Federated52

I do have radial tires on the car now, they are just very old. Approx. 10 - 12 yrs. I will look into the Camaro steering box. Yes, I do have power steering. I will check the bushings, ball joints, ect. as well. I will have to check to see if it has a rear sway bar. A friend also suggested to get a front end alignment before getting new tires. Thank You again for all the help & suggestions. Will try to check it out over the weekend, as well as trying the top motor.

Ok folks, Good news & bad news. Good News first: I took her out for the first drive. (On the street). Ran good, shifted good, brakes are fine. (Just have to get used to manual brakes). Bad news is it was all over the road. Do you think it is the old tires?, or, do you think the steering box is bad? I will be putting new tires on it in the next few weeks. What is the oem steering box ratio? If I read right it is 4 turns lock to lock. I do remember when I got my Camaro up & running it had the same problem, so my mechanic replaced the steering box.

hooked up the toggle switch, did the same thing the original switch was doing. Motor works going down, but not up. I even tried reversing the wires & did not make a difference. My co-workers Dad never showed up.

I can lay on the floor a look up under the dash. I can see where the remote is. It looks like it is clipped in. (I cannot see any screws). It doesn't look like I have to remove any duct work. I can follow all the wires from the remote. I looks like my only problem will be figuring out how to get the rear clip off. I bought a 3-way toggle switch, just to see if I can wire it up to see if I can work the top with that, so that I know for sure it's the switch before I remove it. I probably won't get to it till later next week. Going for a long weekend vacation. Then I a selling at a local car show next weekend. Busy week coming up. I will keep you up to date when a get a chance to work on it.

I tried reversing the wires from the switch to see if I could use the down button to make it go up & nothing. My co-worker's Dad is coming to check it out. (Me & electricity don't get along). He used to work at a Pontiac dealer in the 60's & 70's, so he should know what he's doing. I talked to him & he is 90% sure it is the switch, though. If that is the case, how do I remove the switch?

I pushed the button up for approx. 30 seconds & nothing no motor sound or movement at all. Checked again for leaks, could not see any even moved the back side panels to see if there were any leaks at the lifts & nothing. I unplugged the switch & put a test light & voltmeter on the wire(s) that go to the battery & I got nothing. The leads seem semi-clean. No corrosion. I do not have a power probe. On a good note the car is now in my name, and I should receive the tags in about 2 weeks. So at least I will be able to drive it. (On sunny days). HaHa

Did a little more research on why the top will go down, but not up & it seems the general opinion is that the switch is bad. I pulled the rear seat completely & no leaks that I can see. Should I try a new switch, or do you have any other suggestions? Thanks

I tried the top again. It goes down fine, but will not go up at all. It does not even sound like the motor is working when I push the button to go up, but I can hear it running when it goes down. The fluid in the motor seems like it is full. Do I need to keep the plug out while I cycle the top? I could not add any fluid w/o it over flowing. I did not get a chance top pull the seat. (It's been raining all day).

Ok, good to know about the new switches. It does work, just have to "play" with it a little. I will try to pull the seat over the weekend & see if I have any fluid leak. I know when I put the carpet in there was no leak, but it was also dry. I did not bleed it yet, I was cleaning my oil can out, so I can use it to fill the motor. Thanks again, you are a lot of help.

I think it was a clean rag, someone told me that it just got moisture underneath it & caused it. I will see what happens after a good waxing. Thanks

Thanks, I think I will try Meguiers carnuba wax. It is an old paint job & there are a few scratches & blemishes in the paint. I do like a "shiny" car. On another note, someone left a towel lay on the fender over the winter & the paint faded & slightly "blistered". (You can only see it if you get really close). Is there a way to buff that out or will I have to get it repainted? Thanks for the tips.

Cycled the top a few times. It stopped mid cycle two or three times. Had to play with the switch to get it to work. The more I used the up/down switch the hotter it got, to the point that I could no longer touch it. Do you think the switch is going bad, or possibly a bad connection somewhere? This convertible top sure is fighting me. HaHa, but I'm sure with you're help I will win in the end.

ok will do. I checked & I can see air bubbles in the line. I did take the plug out & tranny fluid ran out of the pump, so I will be prepared next time with a bowl & some rags. I did not see any fluid (besides what leaked) in the trunk. I will pull the seat & see if I have any leaks on the floor. Thanks for the help & advice.

