9/29/00 Clocks, Clips, and Transmission Detailing

The first thing I did when I got up to my shop was install my clock. IT LOOKS HORRIBLE! Not the clock (that looks great), but all the other gauges! There seems to be a fine layer of dust inside all the gauges that needs to be cleaned out, and wasn’t really evident until a nice newly restored clock is set next to the old gauges! I will have to think about restoring these gauges sometime in the future. It might be a good project to do over the long cold winter.

I spend a large portion of the day today making more clips for the various lines, and cables running throughout the car. I need 3/16, and 1/4 inch ones for the brake lines, 3/8 inch ones for the fuel, and another size for the emergency brake cables. It was a very time consuming project involving cutting aluminum strips, bending them around sample tubing, cutting and filing the ends to a round shape, and drilling a mounting hole in each clip. By the end of the day, I had made enough to get me started. Any more I’ll need, I’ll make them as I go.

I finally found the right paint for my transmission! I found it in NYC, of course! I’m a native New Yorker, and firmly believe that you can find just about anything you need in this city. You just got to know where to look. “Pearl Paint” is an art supply store that also deals, obviously, with paint. They’re located on Canal Street, where I mentioned in the past, is an industrial supply bonanza. They carried Krylon, and specifically, “Dull Aluminum.” So I purchased a can, and brought it to the shop to finish painting the transmission. Last week, I decided to lay a coat of the shiny aluminum paint I bought as a primer coat, so this week, I lightly sanded the glossy silver paint, and laid down a coat of the dull aluminum. It looks much better. It’s beginning to look more like a Ferrari Transmission as opposed to a large piece of costume jewelry!

As I was waiting for the paint to dry, I began to make some new gaskets for the transmission. I needed to seal up the top cover plate before I tipped the assembly to paint its underside. Although most of the gear oil is out, there’s still enough to spoil all the fresh paint, so out came my roll of gasket material, and X-acto knife. By the end of the day, my work was looking good. Next week, all I have to do is paint the bottom of the transmission, and it will be ready for installation!

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