Progress Thread My '89 Lx "barn Find" Restoration Project

As long as the gaskets don't leak. I wanted stainless steel.
Is your fuel rail regulator o ring starting to leak? I'm only asking because the rest of the engine in the picture looks clean enough to eat off of.

I had everything apart and tried to clean everything up, I believe that's some of the residue from the Metal polish.....I hope haha. Haven't seen or smelled any fuel since then.
 
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Hah, I just realized in the last picture... I never even peeled the seatbelt stickers off the windows. ;)

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If you want CJ Pony Parts sells repro's of those. I'll be getting a few of their stickers for my '83 before i'm done with it. I guess LMR even has some, come to think of it.

BTW, you should really listen to @karthief about opening the door. We all have our specialty areas here, I paint, for example. Karthief repossessed cars for a living. He can get into your locked car.
 
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If you want CJ Pony Parts sells repro's of those. I'll be getting a few of their stickers for my '83 before i'm done with it. I guess LMR even has some, come to think of it.

BTW, you should really listen to @karthief about opening the door. We all have our specialty areas here, I paint, for example. Karthief repossessed cars for a living. He can get into your locked car.

I'm definitely listening to him and you and anybody else that has advice. I will be testing your patience soon Dave. My first couple of questions... keep the patina, and clear what's left of the base coat? I understand this is a recent trend all though I don't personally buy into it. Or scuff and puff with both base and clear?

If you do paint a new base coat, hw the heck do you save the stickers... The ones in the door jam and the likes.
 
Well, decided to make some progress on today so worked on driver side door. Hate to tear into the virgin vapor barrier but man this stuff is really stuck on their well. Checked with LMR before proceeding...
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I'm definitely listening to him and you and anybody else that has advice. I will be testing your patience soon Dave. My first couple of questions... keep the patina, and clear what's left of the base coat? I understand this is a recent trend all though I don't personally buy into it. Or scuff and puff with both base and clear?

If you do paint a new base coat, hw the heck do you save the stickers... The ones in the door jam and the likes.
Patina......I like the patina on the statue of liberty. On Mustangs, not so much.

You don't save the stickers, you replace them. Marti reports offers a good replacement for the driver's door identification sticker.

All of the odds and ends stickers seem to be offered through our regular outlets for new parts, LMR, C&J, foxresto, etc...
 
BTW, you should really listen to @karthief about opening the door. We all have our specialty areas here, I paint, for example. Karthief repossessed cars for a living. He can get into your locked car.

I carry a small brick for most vehicles I need to get into.:jester:
 
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Okay Karthief... A little update on my progress or lack there of...

Plan A) needle nose pliers.
Here is what is left of the door lock piece. I know I could have removed it, but thought it was a good sacrifice should I need the threads...

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Ok I suggest taking the seat out, find or make an L shaped tool and you should be able to pop the door panel off with the door closed, the tool needs to have a fairly long tongue to keep from tearing up the back of the doorpanel. Slide it along till you find the plastic pins, the only problem is going to be at the front of the door by the dash, I've never had to do this, but it should give you enought room to work on the actuator.
 
I GOT IT!!! FINALLY.. I now understand why they made the bracket with the C shape looking clamps... After studying the driver side door... I sacrificed some weather stripping.. It needed to be replaced anyway.
Took a 18" long piece of 1/4 inch angle iron and positioned it on the top of the actuator... A couple of wacks with a hammer and it broke it lose from the plastic bracket unlocking the door.
 
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Ok I suggest taking the seat out, find or make an L shaped tool and you should be able to pop the door panel off with the door closed, the tool needs to have a fairly long tongue to keep from tearing up the back of the doorpanel. Slide it along till you find the plastic pins, the only problem is going to be at the front of the door by the dash, I've never had to do this, but it should give you enought room to work on the actuator.

This was going to be my Plan D
 
Just a quick update due to lack of progress... getting laid off from work kind a puts a damper on the amount of parts you can buy. :cry:Trying to figure out now why the car when completely off is drawing 4.6 Amps of current. No wonder the charge on my car battery would only last a few hours.
 
I thought this was going to take me forever to troubleshoot... Unplugged regulator and no parasitic current drain... Removed voltage regulator and brushes are almost completely gone. The brush dust created a ~2.6 ohm short circuit. Bearings are good so will get new regulator and brushes and rebuild the original alternator.


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I thought this was going to take me forever to troubleshoot... Unplugged regulator and no parasitic current drain... Removed voltage regulator and brushes are almost completely gone. The brush dust created a ~2.6 ohm short circuit. Bearings are good so will get new regulator and brushes and rebuild the original alternator.

Hey guy, sorry to hear about the job. I know that can slow the process quickly, for sue if it were me. Best wishes on a replacement job. I heard only today that the jobless claims across the nation just rose another 1500 - hope it's not a trend.

One thing I can see id that you're pretty darn smart! It probably would have taken me a while to find that short. I was about to advise to start pulling fuse till you your load goes away...however that who have been for not in this scenario. I will keep the fix in mind, however I just bought a 160amp alternator for the 3wire conversion. I'm upgrading to elec. fans and a small stereo bumper. I could use the extra power.

Be in touch.....

Dwayne
 
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Just a quick update due to lack of progress... getting laid off from work kind a puts a damper on the amount of parts you can buy. :cry:Trying to figure out now why the car when completely off is drawing 4.6 Amps of current. No wonder the charge on my car battery would only last a few hours.
I feel some of that pain, I have until July 31 then, Bye-Bye paychecks. :crap: I'm trying to be positive and look at it as an opportunity... Hope it works out well for you. Great thread here by the way...
 
I thought this was going to take me forever to troubleshoot... Unplugged regulator and no parasitic current drain... Removed voltage regulator and brushes are almost completely gone. The brush dust created a ~2.6 ohm short circuit. Bearings are good so will get new regulator and brushes and rebuild the original alternator.


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You just helped me figure out what's going on with my truck, Thanks buddy!!!
 
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