Gary Lewis Posted June 11, 2020 Share Posted June 11, 2020 More progress. I called up ACC last week and inquired about getting a yard of carpet. Had it the next day... Oh, and the reason I still have that broomstick on there is not due to a mistake by ACC. The carpet is molded for a truck that already has a carpet, I assume anyway, and which has this bracket/cover. Mine doesn't. I saw this one at a salvage yard, I might go and grab it. After testing the harness and finding a few issues, like the headlights, horn, NSS and blower, I was able to sort out all apart from the blower without too much fuss. Oh and the windshield washer pump. I have a spare and was able to test it, but I've ordered a replacement with a new blower motor as the spare is just as old. I also filled the coolant and engine oil. Both have leaks. The coolant appears to be from the thermostat housing(so easy enough), the oil I fear is the oil pan gasket... So over the last two days I took apart the dash to tape the interior harness. And then put it all together again for hopefully the last time in a while. Oh, and for your interest in the Highliner Gary, I had to change the well nuts as the ones that came with the kit(on the left), proved useless. And I haven't heard back from Ron/Reamer, so the speaker cover is still on the dash for now... Yes, those are some 'bling' pedal covers... And I finished up the front. Only the bumper and hood to go. And the bed... Man, that is looking GOOD! On the Highliner, what wellnut did you use? I may need to know that. And, how are they used? Does that plate have screws that go into the wellnuts and that holds the "U" up there and holds the radio in? And, is that a DIN opening? As for the pedals, I think I had the same covers with the chrome strips on my '58 Impala back in about '65. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sac79 Posted June 11, 2020 Author Share Posted June 11, 2020 Man, that is looking GOOD! On the Highliner, what wellnut did you use? I may need to know that. And, how are they used? Does that plate have screws that go into the wellnuts and that holds the "U" up there and holds the radio in? And, is that a DIN opening? As for the pedals, I think I had the same covers with the chrome strips on my '58 Impala back in about '65. Thanks guys. Gary, the wellnuts I found in the automotive specialty drawer at Lowes, I still have the screws, I'll check and report back on the size. And it's as you describe, the highliner has two holes for the wellnuts(which I had to enlarge to 3/8"), then the the 'tray'(or 'U') with the radio and sponges slide in a slot at the front of the highliner and the back attaches with two screws into the wellnuts. The original wellnuts without the ridge would not hold the weight of the radio. And no, I'm afraid it's not a DIN opening, you have to cut an opening in the front fascia of the 'tray' to size, not ideal. And getting the front window trim in there was a real pain. I tried for a while to get it with steady pressure to no avail. It required a solid thump instead. Thought I was going to crack the windshield! And thanks for the tip on my starting issues, I'll try it again tomorrow, but I probably will have to do something about the dizzy. It's been a while since I've had manual choke. I guess what you're saying does make sense, thinking about my garden equipment, you leave the choke open and it dies... I just remember driving my moms old Kadett and having to leave the choke open for numerous blocks before it would idle smoothly! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArdWrknTrk Posted June 11, 2020 Share Posted June 11, 2020 Thanks guys. Gary, the wellnuts I found in the automotive specialty drawer at Lowes, I still have the screws, I'll check and report back on the size. And it's as you describe, the highliner has two holes for the wellnuts(which I had to enlarge to 3/8"), then the the 'tray'(or 'U') with the radio and sponges slide in a slot at the front of the highliner and the back attaches with two screws into the wellnuts. The original wellnuts without the ridge would not hold the weight of the radio. And no, I'm afraid it's not a DIN opening, you have to cut an opening in the front fascia of the 'tray' to size, not ideal. And getting the front window trim in there was a real pain. I tried for a while to get it with steady pressure to no avail. It required a solid thump instead. Thought I was going to crack the windshield! And thanks for the tip on my starting issues, I'll try it again tomorrow, but I probably will have to do something about the dizzy. It's been a while since I've had manual choke. I guess what you're saying does make sense, thinking about my garden equipment, you leave the choke open and it dies... I just remember driving my moms old Kadett and having to leave the choke open for numerous blocks before it would idle smoothly! Ah! Opel was pretty innovative until GM gutted them. Had a guy (Mike Lane) in my rocket club who used to have a half dozen or more GT's in his yard and -like Gary- probably had enough parts to build two or three more! The Kadett was one of the first widely sold European 'economy' cars. Of course Volkswagen had been here for a long time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted June 11, 2020 Share Posted June 11, 2020 Thanks guys. Gary, the wellnuts I found in the automotive specialty drawer at Lowes, I still have the screws, I'll check and report back on the size. And it's as you describe, the highliner has two holes for the wellnuts(which I had to enlarge to 3/8"), then the the 'tray'(or 'U') with the radio and sponges slide in a slot at the front of the highliner and the back attaches with two screws into the wellnuts. The original wellnuts without the ridge would not hold the weight of the radio. And no, I'm afraid it's not a DIN opening, you have to cut an opening in the front fascia of the 'tray' to size, not ideal. And getting the front window trim in there was a real pain. I tried for a while to get it with steady pressure to no avail. It required a solid thump instead. Thought I was going to crack the windshield! And thanks for the tip on my starting issues, I'll try it again tomorrow, but I probably will have to do something