Better Than Bought Ones: When Spares Are Too Rare

Adapt and Overcome, Part 1

My 1975 GC Galant hardtop.

I'm often surprised by the range of spare parts that are available for older cars.  MGB and "Spridget" owners, for instance, can access pretty much anything they like, from switch-gear right through to entire body shells, courtesy of British Motor Heritage Ltd (http://www.bmh-ltd.com/).  Other companies, such as English-based Alfaholics (https://www.alfaholics.com/), can similarly provide - manufacture, if required - Alfa Romeo suspension, performance and body parts to order.  An amazing array of spares are readily available for Fiat X1/9s from Midwest Bayless (https://www.midwest-bayless.com/) and other specialist suppliers, too.

GC hardtop / GD hardtop, sedan and wagon front indicator / park lens.

But what do you do if your car doesn't have quite the same following amongst the cognoscenti?  Clubs and informal Facebook groups are great sources of advice and many participants are often surprisingly generous with the provision of spares but, sometimes, no matter who you ask, what you tap into Google, some items will still elude you. 

The remains of a GC hardtop / GD hardtop, sedan and wagon front indicator / park lens, minus the amber backing.

A brand new windscreen for my 1975 Galant hardtop?  I was defecating clay-based building materials but the request didn't faze my local Windscreens O'Brien staff one little bit.  Getting a new windscreen rubber wasn't as easy, though; the one supplied didn't have the correct profile and wouldn't fit.  Fortunately, one of WO'B's old-school windscreen fitters was able to custom-make a whole new rubber from an early Pajero spare.  Phew!

David's handywork, top and right, with the original on the left.

But sometimes it's the small stuff that's hard to obtain.  Take, for example, Galant front indicator / park light lenses.  A couple of Galant Fan Club Facebook members thought they might have spares but, sadly, didn't.  Not even Google, eBay, or local, national or even overseas wreckers / dismantlers could come through with the goods.  Bugger!  

What to do?  When the going gets tough, the tough get ... lateral, which in this case meant local firm Eagle Plastics (320 Elizabeth Street, North Hobart - ph: 03 6234 2030).

If necessary, I would have settled for clear perspex with the amber backing glued or even double-sided taped into position.  However, proprietor David assured me he could do better than that, with the proof being shown in the photo above.  The lens has been recreated from proper diffusing plastic with an amber layer and only differs from the original in that it lacks the slightly convex profile of the genuine article.  It's even been rebated to fit the housing and create an effective seal.

Black silicone windscreen sealant used in lieu of a rubber gasket.

And speaking of effective seals, mine are classic adapt and overcome specials, the original rubber gaskets having turned to dust many, many years ago.  The solution?  Silicone implants but not of quite the variety that might first come to mind!  In the image above, you can see how I've used black windscreen sealant to caulk the housing and keep moisture out.  This has been done to great effect on the tail lights, too.

The only adaptation that was needed to fit the replacement lenses was to reshape the thin sheet metal inserts that divide the housings' indicator and park lights from each other, to match the new flat profile, as shown above and below.  All this required was a quick bit of hacksaw and file action and Robert was my father's brother.  Easy!

Pre- and post-cut.

Pre-.

Post-.

Fitted.

Adapt and Overcome, Part 2

Some spares are just so obscure, they don't readily come to mind.  Think Galant number plate light mounting brackets, for example.

I did manage to obtain a reasonable condition original GC Galant number plate light set up but completely forgot to ask the seller to include the bracket that secures it to the rear bodywork, beneath the bumper.  Damn!   

So, after replacing both bulbs, cleaning up all the contacts, soaking the rubber gaskets in Armor-all, then carefully wire-brushing and sanding the surface rust from the metal chassis, fish-oiling it (if something's worth doing, it's worth overdoing!) and painting it black, I found I couldn't mount the bleeping thing.  Mmm!

The bloke that I bought the light assembly from in the first place had sent the rest of the rusting donor-hulk to the crusher, having taken every conceivably useful part there was from the car beforehand.  Except the mounting bracket.  Not his fault; way too obscure a part and not worth his - or anyone else's - time.  The same has to be said of getting one from somewhere else.  Dismantle, pack and post for a $5.00 part?  No way!  (Insert infamous Angels' song refrain here!!)

Inspiration for a fix came via Dom Curulli and Rev Tek (https://www.facebook.com/RevTek/videos/330471074236801/UzpfSTc3NTU0NTg0OTpWSzoyMzI0NTQ1MTAxMTA4NzQw/).  I'm not pretending that my modest effort even approaches that shown in the attached video.  However, the adapt and overcome ethos - in Rev Tek's case, cutting up a perfectly functional aluminium screen door to fashion some radiator mounting brackets - got me thinking about getting a bit hands-on ... .  

So, did you wonder what the strange galv thingy shown earlier on was?  I'm glad you asked!  It used to hold the guttering of our sun deck roof in place and is just one of an array of potentially useful stuff my wife wished didn't reside in our could-be-tidier back yard.  And now, with a bit of cutting, filing and drilling, it's been reincarnated as a very effective number plate light bracket.  A section of the long arm-like bit has also been used to secure the cabling to the electric fuel pump beneath the car and stops it moving unnecessarily.  Neat, even if I do say so myself!

U M P H

(uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com.au.)

Combined Nikon dSLR and iPhone images.