Ken Chambers

   

Hi all,

Thought I'd offer some tips for the maintenance category. I just finished
restoring both headlight assemblies on my Amphi. Glad I caught it when I did
because there was some rust action taking a toll on the some of
the parts. That's a very rust prone area due to water getting trapped inside
the headlight buckets. I had to fabricate and weld in new flanges that had
rusted away on the lower part of both headlight shells. The
insides of the shells and adjusting rings were also pitted through in places.

Tip 1: What I found to work extremely well is POR-15 epoxy putty. It's water
soluble so as you're kneading a small amount of it in the palm of your hand,
keep adding drops of water to get it to the consistency you
like. Then apply the putty to the rusted metal. I used a small spatula to work
it in and to get it as smooth as possible. After a couple applications of the
putty, some final sanding and a POR-15 paint coat, the
results were astounding. The parts looked like new. One note of caution, be
sure to wash the epoxy off your hands before it begins to catalyze or you'll be
wearing it for days.

Tip 2: The chrome rings (outside rings and the headlight holding rings) were
beginning to pit from the inside, so I sand blasted the inside surfaces of the
rings and applied silver POR-15. That should stop that
rusting process. Also blasted and painted all 16 retaining clips (some were
badly rusted and were replaced).

Tip 3: The headlight adjuster screws thread into small plastic blocks that
float freely in the adjusting rings. If the threads are stripped or the blocks
otherwise need replacement, white PVC from a plumbing fitting
works perfectly. Drill and tap a M4-.7 hole and cut the block out from the
fitting. A replacement adjuster block in just minutes.

Tip 4: While you have the headlight assemblies apart, spray some kind of
preservative in there. I use LPS-3. It leaves a heavy waxy film behind and
claims to be water displacing and last for years, even in salt water
applications. But then who takes their Amphi in salt water? I suppose if you
do, however, order this stuff up by the case. Spray it on everything. I use it
on all the bulb sockets, electrical connectors and more.

Hope this is helpful.

Best regards,
Ken Chambers, CA
'64 Red Amphi