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Jim, I'd guess the door shell probably weighs a little more than two bowling balls, 30 - 40 pounds. There are two floating nut plates inside the door that receive the six hinge bolts. Suggest you use 1/4" or 3/8" drive sockets and an extension bar. There are a couple bolt heads that don't...

In response to a color question from Jim793 in another thread. The engine compartment in all three years was always painted the same color as the body. This includes the hood, inner fender panels, fire wall, radiator support and panels on either side of the radiator. It was common practice in...

Jim793, We probably should start another thread for engine compartment colors. This thread was for interior colors. Aw heck, I'll start an engine compartment thread to answer your question. Who knows; it might grow with other engine compartment color concerns. Tom D.

After all the years these little cars have been around, I'm constantly amazed at the newly discovered minutia that surfaces. I never heard the one about the power seat sitting further off the floor than a manual seat. So you suckered me into going out to the garage to take some...

Tom R. Serpentine belt???? Why, how etc.??? Generally speaking, the addition of a water pump lubricant to the coolant is enough to keep the pump quiet. Tom D. P.S. Check your vibration damper to make sure there is no axial movement. [ 07-17-2003: Message edited by...

It's all Colonial White. Color matching becomes a rather moot point because different glosses and textures come into play. The dash pad is vinyl and is flat/semi-gloss. The steering wheel is gloss. The painted part of the dash is flat/semi-gloss with a fairly heavily textured finish. The painted...

Robert, Normally, a black & white interior has a black dash and black steering wheel. As I stated in my first response on another thread, it's possible to have a white steering wheel when there is a trim deviation. It is also possible to have a white dash also. ---BUT--- this could only...

Robert, I have never seen a matrix showing interior color availability with an exterior color. Perhaps one of those $400.00 dealer showroom catalogs would contain that info. In another post, you said you were painting the car black. The most common interior was code XA, black & white...

Robert, In theory (and theory only) you're better off restoring a car to it's original likeness. Early birds that get treated to this luxury are becoming increasingly rare. Less than 10 % of the cars in a recent Regional show were in the original class. Either of the interior options you have...

Robert, It sounds like you're trying to duplicate an XK trim code. In that case, the dash pad and the lower dash colors were white. The steering wheel was also white. There is an exception to this however. If you have a trim deviation on a late production car, indicated by a trim prefix "6"...

Is it the chrome casting (13A805) that is so hard to find? It's strange that all five vendors catalogs I have show them in their current catalogs. One would think the suppliers would sell every one they could to amortize the astronomical tooling costs some one invested for manufacturing those...

Tom R., I don't know much about wires and I've been looking for documentation to support what little I do know about them. There is a lot written on the subject in old issues of the Early Bird, but I never found the time to do the research. The answer that Nerd gave you is correct...

Tom R, The fan shroud seal is mounted on top of the upper shroud. The "U" shaped channel points downward between the shroud and the radiator. As usual, the staple first goes through the rubber, then through the metal shroud where it is peened over on the underside of the shroud. The way...

Most Bird doors didn't fit "for sour owl sweat" when they were new. At the mandatory Judges Meeting before each CTCI Concours, the Judges usually hear something like this: "Many doors didn't fit well and exhibited a noticeable gap with the body particularly at the lower rear portion of the door...

Just received the May-June issue of the Early Bird from CTCI. On page 42, Rich got the authoritative answer and a reference to where photos may be found. There is much mis-information floating around the Bird community. The answer to the question along with the photo reference should be enough...

Stephen, You never specified what kind of soft top you were using. There is an early version, a late version and a couple different repros. All my dimensional replies will be based on late version stock tops. I'll give you a heads up here regarding window adjustments. You might find it...

Stephen, Sorry, I don't understand your first question. Actually, dimensions are secondary. What really matters is the relationship of the top to the closed windows and doors. For your second question: I have never personally installed a soft top for a whole litany of reasons. Don't...

I understand there were/are two or more manufacturers of repro door w/s. In my first post I identified one of the sources of supply of the best w/s. Apparently, Ts & As source sells the same product as I used. If you don't want to trim your w/s, you'll have to start with the same product we used...

Stephen, You are ahead of the game by having the w/s already installed. What you do now, is take fairly crisp dollar bills and close them in the door all along the weatherstrip path. With the door closed tightly, you should be able to remove the bills from outside the car with some...

Brian, Yes, the hard weatherstrip problem applies to all years. The soft repro stuff is soooo much better than anything available from Ford. I was hoping T's & A's (Tom R.) would hop in on this discussion. He just finished his car and installed the weatherstrip within the last few months...