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Thread: The Slow Pursuit of Vintage.

  1. #31
    6,000 rpm - mere mortals would shift JamieH's Avatar
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    Installed the soft top headliner.




    I like the way it looks, but I'm having to cheat to make it work.The rear bow on my top is completely wrapped by the top material. So I can't use the 3rd bow channel of the headliner as intended. Instead it's being pulled against and up by the rollbar. I'm going to run it for a little bit, see how it does. Also, instead of velcro (which I'm still unsure how that would hold the front of the headliner in place) I've tucked it into the rubber finishing piece up front. Everything seems to be snug staying in place. Time will tell if this stays with Betty.

  2. #32
    Super Moderator tsingson's Avatar
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    I will talk with Chris tomorrow and show him your pics to see if everything is installed as intended. Is your top aftermarket? Can you get me more pictures of the areas where you are having doubts about?

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    JamieH (03-16-2014)

  4. #33
    6,000 rpm - mere mortals would shift JamieH's Avatar
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    Yeah, it's a Robbins top. And it's the attachment at the header bow that I'm unsure of. I folded the material back on itself then tucked that folded edge into the rubber trim at the edge of the header bow. It seems to hold it well enough. I can get a pic of it tomorrow.

    Here's two other pictures I took once I had it in.




  5. #34
    4,000 rpm - entering the fun zone Ihatecars's Avatar
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    That looks great!

    The inside of my soft top definitely is starting to show it's age.

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    JamieH (03-16-2014)

  7. #35
    Super Moderator tsingson's Avatar
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    It looks too far forward. I will show Chris the pictures and I will get back to you tomorrow.

  8. #36
    6,000 rpm - mere mortals would shift JamieH's Avatar
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    Yeah, there's not much I can do about that since the front bow is covered by material as well. I can at least hook the front bow channel of the headliner on it.

  9. #37
    6,000 rpm - mere mortals would shift JamieH's Avatar
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    OK so I made some adjustments on the soft top headliner.

    Here's the front header.







    And here's the corners around the windows.





    Full views.





    Tried to get the rear headliner bow to attach, but the fabric around the rear bow of the top wasn't having it. It just popped back off. But, oddly enough, it fits better unattached. And you can't see that it's not attached from in or outside the car. I feel better about it now that I've got it fitting better. It does look good once fitted pretty well, and is much cleaner looking than the exposed under side of the top.

    At the price I paid, and what I've seen these listed for, even with the install/fitting teething it was a super deal. Now to just see it in some daylight.

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    Dandy (03-19-2014),tsingson (03-17-2014)

  11. #38
    Super Moderator tsingson's Avatar
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    Jamie, looks great. Let us know if there is difference in keeping the heat/cool in or a reduction in sound as well.

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    JamieH (03-17-2014)

  13. #39
    6,000 rpm - mere mortals would shift JamieH's Avatar
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    Also, something that I had been waiting to buy once available again came in today.

    Small box, what could be in it?



    A whole lot of stuff actually.



    I have been wanting one of Adam's Retro Hazard Switches for a while now. I missed out on the first batch of the NA8 anodized black version. But I immediately made an order with Adam when he announced he had them back in stock. Adam is super quick, I placed my order on Friday. He had the switches mailed out Saturday and they got here today. Talk about quick turnaround. Adam also does an absolutely awesome job on packing everything to keep it all safe. The quality of his stuff goes without saying, it's phenomenal. He supplies absolutely everything you could possibly need to install his products as intended. Even if you might not need it all, he includes it just in case. He tossed in a small gift item as well. A black Toyota 2000 GT Hot Wheels car. What a guy.

    OK, so here's some close up of things. I had Hulk help me out some.











    So, I knew the switch was going to be delivered today. In preparation I went ahead and tore everything down in anticipation. While I was at it, I trimmed the notches on the eyeball vents that hold them in place a little bit. The center driver's side for me has been super tough to get out, even with Adam's suggested method. Now I can easily pop them out by hand and they still stay snugly in place.

    Betty is looking naked on the inside.



    Switches installed in the tombstone.





    Tombstone back in place.



    Now a couple pics of the interior with the new switches.





    And close ups of the switches.





    Install went without any problems. Thanks to Adam's detailed install instructions on his site it was a breeze. It so satisfying to flick a solid, industrial like switch to turn things on. Also, super satisfying to flip a switch up and the pop-ups go up, switch it down and the pop-ups go down. Hope to get some daylight pics soon.

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    tsingson (03-18-2014)

  15. #40
    3,000 rpm - starting to feel the power imperfekt's Avatar
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    so much awesome. i've been meaning to get those kg works interior door openers - i'm just sad they don't have the $100 chrome ones anymore and they've only got the polished aluminum ones on their site now for like $250 :S your interior is so awesome!

    such a clean looking car

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    JamieH (03-29-2014)

  17. #41
    6,000 rpm - mere mortals would shift JamieH's Avatar
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    This came in quick. Did not expect such a fast turn around.











    Pictures don't do the billet piece justice. You know how some things have a bit of weight to them that makes them feel like quality pieces? It's got that. Looking forward to using this the next time I put the bikini top on!

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    tsingson (03-29-2014)

  19. #42
    Super Moderator tsingson's Avatar
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    Maybe at this week's meet.

  20. #43
    6,000 rpm - mere mortals would shift JamieH's Avatar
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    Maybe. Life is being life and I haven't been able to work on the clutch much at all today. Got as far as pulling the shifter and found the lower boot I put in about two years back is torn. So, had to order one tonight. Went ahead and ordered a front O2 sensor as well. Might as well get as much maintenance done as I can. I should have the clutch in and everything else taken care of by Thursday.

