Having put the old girl back together (minus brakes and displacers!) I made a video about starting her up again with the newly repaired fuel system. Previously she had only been able to run from a plastic fuel cannister, so this was a big step to getting back on the road:
Getting to this stage was a lot of effort, so I’ve promised to only do fun and easy jobs for the next couple of months. The first job was to put the bonnet back on, clean the windows, vacuum the floor and seats, and give the bodywork a good rub down. Suddenly she looks like a real car again.
Note the two holes drilled into the front bumper just above the number plate holder. At some time in her history Agnetha sported a pair of bumper-mounted fog lights. Although they had been removed long ago, part of the wiring remained including a rather lovely 1970s style flip switch drilled into the side of the speaker housing. I plan to replace the fogs eventually, so I attached some new wiring to the switch and fed it through the bulkhead. At the same time I removed the ugly, horrible 240V plug socket that used to be paired with the blockheater. Nothing difficult and definitely very satisfying!
The glove box and funny little tray thing that goes under the steering wheel needed some attention. They are both made from that nasty fibre board shit and after 48 years had started to go a bit crumbly. So I gave them a good clean, painted them first with epoxy and then with a rattle can of mat black. This turned out quite nicely – I would certainly have less concern about putting my hand in there!
Before reinstalling these bad boys I’m having a think about where to install USB power and an override switch for the radiator fan. While testing Agnetha yesterday her temperature got into the red without the fan starting. Luckily she didn’t turn into a teapot. I’ve isolated the problem to the thermostatic switch in the Montego radiator – it just doesn’t want to close. Rather than replace the switch, at this stage I’d prefer to install an override circuit instead, since it’s something I’ve been planning to do all along. It gets hot here in the summer and we have big traffic jams, so I don’t want to be praying for the fan to come on.
I think half the problem with fixing cars is psychological. It’s important to not let it turn into a job, so you have to prioritise the fun, less important stuff occasionally. Particularly true as I’ve just found a load more welding that needs doing!
Projekt Agnetha 