85lebaront2

Thank you Jim, I have two vehicles with touchscreens and have gotten used to using them, but where this sits, unless I am at a stop, it will be done by feel. The radio sits in the large opening above that panel and the HVAC control head is in the smaller opening above the radio.

Thank you sir. This is one of the times I wish I had a small milling machine.

Ok, here are a couple of pictures of the almost finished product, The faceplate is a piece of file folder stock from our primary election back in June, they were giving the ballots in a folder so it was private while carrying it to the counting machine and we were told due to Covid they would not be reused. These were 17" wide so won't fit our file cabinet. Final faceplate will be metal with probably black Vinyl stuck to it. Empty space on the right will be the power point. First picture is of the panel by itself and the second is the center stack with it installed. As you can see the faceplate will be retained by the faux wood trim.

Jim, the panel so far is almost entirely ABS plastic. It is "welded" using a slurry of scraps in MEK and Acetone (perks of knowing several chemists). Once it completely sets it is quite strong.

Thank you sir!

Gary, I may just put some sort of filler in between the two pieces, like some of the foam rubber used in packing as the metal panel will be retained by the faux wood trim that fits inside the outer rim. Velcro is an option, possibly in between the components where the sheet metal might vibrate.

Ok here is where I am at currently, this is the internal panel which will have a sheet metal panel with probably Vinyl put over it. Probably 2mm between, and attached with thick 2 sided tape. It will also be retained by the plastic faux wood trim panel. The two angled tabs have clip nuts on them for two retainer screws on the upper portion of the lower opening. The empty space is where the rear window defroster control goes, circle is for the power point which will be mounted to the metal panel only.

There is a tool that looks like a pop rivet tool, only bigger that has mandrels for the nutserts. The mendrels are threaded 14-20LH on the tool end and whatever thread you are using on the insert end. There is a travel stop (adjustable) to get the exact compression without stripping or under crimping. I went with the metric as most of the body pieces on the konvertible are metric. Had a nice surprise the other day, was looking at the door strikers and trying to figure a way to repair them like you can do on a Ford. Found they are still available new, they were updated in 1998 for the minivans. If I could reach the inner ends, the updated ones had a 5/16 - or 8mm hex so they can be mostly tightened with the door shut.

Gary, I have a similar (maybe the same) assortment in metric sizes (FWIW, the mirrors on Darth are attached with M6 X 1.0 screws). I have used mostly the M6 X 1.0 size as it is the closest to the sheet metal screws Chrysler loved on the K-cars. Only issue I found is the bigger the Nutsert, the more power it takes to completely seat it. One place they will definitely be used is on the doors for the pull straps. Other then grabbing the outside of the door with the window down, it is the only place to pull the doors shut. Originally held by sheet metal screws on the ends, they will come loose and destroy the plastic end trim that covers the screw area.

I essentially pretty well left FTE after Internet Brands bought them. arbitrarily changed the signature rules even though I was a paying member. I went there a bit until Gary started this forum, I think I have been there 3 times since then and each was from receiving an email on a post to a thread I was involved in.

I agree on rear defrost, but instrument dimmer yes as it can need to be changed particularly with the electronic cluster.

Gary, that was exactly what I did, using the center top to bottom as the point to measure then divide by 5 to get the center to center dimensions on the 4 objects. Since it was an even 19cm or 190mm across at the center that gave me 38mm or 3.8cm left edge to ctr of dimmer, 3.8cm to ctr of hazard, 3.8cm to ctr of R def and 3.8cm to ctr of power point, then 3.8cm to right edge. Due to the relative sizes it doesn't look balanced. Since the dimmer is rather asymmetric to the right, it really can't have the rear def switch on it's immediate right, or the power point. I was also trying to think from the need to reach blindly for, panel dimmer then hazard. Rear Def is illuminated at night with the top up, top down it looses the ground.

Ok, advice time, wisdom of the group. Here is a sketch of the opening in the trim for the switches and power point. The openings are as the actually will be made in the trim panel (probably thin metal with a vinyl covering). The only exception might be the power point, I used a small pill bottle as the outer rim is larger than the actual socket. Does this look reasonable. I had to separate the heated rear window switch and panel dimmer as both are fairly wide and the dimmer control is asymmetric toward the right side.

Mine would squeal the belt on startup and even after getting it tight enough to not squeal, I still found evidence (rubber dust) that it was slipping. I went to a slightly larger pully, problem solved.

