Project Bulldog. (1988 Diplomat AHB)

got there, started cutting. got a decent cut in but it's very clear i don't have the right tools for the job. and i'm not about to have this thing slip and cut me. i'll go back with some assistance. trunk was locked. that sucks. might have to drill it's lock. two good tail lights on this car and i couldn't get em without entering the trunk.

got the header though. drove home with it hanging out the back window of my Gran Fury an hour home. it fell out my wheel barrow and bent the hood ornament . only one tiny crack on the passenger side turn signal. got everything. if i give them the headlights back i can get $200 back. hell yeah. thing practically paid for itself

when i was halfway done taking off the bumper fill i came face to face with a hornets nest. luckily someone had kindly left a thing of raid on the car. thanks whomever that was.
 
anyone have solutions for the door panel weather stripping? it's all fallen off this door panel and each replacement i do find, it in turn also falls apart. this has happened twice now. while i'm at it. driver's side window is wonky. you need to put it back into place by hand when rolling back up. i seen someone say something about fixing this with a zip tie?

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SonOfaTomP said:
anyone have solutions for the door panel weather stripping? it's all fallen off this door panel and each replacement i do find, it in turn also falls apart. this has happened twice now. while i'm at it. driver's side window is wonky. you need to put it back into place by hand when rolling back up. i seen someone say something about fixing this with a zip tie?

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I remember seeing the zip tie trick, but I can't find it now.

Also, I forget what they're called, but are you missing those little rubber bumpers that sit under the top of the door panel that keep the window from flopping around? My windows were terrible until I swapped in a set off a Volare
 
AMC Diplomat said:
I remember seeing the zip tie trick, but I can't find it now.

Also, I forget what they're called, but are you missing those little rubber bumpers that sit under the top of the door panel that keep the window from flopping around? My windows were terrible until I swapped in a set off a Volare
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yes. they staple to the top of the door panel. i was so excited to get the new door panel from the junkyard Diplomat with the intact weather strip. and then i got it out of the trunk and it was just gone. Thanos snapped. i have a partial one from a Volare as well as numerous broken pieces from out of the door. trying to super glue it back together. thinking of asking the guy with that grey Dip with the Fifth Front end in Oklahoma if he'll send some interior pieces but honestly the weather strip will likely break in transport. they're always so brittle and it's always the drivers side that falls apart. Plymouth's is still intact but cracking. don't know, can you soften it up?


there's another RamCharger in a local junkyard. anything useful off those?
 
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That weatherstrip on the door panel is a pretty standard piece. The harder part would be finding a way to staple it on.
 
SonOfaTomP said:
yes. they staple to the top of the door panel. i was so excited to get the new door panel from the junkyard Diplomat with the intact weather strip. and then i got it out of the trunk and it was just gone. Thanos snapped. i have a partial one from a Volare as well as numerous broken pieces from out of the door. trying to super glue it back together. thinking of asking the guy with that grey Dip with the Fifth Front end in Oklahoma if he'll send some interior pieces but honestly the weather strip will likely break in transport. they're always so brittle and it's always the drivers side that falls apart. Plymouth's is still intact but cracking. don't know, can you soften it up?


there's another RamCharger in a local junkyard. anything useful off those?
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under the door panel there are two bumpers bolted on L shaped brackets that press slightly against the glass to hold it in place
bumpers.jpg


Edit: door glass stabilizer mopar 4040663

If you want to over pay for set: New NOS Mopar 1980-89 Chry Cordoba Mirada Imperial dr glass felt stabilizers SET | eBay

I used a cut up set of old spark plug boots until I got a set out of a junkyard Volare
 
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AMC Diplomat said:
under the door panel there are two bumpers bolted on L shaped brackets that press slightly against the glass to hold it in place
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Edit: door glass stabilizer mopar 4040663

If you want to over pay for set: New NOS Mopar 1980-89 Chry Cordoba Mirada Imperial dr glass felt stabilizers SET | eBay

I used a cut up set of old spark plug boots until I got a set out of a junkyard Volare
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guessing the felt always falls off? wonder if i can find some fabric at a craft store and glue it to em?


forgive me but under this door. i swear i haven't seen that on other M doors. is that a Ballistic panel? or was i just not paying attention to the other cars. door isn't exceptionally heavy. looks whack but it replaced the arm rest. it was crushed before. door was full of weather strip pieces.

the driver's side mirror adjuster only moves one way. and passenger side just doesn't work at all.

