Well, after making a facebook note on my goals to restore my IROC-Z, I woke up today and decided to jump right in. Why not? It's not like my car is going anywhere, considering my transmission lost second gear...
So I decided to first start with my cigarette lighter, which didnt work when i bought the car. Not a problem, considering i don't smoke, but it IS a problem considering my driving habits require me to have a radar detector and CB Radio! So after disassembling the panel containing the cigarette lighter, the tight cramped space made it diffcult to reach in and grab the wiring harness of the old cigarette lighter. (Need to splice the wires to connect my little 5 dollar Wal-Mart Cig lighter). So I decided to take apart the instrument panel to see if i can feed the wires through the opening. (after all, the little tug that got my rear window defroster [also not functioning] and wiring harness to get slack enough to unscrew the lighter out, was not working for the cigarette harness. Following me so far??
Well after removing the dash bezels, i noticed why my service engine light wasn't working....the bulb was broken...seriously...the only working bulb was the e-brake indicator bulb, so I'll have to make a run to Smith Auto Parts and replace a lot of bulbs in my dash. (also considering swapping stock cluster bulbs for LEDs) I also decided I may want to paint the bezels white to get the black and white theme going inside the car as it is outside. But more on that later.
Well, after much fumbling around, I FINALLY get the instrument cluster cover bezels out, and am right now face to face with the actual gauges (Hell, I can roll back my odometer!!) Well, this had all taken a considerable amount of time, as well as a late start, so by this time, Im losing daylight fast, so I move onto other bulbs, and decide to leave my cigarette lighter for another time. (Dash is still disassembled and being cleaned as we speak, won't be back in for a couple of days)
My dome light is also out, including the map lights, and I got the bulb and dome light cover out, cleaned and sitting on my table..with the dash bezels, but i cannot for the life of me figure out how to access the map lights?! There's no room between the T-Top Bar and the console, even with the t-top removed, no screws/nuts/anything to remove, so right now im stumped. All those bulbs will need to be replaced as well.
Next, my shift indicator light hasn't been working, so I took up my shift plate and knob to get a look see underneath and voila! what do i find? 8 used cigarette butts that look as old as the car!! Are you joking me? LOL. Anyway, turns out that the shift bulb wasn't even under the shift plate where it belonged, (had a little slot that it locked into, so i put it where it belonged, you guessed it, gotta replace ANOTHER BULB. gah. Although I may decide to replace that one out with a matching LED, should I go that route. Either way, i havent been driving the car that much due to a bad transmission and stalling issue, and almost never at night, so the bulb issue isnt really a big concern now, but something to think about. May be able to pick some up with my birthday money! (Thanks Mom & Dad!) :)
I also had a pack of 20 amp fuses lying around from a previous encounter with my old car, so i went ahead and replaced all the 20 amp fuses in my fuse block. Granted it may not have been necessary, but having fresh fuses never hurt anyone. Also need to replace the second accessory fuse, but they are expensive! I already had to replace one, and it costed like 12-15 dollars!!! GEEZ! for a fuse!! The whole pack of 20 amp fuses didnt cost more than 5 dollars!! That MAY solve my cigarette lighter not working, because the power door locks also do not work, and I believe they may all be on the same fuse, so we'll have to check and see....Though if i do find out i did all this work on the dash/cig lighter to find out it was a fuse, I'd be ticked off!! LOL
Thank God for TGO & The Haynes Repair Manual!
Well, that's all for today, stay tuned and I'll keep you posted on the car's restoration! :)
The complete list can be found on my facebook site, just add me if you cant see it! Also check me out on Thirdgen.org (http://www.thirdgen.org/techboard/member.php?u=100349&tab=aboutme&simple=1)
Total investment in the car to date: roughly $1,114.25 in parts and labor + $1,610 (car purchase price) = $2,724.25
Pictures of Day One Below:
Dash assembly without bezels
Dash Bezels out of the car
8 Used cigarette butts found underneath the shift plate..
New Cigarette lighter in the panel, waiting to be installed
Cigarette Lighter socket (top), rear window defroster (bottom)
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