Thanks again Andy and Scott.

Here is the restoration of a 68 GTX four speed dash harness in some detail. This one was a double whammy. Beside the typical corroded terminals and cut off connectors, this also had some hidden meltdowns and also mice made dinner on some of it.



























All factory internal splices are cleaned, re-crimped and re-soldered, heat shrink tubing applied and tape wrapped.











Here is the leftover carnage.





Tested end to end before wrapping.















Jim

Wow...nice work...I think I recognize that harness and the customizing by the mice , thanks Jim

WOW, everything looks so neat and clean. I love the way you have the wiring directional and not all over the place, very impressive. All the socket ends look as new too.

You are such a show off Jim. Thx for all the relays and ebody dimmer switches you did for me, some of the best work I've ever seen, a true work of art.

I know M&H sells new wiring harnesses. Would it be less expensive to have my original harnesses refinished/restored by you?

FWIW I have both a new M&H Harness and I have one Jim restored for me (for my 71 Duster). I installed the original Jim did, beautiful workmanship, my highest recommendation.

Quote:

---

BTW, what about the Chrysler part tags on the harnesses? Do you replace them or try to keep the originals?

---

He carefully removed and replaced mine, nice added touch!

I've known of JS Restorations (Jim) for a few years now and he's the person I go to for answers when it has to be right - hands down. I can't say enough good things about his approach to business, auto restoration, and life. He's helped me A TON with my 70' Hemicuda Convertible tribute - there's hardly a part of the car he hasn't touched. Wiring, switches, dash parts, heater, steering column, the list goes on and on.

From a business perspective – Jim's attention to detail, professionalism, and customer service are above all.

From a personal perspective – Jim is a stand-up guy and will go the extra mile for people.

To Jim - I truly appreciate all that you've done for me and for keeping the faith. Keep up the GREAT WORK! BTW, I love your website teaser (www.jsrestorations.com) and can't wait for the full blown reveal!

Thank you, Matt. I really appreciate it! First off, THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE!!! It has been my pleasure to serve you.

Here is the restoration of a 70 B Body Cruise Control Lever.















Jim

Here is the restoration of a starter relay from a 70 Challenger. This was not working when received. I circled the contacts showing the current path working when energizing the relay.























Jim

Holy cow Jim. I had no idea you were doing harness and fuse box work.

My Challenger Dash harness will need work in the future and I may have a couple truck fuse boxes to send to you for expirementation....

I still can't get over how beautiful my Headlight and dimmer switches turned out.

I would like to send a big THANK YOU to "Mr. Dash It All" (Scott Smith at Harms Auto). This sly dog first approached me about restoring the main dash harness for his 340 Duster and sent it to me. Little did I know when I was restoring it what he was really up to. Here's what happened...









Thanks again, Scott. That is very much appreciated!

Jim

Congrats on making it to the Big Time.. I didn't know that Scott Smith is a celebrity..?...

It’s been a while since an update, so I thought I would post these couple of pictures. This pile of plastic needed turned back into a grille and is what I started with…



To date, I have the grille test fitted with the headlight doors and surround trim mounted. I have about a month’s wait before the body shop will have the metal mounting frame available for that test fit, before finishing. Yes, two vertical bars are missing on purpose at the center bottom. Later, it will become clear why they are not installed at this time.

Usually, I show pictures from the very beginning of what is received, disassembled, restoration of individual parts, to the completed item that is returned to the client. This grille will be no different, once completed. I will show the detail pictures along the way.

Although I really enjoy reconstructing and restoring grilles, after this one is completed, I will no longer be accepting any grilles. They demand too much time to produce. So, I thought I would end with one of the most iconic Mopars and one of my most favorites, a 1968 Dodge Charger R/T. And yes, It's got a Hemi!

Why I am showing these pictures now is to really say how much I appreciate the current client JSR orders that have encountered a delay while I tried to squeeze this in. I want to say THANK YOU to all for your patience.





Jim

In light of reading some suggestions on how to “Band-Aid fix” a dash dimmer switch or some offerings of a “rebuilt” dash dimmer switch, I put together a few videos and some pictures. This addresses only one aspect in hopes that it will deter the usage of epoxy for re-installing old scorched resistor coils back into their porcelain mounting trays.

Did you ever finish driving your car and for some reason had to open the hood and touch the ballast resistor on the firewall? Feels good, doesn’t it!

The same thing can happen with a dash dimmer switch. If the switch is working properly or restored correctly, there will be no resistance in the full on position. No heat is occurring because there is nothing in the way of holding back any current. When the dimming effect of using resistance the switch was designed for comes into play by turning the dial counter-clockwise or due to corrosion, heat builds up. It’s just simple physics.

I made four short videos that tell the story better than me.

The first up is an original unrestored E body dash dimmer switch that has one of the typical problems not working in the full on position, but turning the dial counter-clockwise slightly to get some light output. Nothing special used, just a car battery driving this dimmer with a headlight bulb as a light source instead of a string of bulbs in parallel.



The second video shows a dried piece of epoxy touching the resistor coil. It is about a minute long, but half way through, you can see the epoxy melting until falling off. No problem fast forwarding if you don’t like to watch paint dry or grass grow.



The third video is picking up the piece that melted off due to heat showing the burn marks.



The fourth video speaks for itself.



Before I started to offer my version of a “restored”, not just a "rebuilt", dash dimmer switch, I asked myself this question. “Is there any possibility of this switch catching on fire?” Epoxy wasn’t even an option to test.

Yes, I am a hoarder. I saved the very piece of wood I used along with a propane torch to see if I could possibly catch what I use to install my new custom made 302 stainless steel resistor coils on fire. The answer was and still is no. However, I did catch the wood on fire!





Sorry, I don’t kiss and tell, so please don’t ask what I use or how I do it. Be assured that a JS Restoration will have either version of B body thumbwheel dash dimmer switch and the E body dash dimmer switch each fitted with replacement 302 stainless steel resistor coils (Made in the USA) working like new, producing the light output the factory intended with the correct bulbs specified in their service manual.

Thank you for reading and watching these videos and looking at the pictures. If only one car can be saved from any possible damage, it was worth posting.

Jim

Here are two rare N88 2443438 B body cruise control levers for a 1969 Charger being restored. Unfortunately, one of the plastic reset dial knobs had a crack that was noticeable after the original chroming was stripped. I have since stripped this one myself, will make the necessary detailing to make any imperfections disappear and have it chromed once again. It’s alright, things happens, nobody died and this will be corrected.

The finish both on the lever and knob are not painted or vacuum metalized, but real hard coat electroplated triple satin chrome. The wiring terminals and connector will be installed after threaded through the column.























Jim

Nothing new to show with this post, but it is time to draw a line in the sand.

For all of past, continuing and future clients, JSR has always tried and will continue help troubleshoot electrical issues to determine, before buying any parts, whether the electrical issue(s) may be causing a certain problem or problems that a restored part may not necessarily correct.

For instance it could be something as simple as corrosion and grounding can cause many strange issues. Again I will be glad to help anyone with a stock Mopar setup. Try getting that type of support from on line auction site sellers.

However, JSR will no longer support via email or phone any of these universal aftermarket wiring kits, aftermarket switches or aftermarket gauges being installed into a Mopar. If or when tech support is required, please contact the vendor who sold you any of those items in question.

Here’s another for instance original Mopar parts scenario. There is a reason why Chrysler engineered headlight and wiper switches with internal circuit breakers, instead of in line fuses.

Thank you for your understanding.

Jim