I bought a cover for my dash. I like the look but I probably will have to take it off to trim it up or attempt to do it in place. I thought I would be able to clamp the dash in place and it would stay in put. The cover is a hard plastic with a vinyl cover on top. I found out the glue will not hold and change the shape of the plastic. As a result I should have trimmed it around the glove box. It rubs there but I'm happy with the rest.

My last two things to sort at were electrical. The main thing was the turn signal. I had no right hand turn signal all last year. I went to the back first and noticed the torpedo quick disconnect was loose, but that wasn't it. I went to the front and discovered that one front wires was cleanly cut in two.

I believe the problem occurred the winter of 2011. I didn't have a journal entry about it but I installed 3 relays; 2 for my headlights, and 1 for my horns. It was a great improvement on both. I believe when I was up front installing the relays I must have cut the wire.

I never changed the horns last year but I lost the high note about half way through last summer. I took it off, blew it out, but was never able to get it working. I went ahead and ordered a new pair because I fiddled with the low note last year and got it working, but I figured it will eventually go out.

This will probably be my last journal of the "winter" check list season. I couldn't be happier with how the car is running.

The gas problem I sort of cheated on, I decided to put the 39 year old sending unit on the new tank and guess what it doesn't leak. Fortunately the sending unit is so easy to change out. If it decides to quit working I'll doctor up the new sending unit and reinstall it.

The brake squeaking I feel I little stupid on. Last year I had installed one of the clips that hold the front brake pad in place backwards and one of the pads floated around sideways and took a small chunk out of the pad. I don't know why I didn't think about it being the source of my squeak.

I performed the brake check list and it did reduce the noise, but then I went ahead and changed the pads and now they are perfectly quiet. Life is good.

I installed a new set of safety belts from Moss. The old ones really looked bad in my "new" interior. I tried to go cheap and bought a set from JC Wittney. They said minor modification needed. They where incorrect they didn't work at all. The belt receiver needed to be mounted so that the belt came out perpendicular to the car. Physically impossible due to room. Even if I could mount it that way it would have probably bind up since the belt would be going in at an odd angle.

I got good advice, I believe, for my last item. My aluminum valve cover comes loose every time I drive it. The finger tight nuts can't seem to get tight enough and I didn't want to take a pair of pliers to the chrome nuts. I had a suggestion of wedge washers. They come in pairs and are meant to be used in an area where vibration causes a nut to loosen. I have installed them but, yet have had a chance to test them out. I feel pretty confident that they will work.

I knew things went to well with my fuel tank install. It is leaking from the sending unit. I thought at first it was leaking from the wire coming from inside the tank, but I then realized that the metal ring had not been tighten fully to the stop. I was however correct the first time. I made a search on this problem, and am now going to remove the sending unit and use some PB Weld around the wire on the inside and let it set up for 24 hours. I also ordered a better gasket too in case the it is leaking there too.

The other problem is my squeaky front brakes. They are about to drive me nuts. Again I preformed a search and found a post that referred to a library article. I am going to go by the tips provided and hopefully have good results.

I bought a leather steering wheel cover from wheelskins. I was very happy with the craftsmanship. The problem is I placed the order over the phone and they wanted the wheel circumference which was 3 1/4. The guy taking the info typed in 3 3/4. They said they could fix the problem but after 2 weeks (I got the first one in 3 days) I decided to see if I could my it work. I got some tacky gauze and wrapped about 8 layer worth of gauze. I couldn't be happier with the results. I actually prefer a thicker wheel.

I ordered a new shift knob for the Nissan 5-speed. It didn't work. I found out that I have an after market short shifter with a 8mm thread shaft. I could find anything but this expensive custom stainless weighted shifter. I love the look and the feel of the tranny. It really is amazing it feels like I have a new transmission, so smooth and precise. The color is like a stain charcoal and the shift pattern is etched in the top.

I ordered aftermarket seat belt for half of what Moss or VB would charge but they didn't work at any level. The recoiled belt only works if it is mounted perpendicular to the ground. There is not enough room to mount them that way and even if I could they would end up binding because they would be going in at an angle. Hopefully I can get a full refund.

The last thing and the biggest, the car just wasn't running right. I decided I would check the timing. The distributor was completely loose and had actually popped out about a 1/8 of an inch. I made things a little less difficult for myself by setting a static timing at TDC. The last time the timing was set and advanced for the supercharger, I made a mark with a sharpy. The sweet spot is still at that mark and after I started it back up I moved it back to that point.

I actually wasn't completely happy last year with how it was running. I think it moved in the fall of 2010 but I also had a clogged fuel filter and I think the timing was off too. It runs great now smooth at every RPM, load, or gear. Last year it would take 5 miles choked to run fairly well. Now it runs better choked than it did last year after it warmed up.

I started to install my new 110 amp GM alternator from mgccar. They sent me a pulley that matched up the the new belt with the supercharger. The new pulley was smaller that the other, so I needed to add a longer bolt which is used to adjust the tension of the belt. It became a little more evolved, because I need a fully threaded bolt, which they didn't have at the hardware store.

After research, I could bore out the old pulley for a minimum of $80 at a machine shop or buy about $20 worth of die equipment to thread the full length of the bolt. I chose the $20 option and it worked out fine. For the first time that I can ever recall the alternator light doesn't come on when I start the car.

I installed the weather stripping between the door and the body of the car. It really finishes the look of the interior and the doors now close tightly.

I replaced the headlight switch. This was long over due. I had problems turning it on for years, but it wasn't until last fall that they turned off while driving. That was the last time I drove at night. It was a challenging job trying to remove the old switch. I finally got it out but broke a small $2 part that holds the back light.

I restored the back deck access panel to the battery by removing the old paint and repainted it with POR 15.

I decided to mount my stereo amp to the back panel, which is also the back wall in the trunk. There where no tabs for mounting the amp, so I fabricated 3" metal straps which will attach to 4 screws holding the housing of the amp. I will then mount that to the back panel. They are painted and waiting installation.

The last thing I did these past 2 weeks was mount snap receivers on the carpet covering the back deck and riveted the snap bases on the back deck.

It was a nice sunny 45 degree day so I warmed the car up and adjusted the mixture on the carb. It was definitely lean. It is still not perfect but better than before. I think it needs the timing adjusted.

I removed the old tank today. It actually went very well. I had no surprises in the removal. It took almost no time at all. I removed the fuel about 2 gallons. I then removed the gas supply, evaporation line and then the fuel neck and then the bolts and that was it. The big surprise was how good the condition of the bottom of the car. There was no rust on the bottom. I was all prepared to repaint the bottom of the car, now I won't have to worry about that.

I am going to paint the new tank. The manufacturer of the tank said not to because, they put a protective oil and they say that's all is needed. I'm not buying it.

Part 2: I went back over today and started painting the tank. I didn't use my typical POR method I couldn't find the etching bottle so I used self etching primer and then put the top coat on half the tank. I am going to try and go over to the shop this week and finish painting so I can install it on Saturday.

I did get it painted during the week and installed it on the weekend. It went very well no surprises and installed it in about an hour.