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Thread: The Slow Pursuit of Vintage.

  1. #16
    6,000 rpm - mere mortals would shift JamieH's Avatar
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    I also had a new camera. Nothing fancy, but as far as I was (and still am) concerned it was nice and took nice pictures. It's just a Canon PowerShot point and shoot and serves my purposes great. But, since I did have a new camera, and a new mod on Betty, I tried getting fancy.












    I do have a cheap tripod I could have used, but I wasn't thinking about it. Plus, I didn't want to be that guy with a tripod in the middle of the street. I was already going to be the weirdo standing in the middle of the road taking pictures late at night.

    Also in Dec. of 2012 I picked up an OEM Nardi 5-speed, wood, weighted shift knob off ebay. I had been looking for one for some times and I finally found one on ebay. Yay! More wood in Betty... wait, that sounded dirty.




    Now, unfortunately, it wasn't that great of a match to my Nardi wheel. But it was in too good of condition to try stripping down and refinishing. I also have no clue how I'd recreate the shift gate pattern on the top. So, I would keep looking for another that would be a better match (which I did eventually find).

    And with that, I come to the end of 2012.
    Last edited by JamieH; 07-22-2017 at 10:48 PM.

  2. #17
    6,000 rpm - mere mortals would shift JamieH's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dandy View Post
    I bet you find yourself looking back at your car a lot. That's when you know you've done it right.
    You have no idea how much I do that. I find myself always trying to park Betty where I can see her when I go out to eat. I will look out into the garage in the morning when I get a bowl of cereal. And yeah, when I'm walking away, I find myself turning around to look at her before I go in.

  3. #18
    6,000 rpm - mere mortals would shift JamieH's Avatar
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    So it was 2013, April was rolling around and Betty needed some new tires. The Yokohama S-Drives were finally worn down enough that they weren't as safe as they could be in the rain. I had good experience in the past with the BF Goodrich Sport Comp 2s, so I order a set up from Tirerack sized 195/50/15.



    I was also warm enough again to cruise around with the bikini top.







    I forget exactly when I got another Nardi 5-speed, wood, weighted shift knob that was a better match to my Nardi wheel. I also didn't think to take any pictures when I got it. Pretty sure I was thinking it kind of didn't matter. Which is odd, as I'm a bit nuts about taking pics of Betty when I add/change things on her. Buuuut, I did go to a local car show with her in May of 2013 and got a few pictures of it in her then.







    I got a Top 80 plaque for my trouble. If you're curious about what else was at the show, here's the full album.

    So, no one argues that Adam's retro switches aren't awesome. And if they do, well, they're just dummies. They don't need anything... but it doesn't hurt to add a little something if someone has an idea for improvement. Such as Retro Modern's dress up rings. They're tiny, and you may not notice them at first, but they do make a difference. I got a set back in June.



    They are so tiny.



    Side by side comparison of the Retro Modern rings and the knurled rings.



    Install comparison.



    And finished install.



    For whatever reason, I wanted to get a pic when Betty hit 155,555 miles with the odometer showing 555.5. This happened in September.

    [img][/img]

    Alright, so we're almost caught up to where I am now. I had been keeping my eye on a few wood hand brake handles that were on ebay. Been trying to get one of the Nardi ones, but none of them never looked in good enough shape or a good match for the Nardi items already in Betty. Well, I finally pulled the trigger on one I felt would be good enough. But once I got it, it didn't look as good as it did in the pictures. So, I decided I'd refinish it, how hard could it be? Well, it wasn't, but it was tricky trying to pick a stain/s that would give me a good match. And I ended up having do the spar varnish twice because I guess I didn't do a good enough job and prep after staining.

    I didn't take any pictures of it before I started work, just too disappointed that it needed refinishing. So here it is all sanded down, ready for stain.




    Even bare it looked really good.

    I didn't just get the hand brake handle at the time. I decided it was time to finally replace the shifter boot and get a hand brake boot. Plus, I wanted to keep the wood and polished thing going that was on the wheel and shift knob, so I ordered JoyFast button too. I also ordered a set of Zeromotive 1002 replica pedals. With all of these items, I think the vintage vibe is really starting to come through.







