ

[blue71ta]

Originally Posted by OVERULD

Well the brilliant minds at Photobucket got me...this thread is worthless without pictures! Well...onward. Time to search for a better option and try to recreate some of it.

BJ

Ughhh! This Photobucket debacle.
$39 / year, maybe... $399 / year = ridiculous

You can always attach photos here...

[77 Canamman]

Well, how did you make out with the dash lights?

[74 SD455 Formula]

BJ,

I still use good old faithful Kodak on my computer with a Camera. I pull my card if I want to make copies for myself and I never have problems downloading here to PY.

[OVERULD]

Originally Posted by 77 Canamman

Well, how did you make out with the dash lights?

It was that small 4 amp fuse for instrument panel lights. That first fuse I checked was the one labeled Gauges. Changed the small 4 amp fuse and everything worked fine.

Originally Posted by 74 SD455 Formula

BJ,

I still use good old faithful Kodak on my computer with a Camera. I pull my card if I want to make copies for myself and I never have problems downloading here to PY.

I'm thinking of just buying a server and using it to host all my photos. At $399/year for PB, it won't take long to recoupe the cost of the server. I have a friend who is doing that and between him and the IT guy who handles all my business systems, I believe we can get it to work. I'll use an off-site back-up service in case the server fails.

Still in shock that so much info has been lost so suddenly! This is going to have a huge backlash that PB will never survive.

BJ