Category: Past Indiscretions (Page 14 of 25)

Valuable, if hard, lessons learned

Ford Troubles

November 21, 2009 / Roger

I rebuilt the carb on the F250 a couple of weeks ago, and on Tuesday, that little bit of maintenance came back to bite me in the behind as the truck spluttered to a halt halfway up the hill a mile from home. I was able to coast all the way back into the carport, so Goldie was at least halfway decent about the whole thing.

This led me to replace the fuel pump (misdiagnosis on my part, but, hey, new fuel pump) and the coil–which was arcing everywhere, as it turns out. The distributor cap oddly enough had one completely corroded wire terminal–I mean, there was nothing left. So it’s had kind of a mini-tune-up and will be running on at least one more cylinder than it was recently.

But the problem appears to have been the new float needle valve seat coming loose, which would lead to constant flooding, I would guess. I put the carb back together and on the truck tonight, and it appears to be running well again. C’est la vie.

Seam Sealer and Engine Bay Clean

November 12, 2009 / Roger

I took an hour or two and cleaned the inner fender on the right side of the engine bay. A bit of touch up and some wax, and it will be fine for this non-show car. The paint is 42 years old, after all. It’s a shame that the cotton cover on the wiring loom dissolved when it was touched, because mechanically the loom is in good condition. I will probably (for the short term) wrap it in cotton tape, which won’t be “right” but keeps me from forking out $450 for a new loom–and the repair will look better than what’s there.
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Imaginary Car, Late 2009

October 29, 2009 / Roger

Visited Mark at Britsport today, and got a chance to see my E-Type again. Not much has changed (we’re waiting to paint it until I have a shop to reassemble the car), but by coincidence, a later car painted the same color that mine was (and will be again) was parked next to it, and I grabbed a snap.

Door Jambs Stripped

October 19, 2009 / Roger

Used “aircraft stripper” on the door jambs today, and it worked pretty well. You can tell it’s pretty potent because it stinks all to heck, like carb cleaner on steroids.
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GT Tub Almost Stripped

October 15, 2009 / Roger

Only the wheel arch lips and the door jambs remain to be stripped of their old paint…feels like progress. I’m going to try doing the jambs with chemical stripper, which should be an adventure. Chemical strippers (in my experience) seem like they should work great but are almost always as tedious as mechanical stripping, with the bonus of noxious, messy goop to contend with.
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MGB GT Rust Repair

October 1, 2009 / Roger

Progress is proceeding at a glacial pace on the 1967 GT. My friend Jim has welded in the repair panels for the few rusty spots, and I am slowly working my way around the car, taking off the cruddy red paint job and getting rid of crud in the normally hidden areas.
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New Tires for the Daytona?

September 14, 2009 / Roger

This can’t be good–most bikes don’t use studded front tires. The Triumph is now seven years old and on its original tires, though they have accumulated only 2600 miles. I suppose this will get me to replace them. (I’m not quite sure what I’ve collected, here…I thought it was a bolt, but on further study, I don’t think it is.)

I discovered this on the ferry, headed out to Kirkland for the Carillon Point car show today, so I had 50 miles of riding to contemplate my unwanted companion.

GT Stripped Down, Ready for Some New Metal

September 9, 2009 / Roger

I have the fenders, valance and rear hatch off the GT, preparing for a few minor patch panels and then paint. Car is remarkably good, all things considered. Most painful is going to be getting all of the red overspray off of places I will not be painting, like the underside and inner fenders, which all still have very intact undercoating.
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GT Back from the Blasters

September 4, 2009 / Roger

Alternative Blasters in Marysville finished their work on the GT–they were quick, friendly, and reasonably priced…definitely going to use them again. They did not do the bonnet as they were uncomfortable with blasting the aluminum.

The car is really very good for a 42 year old MG. The passenger dogleg (just behind the door) has a couple of holes (which we’ll patch) and the lower front fenders are rusted, with some associated damage to the front of the sill. I have new lower fenders and I think (hope!) the sill can be patched.
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GT Off to the Blaster

September 1, 2009 / Roger

I put the GT on the car trailer and drove it to Alternative Blasters (in Marysville) to have the cruddy paint job removed. I left the glass in, as it makes life easier for blaster, but will remove it when the car is back. Then it’s on to rust repair (lower front fenders) and new paint in the original grey (which you can see a glimpse of where the tail lights were).

The Ford put in yeoman service (yet again) hauling around my other machines.