Captain Obvious

My early wiring diagram shows a red wire coming off the accessory relay connected to that blue wire. So I'm thinking they might have changed colors at the bullet connector. They did some weird stuff like that on the early cars. Next time I have my HVAC panel off, I'll take a look, but it might be a couple days.

I used #4 gauge cable. Bought a 60 inch length off ebay with 5/16 lug on one end and 3/8 on the other. Cut it in half* to make two cables. Was cheapest that way. I don't know if this is the exact vendor I used or not, but here's an example: https://www.ebay.com/itm/141679228250 Today's price for the cable(s) is about $16, and the military lugs were $10. So my out of pocket for my two original-ish looking cables was $26 for the pair. *After having been through this once, I would skew the cut point maybe two inches towards the positive side. In other words, I would steal two inches of cable from the negative and add that length to the positive making the positive four inches longer than the negative.

My battery cables? I was poking around online and discovered these things called "military battery terminals". Sometimes also called "Marine". The neat part is the basic shape is similar to the OEM lugs, so on a whim, I bought a cheap set off Amazon. So the shape is similar to OEM, but they use a bolt/nut to hold a cable onto the lug. They look like this: Then I removed the original bolt and threaded the hole that the bolt goes through. My first experience tapping lead. Went OK and I learned some about the process. 1) Easiest if you don't have to reverse the tap, and if you DO reverse the tap, do it often, like every half turn or so. 2) It's much easier on a (shallow) through hole because you don't have to reverse the tap, just run the tap all the way through. If the part you're tapping isn't shallow enough to do in one pass without packing the flutes and binding, then you're going to have to reverse the tap, which is a PITA because you have to do it so often. So, all that said... I took the bolt out and tapped the hole: Then I made a brass threaded insert on the lathe: I bought a length of battery wire off ebay. Came with lugs crimped on both ends. I got 5/16 hole on one end and 3/8 on the other. Cut that piece of wire in half (so now I have two lengths with different holes on the ends. Larger for the starter mounting bolt, and smaller for the starter solenoid connection. Stripped back the insulation on the ends, and inserted the cable strands into the brass piece I made: I used a small torch to solder the cable into the threaded insert: Looks like this after sodering: Screwed the threaded brass into the lead lug, and a completely unprofitable amount of time later, I have this: It's not OEM or one of the aftermarket replicas, but it cost a grand total of maybe thirty bucks in parts*. *And at least six hundred dollars in unrealized labor cost. Hahahaha!!!

Only the third one? Someone at the show suggested that combo is rare, but I've not looked into it. The current paint on the OG bugs me. A previous owner sprayed the outside blue, and the inside black. So it left the factory white with blue, but now it's "blueish with blackish". I spent some time before zcon working on taking the black off the inside, but ran out of time against other higher priorities. I also spend a little time experimenting with taking the blue off the outside, but could not find a chemical that would work on the blue, but not the white. In other words... I can take the blue off, but the white always comes with it. The car is very original in so many areas, but the paint is not. Bugs me.

I also made a set of battery cables and swapped out the ratchet strap hold-down for something a little more appropriate. I know it loses some of that road-kill character, but it's much cleaner now. Here's what I started with: And here's what I got now: And I included the ground wire directly from the battery to the firewall now. Didn't have this before:

I swapped out the 160 thermostat for a 180, and here's where the gauge stabilized. Higher than the 160 thermostat (duh), but still lower than I was running with NO thermostat and the old questionable radiator. Good deal! Here's where I am now:

I reported the post above, but still not sure the report function is working. There are other bots I've reported that are not yet nuked so I'm not sure if I'm doing this right.

Hey @Mike , Here's another bot. They are still multiplying.

There's so much religion and hearsay around motor oils that I usually don't pay much attention. But I'm glad I watched that video. Guy actually applied science, credible documentable references, and theory*. I'm glad I watched that one. * Not just "Last year, my cousins boyfriend put <oil brand> into his small block and it wiped his cam. And stuff"

Yes, that plastic piece is a travel stop, and you should really have one in there. If that stop is missing, the lever travel could be too much and the rear adjustment system may not work properly.

Would have loved to go for a ride when we were at Zcon. If I had been feeling better we could have changed a radiator and then gone for a rip!

Woof. Glad you can salvage that! Yuck.

Haha! No, thankfully I have never seen that modification.

@Mike , I've been reporting the posts as well. Is the "report" function working?