Thursday, April 19, 2012

TBD updated 02/15/14

Here's a list of open items at this point that need to be addressed by either a pro or me. This is mainly for my benefit, to help keep me on track.

Professional:
-Aim headlights
-Refinish wood dash

Amateur (me)
-Electric windows
-Interior lights
-Rearend (boots and cv joints)
-Glovebox door and shelf below
-Sun visors
-Soft top
-Hardtop
-Heater
-Radio/antenna

Friday, April 13, 2012

Let There Be Lights!

Two front grill sets

Let there be light

Today I got all external lights working, with the exception of the backup lights (who cares) and the brake lights, which will require further circuit-chasing. Amazingly, the turn signals all work. I had to replace almost all of the small bulbs (picture left) which were oversprayed blue and burnt out. Again I wonder what the heck happened to this poor car? In an aviation accident investigation, if all bulbs were burnt out after a crash, it would be evidence that they were illuminated at impact. Hmmm. Most of the replacements came from the hulk. Then I turned my attention to the temperature gauge, which has never worked and is absolutely required in a Stag. After consulting the ROM about the location of the sending unit (88.25.20), I finally located it on the aft driver's side of the engine. At last I found (by feel) the little tang hidden on the bottom of the "water transfer housing" and plugged in the green wire. Now let's start the engine and check it....nothing. The starter would not turn. More troubleshooting and I finally put the car up on the lift again and re-checked the wire bundle that feeds the starter. That must've been the problem, b/c it started right up, and I got good temp indications! Yeah! I suspect that the overdrive harness will need some attention, and that may solve the reverse light problem as well, but that's for another day.                                                                                                
Hah! Working temp gauge!!

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Headlights

Armed with my trusty wiring diagram and multimeter, I spent the afternoon trying to get all the lights hooked up.  Why do previous owners insist on painting wire bundles thus disguising the color coded wires? The hulk was very helpful, giving up various bits of hardware. The headlights themselves are quite different between the two cars, and I suspect it was b/c the hulk spent some time in Europe. Its high beams are halogen, and the low beams are deepset Bosch affairs that had to be spliced into the wiring harness since they took different connectors. After quite a bit of frustration (normal for this car) I finally decided that there was one wire that was simply missing from the harness. I finally checked the hulk, and the same wire was missing, with a jumper installed just as I had decided to do. I wonder if it was some sort of congenital factory defect that was remedied after the fact? Anyway, I'm almost there with the front end of the car.

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Crash-test Dummies

Blinded by the wind

Bob and Ken were working on their Lemons race car. Ken commented that he hadn't seen a running Stag in years. Bob's reply: "There's a good reason for that!"



Sharon's racing Mini on the right
Sharon presented us with a crash-test dummy. I don't get the joke?!?
I finally got the brake line zip-tied out of the way of the driveshaft, so it was time for a little drive. Still no windshield, I had to bungee the drivers door closed, tires are hideous, but what the hey. Michelle and I went up the hill to see Bob and Sharon and the old girl did fine. I got up to about 40 on a side road and tried the overdrive...no luck of course. Burned off a decade of sludge from around the manifold. Small coolant leak still from one of the hoses. Really need to do some serious electrical troubleshooting now, and start saving up for some tires!

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Short Fixed and Leaky Carb

Leaky culprit is the brass plug just left of center in the picture
Reconnected the alternator first thing and checked for a short...none noted. Started the car up and it ran okay at first, then choppy. Good voltage indicated (one of the few working gauges). Smelled gas. Shut off engine and kill switch. Big puddle under the engine. Traced it to the plug on the bottom of the right hand carb.  Located possible replacement on the other carb set. To get the entire carb assembly off of the intake manifold, you just undo one nut that comes up through the center (plus some hoses). Swapped out plugs and got ready to reattach the carbs, but the o-ring was too large for its seat. Put the o-ring in the freezer for awhile to shrink it just a little. Went in okay after cooling. Reassembled the carb mess and turned on the ignition to get the fuel pump running. No leaks! Started it up again and let it warm up. The idle became much smoother as the engine warmed up. I do have a very small coolant leak from one hose clamp...just need to tighten it up when it cools down, and some oil dripping from the right rear of the engine. Looks like it might be from the oil pressure sending unit (I hope). That's all for today.

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Troubleshooting Success (for a change)

Burnt spot in situ against the manifold

A better view of the damage after removing from starter

Once again, the hulk saves the day

Swapped this rusty terminal for a new one
I finally had some troubleshooting success today with the electrical system. After unhooking the alternator, I still had a significant ground, so I then removed all fuses...still grounded. Finally, I traced the positive lead from the battery, through the splice that feeds the alternator, around the back of the engine and down the opposite side to the starter. Wait, what's that metallic glint coming from beside the manifold? I should have guessed: the most recent big change I did was replacing all the brake lines, and they ended up pinching the positive battery cable against the exhaust manifold above the starter. The last engine run got the manifold hot enough to melt the insulation and voila; monster short to ground! I briefly entertained the idea of wrapping the spot in electrical tape, but quickly disgarded that as just stupid. Luckily, the hulk had just the cable I needed, and in pretty good shape except for the battery terminal, which I replaced. I was careful to route the new cable away from the manifold. I was called away before finishing the hookup, but should get it done tomorrow.

Sunday, April 1, 2012

New Kill Switch

New tie rod ends
300 amp kill switch

Today I installed my recently acquired racing car kill switch on one of the engine hoist eyes, which happened to be very conveniently placed and the right sized hole. Tried turning it on momentarily and observed smoke coming from the positive side battery cable. Man, have I got a short! Did some research and some thinking and decided the culprit must be the alternator. Now, I had the thing checked out way back when and it was one of the few components that were supposedly good. It's a bear to get to, so I'll save that for later in the week. If I isolate its wiring from the battery and the short to ground goes away, it's a pretty good bet the alternator is at fault. I did get the new tie rod ends installed (loosely...need to align the wheels before tightening the nuts).

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