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Sterling #S009

Brett Proctor

Well-known member
For those following this build you know from other postings in this forum that I had to change out the power mirror switch for another thats smaller and now I need to wire the new switch in.

After bench testing I was able to come up with the new wiring diagram for the new switch.

So now I need to splice the old wires
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To the new switch harness
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Tools that I used
open barrel connectors to splice the wires together
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Adhesive lined heat shrink tubing
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crimping tool
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Wire stripper
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Heat shrink tubing gun
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Wires crimped together
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And the heat shrink tubing is installed. Note the adhesive at the ends. That makes a good water prof seal. No moisture gets inside
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Brett Proctor

Well-known member
Got the side window mocked up.
These will be used as a template to make thee windows out of glass.
Going from a one piece window to a 2 piece window helps to eliminate the large air gap between the window and the flange. Its not a perfect seal but its better than before.


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Could you post more photos of hinges and connectors inside and outside, and the modifications to window opening?
How much do the windows hinge?
 

Brett Proctor

Well-known member
The original hinge design I lost the enthusiasm to make. I do have a prototype made up of it if you would like to see it.

I used the hinges from the 2001 F250 that I got out of the pick a part yard. The bend in them didn't work so I needed to alter the bends. To do that I needed to heat the hinge red hot and then make small changes till they fit.
I don't have any before pictures
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I cut a slot in the flange and mounted the hinge to the inside of the canopy. The slot will get cleaned up once I know everything fits
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More to come
 

Brett Proctor

Well-known member
Modifications to the power unit

The oem setup for the GM power units has the part that attaches to the window 90 degree in a downward position, If I were to keep this orientation the shaft would have to stick out further to get the needed clearance so I searched the yard for one that would attach to the ball joint and would face upward. Found it in a 1997 Ford Explorer.

Bottom is the stock fitting, top is the Ford's
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I broke off the retaining tab so the arm would float on the splined shaft
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You asked how far the window opens
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The part that attaches to the window has plastic spacers to protect the window
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Brett Proctor

Well-known member
Started to work on the new side pods.
Materials to build them are on order. Got most of the sanding done. Next will be to give them a coat of black paint (gloss) to see if there is any imperfections that need to be addressed before the gelcoat gets sprayed on.
 

Brett Proctor

Well-known member
Molds for the new side pods are done. I hope to have one side made in the next few days.
One concern that I have is the cups for the gelcoat don't hold enough to cover the while part in one pass, so I'll have to mix up 2-3 cups to get full coverage. Not sure if one section will start curing faster than the others and cause issues. We'll see. I looked for larger cups but all I found are the quart size.
 

Brett Proctor

Well-known member
Got one side done.
I have today and tomorrow to get the other side done.

Gel coat went on with no issues. The gelcoat that I'm using needs to get thinned by 15% - 20% to spray it on. It comes very thick and you can't spray it right out of the can, I've had no issues with it as I've had with other gelcoats.
 

Brett Proctor

Well-known member
Pulled the other side out of the mold yesterday.
As soon as I get it cleaned up and fitted I'll post some pictures.

Just to let everyone know (before I get criticized over it) I'm not really happy about how it turned out, but I'm not going to change it and make another.
 

farfegnubbin

Site Owner
Staff member
I know you had the buck pretty much how you wanted. Did the piece not lay up well or are you slightly second-guessing the styling?
 

Brett Proctor

Well-known member
second-guessing the styling
Got the sides on, just waiting to see if the new seat will come today before I back the car out of the garage for its photo session.
I took the corvette seats out to make it easier to bolt the side pods on.
Also the day before making the molds the temps here went up quite a bit and a couple blisters formed on the buck. Instead of fixing the buck I figured I'd just make the mold and address the issue after I make the mold or the part.
I waited till I made the part.
 

farfegnubbin

Site Owner
Staff member
Cool! Photos! 🙂

Your side pods are subtle and tasteful. And they harmonize with your under-nose section pretty nicely. You can be happy and proud of those. 🙂
 

Brett Proctor

Well-known member
Starting to sand the body and getting it ready for paint.

