• Hello Guest, welcome to the initial stages of our new platform!
    You can find some additional information about where we are in the process of migrating the board and setting up our new software here

    Thank you for being a part of our community!

Walter, the beige 83 242

Waiting on some wires, so might as well clean up and detail the parts I've taken off.

I cleaned the marker light housings with a gray Scotchbrite pad and Comet.
co8b4ACl.jpg


I masked off the formerly chrome center. Sometimes Sem Trim Black doesn't play well with other paints so I masked the center, sprayed the outer edge black, then masked the edge and sprayed the center.
nc0vULHl.jpg


Outside edge sprayed, now time to paint the center. I used some Walmart 'Chrome' silver paint.
k92afkbl.jpg


I wouldn't call that chrome by any stretch, but will probably be a little brighter than the mostly black housing.
adKDBUjl.jpg
 
"Walter" is a lucky 242. He will most likely have great care and live a long time. In turn he will provide you with some economical transpo. All around good deal! Keep photos and updates coming.
Good Job. :nod:
 
"Walter" is a lucky 242. He will most likely have great care and live a long time. In turn he will provide you with some economical transpo. All around good deal! Keep photos and updates coming.
Good Job. :nod:

Thanks! Right now, this one has weekend car status. I would consider this project more of a preservation than a restoration even. No plans to really modify anything, just get everything back to factory. Hopefully it stays around for a while, then goes on to another good home. Maybe a 122 will take its place eventually.

That Walmart chrome doesn't look too bad at all. Rotten wires is to be expected. All in due course.

I had hoped for a little more shine out of it, but anything is an improvement. There were a couple other options that might have been a little more chrome-like, but they were indoor only.
 
Still haven't had time to get everything back together. I have been wanting to try my brass tumbler out on some hardware for a while. I use it for cleaning ammo cases for reloading and it works great but was curious if it would clean nuts and bolts. I tossed all of the front end hardware in my usual mix of crushed walnut shells with a capfull of Nu-finish car polish. I usually run my brass for 24 hours or so. I had to pull the plug on the shop after about 6 hours (waiting on the county for my electrical permit), so I still need to run the tumbler for a few more hours. No progress shots, but I believe this may work.

86aOmYJl.jpg


qozQ9tfl.jpg


I cleaned the headlight retainers with 0000 steel wool. Probably not worth the time since only the front edge shows, but it made a difference.

3GT01Yol.jpg


My wires are in, but haven't had a chance to crimp them on yet. I polished the chrome around the grill and the headlight surrounds with toothpaste of all things. It did surprising well. Everything else has been staged on the 82 242 workbench awaiting installation.

DIWE0iNl.jpg
 
Great attention to detail, these are the fun things that will make the big difference overall, small details add up big.
 
Great attention to detail, these are the fun things that will make the big difference overall, small details add up big.
Thanks!


I finally had some time to finish up the front end project.

The brass tumbler seemed to be working well on the hardware, but I only let it run for about 6 hours. A full day in the walnut shells would have made more of a difference.

BzBEYewl.jpg


Actually remembered to take a shot while I was working.
g7lI6dnl.jpg


No glamour shots, but at least proof that I got something done.
gej46mBl.jpg


Next issue that popped up was that the intermittent high beam issue was becoming more of an issue. I assumed it was the step relay, so I swapped it with one out of my 82. No luck.

I bench tested both relays using info from Dave Bartons page and both seemed to be in good order.
n20gGpml.jpg


When the turn signal stalk was pulled forward, you could hear the relay clicking under the hood, but no change in the lights. Shooting a ground to the correct pin on the relay would switch the lights back and forth. A forum member suggested using a test light instead of the Power Probe which finally yielded the issue. When the stalk was pulled, the test light barely illuminated leading me to realize that it was a ground issue. I tested all the ground from the battery to the steering column and all were around .3 ohms. When I tested the ground wire from the turn signal switch to the relay, it was over 60 ohms. I jumpered a ground to the pin on the switch and the lights switched fine. I pulled the turn signal switch and cleaned it and was able to get the resistance down to around 20 ohms consistently. I reinstalled the switch, and now they work fine. Apparently the switch was sending enough of a ground to the relay to make it try to switch over, but not enough to lock in.

bvu16i7l.jpg


the brown wire is the ground signal to the relay.
sM5mjNVl.jpg
 
This car rarely sees the road. Usually it just gets pulled in and out of the shop anytime I need to work on something else. After a year of ownership, I decided it was time to start knocking out some of the smaller items that need attention.

The driver side inner tierod has had 1/4 of play in it since I bought the car and the Boots were both split. I've had the parts for several months now and finally the inspiration hit to swap them out. Not a bad project, probably took about an hour to do both sides.


picture.php


picture.php


picture.php


picture.php


picture.php


After swapping them out, I used some alignment boards to set the toe-in to 1/8". I usually make an adjustment then go for a short drive and come back and check it. It takes about a minute to set the boards up. It took about 3 tries to get the toe-in where I wanted it, plus get the steering wheel straight.

picture.php



Another item that has been on the list since day 1 was that the driver side door wouldn't open from the inside. I pulled the latch mechanism out and threw it in the parts washer to remove all the old grease and grime. I relubed it with some spray white lithium grease and reinstalled. The door panel is still of as the moisture barrier is missing. Im going to source some heavy plastic and make some new ones. Not many pics of this project. Nothing too exciting to see.

picture.php


And a shot showing where all the linkages go inside the door.
picture.php
 
Back
Top