I have a pretty long list of things I either need to do to my car, or stuff I just want to do to it. Just for kicks and grins, what's on your list?

Short-term:
1 - Build aluminum cooling fan shroud.
2 - Repair hot water flow control cable for heater.
3 - Make trunk liner panels, upholster them, install in trunk.
4 - Buy/make spare tire cover.
5 - Get all new (or at least not rusted or pitted) outside door and trunk handles.
6 - Straighten front bumper (it has a tow-truck 'frown.')
7 - Gather up parts to install air conditioning system.
8 - Replace shocks.
9 - Finish installing stereo system.

Long-term:
1 - Body & paint.
2 - Detail underneath car.
3 - Replace all door/window seals.
4 - Chrome parts as needed.
5 - Buy powder-coating system to use on smaller items.

I've been out of town for several days, just walked by Hot Stuff and looked at the roof again. Repair of that patch of paint has moved right up to #1 on my NOW! list.

I just bought a set of Mallory spark plug wires on eBay. Nothing but NOS wires listed for the 544's, so I got a set of carbon-core Universal wires that I'll trim to fit properly.

Has anyone noticed the spark plug wire tubes that older cars (1930's and 1940's) used? They seem to be on a lot of hot rods these days. I may go to Home Depot and get a length of aluminum tubing and a chromed end cap for it. making up two small brackets to hold it in place above the spark plugs would be easy, and it would remove the spark plug wires from the 'wire mess' under the hood.

I also found a new brushed aluminum shifter handle for my B&M shifter, to replace the generic black ball that's on it now.

We're off to Las Vegas again, gotta take Amy back to the airport so she can fly home to Omaha on Monday. It will be good to spend a few days at home next week. We spent this week at the beach - Pismo!

Steve

IMPENDING DOOM LIST:
Replace rubber windshield seal.
Remove rust from floor boards and weld stainless steel plates on.
NOT-SO IMPENDING DOOM LIST:
Trick out the AM radio with new amp and iPod capability.
Make windshield fluid pump work (maybe just a new squeeze bulb).
New Dash cover.
Paint job.

I'll post pics of my radio project later.

I just have a 444

We'll let's see the list of things I've accomplished this year include:
Installed front bumper w/ overider bar- first had it straightened and rechromed
Tossed out the old angle iron bumper
Rebuilt and tuned the carburetors - new jets, floats, needles, shafts, butterflies, etc
Installed new air filters
Installed a whole new exhaust system
New distributor cap, rotor, wires, plugs, and electronic ignition
Fixed broken distributor gear discovered while doing above
Took apart the dash and cleaned out all the gauges (there was a lot of oil and dust in there) and repainted (touchedup) everything that needed it
Added a 90 ohm resistor to the fuel gauge..
Still trying to find a replacement for that plastic yellowed speedo part
Chromed my air filter covers, valve cover, water pully, door handles, glove box, trim, horn ring, hubcaps, emblems and some other junk
Installed new rubber rock guards
Took apart the entire front suspension intending to rebuild it and get the car back on the road..quickly
First inspected everything to determine what needed replacing and found it was more than I initially thought (!)
Replaced both steering rods and tie rod ends with new (adding zerks to the tie rod ends)
Cleaned, painted & inspected the idler arm, rebushed idler arm and reinstalled
Cleaned up and painted the pitman arm
Cleaned up and painted the front springs
One upper control arm found to be severly bent, so bought a better used one
Rebuilt both upper control arms, replacing the pivot arms and rebushing
Rebuilt both lower control arms, but had to have some new shafts made where the rubber bushings that house the pivot arms go, as they were severly corroded Welded the new shafts in
Everything above got new bushings and bolts
Lubed all the new suspension fittings (no clogged zerks)
Reinstalled the control arms
no progress on the front end rebuild since this picture was taken
Installed new water pump
Removed the older set of horns that weren't working (I had 2 sets on my car) and painted them (red)
Got them working and reinstalled
Removed the extra horns
Cleaned and painted the fan
Rechromed the grill surround - burnt a hole in it in doing so
Sandblasted and painted the grill screen
Found an older grill on ebay I liked better anyway (good thing since I ruined the first one)
Fixed some of the holes on the new (old) grill with helicoils so I can install it now
Removed rusty old door sills
Rebuilt my steering wheel, filling in the cracks with epoxy, sanding it, then repainting it with flexible paint
I also painted the turn signal plastic piece, and cleaned and lubed the turn signal mechanism
Buffed up all the chrome on the steering wheel and turn signal
Polished the plastic horn piece, stripped the red and silver paint off and repainted "Volvo" on the horn and resprayed it
Fixed the horn contacts (they needed those little rubber insulators thingees)
Replaced the front turn signal rubber housings and got all running lights and turn signals working
Replaced all the bulbs..
Installed new cigarette lighter
New radiator cap
New gas filler rubber neck

