Tonight, Tonight!

"Tonight, Tonight"

Time is never time at all
You can never ever leave without leaving a piece of youth
And our lives are forever changed
We will never be the same
The more you change the less you feel
Believe, believe in me, believe
That life can change, that you're not stuck in vain
We're not the same, we're different tonight
Tonight, so bright
Tonight
And you know you're never sure
But you're sure you could be right
If you held yourself up to the light
And the embers never fade in your city by the lake
The place where you were born
Believe, believe in me, believe
In the resolute urgency of now
And if you believe there's not a chance tonight
Tonight, so bright
Tonight
We'll crucify the insincere tonight
We'll make things right, we'll feel it all tonight
We'll find a way to offer up the night tonight
The indescribable moments of your life tonight
The impossible is possible tonight
Believe in me as I believe in you, tonight 

I thought I'd start this post with lyrics from the Smashing Pumpkins, my favorite band.

I’ll be at it again tonight. After last week’s marathon session, I’m still pumped to get it running. I’ve got 2 other mechanical pumps that I’m going to swap in, and I’m going to try a gravity feed to the carb. I haven’t bitten the bullet and ordered a weber yet, but it will probably happen real soon with the addition of some after hours work. (Hint hint Eric!) Other than trying some more fuel feeding stuff, I may try to fire up the spare engine. I’ve got a starter, carb and not much common sense, so I see this going well. Don’t miss the festivities if you can.

Another Monday come and gone

A special thanks to Eric and Ken for coming over and helping with the car last night. Ken motored over in his 1971 Morgan and it was a very nice sight indeed. It was frustrating that we didn’t get the problem solved, but we’re on our way there. I’ve placed an order with Rock Auto for a distributor cap, rotor and flywheel. The other engine needs the flywheel and it was closeout (1 left!) for $19, so I couldn’t pass.

On the fuel issue, I’m going to try the 2 other mechanical pumps that I have and see if they work any better. If they don’t, I’ll order the in-tank electric fuel pump. I have several relays that I think will work. If the relays are a no go, I’ll wire up a switch like the professionals do.

Overall, it was a good evening, even though the car still sits there mocking me. I know it will run eventually.

And always remember, it’s OK to use the fire extinguisher when there’s an engine fire in the garage where I park my Porsche!

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.