Working Man's Burbon

[HO455]

And there's still room for all the important stuff that lives in the ashtray.

[HO455]

I had to order some wiper blades after was unable to source a set refills locally. Ended up with these OER /Trico refills.
I have say I am not real happy with them. The don't really fit the arms well. The ribs on the back don't clear the folded tabs that hold the blade preventing the blade from sliding back and forth as the blade moves across the glass. (Photo 2)
After some fiddling about I decided to remove the ribs that were hanging up and causing the blade to bow. (Photo 3. Red arrow shows where the hang up is. Blue line is the bowed area.)
I used a Dremel cutoff wheel to remove 2 ribs on each blade. (Photo 4).
Photo shows the blade sitting much better on the glass, however in actual use the blades won't wipe clean in both directions. Even with additional tweaking of the metal stiffeners the blades don't work well.
I believe the reason is compared to the old blades these do not allow the blades to float in the arm. Definitely going to have to mess with these a bunch more.
Oh and they whistle when going 40-45 mph!
Here in NW Oregon wipers are important!

[FLYNAVY30]

Good stuff....you'll like the Ride Tech shocks!

If you decide you want to run double adjustable, I'm using Viking on my '64 Corvette and really like those as well. Made in America, and a VERY competitive price for true double adjustable shocks.

[HO455]

Originally Posted by FLYNAVY30

Good stuff....you'll like the Ride Tech shocks!

If you decide you want to run double adjustable, I'm using Viking on my '64 Corvette and really like those as well. Made in America, and a VERY competitive price for true double adjustable shocks.

Good to hear your feedback on the Viking shocks. I have been considering them for my Firebird.

[SkidmoreGarage]

I just ordered a set of viking double adjustables for the rear of my c20. I decided a double adjustable made sense for a truck that may do double duty, where I may want low compression dampening for weight transfer, but may want a lot if I put something in the bed to stop it from slamming the bumpstops over sharp hits. With each of these adjustments it's nice to also adjust rebound to keep the tires in contact with the road.

I'd recommend giving no limit engineering a call. They are dealers for ridetech and viking with great prices (no really, the price they offered was as good as I could find anywhere without any haggling), but they are also willing to talk through what may be options for your specific application. They were happy to accommodate me, selling individual parts that I needed and sending photos and dimensions for things I didn't buy.

[HO455]

Thanks for the tip.

[HO455]

I finally got my new good used wiper posts and linkages installed! The old ones had between 1/8" to 3/16" of slop in them. If I had to use the wipers for more than 15 minutes the squeaking would begin. Then I would have to hop out and spray them down with some lube and they would be quiet for a day or so.
I got nice used ones from Mel at Classic Bowtie. I soaked them in a can of oil for a month before installing. Sorry no photos time just super smooth wiper action.

But I do have pictures of my rear window defroster version 2. It is similar to the first one I built but this one has 3 fans!
The basic plan is pretty simple but trying to keep it as small and as light as possible has made it take longer than expected. Integrating the dome light added to the packaging problems.

[72MARIO]

I used the following.

Fronts are 22149841. My heights are 15 extended 12 ride 10.5 compressed.

[HO455]

Originally Posted by 72MARIO

I used the following.

Fronts are 22149841. My heights are 15 extended 12 ride 10.5 compressed.

Excellent! Thank you very much.

[Dieselwrencher]

Great deal on the new defogger! I'm guessing you'll use it a lot where you live.

[HO455]

Thanks guys. I'm sure it will get plenty of use along with my delay wiper module.

[HO455]

Made good use of Mondays nice weather and shot out to the Upull it in Sherwood. Got a rear sway bar from an 82 Trans Am. A pair of door handle relays, a heater box lower air deflector, a heater switch, some 67 front turn signal connectors out of a 67 Chevy long bed and a transmission dipstick from a 80 El Camino.
The 67 is quite rusty and pretty well picked over. It is a big window truck with what looks to be a Powerglide for a transmission.

[HO455]

I have discovered that the rear defroster moves so much air that when it meets the heat from the front defroster next to my shoulder it fogs the driver's side wndow. I guess 2 fans would have probably been enough to do the job.