    The Zeromotive pedals are really nice, but they needed a small bit of work. The corners of the brake/clutch pedals are a little jagged, just a little. A little time with some sand paper and the corners smoothed right out.

    EDIT:

    Crap, I forgot about this. Don't know how, just did. Retro Modern HVAC controls.




    End of edit.

    And there we have it, all caught up to where I am now with Betty. Oh, well I did just get something in the mail.



    AWWWW YEEEAAHH!

    Been after one for so long. It's not a KG Works panel, but a RS Products panel. Which as far as I can tell are exactly the same save the ABS and low washer bulbs.

    There, now all caught up.

    Future plans include GV tails, Zoom fuel lid, likely some Runabout mirrors, some Nakamae interior pieces, 93 LE speaker covers, RetroSound stereo, gauges & HVAC from Adam, 949 Tecnas (whenever they come out), and some other stuff I'm not sure about yet (like a Barcheta (or similar) front bumper).
    Last edited by JamieH; 07-22-2017 at 10:59 PM.

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  5. #19
    4,000 rpm - entering the fun zone speedypenguin's Avatar
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    Betty is beautiful. Cheers man.
    My Eunos Roadster, Jazz

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    JamieH (02-23-2014)

  7. #20
    6,000 rpm - mere mortals would shift JamieH's Avatar
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    These items arrived today.



    Needle caps from JASS Performance and a Unicron cereal shirt.

    Some close ups of the neddle caps.





    The temptation to install these along with my recently acquired meter panel is sooo strong. I'm probably going to talk myself in to installing them sooner rather than later. I rather wait until I get some gauges from Adam, but that may be a while.

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  9. #21
    4,000 rpm - entering the fun zone Ihatecars's Avatar
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    Those needle caps are so nice.
    I'm digging the Unicron shirt, and your Lego VW bus.

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    JamieH (02-23-2014)

  11. #22
    6,000 rpm - mere mortals would shift JamieH's Avatar
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    I told myself, as I have with all the other parts I've gotten for Betty, you want to enjoy these parts, can't do that with them sitting in a closet. So, I spent today installing the RS panel and JASS needle caps.

    Once I had the stock cluster out I saw something that was a little disappointing.



    That crack in the dash sucks. But she has some years on her and some miles. The lower right mount for the gauge surround was also broken off. Not the first time I've dealt with broken dash pieces on Betty. The mount for the OBD-II diagnosis port broke on me when I plugged a reader in a while back. A little gel type crazy glue fixed things for the time being. This has me thinking about a 1.6 dash later down the road.



    And there it is, all pretty waiting to go back in the car. I was going to place a tinted piece of lexan in place over the high beam bulb, but I found it to not be too bright without it. If I change my mind I'll put the lexan piece I made in when I get some revlimiter gauges.



    Did a bit of checking that all the lights worked before buttoning everything up.



    And done.... for now. Like I said, still want to get some gauges from Adam. I'll post some better pics tomorrow when I have some daylight. I kept staring at Betty's new jewelry when I went out to get some dinner tonight. The rings and needle caps really pick up the light from the stock gauges quite nicely. Just makes things look and feel fancier and more expensive. Oh, and that much more vintage.

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  13. #23
    2,000 rpm - light wheelspin, no bog here! 73Bacon's Avatar
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    Very nice. What size tires did you have prior to the new 195/50's? The height difference is noticeable.

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    JamieH (02-23-2014)

  15. #24
    6,000 rpm - mere mortals would shift JamieH's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by 73Bacon View Post
    Very nice. What size tires did you have prior to the new 195/50's? The height difference is noticeable.
    The same, but Yokohama S-Drives. The BF Goodrich Sport Comp 2s are just beefier.

  16. #25
    6,000 rpm - mere mortals would shift JamieH's Avatar
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    OK, here's some better pictures of the interior and gauges.











    I know, too much glare going on. I lowered the garage door after that one.







    The gauge panel and needle caps are a bit subtle until you get your eyes on them. I'm starting to think some non-'97 door pads would help the look of things. Those, along with some 93 LE speaker covers I've already been wanting. I'm also a fan of the quilted interior styling. I definitely want to do something about the seats. They're OK, but they're showing their age and just look too... plain. I look at Betty's interior and I feel like it's got a vintage vibe going but it also doesn't. I know a Nakamae, or similar, center console would be a dramatic change and likely remove any question of the vintage look I'm going for. But Betty is a daily, so I like having cup holders and the extra storage of the center console. I am more open to a 1.6 dash since seeing that crack under the gauge cluster. But I know that is a ways off if I ever decide to go for it.

