Category Archives: Restoration

Most of the articles here are success stories of challenges overcome – like the previous article on This Blows: the Vacuum Side. It doesn’t always work that way. I’ve spent the last week re-installing the exhaust system to put in the small … Continue reading →

The previous article was a side trip on Garage Journal Strikes Again The heater control switch mentioned in a previous article has two functions: electrical switching and switching vacuum actuators used to control the air doors in the heater. Testing the … Continue reading →

Previously This Blows! I’ve mentioned once or twice that the website Garage Journal is a source of inspiration and information for many of the things that I’ve done building the workshop. I’ve also mentioned that Garage Journal has cost me … Continue reading →

The previous article More Workshoppery Storage covered updates to the workshop. Now lets get back to working on the car. When I got the Imperial the heater blower was dead. No matter how the switches were set the fan didn’t … Continue reading →

In the Electrical 3: Bulkheading we replaced the factory connector with a new more modern design. Like the bulkhead connector, the fusebox under the dash is is old and crufty. In addition to rust and using old style glass fuses, … Continue reading →

In the previous article Electrical 2: Grounded we started the electrical work with perhaps the most overlooked part of automotive wiring. Perhaps the greatest weakness in the electrical system of older cars is the bulkhead connector that connects the engine … Continue reading →

The first article Electrical 1: Shocking Developments introduced our strategy for upgrading the electrical system. Time to get to work implementing that strategy! As Captain Obvious has observed, electrical systems consist of two parts: power and ground. While power is … Continue reading →

One of the biggest weaknesses in older cars is the electrical system. These were typically marginal from the factory and don’t age well. Marginal size of wire, corrosion in connectors, switches, and wire, and 50 year old insulation all combine … Continue reading →

With the engine running and the transmission adjusted it was time to drive the car! The first step, of course, was to back it out of the workshop – for the first time in 3 years! And then back and … Continue reading →

At the end of the last article, the engine was running but the car was starting with the transmission in gear. At first this was noticeable but not a major problem. However, after the transmission was filled with fluid so … Continue reading →