[Shotimes] BD Progress

[George Fourchy]

Well, I finally got to work on it more than 15 minutes at a time today.  It's
sitting out there...the temperature is perfect...75 degrees...in the shade after 1
pm....and all I do is walk past it once in a while.  But today I got to put two
whole doors together (left side)....at least the outsides of the doors.  The keyless
entry keypad even works....amazing!!!

A week ago I converted the taillights to 1991 style...separate brake and turn
signals.  I haven't wired the turn signals yet, but everything else is hooked up. 
Gotta hit PnP to get a wiring harness so I can get the proper orange/green wires for
the turn signals...I have to run 6 feet or so of separate circuits from the dash for
each side.

I've never been inside the rear doors before except to canibalize a door lock
solenoid out of a car at the yard, and since I was short of time I had to vandalize
the rest of that door pretty bad.  The rear solenoids are a BEAR to get to...all the
latch mechanism has to come out, because of the shape of the door, going around the
wheel well.  It's a good thing the rear solenoids seem to last longer than the
fronts...I've never replaced a rear yet.  Today I discovered how rinkey-dink the
rear door handle mechanism is, getting the movement from the outside handle to the
latch.  It's a 6 inch long 1/8 diameter rod mounted horizontally with a large U
bend, with the loose end attaching to a spring clip on the front hinge of the
plastic outer handle.  A plastic 3/16 diameter rod with a slot in one end of it is
what transfers the movement of the handle to the U-bend...the slotted rod slides
over the metal rod, and pushes the U at the latch end of the rod downward...it
doesn't move end to end, but sideways....I can't for the life of me see how that
design can last as long as it does.  (I didn't take the door handles out....the
painter did.)

Tomorrow it's the other two doors, then the stainless trim goes on the outsides,
then the window runs go in, then mirrors, then speakers, then inner panels.

Then it will probably sit another three weeks while I do "Honey Dos"!!

I started it today, and let it warm up.  It's raring to go!!

George