It's Not The Coil, It's The Gas

Replacing my coil didn't do much for the missing problem. I did make it home, though. When Ariel's dad removed my carburetor filters, he found a LOT of crud (rust-dust) blocking them. He figured if there's crud there, there's also crud inside the passages of the carburetors.

So, last Sunday, Ariel siphoned all the gas out of my tank, and then she and her dad removed the fuel pick up from the tank. They discovered that there was no in-tank filter (sock) on the pick up tube so they put one on. They removed the last little bit of gas from the tank and blew it out to make sure all the fumes were gone. Then they used a shop-vac to suck any remaining crud from the bottom of the tank. Ariel's dad blew air through my fuel line to clear it of any crud. He then disassembled my carburetors and blew air through all the passages before putting them back together and re-installing them.

This morning, I started right up, but something was still not right. My engine bogged when I tried pulling away from the stop sign. Ariel’s dad tore down one of my carburetors and found that a piece was missing. Once he replaced that, all was good, and I got him to work without incident.

My speedometer is wigging out from disuse. They replaced my speedometer cable over the weekend, so now the needle goes up with speed. Unfortunately, it appears to be too fast and once it reads over 40 MPH, it starts to jump around. Hopefully, it’ll calm down with use. Also, my odometer is stuck. They’ll have to get in there and tweak thinks to get it working again. On the positive side, my gas gauge works.”

Is It The Coil, Or Isn’t It?

Ariel’s dad drove me to his work this morning. For most of the drive I behaved perfectly. The last four miles, however, were eventful. He wasn’t quite sure that he would make it to the parking lot, I was missing so badly. I couldn’t idle at the stoplight and I backfired. He was quite relieved when he coasted into a parking spot. He got out and checked my carburetors for fuel and they had healthy squirts of gas when he blipped the throttle. Good, it doesn’t appear to be a fuel problem. After letting me cool down for a few hours, I started right up. He thinks it’s my coil, so he replaced it on his lunch hour. We’ll see how the drive home is.

One Car’s Loss is My Gain

Well, I’d never wish harm upon a fellow automobile, but if it happens, and I benefit, then I’ll be thankful. The transmission in Ariel’s dad’s car failed yesterday, so they decided to get me on the road immediately. Ariel and her Dad worked on me from 9 AM until midnight doing everything necessary to make me roadworthy. Highlights included replacing my oil pan because one of the previous owners had stripped the threads, repacking my front wheel bearings, lubing my suspension, installing a seat belt and the driver’s seat, and fixing my turn signal switch. Then Ariel’s dad took me for a drive to the gas station and filled up my tank with 93 octane – the good stuff.