@CadMad It’s got to be very, very satisfying to have accomplished this phase. The entire car is a series of such phases and wonderfully done, each and every one! Thank you for sharing the journey. Ray
Yes my daughter has a 2004 CLK. That’s where I got the idea to hinge off the boot from. It’s cable operated. But I have a two stage clearance issue. So I would need to run two cables to each flap. I’ve worked out how to do it but not how to not end up with cables running everywhere. For the time being I’ll keep it simple. I’m happy with the spring loaded locks I found. They are secure and easy to operate.
Well this is a nice little solution to locking the ears down. Went to the hardware and found some great little German made, spring loaded, ball bearing locks. $7 for two. I’m new to uploading to YouTube so you’ll just have to click on link. https://youtube.com/shorts/_DuM5lYWZl0?feature=share
Dash pieces put back in for a bit of Friday night fun. Still a little bit of tweaking on the centre piece which required rebating into the upper section cos the dash is a completely different shape to the original. Looking for an original headlight switch. Still yet to convert the lhd speedo and clock placement to Rhd.
prob the only time i've seen the word rebate (rabbet) ever used correctly--almost as many points for that as the incredible work so far..
That door top really ties the dash end into the door well. Dash looks great, steering wheel is a work of art.
Tidied up a few more details. Swapped over the clock and speedo and got everything to fit a little better. Glove box is operational so that’s a good little job to make a insert. …. After the wiper mechanism is sorted. Swapped over my 41 steering wheel to get a feel. Not sure which I like better now. Steering column linkage is soon to be on the agenda.
I vote for the other wheel, the sloping spokes match the feel of the car better than the T-shaped '41.
I agree, the flowing shape of the car and the rounded spokes of that grey pearlescent wheel really work well together. The '41 wheel is pretty on it's own but kinda angular in the cockpit of this car.
I like the T shaped wheel better. The horizontal section lines up better with the lines in the dash. The angled spokes look droopy to me.
Incredible journey your taking us on @CadMad...it truly is awe inspiring...thanks for sharing it with us...
Got the vent flap operating off a 30s Cadillac vent handle. Had to extend the mechanism to suit the stretched cowl. Working in the wipers now. Should be operational by the weekend. Works like factory.
This is one of those cars where everywhere you look there is a cool feature, and another, and another...
Couldn’t find my fedora for X38 so I had to improvise. Mr Foo or Gilligan. Rik kindly uploaded it for me.
Sunday job was to finally mate the 39 Buick buckets to 39 Packard rings and 37 Olds lenses and reflectors. Perfect fit.
I haven’t done much as I’m in the midst of hectic work and organising the shipping the remains of a 1 off 53 Eldo from Detroit. But I did manage a bit of a reshuffle of the lower dash knobs. These are mid 40s Cadillac from my spare parts stash and are Choke, starter, lighter, ignition and lights in that order.
Hopefully you settled on the "droopie" steering wheel. It also looked like it would be better to see the speedo, too.
The knobs look right at home there. Does the lock cylinder on the driver's side do anything? Or is that just a leftover from the RHD conversion? It kinda looks right there, for symmetry, but I can't imagine what it's function would be.
The knob on the instrument cluster is the dash light dimmer rheostat . I was missing the original knob but I found a nos glove box lock and used the old glovebox lock knob in lieu of the original knob. It’sa little worse for wear but I’ll hopefully find a better replacement shortly. This is what I found of the remains of the original dash…. So it was a bit of archaeology. I can’t believe a dash could rust away so badly and the switch could be still intact. The steering wheel debate will continue as I’m in a quandary. I agree the droopy wheel is more aesthetic but it is a post war wheel, and subsequently the 41 wheel is more in keeping with the period I’m aiming for. By no means is this a period perfect build, but I do like to have a guideline that I try to adhere to. In any event the steering wheel will be the last nut I tighten. So lots of other decisions between now and then.
Since the steering wheel seems to be open for discussion, I'll add one more opinion. Based entirely on my opinion only I think the original '41 wheel is more pleasing. The "droopy" one is a cool wheel but when you see the wheel in place the curve doesn't balance with the horizontal line of the dash, while the '41 complements that feature nicely. Your mileage may vary.
Had an eBay win. Found a correct for 39 heater for $60 that will fit right at home. Coming from a premier Duesenberg restorer in Michigan… can hitch a ride in my 53 Eldo project that is getting shipped out of NJ shortly.
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