It's Alive!

We were able to get the engine to run last night. It only ran for about 30 seconds, but it did run. Unfortunately, I did not get to take my inaugural drive around the block, as we could not get it to restart. I'm going to pick up some premium and see if it's just low on gas.

The timing was off by about 30 deg. That happened when I installed the concentric gear for the mechanical fuel pump. We pulled the valve cover, removed the distributor gear and adjusted it.

When it did run, it was smooth and had a good sound. It was quiet compared to the normally loud crapcan cars I've heard.

Finally some good news on the crapcan front. Now I've got to scrounge enough money for the roll cage. Ugh.

Tow Hooks Installed

They're painted and installed. Nothing fancy and had to see, but they're there. I'll paint the signs after we do the theme paint, which is coming much later.

Looks like I need to set the timing starting with setting TDC on the engine. That should fix any firing problems we're having.

A frustrating night

The Celica is back in the garage! It's near the tools, out of the elements and under the lights. I was hoping that combination would allow us to really knock some things off the list, but it was not a fruitful session. Thanks to Eric for devoting more time to the car. He definitely keeps me focused and working on the important stuff.

Well, we tried to get the fuel delivery sorted last night. I think we've got all the hoses in place. We are able to pump fuel into a container and the carb bowl has fuel in it, but the engine won't fire up. I pulled plug #1 and it's getting spark. I've already gotten a recommendation to check the rest of the plugs, compression and timing. I have to see if I can dig up a compression tester. I was going to say nothing's changed, but I did add the concentric gear for the fuel pump. I wonder if I borked the timing when I did that? I'll check that first, then compression and plugs.

We did mount the tow hooks to the hold down plates on the car. They're painted safety orange and ready to be remounted when they dry. So, I guess we did accomplish one thing.

Phase 1: Move more heavy stuff around

In preparation for spending more time on the Celica, I'm cleaning out all the Datsun 620 stuff. I know, it's a sad day, but it's time has come. I would rather concentrate my limited time on building the Celica, instead of building the Celica and the Datsun. I think I will be able to recoup most of my money I've put into the Datsun. I've already sold the tailgate and doors.

Anyways, the first phase is to get the bed and cab back on the frame. The second phase is to call the scrapper. The forth phase is profit.

Part of the glorious first phase. (Moving this and a piano this weekend has killed my back.)

Off with her head!

I sold the head to someone building a 22r/20r hybrid motor. I'm glad they're going to a good cause. Now, if someone would just buy the pistons (or bore out my engine for me)...

On another note, I put the Datsun engine on the stand in anticipation of cleaning and stripping. I should have left it outside today to let the torrential downpour scour it clean.

Still alive, just too cold to do any work.

When we get 6" of snow on the ground in Upstate SC, everything shuts down for the better part of a week. And I get to use that as a basis for not doing any work. We'll be back online soon with more progress.

I'm really gearing up for the Lemons race at CMP the weekend of Feb 19-20. Hope to see you there.

More fuel madness!

And it is madness! We worked on the fuel system yet again. No fuel at carb. No voltage at pump. No voltage at relay. Jumper the relay and pump runs, but doesn't deliver fuel. It took about 3 hours to work through all of this. The fuel pump relay is bad, and why shouldn't it be, it's just sitting in the drivers footwell with its internals exposed without a case. The fuel pump from Advanced runs, but won't pull fuel. On the plus side, I was talking with a Toyota guy and he recommended using a mechanical pump. I'll check the engine to see if it has the slot to install one. If so, that would fix 2 problems at once and be cheaper!