What have you done to your wagon lately? (Let's keep the thread going!)

let me know what you need pal...and take it easy...you gotta be my tour guide in 2 weeks

 

Stuff I just recently did to Grizzy

I just replaced the intake manifold gasket, heater hoses, changed the oil and have begun chasing a vacuum leak in the air conditioning system.

 

It still does in my house.

 

took some pics of wagons at the SoCal Novas PCH cruise. Also saw some non-novas at Donut Derelicts beforehand:
05.19.12 - PCH Cruise Wagons

 

Thanks Rev. I "think" I have it fixed but I ran out of steam so won't get back to it till tomorrow, or maybe Sunday. May have to use the truck for the TCT event. Working on the wagon is a fun thing to do, as with the trailers, but this age/health thing gets in the way sometimes. Something we forget about when we are taking on projects - how much actual work it takes from time to time to actually keep them on the road and fun to use.

Life is good, I did fire the Safari up today, put it back on the hoist, dug in to the fuel system which I think is fixed, and I think all that is left to do is re-bleed the brakes and then we'll see.

I also fooled around as a distraction with those new bumper caps - oh man, a quandry. I kind of like the closed full caps now on the wagon over the ones with the exhaust ports coming out the middle, but I've wanted the exhaust ones for over 31 years as that is what was actually on the wagon when I got it, but they were so rotted out they fell apart when I tried to take them off for repair. What to do, what to do, what to do. Hmmmm, I may have to grab an extra bumper and swap them from time to time. Either way, I won't route the exhaust through the new caps. I like the look, not the mess they leave.

 

It was a nice cloudy, breezy day today (my 2nd favourite next to rain) so I went outside for a while. I managed to get the hood polished and waxed before the rain started and then I retreated to the cover of the garage. From the garage I was able to work on the rubber trim on the front bumper. I've been using Back To Black on it but it never seems to last. When running my hand across the rubber I noticed that the surface was very rough to the touch. Either the rubber is oxidizing or it's pretty heavily water stained. I went over all of the rubber with Rubbing Compound and it came up as smooth and black as it's ever been. After that I went over it again with some Back To Black to see how long it lasts this time.

As I plan to take the wagon up to Barrie next week to the Auto Flea Market I also wanted to see if I could locate a rattle in the dash. I took off all of the dash panels cleaned the vinyl with soap and then Polishing Compound, treated them with protectant, and cleaned much of the rust dust that had worked it's way into the hidden nooks and crannies from the wagon's stay in the body shop last summer. I found a wire loom clip above the glove compartment that didn't get put back into place when I had the air conditioning replaced last year. I clipped that down and reassembled everything before calling it a day. Here's hoping that was the cause of my rattle.

 

And I thought I was a perfectionist!

 

Back when I got my first wagon the various squeaks and rattles drove me crazy. My friend and business partner and I took a couple of hours to try and quiet them all. One would drive while the other stretched out in the way-back with a sheet of foam rubber. Each time a squeak was heard a small piece of foam got placed behind the offending panel. That Reliant wound up being the quietest car I've ever owned.

 

I have done the exact same thing....a rattle drives me NUTS(er)!!!!!!

 

Tooksome time today to try and find the mysterious stumble at 30-35 and 55-65. Found the vacuum advance in my chinese Autozone distributor to be bad. Unhooked the advance and car runs perfect. I have ordered a new HEI t replace the old points style distributor

 

:banana: Yup....I knew you ordered the HEI, swanny and I thought it would likely do the trick since you tried everything else meticulously! But...now you KNOW it will work and now that car will not just be a beauty but, it will run like a champ, too!

 

My girlfriend and I put 632 miles on the wagon since noon Saturday.

 

I drove it, it has such low miles I am afraid too. I also scored an extra parking lense!

 

Finally! Finally!

Went and picked Grrretchen up from the mechanic.

After two months of one comical disaster after another, the 2nd phase of the 1976 Country Squire Restomod is complete. If you recall, phase 1 was the rebuild of the engine (nearly doubled HP from 202 to 375+.)

Phase #2 ***Completed***
Swapped out C6 (3-speed) transmission for AOD (4-speed)
Went from narrow transmission gears (2.46. 1.46, 1) to a wider set (2.72, 1.55, 1, 0.67 )
Swapped the 3.05 rear axle gear to a 3.55
Went to an aluminum drive shaft.
Installed a "Detroit Locker" style differential.


Yup -- very likely driving the only carburetted 460 ford big block with Ford's AOD transmission --- And it's fun! Can't wait to test 0-60 times and do the 100mile mpg test with her this weekend.

In urban traffic her growls are 10x more intimidating than any of the 'modern' muscle; resulting in frequent double-takes.

Acceleration from traffic lights is an experience that is indescribable.

Very very very happy to be able to move on to phase #3 -- "The Interior"

 

You SHOULD be dancing, Norse...that car is set up nice!