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A couple of weeks ago, I decided to take a couple hours on a nice Saturday morning and try to finish the assembly. I installed the injectors and trimmed and installed the fuel line. I am here to tell you that this Aeroquip hose is tough stuff to work with. Getting the return line on the fitting required some persistence and a sore hand for days. Installed the timing belt and balance belt checking tension with my Arnnworx tool. I then installed covers, ignition and accessories.
I am a pessimist when working on project cars. I figured I will get the car together and buttoned up, find a fuel leak or two, get a no crank condition or something to keep me scratching my head for a week or two. This is simply my history with my projects. I have learned to embrace it. I had charged the battery overnight and was about to hook up power for the first time. Added some fresh fuel as the car was sucked dry of gas at the auction (actually did me a favor). I jumped the fuel pump relay to check for leaks but heard nothing, figured I wasn't even getting fuel pressure. I started testing other items and found the windows, roof, gauges and blower to be all good. Even the hatch motor worked. Figured I would test for cranking.........it cranked over easily and even stumbled as if to start. I quickly checked the fuel rail and much to my surprise found it fully pressurized (thats one quiet fuel pump) Jumper back in, check for leaks......none! Put the DME relay back in place, turned the key and it fired to life!
No drama, no surprises, no smoke (well, a little burning off manifolds), no leaks. Just a very smooth running engine. I did require to hold the idle up with the pedal for the first 45 seconds or so but it quickly settled out on its own.
Boy that brings back memories. Mine was electrical and not that bad until the insulation caught fire and fell onto all the rubber parts. I think the worst part of my fire was from the hood insulation itself.
I completely feel your pain about removing that goo from all the components. It took weeks for me to get it all cleaned to the point I could begin working on it without ruining clothes or going through bushels of paper towels.
Looks great and despite missing a bunch of little stuff.. perhaps a good purchase! Congrats!
This worked in under 5 minutes using a cheap oil can from Amazon. Clutch felt great. I started the car and pulled away for the first time!
I managed to log about 35 miles so far. Everything works, the car runs and drives nearly flawlessly. I say nearly because it has no cold fast idle. Suspected the ISV and tested it today with the Power Probe. I removed the plug, grounded the center and applied voltage to either contact. I suspected it was in the closed position which is why the cold idle is not functioning. With power applied, I was able to open and close the ISV sending the idle from a near stall to nearly 2800 rpm when fully opened. Tested the TEMP sensor as well and found it within spec. Continuity was already tested prior to installing harness. I STRONGLY suspect that during the fire, the wires crossed while burning which damaged the DME transistors.
Decided to tackle the driver seat over the weekend. It has a split seam on the lower cushion and heavy wear mark on the upper. My parts car seats are pretty rough and the wrong style so they donated some vinyl to make the repairs.
Here is the seat to be repaired.
Splits in foam glued and reinforced. Using WELDWOOD Landau Top Adhesive (Professional only)
New vinyl panels installed, ignore my white guide hash marks on side of seats
Still needs cleaning and will take shape more with use but I am pleased overall. I am happy to save these script seats rather than replace
Thank you!! I wanted the listing rods a little tighter to pull down the fabric into the creases but at least it matches the original passenger seat
In other news, the DME came out last night and I performed a little surgery with my 16 dollar Amazon soldering iron. Replaced the two transistor drivers for the ISV with the TIP31 transistors. No physical signs of any damage anywhere on the DME board. Went fairly smoothly until I plugged it back in with no change in cold idle at all. I unplugged it, re checked all my solder joints, reinstalled again. Went over to reinstall ground on battery and then noticed that I never plugged the ISV back in from my initial tests!!! A real DUH! moment With it plugged back in, like magic, I now have a perfect cold idle!!! I should note that the repair also fixed a very subtle RPM drop when cruising at 3k for an extended period of time. Very satisfying!!!
Not just to stir the pot, this wonderfully 80's NOS decal set went on the front. Working with ANCIENT factory decals that are nearly 40 years old is not fun and not recommended! I am happy the end result overall. I know this one is controversial but the car needed a little "flair". Still deciding whether to pull the front bumper back out
I am thoroughly impressed with your commitment to this car and your attention to detail throughout!! Thank you for doing such a nice job on the car and for sharing the journey with us!!
06-13-2019, 04:56 PM
