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Wingman continued his North Carolina tour in Charlotte today and cleared things up for smccoy, RoyBoy and SC_Highlander. Thanks to Del (RadRed) and Carmel for hosting and for all the food! Wingman, did you ever get a beer?
This turned into a mod-a-thon with clear side markers going on for smccoy and SC_Highlander, new badges for RadRed and a countersunk shift knob for smccoy. Fun was had by all.
Happy owner and a great looking car! (the amber is show-through from the bulbs, not normally this visible):
Wingman's welcomes his next customer:
Sorry that I don't have photos of the other cars after their work was complete. Wingman put in a long day and it was dark before all the cars were done. smccoy's car is representative of Dave's excelent work.
Thanks for the great pics Ron . It was a super day to do these mods and spend time with such great folks.
You mentioned the amber bulbs visibility...yeah, not seen in the photos here, but from most angles except for directly in front of the car, the diffusers cut the visibility of the amber bulbs significantly. Also (and I'm sorry I didn't mention this...but it was such a "new piece of knowledge" I'd not thought about it until later ) Phil did a nifty little effort with his amber bulbs on Saturday to make them nearly invisible within the cleared corner housing. Before we'd installed them, he had purchased silver high heat spray paint. Now Phil went through several trial-n-errors before he was happy with the results, but ultimately what he did could be done as follows:
When you remove the amber bulbs, be sure to consider the position of the bulb within its socket (i.e., how does the bulb fit into the bulb connector and into the housing after that 1/4 turn fastens it into place.
Clean bulb of any finger oils, debris.
Wrap masking tape around the base of the amber bulb (the part of the bulb that will be inserted back into the connector housing).
Place masking tape half way around the side of the bulb -- so half masked and half is exposed amber. [This step is where considering the position of the bulb once installed again is important...you will want to paint the side that will be facing away from the car.]
Leave the "dome" of the amber bulb unmasked.
Spray the entire bulb with high heat silver paint and let dry.
Remove masking tape...what you should end up with will be a painted dome and half/side of the bulb.
Re-insert bulb back into the housing...but do so with the remaining/unpainted amber side positioned in a way so that it is not visible. Basically, as example, let's say you're doing the passenger's bulb and you are facing the front of the car...then the silver painted side should be "facing" the passenger's side, while the amber unpainted side of the bulb should be "facing" the driver's side.
In the manner above, the amber is nearly unseen from any perspective...until the turnsignal flasher is utilized. At that time, the unpainted amber shines into the reflective area of the turnsignal housing and shines juuuuuuust fine!. Neat job! Perhaps Phil will post something about this separately.
BTW, during SC_Highlander's mod, I believe I learned that you can access those same blinker bulbs from a (small but accessible) hole just inside the engine bay up front. This would be a suggestion to offer instead of pulling the wheel and flexing back a portion of the wheelwell as we'd done for Sheila Sunday. I still don't have The Bruised Banana back yet, but when I do I'll double-check this access that I believe is available and will do my bulbs as Phil did his. The driver's side houses an overflow bottle for the radiator in front of its access hole...however moving that should be a treat vs. removing the tire & opening the wheelwell, etc.
I too wanna thank Del and his family for inviting us into their beautiful home for the day. My thanks also go to Phil Saturday night for putting me up and letting me be well-rested for Sunday's efforts in Charlotte. Felt kinda strange tho' having to pet his Boner just to get a free night's sleep...but hey, it was short and furry and, well...I really didn't mind that much.
Your Suzuka looks terrific in the daylight! I was so sorry that I couldn't appreciate the smoked lenses on your car so late last night. Looking at the pics of your car backed into the garage before we'd started (w/ amber) and then again after the mod...WOW!!!
Pictures of Charlotte Diffuser Install
Sheila looks very happy with her new "clear" diffusers!
Dave called me earlier and told me he enjoyed the trip. Food was great!
See you all soon at the OBX Run II.
) Phil did a nifty little effort with his amber bulbs on Saturday to make them nearly invisible within the cleared corner housing. Before we'd installed them, he had purchased silver high heat spray paint. Now Phil went through several trial-n-errors before he was happy with the results, but ultimately what he did could be done as follows:
W! What a difference!