CAR This is not a milk thread. I have owned my '74 Eldorado convertible for 2 years now but it's time for a build thread

[T_Dawgg]

ICE car in 2020

 

[Oman4x4]

Awesome to see progress on this thing! Keep up the great work!

 

[DSHR]

Great thread would read again

 

[nox]

Hell yea, subscribing to this one! Looks great.

 

[ChemicalWhore]

Looking good

 

[jelloslug]

The old sound deadening/heat shielding material was a combination of asphalt impregnated cardboard and rockwool padding. All of it was wet, musty, and horribly degraded. Needless to say, all of it went into the trash. I replaced it with a adhesive butyl membrane that has an aluminum heat shield on one side. I put two lays of the membrane on the firewall and the floor.









On the firewall, I added a layer of self adhesive foam insulation. From the factory, there was an extra layer of rockwool so this will replace that layer.

 

[jelloslug]

With the work on the firewall finishing up, I starting working on the HVAC control box. It contains the logic controller, the vacuum system, and the heater core. I already knew that one of the vacuum actuators was bad and everything was really dirty.











With the control box open, I went ahead and replaced the heater core. It was cheap and replacing it later would be a massive pain in the ass.

 

[jelloslug]

The HVAC programmer (the vacuum based analog controller) has many contacts and vacuum devices that can get dirty and stop working. I took it completely apart, cleaned all the contact, greased everything, and just tidied it all up.

















And here it is mounted back on the HVAC box.

 

[vr6vdub]

Dang. You did all this in one day!

 

[jelloslug]

More rusty brackets. These are for the steering column and for the parking brake pedal.

 

[jelloslug]

Lots of wiring harnesses needed to be cleaned and rewrapped.

 

[jelloslug]

The vacuum harness for the HVAC system was filthy also.














Same with the lower floor duct.









And here is the complete HVAC box dressed with it's vacuum harness and the programmer.

 

[jelloslug]

I repainted the steering column and replaced a broken lock clip inside the column.







The turn signal stalk was rusty so I found a replacement that was in much better condition. There is a button for the cruise control on the end of the turn signal stalk and if you just pull the small harness out of the column, you have to take the entire column apart to get it back though. They provide a hole in the connector to attach a wire to so you can fish the new harness back though.

 

[jelloslug]

Both the gas and brake pedal have stainless steel trim pieces on them. They had gotten scuffed and worn over time so I popped them off and buffed them.

 

[jelloslug]

The HVAC box is the first part to go back on the firewall.





Next were the pedals and the steering column.







And then the fuse panel with the main harness.











The defroster ducts go in next and then the upper harness.

 

[Dodgers]

I came.

 

[jelloslug]

The vacuum booster was making a hissing noise inside and there were some loose parts. Turns out there was a torn boot and a retainer clip that had popped out.









(I seem to be missing the pic of the new boot)



The booster itself was a bit rusty and I was feeling artistic so I tried to replicate the gold cadmium finish with paint. It turned out OKish.

 

[jelloslug]

I'll post more later.

 

[Scottwax]

Damn, you've done an incredible amount of work! In for the final pics!

 

[Normie]

First, I am impressed, meticulous work, every detail is friggin spot on.

Second, that floor pan was pretty goddamned clean for a convertible with a hole in the top, I am at a loss for words how nice it is age and environmentally speaking.

Third, this nigga uses sprayway!

I am totally impressed by your work and quality of everything you've touched this far!

 

[ObeyTheNoodle]

You do good work! Thanks for sharing this awesome content. Can't wait to see the final product!

 

[jeff2577]

Awesome work. Love seeing the progress and steps. Interior should look good, even if it isn't the original Cranberry color.

 

[TheProwler]

nice, I figured you must have a sandblaster with how some of the after pics looked.

awesome work. I recognize some of the words, and I can tell that the after pics are much cleaner than the before pics, without broken pieces

 

[jelloslug]

First, I am impressed, meticulous work, every detail is friggin spot on.

Second, that floor pan was pretty goddamned clean for a convertible with a hole in the top, I am at a loss for words how nice it is age and environmentally speaking.

Third, this nigga uses sprayway!

I am totally impressed by your work and quality of everything you've touched this far!

The lack of rust is the reason why I bought it. I know it was covered with a tarp while it was stored in the barn it was is because you can (could) see marks in the paint were the tarp corners were blowing around for years and years. The engine (and the majority of the entire vehicle) has never been touched. The rear brakes still had the factory shoes and the rear wheel bearings still had their factory grease in them. The only parts under the hood that had been changed were the alternator and the master cylinder. The only interior parts that had been disassembled were the things that were removed when the accident repair happened back when it was almost new.

 

[TheProwler]

Totally coming back to this thread. Great work so far

who's going to finish their car first, you or him?