List,
Well, I went ahead a picked up that 77B last week. I got for less than it's
"$1K firm" asking price and towed it home last Thursday (Thanks to all of you
who responded to my post about its purchase). Got it registered and inspected
on Friday and it's now part of the daily driving stable. At this point I
intend to use it as a daily driver for the foreseeable future.
I have noticed some interesting differences between the 76B and the 77B. The
76 B instrumentation and accessory locations are very similar to earlier Bs
(e.g., my 69s) but the 77 is very different. New style gauges, the light
switch is located on the steering column cowl (very weird), a working clock.
In short, it looks like the B got a big interior makeover from 76 to 77. I
wasn't aware of this and thought that all RBs had similar interior setups.
Live and learn. Also the 77 seems to handle better but this may be due to the
suspension on the 76 being tired.
The car does need attention. Its biggest negative is the rusty sills that
have been covered in bondo - I may or may not repair this in the future. In
the meantime does anyone have any experience with or a source for sill covers?
There are a few things I need some help with.
I have noticed that *sometimes* when I depress the clutch pedal the hydraulics
make a moaning sound very similar to the sound of a hydraulic system pushed to
the end of its reach (if you know what I mean). Does anyone know what this
means? The fluid is topped up.
The turn signal stalk is working but the back and forth motion for the brights
is broken (it was working fine before the inspector had the car but that's
another story). If left alone the brights stay on and I've resorted to a
rubber band to hold the stalk in a position that keeps the brights off. So
I'll be needing the turn signal/horn/brights stalk. I did try to replace it
with a spare stalk I have for a 69 but they are configured differently.
Anyone have a used source or spare for a 77?
The temperature gauge goes 3/4 of the way to HOT at startup and then goes to
Hot after the car is warmed up. The water temp actually seems fine so it
seems to be the sending unit or gauge. Any guesses to the cause or
diagnostics?
The gas gauge kind of just sits there at 1/4 full (or 3/4 empty - take your
pick). I'm thinking that it might be the sending unit but am not sure. Any
diagnostic info will be appreciated.
The inspector said that the ball joints need to be replace but frankly I don't
see that - one of the gaiters is torn - anyway any diagnostic for the ball
joints??
Well, that's it for now. Hope you folks can help with some of this.
Thanks,
Dr. Doug
69 C Roadster
69 C GT
69 B Roadster
76 B
77 B <-- New Item
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