DeTomaso Mailing List: April 1997, Message #38
     



From: MikeLDrew@aol.com

Subject: Re: Silly questions

Date: Sat, 5 Apr 1997 03:00:55 -0500 (EST)



Shane wrote,



2) I have a 1972 with the early dash, and I want to remove the

wiper push/pull switch so that I can get to the wiring behind the dash.

I've tried pulling the switch, but its stuck.  I'm reluctant to really

pull on the switch in case it is not a simple push fitting.  Ideas?



>>>OOOHH!  OOOHH!  I don't know it all, but I KNOW this one!  I just had to

deal with this myself, and managed to slightly mangle my knob with a

screwdriver and vice-grips before I figured it out.  The knob has a small

hole on the bottom, which doesn't seem too significant.  There's a detent in

the shaft of the switch which fits in this hold.  Use a punch and FIRMLY

press in on this detent while pulling on the knob; it then just slides right

off.  Well, mine required a certain degree of effort, but it's well-nigh

impossible otherwise, as I discovered after about 30 minutes of wrestling.

Yes, I felt VERY stupid afterwards.



Then, you simply unscrew the chrome nut on the front, and the switch falls

back through the dash and drops into your hand.



3) (Concerning the aftermarket DeTomaso valve covers) he wrote:



Further, is it possible to

bead-blast the crinkle finish and then have the covers polished?



>>>Perhaps, but since these were also available chromed (right?), why not

simply try to find a pair?  Actually, I've heard that these suckers are no

longer available from Hall or anyone else, so if I were you I would be

inclined to count my blessings for having them at all, and not screw with

them too much.



4)  Shane continues,



When

not in use or being worked on, the car lives under a Evolution 4 car

cover in a garage.  Which raises another question, after several weeks, the

Evo 4 covere leaves greasy marks on the car.  Anyone else seen this?

Any better ideas for keeping the car clean out there?



>>>I've got an Evo 3 cover, but I only use it when the car is stored outside.

I guess it does a fairly decent job of protecting the car from bird

droppings and door dings and things like that, but it doesn't breathe as well

as I'd been led to believe.  For almost a year I had no garage and my car sat

outside under this cover.  I'd go to work on the car (hell, it hardly ever

actually RAN) several days after a rainstorm, and find moisture just standing

between the cover and the car; where the water had dried, it left a very

distinct pattern in the paint that took considerable washing to remove.



If the car is stored inside, get a fitted cotton cover.  The only annoying

thing about cotton is that as it ages, it starts to break down; my GT-350's

cover leaves a fine patina of cotton dust that must be removed before the car

can be driven; one of the reasons I stopped covering it at all.



Mike