[BillC]

Originally Posted by Dr K

What is the round thing that extends about 3 cm below the center of the engine (with a bolt in the middle of it)?

It's called a "tuna can". It's a small deep sump, and fits in the opening for the stock pickup screen.

[BillC]

Once again, it's been a lot longer than planned since the last update.

Since then, I cleaned, de-rusted and re-painted the sheetmetal heat ductwork. I media blasted the worst of the rust off the parts and then soaked them in B'laster Metal Rescue, which is their copy of Evaporust. The stuff is nice because it won't eat the metal once the rust is gone, but it takes a long time, is rather expensive and doesn't last as long as one would hope -- I went through 3 gallons before everything was clean.

Turns out I had already scrounged up and stashed away all the sheetmetal needed, except for the flat-ish guide plate that goes above the shift rod. Fortunately, AA had new repros in stock, and it needed only minor tweaking to fit (had to move a couple of holes).

I also connected the heat control cables and the hoses to the body ducts.

Here are a couple of pics of the finished job:

[BillC]

Spent the last couple of days working on the car, trying to see about rearranging the fuel pump and filter. I removed the tank, pump and filter, and then spent quite a while futzing around trying to figure out some place to mount both in the tunnel with the steering rack. Despite trying multiple different locations, ended up deciding that I still preferred how everything fit under the tank. Yeah, I know that means I'll have to pull the tank to change the fuel filter, but honestly, how often to y'all change your filter anyway?

I did make one change to the hoses. Originally, I had cobbled up some brass fittings to go from the 3/8" tank outlet to the 1/2" fuel pump inlet. This time, while I had everything apart, I decided to make an adapter out of a piece of 303 stainless I had left over from a past project. Here it is just before cutting it off:


Here's the reinstallation, before putting the tank back in:

Just a little annoyed that I spent two days getting back to where I was before I started.

And, since it seems like I'm actually getting close(-ish) to starting this, I ordered a new battery:

Decided to go with AGM, even though it was twice the price of flooded.

[cmartin]

Just a little annoyed that I spent two days getting back to where I was before I started.

lol if its any help, you arent the only one

nice work, thanks for sharing

[BillC]

And we are making progress! For the first time in 4 1/2 years, the car is back on the ground!


In addition to finally getting it back on its wheels, I finished reinstalling the rest of the fuel injection parts (ECU, MPS, etc). I also reinstalled the steering wheel and wooden pedal board. I just need to reinstall the seats and get some fuel, and then I can try to start it.

[HoodPin]

^ Great news!

[BillC]

Well, I have good news and bad news.

First, the good news: IT'S RUNNING!

I had my son standing by with the fire extinguisher, as I put gas in it and then started it. It fired right up. And, when it warmed up, I set the timing.

Then, we took it for a short drive, about 2 miles or so. That is now the furthest I've driven the car.

The bad news: the car has issues.

First, the idle is high, like around 1800-2000 RPM. It was originally around 3000, but I found the idle bypass screw on the throttle body and turned it all the way in, which go it down to 1800-ish. I did check that the AAR valve was working (it is), and I even pulled off the hose to it and plugged it with my thumb, but all it did was confirm the valve closed like it was supposed to.
I'm going to re-read how to set the timing and try doing it again. Maybe it's not right yet. Otherwise, I may have a vacuum leak somewhere.

Anyone local have a smoke machine I could borrow?

Second, and potentially bigger issue: 4th gear is locked up somehow. I can get into all the other gears (R, 1, 2, 3, 5), but 4th will only make a loud grind. Once we got home, I stopped on a slight hill to do more testing. I pushed the clutch in and then cycled through each of the gears -- when I let off the brake, the car would roll forward in all gears except 4th.

Anyone have any ideas about 4th gear? Could something have jammed up while the trans was sitting? I stored it in the basement on a couple of blocks with the bellhousing down. I did fill the transmission, according to Dr. Evil's instructions (on 914World), so it shouldn't be a lubrication issue. Any suggestions for breaking it loose without having to pull the tranny?

[Casey914]

congrats, saw Marcies post of Facebook! If anyone can figure it out you can!

[BillC]

Originally Posted by Casey914

congrats, saw Marcies post of Facebook! If anyone can figure it out you can!

Thanks! I'm working on it.

--------------

I just spent a bunch of time under the car, trying to diagnose the transmission. And I think I finally figured out what's going on inside there.

I readjusted the clutch cable, but it was fine. I then readjusted the shift linkage, using instructions found on 914World:

1. Crawl under car, move the shift rod in the trans console to put the trans in 4th gear.
2. Go into cabin, move shift lever to 4th gear position, tighten clamp bolt.

Quick, simple, easy-peasy.

However, when playing with the shifter in various gears, I noticed the shift lever would go noticeably further forward in 4th than 2nd or reverse. To double-check, I went under the car and measured how far the shift rod on the trans console moved. Here are some pics:

Second gear:


Fourth gear:


For additional testing, I lifted one rear wheel and then shifted the car through the gears. In all gears except 4th, the wheel tried to turn the engine when I pushed the wheel, as expected. However, in 4th, I heard a ratcheting/clanking noise inside the transmission. But, when I moved the shift lever back to the same distance that 2nd had stopped, the car was in 4th and now the wheel tried to move the engine, as it should.

So, the problem appears to be that the slider for 4th gear is overshooting 4th and rubbing on the case or another gear, instead of stopping when on the gear (like all the others).

Any ideas on how to fix this? Bonus points if it can be fixed without pulling the trans!

[BillC]

Here's the new plan going forward:

A smoke machine is scheduled to be delivered tomorrow. Finding and fixing the leak(s) is the task for this upcoming weekend.

I'm shipping a spare trans to Dr. Evil for rebuild. Once I get it back, it'll get swapped into the car and the one that's in there now will get scheduled for rebuild at some point. This way, I can still move the car if I need to -- after so long on jackstands, I am reluctant to put it back up so soon.