Sorry for the lack of posts and Thursday. Yesterday, I took the day off to get rid of some vacation days before I lose them. It was good timing. I have been driving my 1967 Rambler American as my daily driver the past few months, even during snowstorms.
On the way home from work on Wednesday, I noticed dripping coolant coming from radiator. That night I rummaged through the boxes of parts that came with the car and found the extra radiator. To my surprise, the radiator was a two-row version that came with the V8 powered cars with AC. I plugged the hose connections and pumped up the radiator with my pressure tester. I sprayed with soapy water and looked for leaks, there were none.
The radiator in the car was the original unit. How do I know? There was that sticky black undercoating on the mounting tabs. I am still trying to get it out from under my fingernails. I was amazed at the amount of corrosion on the brass and brazing around the tanks that was not there a few months ago. I thing it comes from the liquid de-icing agents that they are using on the roads in Ohio. It is 10 times more aggressive than rock salt.
After I installed the new radiator, I went for a test drive down Akron Peninsula road. Nearing State Route 303, I got pulled over for inoperative brake lights. After the usual pleasantries of license, registration and “do you know why I pulled you over?” I got out of the car and tried to get the lights to work. I got one brake light to light up after jiggling the wires under the hydraulic brake light switch and I found a bad bulb in the other socket. I got off with a warning.
The officer was driving a 2000 Crown Vic, which is old in terms of police cars. I asked him about it and he said that he likes the 2000 model better because it is faster and handles better. Recently, I read in a police fleet magazines that the newer Crown Vics have had problems with the drive shaft, so Ford “de-turned” the transmission programming and limited the top speed to solve the problem, more on that in a later post.
I went straight to the parts store and bought a new bulb. After installing it and jamming a broom between the pedal and front seat, I had no brake lights. I jumped the terminals going to the switch with a spring from a pen and got both lights to go on. I ordered a new switch, and drove home from the parts store with a fist in the air when I hit the brakes.
At home I cleaned the terminals on the switch and the connectors on the wiring harness. The connectors on the harness under the hood are not “weather tight”, and they face upwards so they collect water and road salt. I cleaned the connections with sandpaper and Free All and dried it out with brake cleaner. Both brake lights worked!
On the way to work this morning, I looked in the mirror and saw two brakes lights in the chrome grill of a Cadillac. But, when I got to work one of my co-workers said I have only one light. I must have some ground problems in the trunk.
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