ELECTRIC CAR PROJECT 9311 DIARY,
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7/8/96
Car towed back from Hammer Auto Rebuild.
7/9/96
Removed seats (which were temporarily inside the car after Hammer
Auto Rebuild had installed the seat cover kits). Disassembled the
left-side seat mechanism to see why it didn't work. Ratchet collar
was rusted to spline. Cleaned up. Works, now. Seat metal parts are
pretty ratty looking. Someday should remove and refinish. Seat
brackets, painted at Hammer's, still have flaky, rusty spots. Put
the seats in plastic bags and stored away. Worked on straightening
the left-side door stop mount inside the door.
7/10/96
Repaired the left-side headlight trim attachment point by drilling
out stripped threads and installing a 10-32 rivetnut. Worked on door
stop mount some more. Got it to the point where I could reinstall
the old door stop but it will just be a sham. There is no strength
there anymore as the "real" mount (a plate spot welded to the inside
of the door) fell out. Need new springs for the door stop mechanisms
on both doors.
7/11/96
Reinstalled the fog light opening covers. Removed the front battery
rack and the start battery. Removed the front compartment carpeting.
Cleaned in and around front compartment. Removed the rusty spots and
loose paint on seat brackets with wire wheel. Applied touchup paint
to nicks in the battery rack. Masked off the bottom area of the
front compartment and sprayed with undercoating. Somebody at the
body shop had stood in there and ruined up the finish. Installed new
front license plate mounting brackets. Reinstalled logo letters on
rear lid. One mounting stud on the letter "E" is short. Reinstalled
grille on rear lid. One mounting stud threads are stripped.
7/12/96
Found some springs for the door stop mechanisms at the True Value
hardware store in Georgetown. Dropped the seat brackets off at
Hammer Auto Rebuild to be painted again. Reinstalled the front
battery rack.
7/13/96
Reinstalled front compartment carpets and start battery. Installed
front battery box bottom part and tie-down bolts. Touched up edge of
box with black paint. Reconnected the front battery box vent and
installed the fan. Scraped rusty spots inside left-side door jamb
area. Also at rear of left-side window. Cleaned inside passenger
compartment.
7/15/96
Started cleaning in engine compartment.
7/17/96
Removed the pot box assembly and floor plates from the engine
compartment for cleaning. Cleaned engine compartment. Installed
2-pin mating connectors on the wires going to motor temperature
sensor. Installed six 8-32 rivetnuts in engine compartment back
piece so it will be easier to reinstall. Reinstalled the floor
plates and pot box. Whew!
7/20/96
Reinstalled the original somewhat battered hood crest using a new
gasket, new rubber washers and new fasteners. The new fasteners were
tinnerman nuts. The original fastener looked like a tinnerman nut
embedded in a rubber seal. I made rubber washers to put under the
new fasteners. Installed new pneumatic strut on rear lid. It pops
right open, now! Installed a new courtesy light switch cover on the
left side. Sanded rusty spots around left-side door. Primed with
Corroless. Removed left-side door seal. Applied second coat of
primer on the rusty spots.
7/21/96
Cleaned rust off seat bracket mounting hardware. Sprayed washers and
straps with clear laquer to retard rust.
7/22/96
Reinstalled seat brackets. Left fasteners loose so that the brackets
can be aligned with the seats. Tried some of the touchup paint on
the rusty spots -- it disolved the Corroless! Cleaned off the rusty
spots and called Hammer. He say prime with a primer suitable for use
with urethane based paints and bring the car down to him when the
car is back on the road for them to fix up.
7/23/96
Installed a 1/4-20 rivetnut at the bottom of each of the rear bumper
guard attachments to replace rusted out nutplates. Installed a new
right-side rear bumper guard. The left-side guard is on backorder.
Picked up some urethane primer from Auto Body Color.
7/24/96
Mixed up some of the urethane primer and applied it to the "rusty"
spots using a brush.
7/25/96
Cut a part out of sheet steel to go on the outside of the left-side
door stop. Temporarily installed the door stop with inner part (the
one that broke off) and my new part sandwiching the remnants of the
mounting in the door. Only used one, longer bolt. Closed and opened
door and the everything got bent out of shape. There's not much
strength left in there. Will try again.
7/27/96
Reinstalled the left-side door stop mechanism with no springs.
7/29/96
Reinstalled left-side door sill plate.
7/30/96
Installed new left-side door seal.