After just sitting there for three months, 1758 is back on the road
again, thanks to my income tax refund, which paid off the insurance, and
a new battery.
I've done quite a bit of work on the car recently. All interior panels
are out, along with the carpet and the driver side window crank. My dad
says the metal plate on which the teeth are cut is thicker than most of
the ones he's worked on...interesting.
I discovered that the roof T section and the driver side door have been
sealed and painted. I now recall the previous owner telling me about the
attempted break-in, which bent the door frame (so that's why it looks so
bad..duh!). The door skin was pulled, the crescent brace installed and
reassembled with sealer and paint. This raises a question. Way back
when I first bought the car, the con artist-mechanic dude sprayed a
little primer on the door to make it look like he was doing fiberglass
work. This explains the cracking in the surrounding areas, but assuming
the whole door skin was sealed, how could that be?
There is a place on the door that looks as though someone bit off a piece
of door skin and had it for lunch =) Can I repair the existing? I'm not
sure the new fiberglass would stick to the acrylic. If it doesn't,
should I sand off the acrylic around the area so I would have 'glass to
'glass?
I've also had major trouble with the headlamp switch. I have a motors
manual that labels the terminals, but there are 3 that should get hot
when you pull the switch out. Only one gets hot, unless i run a jumper
between two specific terminals. Perhaps there are variations the GM
switch that all look alike, but have different connections inside?
If anyone ever needs a window crank handle, you can find one at the local
pep boys or equivelant. Just look for one that fits a '75 Grenada ('74
Bricklins may be different, so if the Grenada one doesn't work, try an
AMC).
I'll never forget the strange nightmare I had one night. I was lying
down in the rear hatch(probably installing new bolts) when the fiberglass
underneath my right hand gave way...I thought my hand would be covered in
gasoline, but as we all know, dreams never make sense. In the real
world, I would have been lying down on the gas tank which is metal.
Then there was the ride home from taco bell. I rode over some bumpy
road, and all of a sudden the buzzer comes on (the one that says "turn
off the headlights" after you turn the ignition off). For the first time
since ownership, the seat belt light turned off! Then I saw the oil
pressure guage. I was at zero. I looked at the other guages to try and
get a clearer picture. They all looked dead. I knew I hadn't scraped
the oil pan, and the electrical changes gave me the impression that my
engine was ok. But i kept watching as if I expected smoke to start
rising from the engine compartment. Looks like I'll have to do some more
electrical diagnostics in the morning.
As for the Bricklin door wedgie I mentioned earlier, it turns out that
the cause was not the door hinge. It was a stuck air cylinder. If
anyone has a pair of used ones (preferably not the factory originals)
that are just lying around, please let me know. I could also use a
Bricklin seat, as one of my two tore in half upon removal.
Riley Marquis III
VIN 1758
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