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SonOfaTomP said:
guessing the felt always falls off? wonder if i can find some fabric at a craft store and glue it to em?


forgive me but under this door. i swear i haven't seen that on other M doors. is that a Ballistic panel? or was i just not paying attention to the other cars. door isn't exceptionally heavy. looks whack but it replaced the arm rest. it was crushed before. door was full of weather strip pieces.

the driver's side mirror adjuster only moves one way. and passenger side just doesn't work at all.

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Not a ballistic panel, just a piece of the door structure.

The rubber pads are covered in felt/cloth. They keep the window from flopping around. you could probably use anything that was even remotely similar:

www.ebay.com

1971 1972 Charger Road Runner GTX door glass anti rattle stabilizer bracket set | eBay

I specialize in 1971-74 2 door B body Mopar Parts. How can I help?. Two required.
www.ebay.com
 
Those window support things were like $12 each when I had my car apart in the early 2000s. They're what scratch the inside of the glass when the fuzzy part wears off. I was able to find a place locally to redo them but at the time it was cheaper to buy new ones.
 
small dilemma. this under dash is cracked. i gotta replace it. only issue. will drilling a hole for the new one just crack it? they feel so brittle.

oil pressure gauge works. car hovers at around 20-30 when on the road but will sometimes fly up to 75. idiot light isn't lighting up so that's good. thing is, the idiot light only works when it wants to.

i've noticed rainbows under the car before but when looking i can't see any leaks. only a hole in the exhaust between the two precats. i thought i'd found it on the oil pan but that's like glue or something. there is sticky shit all around the voltage regulator and was all over the wiper motor too.

the door dinger goes off at random intervals. lets say i hit a bump when driving around. dinger will start going off. will only do this when i have the headlights on. i guess it thinks the car is off? might be a product of the wiring nightmare under the dash

speaking of. the plug to the lights of the AC controls is gone. i can't tell if it has fallen way back there or if it was cannibalized to power the radio. radio turns on when the headlights are turned on.

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SonOfaTomP said:
small dilemma. this under dash is cracked. i gotta replace it. only issue. will drilling a hole for the new one just crack it? they feel so brittle.

oil pressure gauge works. car hovers at around 20-30 when on the road but will sometimes fly up to 75. idiot light isn't lighting up so that's good. thing is, the idiot light only works when it wants to.

i've noticed rainbows under the car before but when looking i can't see any leaks. only a hole in the exhaust between the two precats. i thought i'd found it on the oil pan but that's like glue or something. there is sticky shit all around the voltage regulator and was all over the wiper motor too.
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You can tape the area where you want to drill, then drill a small pilot hole, then work your way up to the size you need.

That's not glue under the car. That's an oil leak.

That "sticky shit" on the voltage regulator could be the regulator melted, or another oil leak because of bad valve cover gaskets, bad pvc, bad breather, or so much blow by that nothing can stop it.
 
Regulator seems to work fine though. but i have several spares so it's no issue. they all have a sticky back don't they? useful to stick your loose screws too

thought the drip under the car was oil but it's hard like old super glue. never heard of oil hardening like that but I'm open to being wrong. either way there is definitely a leak here somewhere, or it's burning it. car doesn't stink that bad so i doubt it's burning, just smells like an "old car". no big smoke clouds out the back. puddles under the car are small. and I don't see active drips. you'll see a small puddle in the morning that's all dried out. can't tell how old it is. guess I'll lay out some cardboard or a white sheet under the car.

bonus. working on the front fender. i found this stuffed into the wheel well. wonder if it's been there since the 80s?

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yummy. but it like... still works so. i guess i can just clean it up. i have like 5 spares so i guess it doesn't hurt to replace it anyways.

found the oil leak. Oil Pan Gasket. it would appear.

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