97 E350 Crestline Ambo Build/Mod

Bikersmurf

Expedition Leader
Sold the 1908 Union Special and recovered the cash I’d put into it… + a few extra $$$ towards the time I spent making it all work right.

The school doesn’t have space in the classroom for the 1938 Singer. I spent some time and got it working right. It will sew very thin material without distorting it. So I’ve decided to keep it for the time being. It’ll sew paper thin to moderately thick materials.

The Seiko walking foot was moderately thick to heavy (3/8”+) and tough materials. I’ve got a few more replacement parts on the way to replace worn parts. At this time it doesn’t sew thin material without bunching it up. I’ve got a servo motor coming for it. Likely it’ll be just for denim, canvas, vinyl, and leather. I believe that is where it’ll shine. I’m so used to old machines… it seems odd to have one that is still in production and being sold in North America.

I’d love to have the time to make a soft-top and reupholster the 40s seats… maybe some time in the next couple years or so.
 

Bikersmurf

Expedition Leader
The Seiko came with a roll of thick vinyl and upholstery fabric. I’d like to use this material to create a prototype (reproduction) soft top. We’ll have to see… the floor repairs should come first.
 

Bikersmurf

Expedition Leader
The 2004 Am/Fm/CD/MP3, I previously swapped in, was dead in the “water”. At first I thought a fuse was blown, but the multimeter told me otherwise. Reinstalling the basic factory AM/FM radio confirmed it was an issue inside the ‘04 unit.

IMG_0647.jpeg

On close examination I found that the copper inductor had one pin broken off. A friend who builds electronics for a living said that heavy components like it should have external supports to prevent metal fatigue which leads to failures like this.

I removed the inductor, added a jumper where the wire broke off, scraped the green coating off the circuit board, and soldered it back in. The jumper is now soldered to the top side of the circuit board and the other pin is soldered to the rear. The inductor in pressed firmly into the circle of double sided adhesive foam beneath it.

It’s now working perfectly. Since it lasted 21 years, and an unknown number of miles, I didn’t try to secure it beyond the adhesive beneath it. I suspect that the new connections will outlive the rest of the car stereo.,, time will tell.
 

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