Author Archives: RussD

Gridfinity 3: More Ratchets

Posted on June 23, 2025 by RussD

In the last post we made a Gridfinity bin for a single ratchet. The most flexible approach is to make a separate bin for each ratchet. This takes full advantage of Gridfinity flexibility – you can add more ratchets just … Continue reading →

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

Gridfinity 2: Ratchet Test

Posted on June 17, 2025 by RussD

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

Posted on June 9, 2025 by RussD

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!

Posted on June 5, 2025 by RussD

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

Posted on May 26, 2025 by RussD

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

Posted on May 19, 2025 by RussD

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

Posted on May 12, 2025 by RussD

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

Posted on May 6, 2025 by RussD

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!

Posted on April 28, 2025 by RussD

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

Posted on April 21, 2025 by RussD

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