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MikesRJ

RJ-58 Restoration begins

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DMK855

Very nice pics Mike!! Even nice to see some very familiar places too!! :)

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JimD

Most of these pics are calendar or magazine quality. That young man should be making a living taking photos. Excellent work! :)

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Shed
On 9/1/2009 at 1:05 PM, MikesRJ said:

I received one PM asking me about the switches I chose to use for the RJ restoration and one asking for a detail shot of the Throttle Cluster area of the hood.

 

I have procured 16 of these switches (of which I have 10 left as of this posting) and will probably keep a few and sell the rest. I thought it would be good information to pass along to the community, as it may help other RJ restorers.

 

UPDATE: I may have a line on an additional 19 original switches but will not know until later this week. PM me if you are interested.

 

I've taken a shot of both the dash detail and switches together, along with posting some additional information I have received from several other RJ owners who provided me with information and/or pictures of their switches and configurations.

 

As is the apparent norm with Wheelhorse, they appear to have used several different switch configurations on the RJ production runs in 1958 and 1959. The following information pertains to the ON-OFF engine "kill" switch.

 

1. From the factory, ALL "kill" switch variants were single pole-single throw (SPST) toggle switches.

2. Almost all were self-grounded, single contact post, SPST switches; all with a standard chromed toggle arm (as pictured below).

3. A limited few were ball-end toggle armed, but otherwise the same as #2 above.

4. Even fewer were of the two contact post SPST switch, with the addition of a ground wire (second wire) which was grounded to the hood, via an additional hole drilled into the lower left bottom-edge of the hood. The wire had ring connectors on each end, one bolted to the hood, the other screwed to the second pole of the switch.

5. When the original switch failed, many were replaced (either by a dealership/mower-shop, or by the owners) using the method described in #4 above.

 

Here is a detail picture of my RJ's "dashboard", with several views of the correct factory "Single Pole, Single Throw, Self-Grounding Switch" ....... hope this helps someone.

 

044g.jpg

Where the the wire connect to on the motor does it just connect to the top of the spark plug

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MikesRJ

@Shed The wire from the switch connects to the points. When the switch is off the points work as intended. When the switch is on it grounds the points causing the plug not to fire.

Edited by MikesRJ

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