ziegler@lzmi.UUCP (09/23/83)
I want to thank all the people who sent me information on the two subjects I asked for help on recently. I have some comments and summary information that may be of general interest, so here goes... About electrical problems with my directional: The general consensus seems to be that it's a grounding problem, so I'll have to check this out. One fellow suggested that rust on the fender could have caused it to lose the ground, which seems reasonable except that my car has no rust there at all. It has occurred to me now that I just had a fender replaced back there (not the one that the light is mounted on, though) a couple of months ago and that may have disturbed things. Several people suggested that my light bulbs were bad or the sockets were corroded. One guy even gave me very detailed directions on how to make sure that the bulbs weren't in backwards. (I've never heard of a light bulb on a two-year-old car jumping out of the socket and plugging itself back in backwards, but I suppose that in the presence of an infinite stupidity drive anything's possible. :-) ) DON'T YOU PEOPLE READ AN ARTICLE BEFORE YOU REPLY TO IT???! I told you that I had already checked the bulbs and sockets, and that they were fine! About new plastic windows on my Spitfire: A couple of local people gave me some good leads, which I will share with anyone who's interested. Several people suggested that I replace the plastic with plexiglass. That may be a good idea for some cars, and if it would work I might even spend the extra money for some Lexan (a trademark of GE, I believe), which wouldn't be as likely to scratch. But on the Spitfire you have to fold the windows in half to stow the top, and I doubt that you could even fold it down at all with solid windows. If anyone's actually done this with a Spitfire, I'd like to hear about your experiences. A couple of people recommended some mail-order places where I could get the parts and do it myself. (The Roadster Factory in Armagh, Pennsylvania was recommended, and I give it a hearty second.) Someone suggested that if I couldn't do it myself, I probably shouldn't own a Spitfire! The point is that, although I could do it myself, if I can get someone else to do it for $50 to $100, it's worth it to me to avoid all the hassles. Just because I do some of my own maintenance and repair work, I don't insist on doing it all when someone else can do a better job at a reasonable price. Many, many people mentioned that they had heard of some cleaner or rubbing compound that will clear up the windows. I'd like to put that rumour to rest right now. No one, and I mean no one, has ever been able to give me the name of a product that works. Lots of people seem to have heard of such a thing, but nobody knows what it is or where to get it. Everyone I know whose opinion I respect says it just isn't possible, and several people can tell about the money they've lost on bogus products. British Leyland specifically warns against such things in their owner's manual, and all convertible manufacturers should do the same. Until I see one that works, I'll keep my money, thank you. Sorry for rambling on for so long. Thanks again for all the help. I don't mean to sound overly critical in the stuff above, especially of people who are giving me free advice. Joe Ziegler ...hogpc!pegasus!lzmi!ziegler <or> ...mhtsa!lznv!ziegler