The weather is warming up and I feel as if I’m slowly coming out of a slumber. It’s always felt a bit too cold to work on the car over the winter. Most of the changes on this blog over the winter have simply been adding books, magazines, and news articles to the research menus.
Now that we are in daylight savings time, it feels like its still light out by time I’m done with work, and it’s been getting warm enough to work in the garage. I’ve even started working outside on the car.
Last week I finished working on getting the break lights working with a backup break sensor that is based on the break pedal moving rather than pressure of the break fluid. I believe the 45 year old diaphragm in the existing sensor may not have the flex needed to move when the breaks are pressed. In addition, I believe replacing the lead acid batteries with Lithium has shaved a few hundred pounds from the car – requiring less pressure on the breaks.
CitiCar Break Switch Replacement
Now that the break lights are fixed, I’ve started driving the car around town. We’ve had great weather for it.
I’ve been composing a large list of things that I need to work on, so there is plenty to do this Spring/Summer.
Although the body on the CitiCar has many cracks, it’s in excellent condition compared to its siblings. The ABS Plastic is susceptible to daily and seasonal temperature changes. The vibration of the car on the road and poor suspension makes it easier for the cracks to get out of control.
PlastiFix Kit and Super Prep
One of CiticarTom’s videos goes over repairing large cracks on the body of his CitiCar. He used PlastiFix and Super Prep. I was able to find the products and start my repairs.
I located just over 20 cracks. It took about an hour to go over the various cracks. I was finding even more as I went along.
It was a pretty sloppy job. Some cracks are difficult to apply the PlastiFix. Vertical cracks that are tapered up towards me are nearly impossible to fix inside the passenger door. I found that sometimes it was easier to smudge the plastic into the cracks with the gloves I was wearing.
Close-up of large crack in CitiCar door filled in with PlastiFix before sanding
I need to go back and fill a few more cracks that were found after cleaning up. I’ll also need to sand and cleanup the cracks that I fixed up today.
Repairing cracks in CitiCar ABS Plastic Body
Taco Day
Today was National Taco day. Teddy and I headed over to Riverton Commons and picked up a few crunchy tacos. Teddy hung out by the charging station while sharing a few tacos.
Teddy waits patiently for me to start charging the CitiCar
Wild flowers growing at the end of a road
We also had a walk around Rockland Park and Crooked Run Plaza. Teddy stopped by to check out some of the wild flowers.
It feels like every day is getting a little bit more chillier than the last. I took a look at my backyard garden to see what was left.
Marigolds blooming in my garden
The Marigold bush is blooming all over. I’ve planted over 200 seeds, and only one was able to survive to product flowers. I didn’t realize they were such late bloomers. I’ve got a few ideas for what I’ll do next year.
In Other News
Battery Monitor
My first order on AliExpress was for an AiLi Voltage/Current meter with a 350A shunt. I had ordered it over two months ago, and it has yet to leave Hangzhou, China. When I contacted the seller two weeks ago, they claimed that it had already been delivered.
I sent all of the shipping logs that I had as evidence for my refund request, including the screenshot the seller sent me – as it verified that the shipping company sent the package back to them. My order was refunded within a day.
I found the same product on Amazon for $10 more and it’s arriving tomorrow. It may be a 28% markup, but there is a guarantee that it is arriving.
AliExpress Opinion
Things are fairly cheap on AliExpress compared to Amazon. The main differences are time to ship, trust that you get what you think you paid for, and language barriers. You are often inundated with coupons, but they are for specific stores. Searching for a product may end up showing fifty different listings, pictures, and prices for the same product across different stores. It feels like an online flea market.
Radio Antenna
I noticed that the end of the antenna that slides into a radio had broken off and is just bare wire. I’m curious how to came off. I’ve been taking too long to move along on various projects.
Todays trip was a quick visit to the town square. We hadn’t taken the CitiCar to Main street for a while. I saw that the store next to the ice cream shop had an eight and a half foot cruise ship made out of K’NEX called K’nector of the Seas, made by Glenn Mikulak. It’s just impressive with how large and detailed it is.
K’nector of the Seas Stern
K’nector of the Seas Bow
I found this website about Glenn and his model ship: www.glennship.com
Thick Wires
Thick 12 gauge extension cord next to a thinner extension cord
With yesterdays notice of warm wires, I headed off to the hardware store tonight and picked up the thickest gauge extension cord that I could find. I found a 50 foot heavy duty extension cord that was made of 12 gauge wires. Technically, it’s thick enough for 20 amps. As for the power strip itself, I found a three foot extension cord that was also made of 12 gauge wire, but also had a three plug splitter on the end. I am no longer worried about that wire heating up.
Scratched Window
Scratches and pitting in passenger window
The driver and passenger windows have quite a bit of pitting that’s noticeable in the right light. It’s difficult to see, but it’s something that keeps bugging me ever since I purchased the car. I’ve started looking at how to fixe the problem.
One of four knobs on the passenger door keeping the window secured
The 1976 1/2 CitiCar has four thumb-screw knobs keeping the window held in. Once they are removed, the window can be removed by pushing it out from the inside. After pushing the window out, I noticed the crack on the passenger door wraps around under the window.
Passenger door window being popped out from the CitiCar.
I unscrewed the window handle and laid the window on the garage floor. I cleaned up the window with a towel and tried to buff it with some polishing cleaner. Although the window looked cleaner, the pits and scratches remained.
Passenger door window with window handle just above it
One of the things I noticed in one corner of the non-movable pane was a label indicating the material was made of Swedcast 300 Acrylic Safety Glazing M 7 AS4. I found that SWEDCAST 300 was registered by Swedlow Inc. in Garden Grove, California
Label indicating door window material
Half of me is thinking it would be better to replace the panes with real glass or something similar to what is there now. It’s late. This repair job will continue tomorrow…
The Chez 