Just curious, but do washers go in those recesses? Or do they have some other purpose?

Regardless, I think I'll be ok with my bent fender washers and grommet... and now a perfect application for my asphalt impregnated (and ScotchGuarded) 3/16" loom from Harnesses Unlimited. Snug over the wires and into the grommet, too, plus it has to bend into the fender brace. Not going anywhere.

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I won't take off any points if you do that . . so long as no one peeks under my parking light fixture at the rubber grommet. Scraped the paint where the bolts go through the fender. Hope that will be enough to ground. The grommet will protect the wires, so I'm thinking Job Done, for now. For now. Auto restoration is like uranium half-life. And software. We're closer.

Hood going slow. Forgot I had to polish Max Merritt stainless steel belt molding.

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The curve in the photo looks upside down to the mechanically dyslexic mind. Which is the upside? When you quit snickering, tell me. I've put a little bend in this washers which look very old so they fit the fender contour. That leaves protecting or guiding the wires so they don't chafe on the edge of the center hole in fender. I think I'll be fine as long as I have electrical grounding.

I've never seen one of those before. The search begins.

Good to know, West. I appreciate the reminder. I suspect many electrical items may not work, even with a new harness. But I've been through the radio, heater, horns, ignition, all the gauges except fuel (haven't added that rear harness yet), and they all work fine. The overdrive is wired but not tested yet.

No plate under the parking lights, but 2 humungous thick fender washers, which looked wrong. They were on the lights when I took them off in 86, so I suspect the paint shop in 1971 misplaced them. I thought about bending the washers to fit the fender contour better. I suspect the plates are like that.

But for now, I replaced the large washers with smaller flat washers. I'm aware of the metal contact requirement from the wiring diagram. One end of a wire doesn't a circuit make.

EDIT: You're not referring to the large front fender support bracket. Does the plate go above that or below it. I'll have to look when I get home.

Tom-
Email Gina nahc@detroitpubliclibrary.org
and for $20 or so you can have a very high res scan of your car from that archive photo. She's very helpful. It would be helpful for the pin stripe and perhaps other details, too.
Joe

Jazz every night in Joe's garage, which is expanding into the house.

FENDER WELT. Now I'm a seamstress. I stress over seams. I'm tearing off 1/4 in. strips of duct tape to hold the welt in place as I go. Then I use the first one cut as a pattern for the other side of the car.

PARKING LIGHT PAD: I cut these the same way from Steele Rubber's generic liner that has a small lip on one side to pad bright ware for which no pads are available. I bought this long ago and kept trying to remember what it was for. I cut off about half down the middle as excess. Taped as I went, clipping and snipping. Then I used the Q-Bond super glue, touched the two ends together and made a ring. I didn't realize that the glue was caught by the lip instead of dripping on the paper below, so I thought none was coming out. Then I realized it was on my fingers, now stuck together. I guess the sheer terror of Oregon jokes gave me that super power mothers who lift cars to save their babies have to separate my finger without tearing skin. One little drop locked those rubber end together.

I left a couple of pieces of duct tape on there to make it easier. The Duchess had been held together with so much of the stuff back in the day that she didn't reject it, but considered it original equipment.

THE HOOD. Had to be foregone for dance show last night. Too large to hold in my lap like the parking lights. So putting that together tonight.

WIPER MOTOR ARRIVED TODAY from Wiperman. So will install that tonight, too.

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I won't accuse you of being obsessive, West, painting those cross pieces. It is a hand-painting job. I don't remember mine as being black. But if you do it, take a before and after pic. The chrome shop didn't do anything to the back side, so I hit it with some "original chrome" paint, which you can't see from the front. So black paint might work as well to hide the back side and make the vent line thinner. If you did that, a spray and wipe on the cross bars from the front might make it easier. As far as being obsessive. I have to admit, I Scotch-guarded the cloth conduit of my wiring harness. Why? I don't know. Easier detailing?

EDIT: Jim, since you machine is so original (except for the starter paint job) maybe while you're clip is off you could take a look at those vents for West to see if there's any black paint there. Not to get too serious about that, but the spaces between the bars at the top and bottom of the vent would have been done also to maintain that look. To me it looks like the bumps between the bars were intended to show. Otherwise they could have been easily recessed in the casting. Your car might hold the answer.

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Believe me, Jim, I am itchin' to get out on the road. My girlfriend and most of my family live in California, but my sister lives in Maryland, si there's a possibility of visiting. And yes, each piece (I'm assembling the hood tonight after work) with all it hardware, chrome, ornament, rubber guards etc coming together finally just creates those stand back and admire moments. The taillight assembly with the wiring soldered, now set up for turn signals with new harness, just looks great.

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THE DUCHESS HAS MOVED TO THE DINING ROOM. DINNER IS SERVED.
Assembling painted parts in the dining room. Maybe make a Packard bed, like those Rolls ones for kids.

This is the joy. Finally, with a painted part, the rubber parts can be added. The chrome goodies. Misplaced my hood lacing after 25 years. It will turn up.

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