3eyedwagon

Oh yeah, EA81 it! GO YOTES! WHITEOUT!

You should EJ it.

EJ it!

Try reading posts number 1 through 34. Should get you what you need to know.

By 1980 most states had incorporated a reflective coating over the paint. I can only speak as to the rules in Washington: In order to legally "restore" a plate from that era, you NEED to have that correct reflective material over the paint. That said, as long as you get your colors real close to what they are supposed to be, I doubt you will find many officers that will give you a hard time. In Washington, before 1972 or so, the plates had no reflective material. Because of that, as long as you have a steady hand, and can find close to correct colored paint, you can have at it.

Sorry to take your topic for a ride... I'm Mr. Thread Sabotage. I just like accuracy, especially on the rare occasion I know something that can help :lol:. You're right on the EA82 being a great car to learn on though. Pretty simple, and you can pretty much see exactly how everything works. NO hidden crap, or convoluted designs. Keep it up on the wrenching. I started with not much, and years later I can mess up a perfectly good car real quick.

*EDIT: I don't know why or how this re-posted twice like that... Nipper, you are correct. Most things old have become new again, as the design and execution of earlier vehicles are amazing. Torsion bar designs have been around forever, and various self leveling designs are not as new as many people think. The Acme thread jackshaft lift designs always intrigue me, and they are archaic. Most people don't realize that car phones were around pre-war, just obviously not the norm. The lack of longevity of early autos wasn't due to poor design or construction, just history itself. The interstate system hasn't been around very long, and earlier roads were absolute garbage. Early cars saw conditions far far worse than todays. Put many of todays cars in the same situation, and I would suspect they wouldn't last very long. A funny example of prior technology is the coil sprung trailing arm design. For altered suspensions the air bag, or coil spring with trailing arms and a panhard bar, or a complete 4 link is thought to be the tops, and high end technology. Look back in automotive history, and you will find that the trailing arm with panhard bar design has been around for a long time. Chevrolet used it on their pickups for awhile before deciding it was BETTER than what they needed, and moved away from it.... Interesting stuff.

Yup, early hydraulic drums, not many had dual sets of shoes. Only a mechanical operating system as a backup to the failure prone hydraulics, but, they utilize the same shoes. And yes, the small shoes inside the center hub of the disc is a slick setup.

Not necessarily different shoes, just a different mechanism to operate the same set of shoes in the event that the hydraulic system failed. You won't find many early brake systems with dual sets of shoes, just a mechanical backup to operate the shoes. The most common problem was the failure of the single circuit master cylinder resulting in the loss of braking at all 4 wheels. With an emergency brake you had a shot at getting it stopped. With the improvement of braking systems the name just slowly changed to parking brake. Most of them still operate in the exact same fashion.

Irony, thine name is location.:-p The answer, YES. Use search, and the FAQ. The info is all out there for the taking. Most of the originators are a short drive from you.... Go get it.

Abrasive disc on an orbital is how most of the pros do it.

^If you are going to wheel, you are going to break things. It's just the way it is. So, in short, no.

Do you have any AutoCAD prints you could send me?