Temps are at record highs here (117* in the shade, 128* in the sun and 95* nights) so I'll get it ready for paint but will have to wait for the temps to go down before it gets painted.
I started to look at the cost of paint and can't believe how much it costs now.
If I get the paint I wanted (Toyota 8P1) the cost will be close to $1000 just for materials. Thats just the paint. Primer is another $400.
I suppose I can get generic paint which is about half the cost.
I got a couple of months to decide what to do.

Also I went to the auto parts store to get an extra can of freon (just to have) and they were sold out.
 

nbb350

Active member
I was in the same boat: The color I REALLY wanted would have cost me $5000+ from House of Kolor. No way! And the other color I loved (Chevrolet Camaro Synergy Green) was like $1200/gallon from the local auto body shop - nope! So I looked online...

Check out Eastwood for paint and primers and supplies. I was quite happy with their epoxy primer ( https://www.eastwood.com/eastwood-gray-epoxy-primer-gallon.html ) and the paint ( https://www.eastwood.com/eastwood-gasser-green-and-activator-kit.html ). Both sprayed smooth and pretty with minimal pressure.

However, I wasn't so happy with their European clear coat ( https://www.eastwood.com/eastwood-2-1-urethane-clear-gallon-and-activators.html ); while the end result looks nice and wet sanded well, it sprayed like a toddler with a head cold - spit and sprayed everywhere! I sprayed everything at 70F-75F, but no matter which gun, air pressure or reducer amount I used, the clear was crap. BUT, it could all be "operator error" since I had NEVER sprayed anything with a HVLP gun before and only had YouTube as a reference resource.

also, Eastwood occasionally ran "Free Shipping" with like $150 order (back in 2020 when I painted the car), so I always waited for that deal because otherwise it gets expensive to ship HEAVY paint!
 

Brett Proctor

Well-known member
I was thinking of using their 2K primer. Never used a epoxy primer. is there reducer for it (I suppose I could look that up)
You said you used a single stage pant. Any reason why you put clear over that.
Since its so hot here I like to add a reducer to the paint and primer, so it doesn't cure too fast.

Would like to get the primer ordered today. They have free shipping
 

nbb350

Active member
I basically followed the advice from the local auto-body paint store as to what types of paint to buy/spray - but then bought it all from Eastwood. Also some websites and YouTube videos basically said to spray clearcoat for cars that will be outside to protect the paint coat from UV and chips and scratches. And so you could wet-sand for that "wet" look.
Meh...I'm on the fence if I'd do a clearcoat again. It was a pain in the ass to spray, but was that the fault of the clearcoat, the gun, the gun settings, or the rookie operator?!? No way to know after painting just one car...

Why would you EVER want to THIN out the epoxy?!? Do you think it's too thick? :LOL:
(the stick took like a MINUTE to tip over...)
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Honestly, it thinned out quite a bit when I added Part B - which was normal "liquid" consistency. But I still had a use a larger tip in the HVLP gun. Oh, but they didn't sell a bigger tip for my gun - a Harbor Freight $10 gun that I first bought - and hated. (You get what you pay for. I later bought a budget DeVilbiss gun for the color & clear coats) What I ended up doing was simply DRILLING OUT the tip in my HF gun to match the size recommended for spraying the epoxy primer. Who cares? It's a $10 gun! lol
 

farfegnubbin

Site Owner
Staff member
Eastwood also has a ROLL-on high-build epoxy primer that I’ve been reading and watching videos about. That shouldn’t be able to work. (And maybe doesn’t.) But multiple people say it works great and that you don’t really have to tape out stuff or worry about overspray for that step. I dunno. I’m still skeptical but I’m definitely going to experiment with it when my project gets to that point. (Unfortunately I’m still pretty far away from that by point.)
 
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