In work:
Inspecting my front wheel bushings and trying to figure out if new ones would be any better than the old
Tyring to figure out what's the best grease to relube the wheel bearings with - Mobil 28?
Trying to find a reamer (to borrow or cheap) so I can rebush the king pin bushings and get the front suspension done and my car back on the road
Trying to mold some parts (taillight lenses, etc) with silicone and that dental mold stuff
Bought steel brake hose and fittings..to make some new brake lines
Redoing the front seats.. and upholstery

In the near future:
The steering box is/was leaking pretty bad, and probably needs rebuilding - I think I need a new worm gear
Install my new front shocks
Install a new radiator adding two 8" electric fans in front to pull air in Replace vent window seals
Replace all the other little rubber parts that need replacing
Get new door sills and rubber mats and replace those
Fix and paint the interior doors
Paint the steering wheel housing
The rear differential is leaking...the gear oil needs to be changed
Give the back suspension the same attention I've just given the front

Pretty soon it'll be like a have a brand new car! :)

Just a quick note; the front blinker, and rear lights on a PV444 are common Lucas glass lenses. You could get either the correct early flat kind, or go with the later domed type. They can be bought from any supplier of British car parts (maybe $6 to $10 apiece, max). (Try Moss Motors, Victoria British, et al) hate to see you reinvent the wheel. I bought a taillight lens after finding out that a dropped one doesn't bounce on a garage floor like a plastic one would!!

Steve,
That is a truly insidious question, bordering on the diabolical, and I will not let your list or any of the ones from the reponders turn me into an insomniac. You can't beat denial for bringing peace of mind! ;-)
Bob S.

Yeah, I was bad to do that, but it really got the juices flowing.

I've come up with a bigger, better list from reading what others are doing.

This should be an annual Springtime ritual; sit back and take stock of what you've completed and what still needs to be done. I see some things on my Short List that I intended to do last year. Not a good thing to see them still on the list!

Maybe we could develop a form for this; important (safety-related) things at the top of the list, so they would maybe get done in a more timely manner. A little more structure so it would be easier to compare lists.

Just between you and me, I printed out everyone's list for reference, to remind me of things I would hae overlooked for a while longer.

Short Term (this year)
- Get carbs adjusted so the plugs don't get full of carbon. I thought I had this solved already but................
- Resolve what sounds like noisy valves even after they have been adjusted, hmmmmmm
- Front end alignment
- Fix upper A-arm greese fittings that won't take grease.
- Find a little spring that I can bend into the right position that will allow the glove box toor to pop open.
- Replace gear shift and hand brake boots
- Fix turn signal (left turn only won't return)
- Install after market variable speed wiper switch
- Replace trunk seal

Long term
- Replace windlace (learn how to r&r head liner first)
- Do something with the "wavey" rocker pannels. The PO had functioning side pipes that ran along the rockers and got the repaired rockers so hot the metal expanded. Not an impressive site
- Find some 65/66 style 15" X 6" slotted wheels and original hub caps and as wide a tire as it can handle without rubbing on turns. Get rid of the 14" wheels the PO installed.

You may have worn rockers, where they come in contact with the valve stems.

If you're trying to use a flat 'blade style' feeler gauge to set the .020 gap, you're probably missing it by a mile.

You need to get a wire-type feeler gauge, with 'blades' that look more like a wire in a square shape. Insert it directly in line with the rocker, and it will measure the 'wavy gap' that your blade feeler gauge can't handle.

I remember seeing something similar on the SWEM web site but when I looked at the rockers and valve stems, I didn't notice a place for a narrow feeler guage or wire type to go. It looked like two flat surfaces but I will look again.
Thanks,
Dennis

"Fix upper A-arm fittings that won't take grease."
Dennis,
When you get around to doing that, I'd very much like to know how you made out. I had the same problem and took everything apart, put in new seals and new zerk fittings, and I still can't get much, if any, grease to go in there. After every greasing I wrap the whole assembly in a plastic bag with tape around it to keep as much of the road dirt out as I can because I know that, if I'm getting any grease into there at all, it certainly isn't enough to flush the grit out.
Bob S.