about the dizzy. It's been a while since I've had manual choke. I guess what you're saying does make sense, thinking about my garden equipment, you leave the choke open and it dies... I just remember driving my moms old Kadett and having to leave the choke open for numerous blocks before it would idle smoothly! Rob - I think I understand how the radio goes in. Makes sense. And, it should work nicely for a small CB. Thanks. Now I'm curious how the speakers sound. Kadett. Hmmm, my best friend had one of those, and I know of several stories about them. The first was that he and his brother added A/C, which worked fine. Then one day he tuned it up and it ran horribly. He brought it over so my father could take a look and told Dad the story. Dad played with it a bit and then timed it by ear and it ran well. Turned out that every time the compressor came in it slowed the engine just enough that the outside of the harmonic balancer was slipping so the timing marks were way off. Another time he got out w/o setting the parking brake. It rolled into one of the small galvanized trash cans that was against a wall, and it bent the bumper on the Kadett. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sac79 Posted June 11, 2020 Author Share Posted June 11, 2020 Ah! Opel was pretty innovative until GM gutted them. Had a guy (Mike Lane) in my rocket club who used to have a half dozen or more GT's in his yard and -like Gary- probably had enough parts to build two or three more! The Kadett was one of the first widely sold European 'economy' cars. Of course Volkswagen had been here for a long time. She had two different Kadett's, a Sport model from when I was born(my parents had a Beetle before that), it actually said '5 speed' on the tail, that one had an electric choke, but she sold it before I was driving, sadly. Then another base model later, that one had the manual choke. After that she had one of VW's economy cars, a CitiGolf, essentially a Golf Mark I that they've continued to produce until even today I think, definitely until a few years ago anyway. And yes, Opel was indeed innovative, in South Africa the Kadett GSi model was one of the top performance cars, called the Boss(our Mustang I guess), and SuperBoss for the turbo version! Yeah, GM got a pretty good deal, they just bought a Buick lineup... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sac79 Posted June 11, 2020 Author Share Posted June 11, 2020 Rob - I think I understand how the radio goes in. Makes sense. And, it should work nicely for a small CB. Thanks. Now I'm curious how the speakers sound. Kadett. Hmmm, my best friend had one of those, and I know of several stories about them. The first was that he and his brother added A/C, which worked fine. Then one day he tuned it up and it ran horribly. He brought it over so my father could take a look and told Dad the story. Dad played with it a bit and then timed it by ear and it ran well. Turned out that every time the compressor came in it slowed the engine just enough that the outside of the harmonic balancer was slipping so the timing marks were way off. Another time he got out w/o setting the parking brake. It rolled into one of the small galvanized trash cans that was against a wall, and it bent the bumper on the Kadett. I'll let you know about the speakers, first I'm going to try and get Eddy running, I have to prioritize battery power... I would plan on getting better quality speakers with the highliner from the start though(if you're an audiophile), but you never know, I might be surprised... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted June 11, 2020 Share Posted June 11, 2020 I'll let you know about the speakers, first I'm going to try and get Eddy running, I have to prioritize battery power... I would plan on getting better quality speakers with the highliner from the start though(if you're an audiophile), but you never know, I might be surprised... I once was an audiophile. I had an Eclipse head unit w/a digital signal processor, ADS amp, and Boston Acoustic speakers in my Miata. And I had a center channel speaker on the back of the rear view as well as stereo speakers in the headrests for the rear channels. The head unit was connected to the DSP via fiber optics, and there was a mike that allowed the DSP to analyze the response and automagically tune it so it was flat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sac79 Posted June 11, 2020 Author Share Posted June 11, 2020 I once was an audiophile. I had an Eclipse head unit w/a digital signal processor, ADS amp, and Boston Acoustic speakers in my Miata. And I had a center channel speaker on the back of the rear view as well as stereo speakers in the headrests for the rear channels. The head unit was connected to the DSP via fiber optics, and there was a mike that allowed the DSP to analyze the response and automagically tune it so it was flat. That sounds like the Dad's Truck of car audio systems! I like good sound too, but I'm usually constrained by budget. I had great sound for a short while before we left the UK with the optional B&O system in my A4. Man I could have been deaf and enjoyed the music in that car(through the sound waves)... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted June 11, 2020 Share Posted June 11, 2020 That sounds like the Dad's Truck of car audio systems! I like good sound too, but I'm usually constrained by budget. I had great sound for a short while before we left the UK with the optional B&O system in my A4. Man I could have been deaf and enjoyed the music in that car(through the sound waves)... A B&O system surely had to sound good! But, isn't an A4 a piece of paper? (That's not original to me. I remember my boss, another Yank, saying that one day while we were in the UK.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sac79 Posted June 12, 2020 Author Share Posted June 12, 2020 A B&O system surely had to sound good! But, isn't an A4 a piece of paper? (That's not original to me. I remember my boss, another Yank, saying that one day while we were in the UK.) Good one, unfortunately not a joke I can make as I've had 3 of them... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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