Hey all,

A few outwardly minor improvements today, some of which will have a major impact on our enjoyment of the car!

In order...

1. Got my cigarette outlet powered and working, so we now have iPhone charging ability on long trips 🤙

2. Re-glued my front door lower carpet trims and rear carpet where it had begun to lift away

3. Maybe some of you have had this same issue, & have come up with a better engineered fix? If so, please share.

I have not been able to solve the way the car spews fuel all over my hand and the side of itself EVERY fcuking time I refuel it. Because these days the splash flange on all the bowsers is only about 2" in diameter, the fuel just sprays straight past them. No amount of technique change or adaptation has helped. So, I have cut down a funnel so it will slide over the bowser nozzle facing back towards the car and hopefully direct any splash back towards the fuel tank, rather all over the poor bastard who is filling the tank (me🤬). Hopefully the photos will help make sense of the job🙏

 

I also fitted new carpet liners along the bottom of my door trims. From memory, the chrome strip above them holds the top in place and they are actually screwed at the bottom, along with good quality adhesive. I used new screws and CAREFULLY painted them black after installation.

I like your fuel funnel idea. My car has a central filler at the rear behind the licence plate flap - I have no issue with blowback but wish I could say the same with my ute, which I have to trickle in otherwise most of it goes on the ground. I know this is obvious, but the vent tube I see in the pics is nice & clear of any obstruction, isn't it? I modified the venting arrangement in my car because I could smell fumes as I drove. The factory vent is insufficient for the task I felt, so I added some fuel line and extended the venting to just behind the rear wheel and covered the end with insect mesh. That way, as the car moves forward, it effectively draws the vapours out of the tank and into the atmosphere...sorry Greta.

3 minutes ago, Fitzy said:

I also fitted new carpet liners along the bottom of my door trims. From memory, the chrome strip above them holds the top in place and they are actually screwed at the bottom, along with good quality adhesive. I used new screws and CAREFULLY painted them black after installation.

I like your fuel funnel idea. My car has a central filler at the rear behind the licence plate flap - I have no issue with blowback but wish I could say the same with my ute, which I have to trickle in otherwise most of it goes on the ground. I know this is obvious, but the vent tube I see in the pics is nice & clear of any obstruction, isn't it? I modified the venting arrangement in my car because I could smell fumes as I drove. The factory vent is insufficient for the task I felt, so I added some fuel line and extended the venting to just behind the rear wheel and covered the end with insect mesh. That way, as the car moves forward, it effectively draws the vapours out of the tank and into the atmosphere...sorry Greta.

Haha, Greta who???

Like COVID, she's just an unpleasant memory now...

When I got the car, the vent tube was crushed at the top. I removed the filler tube, carefully open-end up the vent tube, and...not a damn difference. Still continued to get hosed down. Even when I have an idea and trickle in the last 10 _or 20!) litres, it still gets me 😡

So I hope this is a good solution - it seems to be in theory, but at the moment it's just that. Stay posted 🙏

Gotta remember the fuel flow and pressure are way up in the pumps as opposed to when the car was current.  .35 cents a gallon goes way quicker than adding gas @ 4-$5 a gallon.  Like your solution, My fill is behind the L plate and have to be very careful the last gallon/liters myself.  Wouldn't be so bad if gas still smelled like gas instead of like varnish we all used to cringe about.

The Big Car got some new carpet for the boot & rear deck, the chrome door knobs finally arrived too.

Also, a mate made up some new kick panels out of 3mm sign board, then wrapped them in colour-matched vinyl.

Looking good 😊

My "fuel filler shield" worked a treat - no more Premium Unleaded hand wash the I refill 😂

It seems my cigarette lighter charger didn't work as well as expected though`-although it does appear to be charging, it just didn't push any charge into the phone at all 🙄 Does anyone have any advice on this?

 

You have a red car with red interior! I'd get a headache if I was swaddled in red as I drove. Give me Old Skool black vinyl any day...just a bit hot & sticky in summer. Remember when you were a kid hopping into the family wagon wearing only bathers or shorts and the black vinyl would sear any remaining skin that the sun hadn't already burnt? Fun times. Anyway, your kick panels look nice. 

Have you got a nice healthy 12V getting to the lighter with the engine running?

Paul . Try a different usb to your phone cable  .. some cheap ones won’t charge but do everything else ..  

3 hours ago, Fitzy said:

You have a red car with red interior! I'd get a headache if I was swaddled in red as I drove. Give me Old Skool black vinyl any day...just a bit hot & sticky in summer. Remember when you were a kid hopping into the family wagon wearing only bathers or shorts and the black vinyl would sear any remaining skin that the sun hadn't already burnt? Fun times. Anyway, your kick panels look nice. 

Have you got a nice healthy 12V getting to the lighter with the engine running?

Haha, Dad's car had an interior that was called "Sand" I think, however it still burned 😬

And yes, 12v. It has that constantly, whether ignition is on or off. I'm wondering if it maybe doesn't have enough amps though - iPhone wall chargers are 5W...

2 hours ago, 64 kiwi boni said:

Paul . Try a different usb to your phone cable  .. some cheap ones won’t charge but do everything else ..  

Thanks - I'll do that 🤙

On 8/13/2023 at 9:08 PM, Bonne61 said:

Haha, Dad's car had an interior that was called "Sand" I think, however it still burned 😬

And yes, 12v. It has that constantly, whether ignition is on or off. I'm wondering if it maybe doesn't have enough amps though - iPhone wall chargers are 5W...

Thanks - I'll do that 🤙

Thanks for the input - I was getting  more than 12V but the USB I was using was only a 1A output! Switched to a 2.4A output & now it works fine👏

Great job Paul! Well that's another mystery of the universe solved. It's beer o'clock mate!