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Detroit, 8:28 PM
Sun Nov 29
14 posts in the last 24 hours
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03/15/09
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03/15/09
Today was a good day in PCH-land.
My 67 Ford's leaking gas out of the tank, but it only leaks if it's above half a tank...so I went for a drive.
Having "solved" the gas issue, I put the steering back together on the LeMons-mobile and removed the AC.
Oddly enough, the steering parts I needed were all in the trunk of the car when we picked it up...along with corn, seeds, miscellaneous trash and a pair of dirty underwear.
Lucky for me, there was a socket wedged between the AC compressor and the block. Free tools FTW.
03/14/09
Case in point: the LeMons Volvo 122, which will run the upcoming race on a point ignition, with a generator charging the battery for good measure. If an MIRV hits during the race, we'll win on laps for sure!
03/14/09
03/15/09
Points suck. Period. If you remember the 70s, then you remember how many cars you used to see broken down on the highways, or running like crap and looking for an inconvenient place to break down. 90% of the time, ignition points were to blame.
And 12,000 to 15,000 miles between points adjustments? You've obviously never had an air-cooled Beetle!
03/15/09
Never have owned a Beetle, closest thing to that would be my '64 Corvair- also air cooled, and with a Perktronics electronic ignition conversion, done by the prev. owner!
03/15/09
Because really, we can't expect to win on Effluence two years in a row!
03/15/09
I've cleaned and regapped my points, at midnight, with a matchbook. One one side was an endless mound of landfill, on the other the industrial regional post office. In between, a good place to leave the bodies. So glad I could do the job from the driver's seat, and I had a working light.
Used to be you'd do a full tune up about twice a year, and then clean the points and plugs in the middle of that cycle, if you were lucky. I never had a car with those GM distributors where you could adjust the points with an Allen key while the engine was running. What a lot of frustrating trial and error.
My first full tune up was on an Opel Kadett (POS). It took a full day, because I could never get the points gapped properly - well the gap and dwell angle was right, but the engine would hardly run. Ran the battery down completely trying to get it dialed. Fortunately it clicked, just as the owner returned!
Now I just have to worry about the leaking coil packs on my direct ignition, that have to be replaced as the entire assembly...
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[www.instantrimshot.com]
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03/14/09
Been quite awhile since I had the pleasure of wandering around a junk yard--I used to browse for 66 Fury parts--as various bits got old or dinged, you could just take a look around while you were there--in the later 70s they started crushing a lot more and you never knew what losses tomorrow would bring.
Nice vicarious junk yard trip, Murilee.
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I had one of my best finds ever a few weeks ago- a Lincoln Mark VIII with the very rare, 1993-only "Aquamarine" interior in almost perfect condition (unlike mine). I got a JBL amplifier, steering wheel w/ airbag, sun visors, and every single trim piece I could remove in the 15 minutes before the yard closed. 50 bucks.
I have a love/hate relationship with junkyards.. I can go 20 times without finding a single car of interest, but all that wasted time is so very worthwhile when I finally hit the jackpot.
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One of these days I'll find my zen center, and a whole day, and knock off that growing list of minor, but annoying electrical gremlins.
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