Riley is having problems getting posts to the group. So he asked me to
forward this to the group. His new email address is:
"Riley F. Marquis III" <RileyM3@hotmail.com>
John
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Greetings!
I was finally able to complete the disassembly process for my car. The
dash and everything behind it has been removed so that I have a clear shot
at the firewall for patching holes, insulation, etc.
I have several issues that need addressing:
1: Rust! I need to weld on a small metal patch to fix a hole on the
drivers side. This is on the piece that you can see once the dash is out
and spans the width of the car. Second, the driver's side area where the
hood release cable is has rusted pretty bad. Third, I'd like to know what
it takes to replace the metal part of the plenum where the two big holes
are and the piece underneath that lets water enter the heater. I'd like to
fabricate new parts, modified so that various problems can be fixed such as
the water in the heater problem. I'm guessing the roof panel and
windshield will need to be removed, but I'm not sure about the fenders. I
have no clue what the parts would cost to make. Maybe Terry or Bob has a
leftover or two of these? Any advice on all this such as what type of
welder to use would be a big help.
2: My rear hatch has lots of small "flakes" inside. I removed it and I
could hear them moving around like sand in a box. What are they? How
should I disassemble the hatch? Any updates I can do while inside there?
How about making the defroster connections look nicer by removing the wires
from the glass and soldering on slide on connectors similar to the way they
do on new cars? Will I damage the defroster wires if they get too much
heat from the soldering gun? And how easy is it to remove the old
defroster grid and put a new one on?
3: I want to put in a digital dash from a Blazer and maybe an a/c panel
from a Mits 3000GT, but I don't know if those types of electronic gizmos
will work without the corresponding computer modules. I also want to
install A/C vents from a 95 Riviera since they look nicer. I'll be
fabricating a new dash that keeps the same general shape as the factory
one, but allows for these types of mods.
4: Has anyone successfully extended the body panels so that the gaps
between them are smaller? I'm also thinking of finding a way to block air
that comes in through the gap between the bumper and hood extension from
coming ino the passenger compartment. Any tips/info here would be great too.
5: I've read stories about the oil pan getting sliced open in certain
situations such as going through a dip followed by a manhole cover that's
sticking up. I read in a kit car magazine about a guy who put small wheels
in front of the car out of view so the bottom of the car doesnt get
scraped. I'm thinking of trying this. In addition, my plans call for rims
from a 95 corvette. These are 17" rims and I need to know if gear ratios
should be adjusted to compensate for the change in wheel size. Also, does
anybody know if the wheels would stick out beyond the fender wells?
Lastly, I wanted to inquire about an extremely rare Bricklinalia type item.
I probably won't have any luck finding one, but I'd love to get my hands
on one of those Bricklin-Turner rotary engines! Or maybe I could find a
copy of the design specifications so that I could have a replica made. I
know it's a long shot, so I'm not expecting to have any luck. But if
anyone can help, let me know.
Riley Marquis III
VIN 1758 - The future example of what Bricklins might look like if they
were being manufactured today...maybe.
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John T. Blair WA4OHZ email: jblair@exis.net
Va. Beach, Va Phone: (757) 495-8229
48 TR1800 65 Morgan 4/4 Series V (B1109)
71 Saab Sonett III (71500840) 75 Bricklin SV1 (0887) 77 Spitfire
Morgan: www.team.net/www/morgan
Bricklin: www.bricklin.org
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