'74 Gremlin gets electrical repairs....

[Gremlingts@xxxx]

 I lifted the hood yesterday afternoon on the bronze '74, as on the way 
home from the last car show last weekend, the Alt. light had started phasing 
in and out. Turns out to be a bad Niehoff Voltage Regulator, I pulled a 
battery cable off, the car kept running, then checked the voltage on the 
disconnected cable....8.5 volts. Hmm. Ok. So, went and pulled another Reg off 
my '72 sunroof Gremlin, stuck it on,and Bingo! 13.3 volts again. Whew! Being 
unemployed, I"m not gonna buy anything I don't have to right now. Thanks, 
'72! I'll see about next year getting you fixed up to run. :) Would be nice 
to crank open the top now and cruise in a open-roofed Gremlin, though. But, 
reality is, I got too many cars legal now I can't handle. Maybe I should 
think about selling the Pacer. I dunno. I'll see what the future holds. 
I took the Gremlin over to a local cruise-in spot, and talked with an 
older gentleman who'd been in the towing business 40 years. He was giving me 
some funny anecdotes about his career. I mentioned I had a Gremlin, and he 
said " oh, yeah, I've towed alot of those "...<cough>. Oh well, nothing's 
perfect. :) He said he'd had some bad experiences with Ramblers, the early 
'60's flat-heads couldn't keep a head gasket on them....although he did say 
the later ones were much better. Anyway, while chatting further about car 
trailers, he mentioned he wanted to get rid of one very cheap, almost free 
maybe, that was a converted frame from a mobile home, just needed a top 
surface. Had the wheels, brakes, hitch , etc all there. So, looks like I may 
finally get a car trailer after all! I told him I was interested, and would 
come by Monday to look at it. I dislike towing with a tow bar now, it's 
dangerous with old cars, and tow dollies aren't much better. My friend Sean 
will probably let me store it at his place, he's actually building/welding 
one up now from a trailer frame himself! LOL. So, anyway, that's my Gremlin 
story for the weekend. Might try to get out and work on the GT ( finally! ) 
this weekend, it's really nice outside. So, stay cool, keep the flag waving ( 
if you can find one, I can't ), and God Bless America!

Jerry Casper
Woodbridge, VA
'74 Gremlin rumbling down the road again...