Carb and Welding

The evening started with a nice drizzle and power outage. Lights were out for about 30 minutes. After that we got to serious work.

We pulled the carb off and checked the float and float needle. It looked good, but we made some adjustments to the position to allow more gas into the bowl before the float cut it off. We were able to get the car running, but after we ran through the gas in the bowl, it wouldn’t refill. Same damn problem we’ve been having since the rebuild. I have no idea what’s wrong, but I’m done messing with this carb. I did find a used weber on the Celica forums for $30. I’ll need an adapter plate, filter and maybe linkage. But it’s Lemony!

We got the plates welded in after working on the carb and wrapped up right around 9pm. I did the welding. It’s not pretty, but it’s in there.

Brakes done!

The new rotors are on. The pads are in. The shoes are changed. The sensors connected. Now I need to bleed them. Some fresh Dot 4 Super Blue will finish the brake refresh.

And then I need to fix this.

Front right axle

To look like this.

Front left axle

I replaced the front right cv joint boot because it was torn. I had a heck of a time getting the axle shaft back in. Looks like I didn't finish the job. Oh well, gotta pull the whole thing out and try again.

Porsche brake work...Or so I thought

Spent Saturday morning replacing the brakes on the Porsche. I had everything set to go: 4 new rotors, 4 set of pads, 4 new sensors. The trouble started on the first wheel I pulled. The rotor screws were stripped on the right rear rotor. Quick fix to drill them out and pull the rotor to reveal why my parking brake doesn't hold well: the parking brake shoe had only half of the pad on it. Well, no one in Greenville carries this for a Porsche. I checked several places online and they were all international shipping. Eventually, I did find a place that had then in the US, so it should be here by next weekend.

I pulled the remaining wheels and rotors, but am kinda stuck at this point. 1 wheel is done, but the new tire is losing air, so that goes back to the tire store for them to look at. Another wheel is leaking where I replaced the CV joint boot, so that is going to need a look.

Other than that, a semi-successful work session!

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.