At some point before 12/5/18 and after 8/29/17 I replaced the pressure switch for the compressor. If I still had a memory would know when. Thank goodness I have this thread to help me if only I could remember to post everything.
Anyway at some point the pressure switch that was installed when I bought the WMB failed and I replaced it with a new one from Viair. I chose the Viair switch due to the nice rubber protective coating on it and I felt it was a better brand. However it has failed in the on position. Thankfully I decided to install the pressure relief valve in the system otherwise who knows what else would have broken.
After replacing the switch and inspecting it was noticed the deterioration of the outer coating around the wires (photos 1&2) so I cut the rubber coating off thinking there might be water underneath that was shorting the wires and keeping the compressor running.
I didn't find any sign of water or shorts so even though the coating wasn't looking good on the outside it was still keeping moisture out. When I looked into the air inlet port on the bottom it was obvious the problem is corrosion inside of the switch.
I find this unacceptable! This is a pressure switch sold for use in a small tank automobile system where there is going to be moisture/water in the tank. It should not be so susceptible to water damage.
For a replacement I used a Air Lift Pressure Switch # 24544. At least the body is brass and should be less likely to corrode.(The brass you see in the first 2 photos is a 1/4 NPT to 3/8 NPT adapter bushing.) Time will tell though. I also went to a lower PSI range since I no longer have front air bags. That should reduce wear on the compressor.

[HO455]

I had run out to my sister's plsc e and drop off some lumber. I decided to take Marine Drive to avoid traffic. I was a beautiful morning and Mt Hood was larger than life. So stopped and took a picture. Same location as a similar picture I took several years ago. This time I tried to get the mountain to show up better. Which it certainly does, but now it looks like a painted set from an old movie.

[Ol Blue K20]

Beautiful picture!

[BigBird05]

Don't forget to check the bulkhead connections for corrosion. They are out in the weather. I have a damaged ignition switch if you want to tear apart a factory one. Let me know and i'll go look for it. I was saving it for the plastic connecter part because I have a good switch that the plastic is broken on.

[HO455]

The bulkhead connection is on the list for today. I ran out of daylight yesterday and it started to drizzle so I decided quit before opening another can of worms.
Thanks for the switch offer. I appreciate it, but since you have a need for part of it I'm sure I can find another one and you can fix your damaged one. If you desire to tear it apart, feel free to post a picture of the contacts for comparison.
Thanks again.

[BigBird05]

You can still have it. I just removed the ignition key cyl from a good switch today. That makes the one I offered to you 3rd in line.

[HO455]

More WMB progress today. The bulkhead connection checked out okay. I know I cleaned it up when I put the dash harness in and it still looked good. (Oh and the whole replacement of the HEI power wire too.) So I just blew out the dust and put a fresh coat of Corrosion Block on the spade connectors and reassembled. Thank goodness no new can of worms there.
However taking the snow tires off and putting the mags back had a bit of a hiccup. As I was turning the passenger front wheel heard it click. More spinnng. Sure enough there was a definite clicking sound. Nothing felt loose but after some recollecting, I'm sure that when the truck was in the shop I only checked and repacked the bearings. So the are one of the last pieces that haven't been replaced. It took going to 2 Napa stores to get inners, outer, and seals. Fortunately it was a straightforward replacement with no other detours. I really wanted to wash the truck too as the weather today was great, but my sister called needing help with a bench she is building.
Oh well maybe tomorrow. At least I'm back on the road.

[HO455]

Originally Posted by BigBird05

You can still have it. I just removed the ignition key cyl from a good switch today. That makes the one I offered to you 3rd in line.

Well then shoot me a PM and we can work out the details.

[HO455]

I've been preparing the parts for the rear swaybar installation. The holes in the frame brackets for the connecting links are no longer round due to the link bolt rubbing the bracket. (Photo 1) I'm not sure why GM didn't drill the holes larger so the bushing's raised index would prevent metal to metal contact like it does on most lower control arms. Not only would a larger hole prevent the wear but the noise that would accompany the bolts rubbing or rattling in brackets.
I drilled the brackets out to 5/8". (2nd photo) I then put a slight chamfer (3rd photo) on both sides of the bracket to get the bushing's raised index to self center in the hole since I didn't have the exact drill bit size. The bushings appear to be a metric size.
Next I need to come up with some 1 inch spacers to go between the brackets and the frame.

[crakarjax]

Was there a rear swaybar stock? I wasn't aware that was an option

[Ol Blue K20]

Oh that sucks! I'm no help on a body shop though.

[FLYNAVY30]

Oh man, I feel for you! I'm no help as far as shop recommendations go, but Ill be following along for updates.

[CG]

Dang! Huge bummer. Sometimes a guy cant catch a break!!!