It was a bad week for the vise in the ol’ shop.
Like 3 little Fonzies
Same ol’ same ol’ Take 51 year old parts off car, wait for new parts. The engine is finally cooling as it should be. That was achieved by following the basics of cooling system troubleshooting. Unfortunately over the last couple of weeks it’s been anything but cool. Or as we call it August.
On the road again
I couldn’t wait to get on the road again…
No updates for a while but plenty of work. And plenty of waiting for parts. Since the last time there has been fuel system rebuild including carb, new pump and tank. The sender was new a couple months ago so with these other parts it’s all fresh and spanky.
The motivation to do it all came from the carb rebuild. When I was testing the carb rebuild the fuel was sort of a Gatorade orange. The treatment I’d done to the original tank was still allowing what was etched into the tank to be pumped into the fuel system. There weren’t big chunks only small sediment and the color. The pressure from the pump tested good. It appeared that was a replacement pump. Still with the sediment and the aged looking pump better to replace now. I got a Delphi at Rock Auto for $15.
When I pulled it out I’m seeing more evidence of oil sludging. It is a 51 year old engine (the casting code says 51 years 4 months at this point) and I’m told the short block has never been taken down. I should expect some and as in the lifter valley there is more here.
Creaky old carb
When fuel is left in a non running vehicle (particularly for years at a time) it can do some damage. Even though the carb was rebuilt shortly before it was parked time and chemistry took its toll. And I’m sure reviving it from a temperate climate to a high heat, almost no humidity climate did it no favors. I was hoping to get a few hundred miles on with the suspension, brakes and cooling before diving back into the fuel system. No such luck. It’s toast. The more it was running the worse it got. By the time I got it all opened and inspected on Thurs it was too late to order something to be here by Sat. I’ve got a kit from Mike’s Carburetor Parts on the way.
It was apparent the dashpot was shot. That was already in the plan, waiting on parts (which arrived Friday), to help with the sudden deceleration/ throttle slam issue.
Still slogging along…
It’s the dog days of summer that’s for sure. A few days it’s been under 100 but those are usually when the monsoons blow through. High humidity and the possibility of an inch or so of rain in an hour. Then the sun comes out. In addition to the porta-cool and a couple of fans circulating hot air out of the garage (insert joke about post here…) I picked up a magnetic fan/clock/thermometer to give me some localized airflow.
Stock photo, it wasn’t 70 in the shop today. It was about 108. But it’s a dry heat…
In action with my USB battery pack. It can run off an AC adapter but I’m no fan of power cords when I’m down under the car especially when I’m rolling in and out on the creeper.
