For those of you following this story... A sad ending was had. A good girl and my one of my favorite Pontiacs I've had, my pretty mermaid Sereña was traded in. I may have been misty eyed that day. We had a great 4 year run together full of adventures.  Maybe I'll have another Torrent someday.... With a working gas gauge! Though I never ran outta gas and needed rescuing! 

Edited November 9, 20232 yr by JustAG6

Well JG6, That justa sucks. Sorry you had to say goodbye to your girl. 

come on !!! what did you buy ????

A Jeep Compass... That's been in the shop 3 times now for a light on the dash... Smh... 

Pfft , didn’t dad teach ya to grab a roll of tape and stick a bit over the light ? 

Not when the dealer is fixing it to make it right and is super nice. 

7 hours ago, 64 kiwi boni said:

Pfft , didn’t dad teach ya to grab a roll of tape and stick a bit over the light ? 

Never been big on tape..... shot of spray paint works well.

I mounted Lucy’s old oil pan onto the wall of a shame today. I scraped the old gasket off and wiped it down with brake creamer. 

4 hours ago, Frosty said:

I mounted Lucy’s old oil pan onto the wall of a shame today. I scraped the old gasket off and wiped it down with brake creamer. 

Awwwww nice wall art 

Edited November 11, 20232 yr by 64 kiwi boni

Hell yeah bro. 

Now that I think about it, that is the third oil pan since I’ve had in Lucy. The first pan died in 2004 when  two windows, on either side of the crank, opened up. #8 connecting rod split into three pieces! Scored up the bore too. Oil pan #2 is now on the wall. #3 is under Lucy. 

Third times the charm snowman. 

Today (well, yesterday) I removed all of the door trims, cleaned all of the lower channels in the doors, then sprayed them with zinc to help protect them from rust.

While in there I fixed everything that was loose (rods, door handles, etc), lubricated all hinges, striker plates, joints, mechanisms and slides.

Am considering what to do about the rhf window - the support bracket has rusted and separated from the lower window support, so the window doesn't slide up and down evenly. Thinking to somehow attach a metal or nylon bracket between the lower support and the bottom of the window to secure it, not sure how just yet.

Fitted a second fuel filter between the pump and the carb, to be sure.

Still have to remove the fuel sender & adjust the arm slightly, as it's slightly out of range.

Oh, almost forgot!

I ordered a set of Bangin' Headlights for it - classic-styled led's that look like originals, and even have glass lenses with the original markings https://www.banginheadlights.com

And, a Gravelrash Audio Bluetooth module, cigarette switch actuator and Blaupunkt centre dash speaker unit for it, so we can have decent tunes but keep it original https://www.gravelrashbluetoothaudio.com.au Greg from Gravelrash actually took measurements from my car and built the speaker pod to suit - can't beat service like that can you?

Very excited 😁

On 12/17/2023 at 10:32 AM, Bonne61 said:

Today (well, yesterday) I removed all of the door trims, cleaned all of the lower channels in the doors, then sprayed them with zinc to help protect them from rust.

While in there I fixed everything that was loose (rods, door handles, etc), lubricated all hinges, striker plates, joints, mechanisms and slides.

Am considering what to do about the rhf window - the support bracket has rusted and separated from the lower window support, so the window doesn't slide up and down evenly. Thinking to somehow attach a metal or nylon bracket between the lower support and the bottom of the window to secure it, not sure how just yet.

Fitted a second fuel filter between the pump and the carb, to be sure.

Still have to remove the fuel sender & adjust the arm slightly, as it's slightly out of range.

My idea to repair the rhf window is a success, so hopefully it will stand the test of time🙏

I also got around to removing the fuel sender and adjusting it, so I'll have to wait & see as the tank empties whether it's right or needs more adjustment.

Funny story...after finishing the job last night I took it for a short run around the block to try to get the needle to move. No success, so I ran it up to my local & filled the tank (noticing that there was a leak underneath). It took 60l, at a cost of $128.

Presuming (correctly, as it happens) the leak was from the fuel filler neck I pulled around the corner, undid the retainer screw & pulled it out to reposition it. By this time I had lost quite a bit of fuel. Driving home (12kms) I noticed I was leaving a fuel trail every time I went around a roundabout or right hand turn. Got home, got underneath & saw that the o ring was sticking out of the joint - obviously the source of the leak. So I pulled it out again, greased the o ring, & re-inserted with care. Seemed all good). The gauge was indicating low fuel, so not knowing where the level was now I went back to the same servo to top it up.

