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What did you do to your car today?

2M views 19K replies 451 participants last post by  StarFighter1 
#1 ·
Lets keep this a continuing, never gonna die thread.

For the Toyota truck, I changed the plugs, plug wires, distributor cap, and changed the oil in it this morning. Also ran a can of seafoam through it before I changed the plugs, gotta love that huge cloud of smoke. Love how stupid easy the 22R-E is to work on. Runs a lot smoother now, and fixed my rough idle problem.

Tomorrow I'm going to wax and detail the Cadillac. Gonna be a long ass day.
 
#2,143 ·
The VATS keys like ours are not programmed, they come in 15 different values and you just buy the key with the value to match your car. For instance, if your current key is a #6 then you'd just buy a new #6 key and have it cut to match your current key. The lock keys are stamped with different letters and you just have to buy keys of the same letter and have them cut to match your current lock key. Search eBay for they keys, not all VATS values are available.

I ordered #6 keys as #7 keys are no longer available and added a 390-ohm resistor across the VATS wiring to make up the difference in resistance. As it turns out it the resistor trick wasn't necessary on my car as it seems to have VATS disabled, though I have yet to see how.
 
#2,142 ·
Had one of those :doh: moments when it dawned on me that if I was taking Betty to a car show this weekend, she needed a wash. Went ahead and did Sabrina as well, although most of that was cleaning off bugs. Driving a rural highway 30+ miles every day creates much buggage.

I hope the clock arrives tomorrow like it's supposed to so I can put the dash back together and detail the interior.
 
#2,150 ·
had the glass guy come out for a Second time this time with the right stuff
they came on Monday and i said you have the right gell pack for the rain sensor right he said what
i told them about it on Saturday because they kept telling me my car had no rain sensor option LOL

they then talked to the installer or A installer and said yes we do have the gell packs finally the guy agreed with me that my car has a rain sensor LOL

they came out installer had no idea what gell pack needed to be used did not have it
another tech came today finally with the proper gel pack i said money not to even mess with the window come out and do it all right the same day so

so finally she got her new windshield today

Also looks like its time to pull the dash again and glue it down going to try a new adhesive this time but waiting for the new GPS antenna to come
 
#2,158 ·
OK so did a lot more to the seville today got the dash fixed up probably about 80% better then it was

I also moved the Antenna from the inside to the outside but im not sure if i did a smart thing there
does anyone know how it may hold up in rained or snow
is it going to be messed up
am i better off putting it back on the inside ?

also how about in car washes is it going to blow or be pulled off ?
its a Magnetic Bottom so its stuck to the car
but just not sure if i did a good thing putting it where i did any suggestions or ideas about that ?

thanks
 
#2,162 ·
ok cool thanks ill do that

i was hoping i could find a better antena but thats the best one and i was wanting to put it under the dash pad but no luck there
atleast it gets better signal then the old one did
and wow on the outside of the car that picks up every single chanelle it can on the inside it picks up like 4 at a time where outside the car it picks up like 8 guess maybe its the window tint
 
#2,163 ·
Betty's clock arrived today as scheduled:



As it turns out, the clock was not broken, but it had been running slow before all this happened, and it had been 10 years or more since I had it rebuilt, so it didn't hurt to have it serviced again. For anybody who has an older car with a non-working clock, I highly recommend The Clock Works. For $48.95, plus $12 shipping, they do a complete mechanical restoration, usually with a 24-hour turnaround (they received my clock last Friday, and it was serviced the same day).

The wire from the connector to the clock was intact all the way to where it was bundled with the rest of the wiring for the dash harness, but on the other side, since the wires are color coded, I looked for the orange/black wire on the other side of the harness, and lo and behold, there was a broken wire. Found the other end of the wire, put them back together, and got that lovely ticking sound of a properly working clock.

After that, it was a matter of reassembling the dash, starting with the fiberglass housing for the center air conditioning duct, then the OEM radio, then the under-dash housing for the A/C, then the ashtray, then the hidden stereo behind the tissue dispenser. The ashtray housing ended up being the most difficult. I had an awful time getting the bloody holes on the top to line up so I could screw it back in.

So after a couple of hours and only one bloody cut below my left thumb, everything is back together and working:



 
#2,165 ·
Those are the levers for the HVAC system. From left to right: fresh air or recirculating, A/C or heat, temperature cold to hot, and defroster. I had turned on the lights since this was well after dark and the car was back in the garage. There is a green lens over the HVAC controls, so that's why the knobs look green when the lights are on.
 
#2,174 ·
It's actually not bad at all, as Jesda would attest. Compared to some of the wacky dashboards Chrysler was putting out in the late 50s and early 60s, Chevrolets were clean and simple. You do have to take your hands off the wheel to turn on the lights or wipers, adjust the temperature or radio, but it's no big deal.
 
#2,176 ·
Well, tried the Krylon Fusion on the V's grilles. After 15 minutes it can peel right off. So that feels discouraging. But, it does say to add another coat within 24 hours or after 7 days and then it needs 7 days to become fully chip resistant. The question is whether the plastichrome finish will ever accept it.

Since we have the hurricane, or its remnants, hitting New England this weekend I won't be driving it much for the next week anyway, so I'll let it sit and cure and then try chipping the grilles on the back tabs before install. If it doesn't work, maybe I'll try the PlastiDip or other stuffs.
 
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