March 2026 :

Let’s carry on …Like we know what to do !

Well that’s a maybe..  And I’m not ready yet.. Officially it’s still winter for a few more weeks. I have to keep the car covered and dry.  If it was in a garage I would start right away. That would be nice. But that’s not going to stop me from doing research on solving some of the issues I know of.  “I know of”  Ya.. there are still some unknowns.  The car needs to go on the hoist and all the stuff you can’t see checked.  Brakes, suspension, frame, lines… and the whole condition of the underside. For now my focus is on keeping mother nature from doing further damage.  I believe I have sourced the weather stripping needed for the windows. Also I have a local shop that can replace the roof..  For now these I consider the next most important things. However for the time being this is my view out the window.

Stay tuned there’s more videos and stories to come as I learn…

Well I had the place in the states send me five samples of the “belt line” window sweeper gaskets.  And I found a very good match to what was there.  An order has now been placed for more that enough for the four windows.  Should be here soon.

In the mean time…  I had to go to Cranbrook for vehicle pick up so I stopped by the place where I bought the car..  He has another car ( not convertible) that’s for parts.  So I got the sad looking seats and a few goodies.

These are very dirty and in need of repairs…not to mention the rusty parts.  Can Rob clean and fix these ? You bet I will try..  Consider this photo the “before” photo.  I can make a whole post on fixing those..  And here is the other bits I got…

On the left is the “under hood”  light that should come on when the hood is opened.  It has a mercury switch and one of those dome light bulbs.  Mine is only missing the lens..BUT this gives me a chance to make the better, brighter light.  And on the right is the right side of the dash bezel for the wiper controls and under that normally has the rear widow defrost.  However I have a convertible without defrost… but the roof control would be here instead.  In the introduction video I made I showed the roof control.  Changes are coming..   Stay tuned.

April 2026:

The weather is going to be nice for a few days.  So I unwrapped the Cavalier and moved it to our driveway.  Needed to open the windows and air it out..  starting to smell musty. Noticed a few things.  One was yet another mystery switch under the dash by the hood release.

Hiding a switch has to mean some kind of security thing.  We will find out later.  But nicely done!  The other thing bothering my ” OCD things in the right place” mind..  was the horn button.  The Z24 was upside down when the steering wheel was straight.  Sure enough The horn ring has a notch and three possible ways to mount it.

They got it wrong… the notch should be at the top.  I guess they thought “the horn works so what the hey”   I’m certain to find more.. Meanwhile my new roof guy has come by and had a look at what’s needed. Then we’ll get that ordered.  The paint colour has been confirmed, and I can get what I need here locally. I’m not changing the colour or the two tone theme with black trim. That look has grown on me and is a recognized 80’s look. Off to Creston again this week to get the original trunk lid and a few other bits for the donor car. Here’s a video I made after moving the car to my driveway….

More bits & pieces..

I’m back from a trip to get more parts.  I brought home two trunk lids… so now I have three ! That should be enough to make one good one.

The one on the left is the original lid… The one one the right came of the parts car, which was a 2 door hard top.  The light assembly is off the blue lid, and I just found out the red lights are just reflectors !  Only the backup and licence lights work. Interesting ….  Wait ! there’s more…  I got two perfect Z24 emblems for the lower valances.

 

Just got to figure out how to remove them without harm.  Yes it’s still attached to the valance. Plus.. I got a complete trunk carpet (grey), dirty but it will clean up.

Consider this photo the “before” photo. Also in the picture is a second piece that goes between the hood and the windshield.  I’m sure it has a name…. just don’t know…at the moment.  Having this (un attached) piece shows me how to (un attach )  the one on the car.  Yes I will need to do that..

Here’s another spare part, this time interior. The centre dash bezel.  This means I have two… and that means I can experiment with modifying one of them. I don’t want or need an ashtray…or cassette tape holder.  Or green switch for that matter. And last but not least some extras…

A window belt gasket. A door sill, and wiper arm. You just never know what you’ll need. AND having removed parts helps learn how to remove the bits on the car come painting time..  Yes I would rather remove stuff then mask them off.