54l ($108) later, the tank is again full😬

So, I had literally spread about 50l ($100) of fuel all over the road in the 12kms to home🙄

Leak sorted now though...🤷‍♂️

Expensive lesson ! 

60 litres in nz is close to $200 ! 

And that’s justA summy 91 octane ! 

14 minutes ago, 64 kiwi boni said:

60 litres in nz is close to $200 ! 

And that’s justA summy 91 octane ! 

Wow - mine was Premium 95.

 

20 minutes ago, 64 kiwi boni said:

Expensive lesson ! 

Sure was - I've ordered another couple of those o-rings, just in case😬

The Bluetooth gear has arrived, and the work has begun.

Pretty easy fitting the switch into my original cigarette lighter (just had to grind the edge of the new switch so it seated fully in the chrome surround), and the module was easy too.

The speaker pod was another story...the holes in the mounting plate weren't correctly spaced, so I had to elongate them. Problem was, the outer rivets that held the speakers to the plate were in the way. No prob's I thought, I'll just mount straight through the speaker brackets as well and all will be sweet.

No such luck - the thin metal tabs broke away, which meant the unit was solid in the dash, but the outside edges of the speakers weren't fixed at all🤦‍♂️

After hours of drilling, filing, and Circus-like contortionism up under the dash all I've achieved is the removal of lots of skin from my head, shoulders and hands, with the now useless speaker pod sitting back on the bench where it started out🤬

Anyhoo, the system itself works well so I'm on the lookout for a reasonable quality 10"x4" speaker to fit and all will be good.

Will update including photos when it's all sorted😊

1 hour ago, Bonne61 said:

The Bluetooth gear has arrived, and the work has begun.

Pretty easy fitting the switch into my original cigarette lighter (just had to grind the edge of the new switch so it seated fully in the chrome surround), and the module was easy too.

The speaker pod was another story...the holes in the mounting plate weren't correctly spaced, so I had to elongate them. Problem was, the outer rivets that held the speakers to the plate were in the way. No prob's I thought, I'll just mount straight through the speaker brackets as well and all will be sweet.

No such luck - the thin metal tabs broke away, which meant the unit was solid in the dash, but the outside edges of the speakers weren't fixed at all🤦‍♂️

After hours of drilling, filing, and Circus-like contortionism up under the dash all I've achieved is the removal of lots of skin from my head, shoulders and hands, with the now useless speaker pod sitting back on the bench where it started out🤬

Anyhoo, the system itself works well so I'm on the lookout for a reasonable quality 10"x4" speaker to fit and all will be good.

Will update including photos when it's all sorted😊

So need pictures ! Hahaha 

On 1/2/2024 at 5:04 PM, 64 kiwi boni said:

So need pictures ! Hahaha 

Ok, so the new 10"x4" speaker from I ordered from Retrosound arrived today 👏

Pulled the glovebox liner back out, crawled back up under the dash, and (other than some minor "relieving" of the mounting holes) fitted the new speaker, wired it up.

Boom - the system works. Push in cigarette lighter, which activates the switch, hear a "pairing" beep, start playing music.

Perfect! Looks completely original and unmolested, some reasonable sounds coming out of the centre dash speaker, happy days.

See evidence below👇

Oh, and one walk around video of the Big Gun just because 😃

 

 

 

I've added a clip below of the system working, FYI😊

On 1/5/2024 at 8:10 PM, Bonne61 said:

Ok, so the new 10"x4" speaker from I ordered from Retrosound arrived today 👏

Pulled the glovebox liner back out, crawled back up under the dash, and (other than some minor "relieving" of the mounting holes) fitted the new speaker, wired it up.

Boom - the system works. Push in cigarette lighter, which activates the switch, hear a "pairing" beep, start playing music.

Perfect! Looks completely original and unmolested, some reasonable sounds coming out of the centre dash speaker, happy days.

See evidence below👇

Oh, and one walk around video of the Big Gun just because 😃

 

 

Very cool !!!! 

Very cool !!!! 

8 hours ago, Bonne61 said:

 

IMG_8896 (1).mov 15.49 MB · 0 downloads

 

 

I've added a clip below of the system working, FYI😊

 

 

Nice !!