Ok, Well she's been sitting for a few weeks now & when I went to put the top up, the motor was working but would not raise the top. I checked the fluid & it is still full. I had some one push the up button while I "helped" the top up. once it got about 1/2 way it worked the rest of the way. I'm thinking there is air in the lines? If that is the case how do I "bleed" the air out without making a mess in the trunk? Thanks

Thank You, I sent a request for sample colors to try to match mine. If it matches I will be ordering them.

Hi everyone, I have a trim code of 250 (Blue). I was wondering if it is a medium blue, dark blue, or another shade of blue? I am looking to replace the seat backs & lower sides, but there is a choice of medium blue or dark blue. I'm not really sure which it is. Any help would be great. Thanks, Federated52

Thank You Robbin, That's really cool that he bought it new & made it what he wanted. It does make it more special. My Dad also bought a 1966 Grand Prix new. He took my Mom on their fist date & eventually their honeymoon in it. After that it was only used for weddings & such. It has approximately 12880 miles on it. A friend of mine helped me get it up & running for her for mothers day 2 years ago. She is a little nervous driving it though, because she is afraid something might happen to it, so I do most of the driving when she wants to take it out, which doesn't bother me.

Thank You indymanjoe. It was my fathers. He bought it & let it sit in a garage since 1981. About 5 years after he passed away I finally got it running, driving, & stopping. (Hopefully) Now to get it insured, transfer the title, and register it in my name. Then I can start actually driving it.

Hey everyone, I have a few cars that have the original (Old) paint (acrylic) & a couple cars that were repainted in acrylic many years ago (At least 30 years). I was wondering if there is a good wax to use on those surfaces as opposed to the clearcoat of today. Is the "store shelf" waxes fine or is there ones made especially for the old paint. I know it sounds like a dumb question, but just thought I would throw it out there. Thanks

I will give it a shot. It is when I turn it all the way one way or the other. I'll let you know if it works.

Thank You. Good question. It sounded like the tires, but could be a belt......I did put new belts on. Will have to check to see if they are tight. Thanks for the heads up.

Took it out of the garage, drove it up & down driveway a few times, tried the top. Did not try the lights. Everything was good, but the tires really sgueeled when I turn sharped. I think it just may be old tires.

Turn signal issue fixed.......Hopefully. Added trans fluid to motor (made a mess) top is going up & down much better now. Put a 30 amp fuse in 'cause it kept blowing 20 amp fuses. "Dieseling" issue fixed......Hopefully. Thank You again for the help.

Ok well I think I found the turn signal issue. The taillight housing bolts were loose, so the ground wire was only making contact once in a while. I tightened the housing bolts & it seems to be working fine now. I did put dielectric grease on all the bulbs just to add some insurance. The top motor is working, just very slowly. I blew a fuse were you said to look. It just maybe low on fluid. I will have to see if I somehow find out what fluid is used in it. I heard you cannot mix them or it will blow out the motor? As for the "dieseling", I did turn down the idle on the carb, started it & let it run for about 5 min, then shut it off & no "dieseling" took place. It just shut right off. So hopefully I just have to add a little fluid to it & it will be fine. I will let you know how I make out. Thanks again for all the help, Todd

For some reason when I checked the turn signals today they worked fine. Maybe just a loose connection somewhere. Don't know what the RPM is at idle. I can try lowering the idle on the carb to see if that does the trick. A friend helped me set the timing at the end of the season last year, but still could be off. The carb was rebuilt about a year ago. When I push the button for the conv. top I hear no sound at all. So sounds like I'll be looking for a new motor if the switch is working. How hard is it to change the motor for a novice? (I never had to change one.) My neighbor does Mustang (Ford) restorations, but he is very busy, so I thought I would try on my own first. Thanks for all you're help, I will try to trouble shoot them over the weekend.