  21. #44
    Supporting Member Madaboutmx5s's Avatar
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    That's a nice looking interior and somewhere I would be happy to be. The new parts from Adam look good. Nice work.

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    JamieH (03-30-2014)

  23. #45
    6,000 rpm - mere mortals would shift JamieH's Avatar
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    Yaayyy! After a few long nights and a bit of work today, Betty is off of the operating table with a new clutch and is back on the road! A full recovery is expected.

    You may be wondering why it took so long. Well, I can be a bit meticulous and like to work at an easy going pace on my own stuff. I also replaced nearly every component of the clutch and every seal that would become accessible while doing this job. Plus, a few things popped up that would hinder my progress. Anyways, here's some pics of the job.

    First night out in the shop was a short one. I just pulled the center console and shifter out. Not much time for any thing else. I did see that there appeared to be a leak coming from the shifter turret. I found that the lower boot seemed to be the culprit. With that I knew I wasn't getting this clutch job done in a single night or two. So I ordered a new lower boot and 02 sensor from R Speed that Saturday night. The next night I got some serious work done.



    Yes, the lift, trans jack, and air tools made things go much smoother. I was surprised at how quick everything came out. I took the cat out for that extra little bit of room and because I needed to replace the rear gasket because of a leak. I had read everywhere that the top two trans bolts were difficult to reach. I found them to be of little trouble. But, then again, I did have all of those wonderful toys at my disposal that make car life much easier.

    So, I had the trans out, time to inspect things.



    Well, things look OK so far. Little bit of oil there. No biggie, changing out the rear main oil seal and trans front oil seal anyway. Lets go deeper.



    OK, flywheel surface looks alright. Nothing out of the ordinary. I was able to source a spare 1.8 flywheel to have resurfaced as well. And luckily it was a later BP7R flywheel like my stocker. Now, zoom and enhance.



    Oh dear, oh my, that just won't do. My suspicions were right, the pilot bearing was toast. Felt like there was sand or something in there. Better look at the trans side of things.



    "Aww hell naw!" This will not stand. It can not. Must. Clean. Must. Be. Shiney. But first, how's the pressure plate surface and clutch itself look?



    About the same as the flywheel, moving on.





    Looking pretty damn good for 160K miles. Kind of a bummer to see so much life left in the stock clutch. It would have happily provided me with many more miles of service. But that lazy bum of a pilot bearing gave up too soon. Back to the dirty bellhousing.



    Well it WAS dirty, it was down right filthy. This still wasn't clean enough. I ended the second night there. But the next night I went back for round two of cleaning. After I did some cleaning here, there, and everywhere under Betty, I moved on to all the seals. Got them out of the way quickly and I was running out of stuff to do. I thought I might as well clean the threads up on the exhaust studs and nuts. Especially since I had one partially snap off some threads of the cat. That was one of the things that added quite a bit of extra time on things. Thankfully, I was able to drill the small piece of the stud out the nut and tap fresh threads to save it. Trust me, anti-seize went on all the exhaust studs when I re-installed the exhaust bits.

    Which, I don't have any pics of everything going back in. Once I was on the back stretch my mind was completely absent of taking pitcures. That and I had Mitch Hedberg on Pandora distracting me with his brilliant and literal deductions. Damn shame about his death. Anyways, on a brighter note, I do have a pic of a small addition to the trans tunnel.



    With warmer weather fast approaching I knew I should try to do something to cut down on trans tunnel heat. So I was checking around for local options in the parts stores. Saw this 12" x 24"' piece of adhesive backed heat reflecting material. The packaging calls it an aluminized heat barrier. It's made by Thermotec and claims to be good up 2000 degrees and to reflect 90% of radiant heat. I'm hoping it has enough of an effect to be noticeable. It at least looks fancier under there now.

    Once I had the trans back in and all the bolts tightened down I got to replacing the slave cylinder. Which went by easily enough with the only exception being the hardline to the cylinder. Had to wrench it all the way off. Just refused to become finger loose. At least I was able to finger tighten it on the new cylinder. Bled easily and quickly. I went over everything, double checking it all making sure I hadn't over looked any thing. Cleaned up, put most of the tools away and got to putting the shifter and center console back in. No issues there and a few minutes later I was done. One completed, albeit delayed, clutch job.
    _____________________________________________

    The new clutch pressure plate is stiffer than the stock unit. Not too terribly or anything, but firm enough that it makes Betty feel tighter. A bit racier, you might say. Engagement seems to happen a little quicker. With fresh gear oil, shifts feel great again. Rev matches seem and feel more precise. Won't know about holding ability until it's broken in. But I imagine with stock NA power levels it won't have a problem.

    In other news, the OEM Eunos nose bade I bought off ebay finally came in a few days ago. Was a week past the expected delivery, but worth it as it's one of the nicest used examples I've seen.





    Plan is to use some plastic polish to try to remove the surface scratches in the resin. Even though I have the Club NA nose emblem, I'm still unsure which is going on Betty's nose. The Club NA piece is made from metal and is super nice. But the Eunos emblem is slightly larger both in diameter and height, plus it's OEM. I'm wondering if there's way to use both. One on the nose and the other elsewhere on Betty. Just complete unsure of any really good places for another round "V" emblem.

    Oh and super exciting news. I had to double check everything since I got the email on the 1st. But, I got a shipping notice from Rev9 saying my GV tails and a couple of other small items had shipped. I. Am. Super. Stoked!

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    Ihatecars (04-04-2014)

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