Author Archives: RussD

Gridfinity 2: Ratchet Test

By this point you should be familiar with my approach to something new: start with a simple test piece, iterate until I’m happy, and then move through progressively more complex designs until I get what I want. So, instead of … Continue reading

Posted in Resources, Tips and Tricks, Workshop | Leave a comment

Gridfinity Rabbit Hole

One of the reasons for getting a 3D printer was to print out various types of organizers for the workshop. There are literally thousands of different designs floating around. A search for organizers quickly leads you to the modular Gridfinity … Continue reading

Posted in Resources, Tips and Tricks, Workshop | Leave a comment

Cool!

The Imperial has been running hot ever since the engine rebuild. It isn’t overheating, but running on the Interstate it goes to the top of the normal range – sometimes just a bit above. Running on back roads at slower … Continue reading

Posted in Restoration | Leave a comment

Trunk Trials: the Bag Job

Like most car collectors I have a cover for the car. Even in a garage dust collects on cars, so you throw a car cover over them for protection. The cover I’m using for the Imperial was originally for a … Continue reading

Posted in Restoration | Leave a comment

Trunk Trials Continued

A few of years ago I picked up a couple of yards of cheap indoor/outdoor carpet and (somewhat roughly) cut and fitted it to the trunk. The plan was to replace it with something better when I actually finished the … Continue reading

Posted in Restoration | Leave a comment

Trunk Trials

It’s with great relief that the interior is finally done! No more seats, door cards, trim, door switches, lights, or other tasks! Yeah, about that… I’ve seen some designs for custom trunks that I rather like. Basically the same kind … Continue reading

Posted in Restoration | Leave a comment

Speaker Spacing

Plans for a future radio upgrade included adding a pair of speakers to the package shelf behind the rear seat. Time to actually install them while the interior was apart. Turns out that there were already cutouts in the package … Continue reading

Posted in Restoration, Tips and Tricks | Leave a comment

Electrical 22: Retain that Switch!

The power window switches on old Chryslers have a fatal weakness – the spring clips that hold them in place break easily. The window switches are inserted into the door cards. Every time the door card is removed the switch … Continue reading

Posted in Restoration, Tips and Tricks | Leave a comment

Electrical 21: New HVAC Dimmer

I’m moderately proud of figuring out a way to use modern LED technology to replace the 60 year old electroluminescent technology in the HVAC (Heater Ventilation and Air Conditioning) controls. On the other hand, the mounting for the dimmer control … Continue reading

Posted in Restoration, Tips and Tricks | Leave a comment

Trim Trauma 2

With the existing trim around the column between and back doors upgraded and looking good my attention turned to the rear trim pieces. Despite years of searching, I haven’t been able to find any more of the U-shaped spring trim. … Continue reading

Posted in Restoration | Leave a comment