Okay, I finally got my '63 B back from the body shop last Friday and
immediately began putting it back together. Amazingly, I've run into
only two snags, but they are whoppers:
1) The headlights don't work any more. When I parked the car two years
ago, they did. I disassembled the buckets and the harness back to the
main union near the horn before the car went into the shop. I spent the
better part of yesterday testing bulbs and various components, and I can
_definitely_ say the following: a) the bulbs themselves work; b) if
there were power at the end of the headlight harness, I would know about
it; c) when you hit the dipswitch, the little blue light on the
speedometer comes on and off as appropriate, which leads me to belive
that d) the dash switch itself is working correctly; e) all the wires
are connected properly at the fuse box; f) the fuses are OK. SO WHY
ISN'T THERE POWER AT THE END OF THE HARNESS?? I'm at my wit's end.
2) I originally took the car off the road because I hit a retaining wall
while avoiding a collision with a large truck. The car sustained some
serious front end stress to the driver's side and the frame rail was bent
inwards about 3/8". The frame has been straightened and the steering
wheel has returned to its original position in reference to the plastic
column housing, but the steering is still very stiff with the weight of
the car on the wheels. I've been following the saga of Rags and am
wondering if I have a simple alignment problem like a slightly bent rack
that can be shimmed or if my car is equipped with one o' them newfangled
collapsible columns. Did the column collapse in '63?
Any advice appreciated...
-- Marc
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