I've been meaning to post for a while, but you know how it goes
sometimes. :-) Anyway here's everything in one!
TR6 Hazards
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Randell Jesup wrote:
> Has anyone every had the hazard _switch_ fail? It seems to
> have no effect - at least it should cut the connection for the normal
> flasher circuit. As best I can tell (hard to see), it's all hooked
> up, and a BITCH to get out (the instructions start with "remove the
> tach or speedometer, whichever you prefer").
Well, mine has never worked in the three years I've owned my car. I
tried replacing the hazard flasher relay but to no avail. Let me know
if you come up with any great debugging techniques!
Dash Refinishing
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Jeremy DuBois wrote:
> Anybody have any experience refinishing the wood dash on a Spitfire
> 1500? (Or I suppose any car with a wood dash). The varnish on mine
> is cracked and worn, but the wood looks ok under it. I figured I
> could go to the hardware store and buy a wood refinishing kit, but is
> this the right move? Is that going to get my anywhere near an
> authentic finish? Is it really difficult to get it right?
> Information, or pointers to information would be appreciated.
I've refinished my dash on my TR6 and it was in REALLY sad shape when
I started. The main thing you need to have a professional finish is
for ALL the veneer to be firmly attached to the plywood dash. If
there are any cracks anywhere, then your dash is history IMO. I tried
to fix the cracks in my mine by using a thin super glue to run down in
the cracks, and then clamping the veneer to the plywood. This
appeared to work, but it's starting to come up again. Anyway, my dash
looks great, and if your's is refinishable here's what you need to do.
1) Remove ALL the varnish. Use a strong stripper like STRIP-EZ
or something like that. Prepare to work your butt off, but
try and let the stripper do its job. If it's really hard,
paint on the stripper and wrap the dash in aluminum foil to
hold in the fumes. Wear gloves, and use disposable brushes.
2) Neutralize the stripper with Varsol. Sand the veneer with
a very light sand paper, only with the grain.
3) Pick you favorite stain. IMO, special walnut minwax stain
is a really nice color. Use two coats.
4) For a finish, I used a spray can polyurethane by minwax.
It was semi-gloss which looks very nice. I tried brushing
the polyurethane on, but this just left many bubbles in the
finish because as your brush drags across the many holes in
the dash it'll pickup bubbles. Either use a spray can or
spray gun with the finish of your choice. I used 4 coats.
5) Good Luck!
Just say no to Bondo
--------------------
I *had* a small opening on the driver side wheel well where the tire
would kick the outside environment into the fender of the car. This
also made it quite cool to drive, but perhaps a bit too cool for
Colorado. Anyway, I decided to make a quick fix until I rework the
body over a few years from now. Anyway, I really didn't want to fill
the hole with fiberglass as that would be a headache for me down the
road. So I hit the hardware store and purchased some sheet aluminum
for $1.50, and a tube of silicon. I cut the aluminum to size and then
"glued" it over the hole with the silicon. Let the silicon dry for a
day, and then sprayed the mess with rubberized undercoating. This
worked great, looks great, and when it comes time to remove the mess,
a little scraping and the patch should pull right out! This of course
*is* a temporary fix. I'll let you all know how it holds up, but I
have high hopes.
Houston
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I will be at the ietf meeting in Houston from Oct 31st - Nov 5th.
Will anyone else from this list be attending this conference? Or any
Houston Solers care to hit a pub?
Cheers!
---
"Nothing handles better than a rented car. You can go faster, turn
corners sharper, and put the transmission into reverse while going
forward at a higher rate of speed in a rented car than in any other
kind." -- P.J. O'Rourke
Scotty Paisley
National Institute of Standards and Technology, Boulder, Colorado
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