new here with a '73 Custom Cruiser

Hey....what a guy. WAY nice of you to take the time for all those pix, wix! KUDOS!!

 

Photos and explanation should be saved in some sort of tech data base here on the board

 

Well thanks, Fox and Rob,

But if you haven't noticed, I have recently been afflicted with an uncontrolable case of excessive picture post-itis!

Stop me before I post again!

David

 

David,

Man, you are a hero and a half! Thank you for all the great photos. If I see what I think I'm seeing, the wiring does pass under the "Body by Fisher" plates on the driver's side of the car.

Also, in the 12th and 13th photos down from the top, the wiring passes through this big black thing. (Stop me if I'm getting too technical!). Is that the connection between the front and rear wiring harnesses that the service manual refers to?

But the other thing that puzzles me a bit is that, while the tailgate motor doesn't work, the rear window DOES work. Do the window and the gate get their power from that same pair of wires coming back from the front of the car? If so, then it suggests there is not a short along under the "Body by Fisher" plate as, if there was, the window wouldn't work, either.

 

David should be a hand model

and for anyone who thinks there's tons of room in the back wheel well areas and back of the wagon, think again. Between the tank on the left side and the spare I barely had room for speakers very very tight all up in there when the trim has to go back on

 

cooling system questions

Finally got around to reinstalling the radiator, putting new hoses on, and so forth. We actually had a day today where the temperature got into the upper 40s.

Anyway, no problems on the radiator reinstall nor the hoses, but I did run into a problem replacing the water outlet valve where the thermostat is. There was nothing wrong with either the outlet valve or the thermostat as far as I know, but I figured what the heck, I'm replacing everything else anyway, so why not spring for a new valve and thermostat. Not that much money, and the new valve would look better than the old one.

My problem is that the new valve and gasket leak. I've taken a photo of the old valve and the gasket that came with the new one. If you ask me, this is a design that's destined to leak as there is no pull on the front part of the gasket with there being only two screws holding everything down, and they're on each side. You can see pieces of the old gasket adhering to the old valve.



My question is, can I/should use a silicone gasket sealant instead of this gasket? Should I use the sealant AND this gasket? With this gasket alone, I get a leak no matter how evenly and snugly I tighten the bolts.

I bought a tube of silicon gasket material that says it's for thermostat housings and waterpumps, so it seems appropriate. What do people typically do? And yes, I have cleaned the old gasket material off of the mating surface as darned best I can, but it still leaks.


Another question, while I'm at it, concerns the thermostat itself. The old one has a label on it that says "toward radiator" to help you install it in the proper orientation. The service manual mentions, too, about making sure the thermostat is installed facing the right way.

The new one, which is a Duralast brand from Autozone, does not have any marking on it directing you to install it a certain way. Does it not matter with aftermarket thermostats? Should I just quit horsing around and put the old one in?


Thanks.

 

Hey Jaunty,

The first question: the wiring doesn't run under the "Body by Fisher" plates, they are encased in the hard black plastic sleeve the runs along in a recessed channel on the floor inside the car under the carpeting. This pic shows this best: (the kick panel is just laying there, not at all installed in place)

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That pic with the big black thing, is showing a plastic sleeve that holds the wiring as it runs under the seating and carpet. This sleeve protects the wiring from getting crushed.
The pic is taken looking down at the area just from under the rear seat and down into the rear footwell, running along the threshold of the LH side.
As the wires continue along the floor, it is encased in another black plastic protective sleeve.

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The connection that joins the front and rear is, I believe, shown in this photo:

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I would give a good look at this connection shown in this pic: (this taped up connection is where the purple & grey wires branch out to make two pigtails, one that plugs into the motor, and one that plugs into the harness that goes back to the rear keyed switch.

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Jaunty, please make sure you go to an good auto parts store and buy an electrical circuit tester that lights up, similar to this:

​

Using one of these, you can tell if a wire has power, and where it may be broken. :2_thumbs_up_-_anima

Hope this helps.

David

 

David, thanks again for all the photos and tips. I've always used a multimeter instead of a test light because I have a nice one (it has an audible beep feature to make it easy when testing for continuity). Is there any reason a test light would be better than a voltmeter (other than that it's easy to see the light light up)?

 

Hey Jaunty, I just suggested that kind because they are very cheap. If you have a multimeter, that is even better!

David

 

finally got it washed!

Finally had a reasonably warm day today, so I got the radiator and cooling system all put back together and took it out for a 10 mile run today. Probably more miles at one time that has been put on the car since 2004.

After that, I washed it, finally, and it looks great. Yes, it still needs the front bumper and roof rack, and I still have to align the hood. And there's still the other 1000 things I need to do. But it LOOKS GOOD!!!

 

No it doesn't, what's wrong with you?!
It looks FANTASTIC!!!

 

Thank you. I actually thought so, too, but I was being modest.

 

^^^^^^^^^^
What he said!!!

 

looks great!

 

Very cool it's coming along. Me thinks this should get moved out of the intro section and into the projects section. It does look fanrtastic.