Progress on #782

[DanEC]

Originally Posted by 1795

Dan,

The tops, and tonneau covers definitely do shrink and expand quite a bit based upon the ambient temperature and direct sunlight. I left my top on all winter, as I plan on taking the car out in the spring as soon as the snow melts and I knew that it would be much more difficult fitting the top cold.

Jim

I can second this. I let my car sit in the sun awhile when I installed the top this Fall and had my bow adjusters turned out about 1/4 to 3/8 inch to tighten the fabric. When I noticed later it was pulling on the upper part of my windshield frame I screwed the adjusters back to 0 which left a bit of slack in the top - I could push it up above the bow an 1/8 inch without any effort. I checked it today and the top seems just as tight on top n0w as before.

[DanEC]

After a morning spin I'm up to a whole 42 miles on the odometer now. However, I noticed one of my turn signals didn't seem to be working and upon checking the lights when I got home I realized I don't have any lights of any kind in the rear. So, I will have to trouble shoot that before I venture out again. Except for crawling in and out from under it, I've become a fan of the convertible top. It was quite comfy on my 60 deg drive this morning. Since the windshield mounted side mirror won't cooperate with the vent wing and the side curtains all together - I have to do a lot of neck swiveling and peering out under the side of the top to check traffic. But otherwise it is pretty decent.

[patrickt]

Check those pesky fast blow fuses on the steering column. If they haven't blown, check to see if you're getting a +12v feed to them.

[DanEC]

Originally Posted by patrickt

Check those pesky fast blow fuses on the steering column. If they haven't blown, check to see if you're getting a +12v feed to them.

I will. It's probably going to be Monday before I can look at it. It could be something as simple as a ground I didn't put back when I installed the trunk carpet or the connector to the rear wire harness. Or maybe it's that ground stap I lack from the engine to the frame.

Dan

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by DanEC

I will. It's probably going to be Monday before I can look at it. It could be something as simple as a ground I didn't put back when I installed the trunk carpet or the connector to the rear wire harness. Or maybe it's that ground stap I lack from the engine to the frame.

Dan

Have they ever worked?

[1795]

I agree with Patrick concerning the fuses first, then the next thing would be to check the ground.

The trouble with seeing out of the top to change lanes does not surprise me. However; I must say having the top up in 60 degree weather seems a little wimpy to me Maybe, if it is in the 40's....

[ERA Chas]

Dan,
You can clean up that spring mess with one of these:
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/ga...lack/overview/
And do yourself and battery a favor-trunk mount it.
Can show you pics if you care.

[DanEC]

Hi Chas - yeah, I probably need a concentric set instead of the present setup. Those look kind of short though. I need some with a longer end shank to reach without excessive pressure.

[ERA Chas]

Originally Posted by DanEC

Hi Chas - yeah, I probably need a concentric set instead of the present setup. Those look kind of short though. I need some with a longer end shank to reach without excessive pressure.

Mine stretch just fine but try McMaster if you don't like these. I made a small ally bracket for the last carb bolt and the whole spring stays nice and short.
Battery? Trunk? Or you gonna let 'originality' trump good operation?

[DanEC]

Originally Posted by ERA Chas

Mine stretch just fine but try McMaster if you don't like these. I made a small ally bracket for the last carb bolt and the whole spring stays nice and short.
Battery? Trunk? Or you gonna let 'originality' trump good operation?

If I was building more for performance than street cruising I probably would have put it in the trunk. Interesting, 428Street, as hooked as he is on originality put his in the trunk. However, right now my trunk is packed with the top, top bows, side curtains and a little emergency roadside kit I threw together to go in there.

[Hotfingrs]

I got my ERA last year, and I wanted to put a charger on the battery to make sure it had a full charge. Had to charge through the solenoid, because I couldn't reach the positive electrode. Within a couple of days, my battery was in the trunk. I figured if anything ever happened while driving, the battery is impossible to reach and the valve cover has to come off to get the battery out.

[ERA Chas]

Jack just told you the 'non-performance' reasons to do it.
Unless you're going on a week-long cruise you don't need to carry all that crap in the trunk all the time. The emergency kit is fine and won't interfere with the batt. I put my mini tool box in the driver rear corner behind the well and scissor jack in the pass well.
Battery up on shelf with pigtails to the rear opening for the Battery tender. The whole center of the trunk is open.

[kevins2]

Dan,

I have the battery in the trunk and Peter assured me the top and side curtains will still fit. Still waiting on my top...

[1795]

My battery is in the trunk and I was able to have the tonneau cover, tool kit, travel bag and golf clubs in there with room to spare.

[ERA 778]

Have you tracked down your taillight problem yet? I had a similar issue at debug and it turned out to be the taillight connection was shorting to the reflector or socket. Took a while to figure out since it only shorted out when I hit a bump or something so everything checked OK in the garage.

[DanEC]

Originally Posted by ERA 778

Have you tracked down your taillight problem yet? I had a similar issue at debug and it turned out to be the taillight connection was shorting to the reflector or socket. Took a while to figure out since it only shorted out when I hit a bump or something so everything checked OK in the garage.

Yes, I did. It was a spade connector at the front turn signal lead that inexplicably came loose(?). Sometimes it's the simple things.

[DonC]

Dan:
ERA 684 is a 427 car with the battery in the rear and I carry the top, side curtains, bows and a ton of other stuff in the trunk all the time. Here's a thread from a little while back about stowing it in the trunk. You might be able to use some of the ideas to get yours to fit. The pictorial starts about 4 or 5 responses down.
Getting soft top in trunk

DonC

[ERA Chas]

Something tells me Dan would rather drive in the season than start a battery project.

I can't blame him but it should take a half day only once the cables are made up.....

[DanEC]

[quote=ERA Chas;1304094]Something tells me Dan would rather drive in the season than start a battery project.QUOTE]

Correcto - appreciate the comments but moving the battery is not on my short list. After all - batteries relate to electricity. And I hate messing with electrical stuff - if it works and ain't broke - leave it the hell alone.

[RodKnock]

Originally Posted by DanEC

After all - batteries relate to electricity. And I hate messing with electrical stuff - if it works and ain't broke - leave it the hell alone.

Words to live by.