Hi All,
I just bought 1387. I now have the pleasure of addressing all the "goose
eggs" that I come across.
The first outing showed that:
1) It's way out of alignment (it could use new tires though)
2) The dash lights don't work though they did the week prior (I hate "now
you see'ems now you don'ts"). However, the lights behind the "wiper" switch
and around the heat/air-condition sliders did come on.
3) The door window up/down mechanisms rattle.
4) The headlight mechanisms seem to have a mind of their own; either side
popup while driving around typically followed by the other. Luckily they
stay put at night! They seem to show this idiosyncrasy soon after I step on
the execrator.
5) The #$% doors! I guess we all can write a book on those, but for now,
one of the it's problem is that the ball-mounts that hold the gas-strut
arrangement for the doors are there, but the mounting around them are all
twisted to the point of not being useable.
6) The radio/tape player doesn't power up nor does the antena raise.
So, the questions that beg to be asked are:
1) How hard is it to align this thing. Can I tell the tire-shop to align
it like a Gremlin or something or would the guy know how to "wing it". I've
never aligned a car before so I'm asking in complete ignorance.
2) Had anyone else experienced the dash lights being temperamental?
3) I guess there's no way around having to open up the door and find out
what's rattling. Could there have been a part that wore out or fell out?
4) What's the deal with those headlights? Is that normal? Is it an
electrical or pneumatic problem?
5) Are those gas-strut mountings reparable or replaceable or am I looking
at having to address doorframe damage as well?
6) Is the radio/tape player on it's own line/fuse or is it wired in with
the dash lights?
Some other miscellaneous questions are:
1) What the heck is the bypass switch for? What does it bypass? It look's
like a small plastic stick protruding from underneath the dash in front of
where your left knee would be.
2) Has anyone had any luck in replacing the gas-struts assembly ball ends
with the type that's in current use? I don't know how to describe them, but
a glance at (I guess) any '90s & '00s hatchbacks would show what's what.
3) Does anybody have any 8-track tapes? Just kidding! Just kidding!
Actually, does anyone know of an adapter kind'a like the ones on the market
now that allow you to plug/adapt a CD player into a cassette deck made for
an 8-track player? Just looking for an easy fix to keep the interior
looking original.
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