ShckByte

Yes, where you have the top mud is where I have the cracking on both sides.

So I imagine the place where it is cracked on both sides is where the studs were. Thanks for everyone's feedback and saved time I have gained by not pursuing a new top! I'll just repair the cracks and move on. Thanks.

I'd imagine the only way to know if it's an early or late '70 is the VIN...not sure of that atm. The previous owner didn't have it long, so I'm lost on its history. I have had it about a year now and have been slowly getting it back to shape. Vinyl tops can be a bear, but if kept up look nice.

I'm not totally sure what they did to tell you the truth. I've never had a car where the top was taken off previously. I wished I saw what it looked like before, but the two sides (one more prominent than the other) is cracking. I'd imagine they just put mud on it and it shrunk when the paint and sun hit it over time. Body work isn't a problem, it's just having to get the whole painted again that I'm not looking forward to.

I'm considering putting my vinyl top back on considering the person before me took it off, but didn't do that great of a job of it. The paint was nice, but the metal on the sides are coming through (metal rail?) Anyway, if I do this, does anyone have tips on putting it back on properly and with the correct trim? I have a '70 MC. Thank you.

I'll keep my eyes and ears open for the next one...thanks all!

Thanks for the links and info everyone. Rick, if you could ask about the rear end I'd appreciate it. Just want to get her back on the road where she belongs and not in my garage getting dusty.

This would be great, however, not knowing how to do most mechanical work since I'm an artist has been my downfall. Wouldn't even know where to begin is my problem in order to do what you have mentioned...and yes, this was what I wanted to do ever since it gave up the ghost. Thanks.

Well my 70 MC's rear end finally died a few months back and I haven't the money yet to replace it, but will. Any suggestions on getting a rear end that won't break the bank. I'm located in Northern Virginia and would love to get her back on the road by Spring...as well as the other issues she seems to have with starting. Thanks.

I see from the photo that the ground strap goes from the headlight switch, but I had a blue wire as well.

Do you have the (as shown) a ground going to the cluster gauge? This is where I think I have one of the problems. Thank you for the pict.

Wow, thanks so much for the picts, that does help a lot. I will print these out so I can work on it tomorrow and this weekend.

Ah, so much to learn and do...always been a body mod man...never the mechanics! I need to just look at what I have to understand what you are saying. I'd imagine the cluster plug you are mentioning is the one that goes into the left side (off the main wiring harness)...correct? If so, I pushed it in as far as I could...but to tell you the truth it seemed like there still was some space. I'll probably be pulling my hair out starting Friday evening through Sunday to get this right. Starting to stress me out considerably! Not good when you wake up at night thinking about it, lol. I guess next time I will take picts before I take something apart (like I was telling myself)...getting old(er) is fun;)

I am having the same issue with no lights in my gauges. I believe I don't have it grounded correctly and can't get to it until this weekend. One thing is I don't get any reading from my fuse...what could cause this? Not grounded correctly?

So does anyone have a pict where the ground should go on the headlight switch...not even sure if my gas gauge is working either because I accidentally touched it when opening the case. I'm sure that doesn't matter, but somewhere along the line, something isn't connected correctly.

The blue wire is just a ground, so not sure what it truly is used for. I have another wire on the other side that, I believe, is the ground too. How do you check the headlight switch for power? The headlights do work if that's what you mean. But as mentioned if you pull it out too far the lights don't turn on, you have to push it in a little to work. I guess over time of turning them on and off it is wearing out. As usual, everything worked fine before I took the dash apart. The original speedo also did the same thing, that's why I first changed out the cable thinking that was the culprit...then finally broke down and bought the actual speedo to install...note to self, if you ever just want to change ONE of the gauges, do it all at once!

I will have to look into the speedo gear...don't much about any of that. It is like 10 plus miles off when I get past 30. Said I was going 100 on the highway, so obviously knew something was wrong...AND people were passing me, lol. There's a ground strap on the headlight switch? I do know that I have to push a little back in on the headlight switch for it to turn on. Luckily all of my blinkers work, just not the lights. I don't remember seeing any type of ground strap though. Doesn't mean there isn't though. Just the blue ground wire that I didn't know where it went. So I attached it to the top of the gauges to ground it. Obviously not a right choice. I will have to tear apart my dash again to see what works this weekend. Does anyone have a cluster gauge that is connected properly with pics by chance? That would be very helpful. I don't remember this one connector though (think it's for digital gauges or something) that is based off the main wiring harness. I looked everywhere where it could have gone, but didn't see anything. I'm sure it never was hooked up, but thought I should ask. I guess we have all had the same problem, unless we had our MC's in the family from day one, that a million different hands were on the MC for over 40 years and modifications made everywhere, thus you have to adapt! (referencing more so the speedo and speedo gear...who knew). Thanks!

To add to this, I tried seeing if I made all of the connections correctly and they seem fine. My speedometer is still reading high even after a new one and cable...could it be my transmission reading incorrectly? My gauge fuse won't light either when I use my meter. I turn on the headlights too and still won't light up...what could cause this?

I tore apart my dash this weekend so that I could replace just the speedometer that stopped working forever ago. I put everything back together correctly (so I think/thought) and the gauge lights won't work to include turn signals. I changed the fuses because last time I had to tear apart my dash some fuses blew. This time it didn't make a difference. There was literally one wire out of all of the wires that I wasn't 100% sure of where it should go. It is a ground wire (blue) and I believe was just connected to the top of the left cluster gauge to a screw. I was careful not to mess with the computer-like sheet on the back of the cluster gauge (for lack of a better word). My turn signals still work though, but not my lights. Any suggestions from that horrible description of what was wrong? Thanks.

Yes, I saw the staples and thought that was crazy, lol. Interesting how they put together parts back then! Thanks for your help 72-CLASSIC RIDE.

After working all Saturday on my MC I found out the previous owner did some patch work on the fan shroud extension. My question is does the extension where it is all torn up (front of it close to fan) can this be replaced or did you need to replace the entire shroud (from the radiator to the fan). I couldn't see where the two came apart, but see they have them available as extensions only and radiator shrouds. I find it strange they don't offer both pieces together as a package since everyone seems to use this setup. Thanks for any guidance or clarification.

Thanks for the great info MCfan! Only knowing body work when it comes to a car, it has hindered my ability to access situations correctly on my engine. I'm having my mechanic look at it Monday to see if that is possibly it, but also checking for any wires that may not be terminated correctly. My cables get really hot at times, and I know that isn't right, so will probably replace and do a few other things before I start not liking my car! Lol. Got a ways to go with it, but it's a work in progress...unfortunately, and fortunately, it's my daily driver. Thanks again.

I wrote the seller regarding the 'SBC BBC Chevy 3 HP High Torque Mini Starter' and his response was "Do you have a staggered or straight across bolt pattern?" Not sure how to respond, since I'm not even close to a mechanic. Thanks for any help.

I'll have to climb into my hood and see if that's the case. Thanks for the tip!

So this "mini-starter" works the same as other starters out there? It just seems low in price compared to OPGI's and others.