Dome lights, visors, clock = off

Took a crack at the dome lights tonight. Using Andrew's helpful info, they came out pretty easy.

The shell of the dome lights just come right off - just slide a flathead screwdriver in there and pop!

Then it's just a matter of removing the screws on each end and detaching (or clipping) the electrical wires.

The front (left) and rear (right) dome lights, laid out on the filthiest hood known to man.

The chrome is shot, and the translucent bits are pretty much useless as well. Not a big surprise after fifty-two years. I'll be looking at getting some replacements for the translucent parts, and having the outer shells re-chromed (along with a lot of other parts of the car).

Next, I removed the dash-mounted ash tray. This one will need a bit of work, or replacement. Not that I'm a smoker - never have, never will - and even once the car is on the road again, it will NOT be smoked in - but it's a part of this car, so it's going to get done.

Next, I took a crack at the clock. I'm not sure whether it's supposed to be this easy, but on a lark, I gripped the edges of it and gave a tug - and it slid right out.

The wire on the right has been removed at this point. Still have to remove a small wire on the left (just a flathead screw to loosen) and then I had to pop the plastic cap off the very top-end, and use some needlenose pliers to loosen up a knob, to remove the last wire.

Oddly enough, in the past day, there's been a discussion on clock cleaning/repair on the Ponton group. There's one fellow who is a watchmaker and will take these old clocks and do a thorough cleaning for a good price, considering the amount of hours involved. I'm going to be contacting him on what he charges for a repair as well. I'm guessing this clock hasn't run in years. I recall it not running when I was still fairly young, and I think it's safe to say it hasn't run SINCE then.

UPDATE: Chatted with Greg (the aforementioned clock repair fellow). My clock is an electro-mechanical unit - and a type he doesn't touch. He's Swiss trained and solely works on your normal mechanical clocks.

Something folks have done in the past with these clocks, however, is remove the whole back side and surgically attach a quartz movement. It's not "authentic" by any means, but it's hidden, and much more accurate. The trick is, unlike the original clock (which drew power from the car), the quartz movement uses a AA battery which would need changing now and again. But removing the clock is a simple operation; one simply removes the dash-mounted ash tray directly above, and (assuming one's hand isn't too big, heh) reaches inside to squeeze the spring-loaded sides of the clock, allowing you to slide it out. (Here's the page listing the various sizes of quartz movements available that match what was used in the link above.)

In my case, the other day, those springs on the sides are pretty worn down - I was able to just pull the clock straight out. So that's something else to refurbish.

I'd prefer to get the original clock working again - but I don't think it's functioned in DECADES.