I was trying to think of the best way to describe it. The dimmer control and heated rear window switch are designed to be mounted on a panel then have a cover over the mounting areas so only the knob or the two buttons actually protrude from the surface. What it may end up will be a mounting panel for the two large pieces (dimmer and heated window controls) and a thin sheet metal front roughly 5/8" away from the panel and suitably reinforced with a vinyl covering in either black or faux wood that the power point will be mounted to, the hazard switch and other two will be mounted to the inner panel so that the front face of the rear window control, knob of the dimmer control and hazard switch penetrate the outer panel. The heated rear window control has a light (that will only illuminate with the top up) and If I can find a way I will have something for the hazard and dimmer controls, power point may have it's own light when opened.

Gary, here are some more pictures of the center stack where I want to mount the switches. First are two (left and right side) pictures of the mounting points for the cup holder/storage cubby insert. The mounting face is exactly 2" forward of the angle (angle is the center dash support modified from the original 1989 piece). Front view of center with the insert installed. Back side of center with insert installed. Bottom view of center and insert. What I am think on doing will be to cut the insert far enough back that the modified Taurus dimmer and the Chrysler heated rear window switch will be at their normal mounting point if I install a flat piece of probably ABS plastic on the cut surface it will put the push buttons and knob at the back face of the faux wood panel where I will have a front panel so just the knob, push buttons, hazard switch and power point are located.

Well, it wasn't a bad brake light switch it was the wrong brake light switch. The switches both have 3 sets of contacts, two NO and one NC, the difference is the wiring harness on the switch. On the correct one, the wire from the ECM is grounded with the plunger in, on the one I had in the car, it is connected to the brake lights. Therefore the behavior I was seeing was normal. The giveaway is the 6 pin plug to the harness, only 5 pins are used and one of them has two wires to it. The two are the brake light feed, pedal released one is connected to the ECM pin 29, pedal depressed, the other one is connected to the constant 12V source. The correct switch has the second brake light wire, the one that is connected to the ECM with the brake off, changed to a ground wire, probably to tell the ECM the brake is applied and to kill the converter lockup clutch.

Actually, Jim, in this case it is caused by a bad brake switch. These switches have three sets of contacts, using the normal terminology, brake lights are NC, speed control and ECM circuit are NO and by design they are supposed to be completely independent of each other. Plunger in ECM wire is grounded, speed control is connected and brake lights are off.

Damn system just dumped everything I had written. When I converted Darth I had the entire 1994-96/7 system, new multipass condenser, larger evaporator core and the 1996 inside ducts with the blend door that actually closes off the heat in full cold. The evaporator case has the insulator pad on it too. On your CV, does it have just the engine fan, or the auxiliary or even the huge electric one? Try, if you have one, putting a decent size electric (house fan) in front of the CV and see if it cools better, check the pressures when it is running. Keep in mind, I have twice the cab size (crew cab) and a 460 underhood so (a) more area to cool (b) more underhood heat with less area for it to get out through.

I have several later Chrysler ones that seem pretty solid, complete with snap on connectors. On the mystery issue with the brake lights, the present brake light switch has an internal high resistance short from a brake switch input to the ECM (which has 12V with the key on, brake on) it is grounded with brake released. Somewhere inside the switch it is connecting to the brake light wire with 8.6 V and the 5 LEDs only pull it down to 8.08V but a single 1157 bulb will kill it. A spare switch does not have the same issue. Changing these is not a fun job, it is over the steering column, operated by a tab on the brake pedal. Easiest way is remove the bottom of the dash and drop the column down for better access.

Gary, I am just looking for a lighter type socket, possibly with a cover that I can plug what I need into (inverter, phone, or whatever I might need. Once I work up the center console I will probably, even though neither of us smoke, have an ash tray and lighter there.

Gary, the primary reason for the compressor change was the EFI system and polygroove belts. The compressor mount changed from axial (FS6) to tangent (FS10). That and the different refrigerant lines for the FS10 when I scored a complete 1996 system from an F150 (including the FS10) required the update. I had previously converted the original system to R134a and had no problem other than it took a while to pull the temperature down after a hot soak and restart.

I had mine wired hot all the time in all my vehicles, the logic being if you lost your keys and were out in BFE you could jimmy open or break a window and call for help.

Yes, just those 4 items (dimmer and courtesy light control is one unit). I will get you pictures and measurements along with the depth to the inner structure (there was a cupholder there originally).

No brake controller, this one isn't going to be towing anything it is sort of a street rod. a 200 hp 135 ci 4 cyl turbocharged engine and automatic (5 speeds in the K convertibles were very rare due to the reinforcement structure). FWIW, unplugging the brake switch killed the lights, but removing the speed control fuse didn't. I swear Joe Lucas is hiding in the wiring somewhere. I'm just hoping I won't need to replace this: