In helping a friend restore his 76 Fleetwood we did just this, got them apart but they never worked again even after trying to repair. We ended up getting two NOS from Ted Holcombe in Philly, they cost a bundle but are real nice.
In helping a friend restore his 76 Fleetwood we did just this, got them apart but they never worked again even after trying to repair. We ended up getting two NOS from Ted Holcombe in Philly, they cost a bundle but are real nice.
I'm always on the lookout for working horns for my 1970 Full Size Pontiac's, as they're somewhat tough to find. While the horns themselves are likely the same for many years, it's the brackets that vary from car model to car model.
I watched YouTube video where a guy dismantled a slightly later horn, by using a hardened bit on his Dremel tool to grind the heads of the rivets off. He cleaned everything up, reassembled and it worked great.
I only got as far as disassembling a couple horns, and then got side-tracked with something else. They're around here somewhere.
Research tells me that getting the diaphragm completely center in the coil is key. If I do pull them apart, I'd drill two or 3 small holes around the edge, to help align and register it correctly when it goes back together.
Then what would you use to put it all back together? Small machine screws and nuts?
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65 Laurentian post, 67 Grande Parisienne 4 door HT.
While the horns may appear to look alike nothing could be further from the truth. Each car line got diffeent horn notes and options. If you don't care what the sound is then go ahead and use any working ones you find but in the case of the Cadillac it was a factory restoration. We all know that the horns in Buicks and Cadillacs sound like a freighyt train crossing from the era we are discussing, many are 4 notes to get that outstanding effect. I personally grabbed a horn years ago off a 75 Grand Lemans in a salvage yard up north and put it on my LeMans, with three horns it sounds pretty darn scary. Some cars came only with one horn and they sound really whoosey. With horns it is the ground that is all important so as Clint suggests the brackets are all important.
-- Edited by 73SC on Friday 16th of October 2020 11:05:31 PM
Ive taken several apart and had success getting them back together and working. Inside is basically an electromagnet and a set of points. Ive used aluminium rod to rivet the two halves back together.
The first thing to try is jolting the horn with a full 12 volts from the battery by passing the horn relay. Make sure the horn is well grounded and use a jumper wire from the positive side of the battery. Sometimes this shocks the horn to working again.
Since your car isn't a faithful restoration, I would just buy a set that looks close to original. You will hardly use the horn to know a tone or octave difference.
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Prince Edward Island
'64 Parisienne CS "barn find" - last on the road in '86 ... Owner Protection Plan booklet, original paint, original near-mint aqua interior, original aqua GM floor mats, original 283, factory posi, and original rust.
I might have a pair but will need to get to the club to check. If I do have working spares they will be off of a Catalina. With the lockdown the club is off limits. Could be a few weeks.