Bob,
I always grease the car with the front end jacked up for room under there. I was going to try to grease the fittings next time with the wheels on the ground and hope it makes a difference. I will let you know how it works.
Dennis

Mmmmmmmm, there's a thought. So do I, because I take the wheels off - could just jack the hub back up and see if that makes a difference. Worth a try :-)

122S
Short term:
Replace &%$# useless header with D-jet manifold
Replace &%$# loud exhaust system with Skandix
Add missing windshield and drip rail trim
Add missing dome light lens

Long term:
Too much to list

1800S
Short term:
New tires
High energy ignition
Raise compression
Check / correct cam timing if needed

Long term:
Disk brake rear w/ LSD
Paint

245
Short term:
Oil change
Service flame trap and throttle body
Inspect brake pad wear
Improve rear muffler hangers (botched by muffler shop)

Long term:
No real plans at this time

Short term:
- Install my MegaSquirt controller, lock the distributor advance, feed the ignition signal to MegaSquirt, and have Megasquirt control the ignition advance via a Crane 6A ignition module. This is actually a bit backwards of moth Megasquirt applications - typically you do fuel first, then ignition. This will allow me full control over ignition advance based on MAP and RPM, and free me from tweaking the springs and weights in the distributor. I've already determined that my dist. doesn't have enough total advance to make my motor happy. I disassembled, cleaned and ensured that the advance mechanism is working (and at approx the right rpms) but still, if I retard the timing slightly I get more low end power, if I advance it slightly I get more high RPM power. Hopefully I can have the bes of both worlds with MS running it.
- Replace one of the mufflers - one of my 18 inch glasspacks has apparently broken apart internally and is now buzzing and rattling at specific RPMS - very annoying.
- Figure out why the horn is no longer working

Mid term:
- Take the Weber DCOE's off, put on DCOE style throttle bodies. Add other fuel injection hardware, and hook the Megasquirt box up to it. Thus solving all the oddities my wideband A/F gauge shows the DCOE's doing. Fine tuning galore, without a dyno needed, and feedback from the O2 sensor too. All the power of the DCOE's and the economy of the SU's (at least when I lift the gas pedal up a little).

Long Term:
- My 544 is a life long resident of the Midwest (even though it spent 17 years dead in a shed) and as such has suffered from the salted winter roads. It has some nasty poor bodywork from the P.O., and in general every time I'm under it I shudder thinking about how bad it looks. So far it seems physically solid, and nothing important has fallen off (at least that I couldn't MIG back on). But I'm not spending any time or effort into making it look better. My plan is to find a nice 444 shell at some point, restore it, and move over all my nice mechanical bits. I really like the more stylistically correct dash and split windshields of the 444's - the 544 doesn't look quite right with it's curved windshield on a 40's body.
- Of course, after that I'd be left with a 544 body that looks pretty good - at least down on the top and sides, just with a pretty rotten bottom side. And I also have an old winter beater Ford Bronco II - small 4X4 with a v6 and a manual transmission. I have half a mind to take off the Bronco body and perch the 544 body on the chassis - cutting and fitting as needed so it looks right and doesn't just look perched up there haphazardly. A sort of mini-Sugga if you will. I saw a neat car like this on eBay a year or two ago - a 544 body in an I/H Scout chassis - that looked really neat.
--
I'm JohnMc, and I approved this message.

which car dare I ask...?

145s...
work on getting the webers tuned better
clean car inside/out/under hood
some interior work...carpet.
idler arm bushing
paint
drive it

122s...
clean car inside/out/under hood
lower A-arm bushings and ball joint P side only.
overdrive reminder light install
paint wheels/new summer tires
minor bodywork and paint someday
drive it

1800s...
clean car inside/out/under hood
install alternator
Get it running again.
drive it

244...
clean car inside/out/under hood
drive it

XK120...
clean car inside/out/under hood
New floors
New leather, carpet... etc.
New interior wood
new wiring
work on brakes (non-ending)
and about everything else except paint and major mechanical stuff
drive it

Aw heck... this is getting depressing. I won't go into the Dodge or the GMC or the Willies or the 544 or the other 122 or the other 145 or the Beetle or the .....



244...
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-Matt '70 145s, '65 1800s, '66 122s wagon, others inc. '53 XK120 FHC

Well it's at the shop right now to get the following estimated:
1- Wiring harness shorted and melted, needs replacement. It can't really be spliced because it is a much larger area than I thought(18-20 inches) and it's a big melted mess.
2- The hood broke and came up while I was on the interstate doing about 60mph. Bent hinges and it also ripped out the plastic that holds the grill in place.
3-The cooling fan runs after the car is shut off and runs the battery down

Then there is still a list of stuff that I need to do as I can:

A- Driver door key cylinder is bad and won't open the door, so the passenger and drivers side key cylinders need to be swapped.

B- Driver door handle does not work.

C- Tailgate/wiper motor needs to be tightened to eliminate the rattle.

D- Overdrive does not work, this is one of two things:
-a module that can be replaced
-the selenoid that attatches to the side of the transmission

E-The selector unit the switches from defrost to vent to floorboard is not working.

That's about it!

Philip