    I'm hoping the 949 Tecnas come out in the coming months and are exactly as they've designed them to be. I would really like to get Betty a little lower (get rid of the wheel/fender gap) and riding better around the end of this year.

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  18. #26
    5,000 rpm - there be torque here! WASABI's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by JamieH View Post
    OK, here's some better pictures of the interior and gauges.


    That looks great!!! A wonderful place to do business.

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    JamieH (02-24-2014)

  20. #27
    6,000 rpm - mere mortals would shift JamieH's Avatar
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    OK, so there has been something that has been bothering me a little over a year now. The JASS Performance low-pros are great. They look good and provide better than stock light output. But... the surrounds that come with them have been catching/binding on the rubber flaps in front of the headlights. Which, I have no idea what their actual name is, so that's what I've been calling them. So, I was going to try to get an extra set of the rubber flaps to trim and keep my stock flaps in case I ever needed to go back to stock. Well, I just couldn't take it any more. So I got to work.



    Here's what was happening and it had been doing so for a year. I just put up with it. But the noise it made had finally drove me to the breaking point that something had to be done. This is unsightly and makes a horrible noise as if something in your great new lights is breaking.



    Here I've removed the driver's side flap. They are held in by small push type clips. I was able to get my hand underneath and pinch the clips to push them out.

    Before I started putting my hands in a possibly dangerous place, I removed the pop-up fuse in the fuse box by the wiper motor. It's listed as Retractor and is a 30 Amp fuse. I also had to unplg the connecter to the wiper motor to open the fuse box lid enough to get to the fuse.



    Here is the piece that the headlights are catching on. You can actually see where the JASS surrounds have been rubbing against the flap in the left corner.



    I remember these little clips being mint at one point. All of the binding of the flaps must have broken them a bit. Though they are delicate as the years of sitting below hot lights makes them brittle. You can see what You've got to pinch to get them out.



    I did a bit of eyeballing on this. I marked where I needed to remove some material with a sharpie then started cutting with a razor blade and pair of small scissors. I used a dremel tool to round the corners. No reason this can't look somewhat OEM.



    Had to do a bit of extra trimming on the other side. Remember, cut a little at a time and test fit. If you need to remove more, no big deal, if you have cut too much... well, not much to be done.



    Once I had done one, I flipped it over and traced what was removed from one side to the other. Still had to take a little more out of one corner of the other flap. Also pictured are the aforementioned tools used to do this.





    I wasn't sure if this was going to be enough. But after plugging everything back up and operating the pop-ups a few times, no more rubber flap binding! No more horrible noises!

    Here's some videos of the lights in action after this small bit of trimming.





    Hopefully this is helpful to others who have the JASS lights and may have this problem.

    If anyone is wondering why I didn't just remove the flaps and be done there, well, that is just lazy. And it doesn't look as nice either.
    Last edited by JamieH; 02-27-2014 at 08:25 PM.

  21. #28
    Idling - Listen to it purr...
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    One of the classiest builds going on right. Keep up the good work and don't change direction. It all flows well together.

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  23. #29
    3,000 rpm - starting to feel the power ueru's Avatar
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    Yet another piece my car never came with lol. Love the build so far; very clean car and great details.

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    JamieH (02-27-2014)

  25. #30
    6,000 rpm - mere mortals would shift JamieH's Avatar
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    I've thanked him before, but I'll do so again, thanks to tsingson for bringing this to my attention.

    This wasn't even on my radar, hell, I didn't even known these existed, but I really like the idea of it. It's a soft top headliner meant to clean up the looks of the interior of the soft top and cut down on wind noise while the top is up. This may become the first step of insulating Betty. With all the talk of insulation and noise dampening materials on the forums lately it's something I've begun to think about. I also think this will add a small touch in refining Betty's interior during the warmer months of the year.





    I think I have it figured out as to how to install it. Should only need some velcro for the front and I'll be set. Will just need to figure out how and where to attach the velcro at the front. Otherwise, it looks pretty self-explanatory.

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