As it turns out, the wiring harness for the ignition switch is fried. It was melted to the steering column, and there was no connectivity from the ignition switch to the electrical system to start the car (or at least any good connectivity). It needed a new wiring harness. Unfortunately, an online search revealed the only harnesses available for 1973 Imperials were for the non-tilt wheel ignition switches. So I had to turn to my parts man Bob in Nebraska for a complete steering wheel and column (which he conveniently had in his storage area). I bought the whole assembly, and had it shipped to my place. Earlier this spring, my dad and uncle flew to DC to pick up Blackie, and also the steering column, so the wiring harness could be transferred from the 'new' steering column to Red's steering column. Please see the attached pictures for what I have to work with. So hopefully, the wiring harness from the 'new' steering column will be in good enough shape to work on Red.
Speaking of dad's recent trip to DC, he and my uncle (dad's brother) flew out to pick up Blackie, and drive it to Texas to start the restoration/customization process. This was the final long cruise for Blackie in her current state. She will no longer be the same (if she exists at all) after this process is complete. Blackie has been a wonderful car, and I already miss it. I love cruising around on a Saturday afternoon in her, and all the questions, comments and shout outs from the street. There is nothing like her on the road. However, I know the finished car will be in much better shape from a body/chassis/suspension/handling/engine standpoint. I truely can't wait until the final car is ready to drive (whichever car we use as the base car). Again, I fear Blackie has too many rust issues to use it as the base car, but it will be a very good parts car.
To start the restoration process on my end, I also purchased a complete dash for a 1973 Imperial from Bob in Nebraska. It has all the options I have been searching for (another stereo 8 track tape player, automatic headlights, and headlight dimmer, along with the delayed timer to turn off the lights when you've finished driving). I took this dash apart, and started fabricating new speaker mounts for the new speakers. Again, please see the attached pictures. It took some work to get everything to fit properly, but I think the extra work is necessary to have everything look as stock as possible. I have included 'before' pictures, to show how it looked, and after pictures, on the progress of the work currently performed.
Please note, this is not the dash I will use on Red. This dash is a hideous interior color Chrysler used in 1973 called 'Parchment' Yikes! I am only using components from the dash that I know I will need for Red's dash. This dash is basically a 'mule' to test my fabrications to ensure every thing will work, once they are transfered to Red. Also, check out the amount of wiring included on this dash. The engineers who designed this thing must had a few sleepless nights to make this work correctly.
I have also included pictures of the current state of the dash, and instrument panel. You'll see where the new speaker fit into the old speaker locations, and you'll see what I've saved from the instrument panel to use in Red. I have attempted to label all the wiring and locations of some of the components, so the change over to Red's dash should not be an issue (I hope!).
Next up on this project: I will be traveling to Texas in April to drop off the dash and dual A/C system, and meet the two men who will be working on the cars for restoration. One will be rebuilding the 440 engine, and the other will be doing the body work. However, I do not know when they will be starting on the project at this time. Hopefully by late April, I will have a better idea on the time frame for starting this project, and have more pictures to share of the progress.
Thanks for checking in!
