Sunday, 20 January 2019

FHC resto nr. 75; Boot lock & trim



Since my last post de (SSD) hard disc of my computer decided to crash in a big way. As a result of which I had to spent a fair amount of time to get it repaired and to reinstall all the software. And as such I wasn’t able to make or report much progress on the car’s restoration. Though I managed to carry out a few small jobs.
The first being the boot lock. I put this job aside for a while because I needed new keys, and I thought it a good idea to take the complete lock with me when I went to visit the local locksmith. Which was a good thing as the original key was slightly crooked. As a result of which it wasn’t just a matter of copying the old key pattern. The new keys needed some tweaking with a key file to get a perfect match with the lock.


With the keys sorted it was time to fit the various parts of the boot lock mechanism to the car, starting with the boot lid’s catch. Which was pretty straight forward as there is no adjustment needed there. After that it was time fit the lock assembly. Also very straight forward ones I managed to wedge a small light inside the boot lid, to see properly where the spring clip had to go. Remained the striker. Took me almost half an hour to get the alignment right. Mainly due to the new seals which press the boot lid upwards a bit. Hopefully that will settle with time:



And as there was still some daylight left I thought it a good idea to have another go at fitting the right hand drip channel trim. Somewhere in the summer I had a first go at fitting this, but after a few failed attempts I decided to try the opposite side. This time I had success as this piece slipped on within a few seconds. Though a second attempt on the other side failed again. Turned out the trim piece had warped slightly during shot blasting and/or coating. As a result of this it looked like an extra pair of hands would be needed to get it on. And every time I visited the shed the following months, I had another go at it and was proofed right time and time again. So when I had finished the boot lid lock I decided to have a final go at the trim piece, and if it would refuse again I would arrange some assistance. I needn’t have worried! In all previous attempts I started from the curve at the front of the doorframe, but this time I decided to start with the straight part above the door behind the curve, and the rest just clicked in position. Indeed a few well spent minutes!


And while fabricating the new gasket for the boot lid’s lock, I thought it a good idea to make a pair of gaskets for the black grill-like black blanking plates that cover the cruise light recess’ in the rear wings. At the bottom of the picture is an original gasket:


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