- Patched roof
- Drilled out gas-cap lock
The battery was fine and I had reattached the ignition switch properly, so the problem was elsewhere. I remember the previous owner forcing fuel into the carburettor by pushing a lever
that manually injects fuel. Doing that for a while, then pushing the accelerator while turning the key, and with a lot of patience, the car finally started. I was relieved, and rubbed my sore head (from banging it against the wheel every time it didn't start). Photos will follow as soon as I remember to take along my camera.One of the parts I received was a new gas cap. The old gas cap needed a key t
o be opened, which I didn't get with the car. So up till recently I was refilling the car by opening the hose leading right into the gas tank and pumping fuel there, manually estimating when I had to stop (very safe, of course). To remove the old gas cap I first needed to drill out the old lock. The theory is to drill through all the pins and springs, thus letting the tumbler move freely in the housing (using a screwdriver or something flat). Use a small drill bit to do this. I didn't, and used the largest one I had, which didn't do more than jam the mechanism. I ended up using a screwdriver and more drill bits to just break the whole thing and force it out using pliers. Not very elegant, but it worked. The new gas cap doesn't have a lock, so anyone could destroy my car very easily now. Lets hope none of my enemies are reading this.
The other thing I did was repair the holes in the roof. It seems that over time the vinyl/plastic/mysterious material roof has shrunk on one side. Because of this several stitchings have come loose and there are some tears around the back window. Amazingly the top is still very black, and hasn't discoloured.
Nobody on the internet seems to have any real solutions to fixing torn tops, other than to buy a new one. I currently don't have $500 for a new top, and the few convertible top patch kits aren't meant for the large surface areas I needed to cover. So instead I bought a water-proof dark green tarp cover (they didn't have black) from the local hardware store (~$10) and some Goop glue (~$8), supposedly the strongest automotive glue on earth. I cut rectangular pieces out of the tarp approximately the size of the tear and placed a spread a rather thick layer of glue over it. The Goop 'manual' recommended letting it cure for 2-10 minutes, but I found that it stopped sticking when I did that, so instead I immediately applied it to the tear. I stuck the patches on the inside of the roof and pushed the edges of the tear together, with the patch as support. Later I cut out the excess tarp. (Again, photos will follow.)
At this point the glue smell had given me a terrible headache, which along with the millions of mosquito bites I had acquired pushed me to leave the site and go home.
Lock image: http://www.amazing-planet.net/slike/pick-lock/lock_schematic.jpg
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