WANTING A BITE OF BLUETOOTH

Greetings!
I had a visit from Terry, the owner of TeePee Auto Wrecking down the road. He came by with another friend, Bill whose motorcycle parts I recently painted for his 750 Honda project. That reminds me; Bill's bike is probably done now, I should go over and get some pictures.

So Terry & Bill came over and looked over Gary's '51 Chevy Coupe in the secret lab. I couldn't quite tell what Terry was thinking as he walked around Gary's car. Terry owns several collectible cars himself and is always selling, buying or trading them. Maybe he'd like me to put something together for him sometime. We'll see what develops. Terry looked over some of the more "experienced" cars on my property and will undoubtedly end up taking them off my hands. My wife Tammy will be pleased to hear that. 

Back in the lab, I took some time to fabricate a mount for a parking brake release knob & cable. I welded it securely to the parking brake bracket on the driver's side kick panel. I used the former choke cable and shortened it about 12 inches. Then, I attached a barrel nut on the end of the shortened cable to actuate the release lever. I'm going to suggest to Gary that we get a new choke cable because this one is damaged, but I like the look of the matching color knob. The Truck & Car Shop has a knob only for about $15, that might be the most economical way to go since the complete choke cable assembly is priced over $50.

Speaking of matching color knobs, I received the radio back from Antique Automobile Radio today and quickly installed it in the dash panel I'd made for it last month. During the fabrication of the custom panel, I installed the radio and then removed it so many times that I cross-threaded the volume shaft. Rather than trying to clean up the threads or forcing the retaining nut onto the shaft, I opted to send it back to Palm Harbor FL and have the pros fix it correctly. I was concerned about the cost of the repair, since the damage was my own fault and not a manufacturing flaw. I shouldn't have been concerned, the folks at Antique Automobile Radio were very gracious and took care of it quickly and inexpensively. 

So many older cars have been hacked up in order to fit a modern & powerful receiver in the dash and the result is like Gary's poor dash. And, even if you were able to do a clean installation you'd end up with a radio that you'll be unable to turn on or off. Personally, I can't find the off button on the aftermarket radio in my son's '97 Camaro. 

Antique Automobile Radio supplies a line of radios that fit just like the originals and look like they're simply a brand new AM radio. But, in reality it's an AM/FM receiver with a built-in amplifier as well as an auxiliary input for a CD Changer or hand-held electronic device. In fact, it's loaded with features. If you look again at the picture of the completed dashboard, just to the left of the volume knob I installed a mini auxiliary port for Gary's smart phone so he can play all the recorded Lawrence Welk shows he's been storing up. I strongly recommend Antique Automobile Radio to you when you're ready to upgrade your tunes without losing the nostalgic flavor of your dashboard. I bought Gary's Antique Automobile Radio through The Truck and Car Shop in Orange CA, but you can certainly find a dealer near you by calling Daisy toll free at 800 933 4926 or (727) 785 8733 or you can email her at sales@antiqueautomobileradio.com. 

Tell them that Doug at Desert Classics sent you and maybe they'll send me a promotional Bluetooth Adapter Kit. But whether they do or not, I'll probably get one for Gary's car anyway since they're sold for under $40. That'll be good for Gary since he's going to need both hands shifting that 4-on-the-floor while steering that powerful rig in a straight line! See their Bluetooth Adapter Kit here.

Doug