Had a successful weekend wrenching. This weekend's goal was to see if I could get the car to start.
Started by lowering the spare and draining the 4ish year old gas out of the tank. It was ridiculously clean under there. Found the drain plug and unbolted it. Now, the only thing I hate more than the smell of gear oil (especially burnt gear oil) is skanked up gas. As expected, it was not a pleasant smell. Thankfully, I didn't get showered in it when I removed the drain plug. Had about 4 gallons in there.
Next, changed the oil. Got some Rotella T4 15-40 and a Wix filter. The old oil was very clean. It didn't have much mileage on it but was 4ish years old.
At this point, I was itching to see if it would start. Debated for a minute but decided to try and start it. Installed a new battery. Drove down the gas station and got 2 gallons of over priced gas. Pulled the choke and cranked it for a bit. Didn't start. Cranked a second time and it fired right up! I was shocked! I had planned on a first start video (cuz everybody loves a first start, right?) but didn't think it was going to start so didn't record it. Oh well.
With the car running, I had to take a test drive of course. Never mind the expired registration and lack of insurance. Got in it and started looking at the controls. It was kinda funny because the shift knob does not have the gear pattern on it so it took me a few tries to find reverse but I eventually found it. It drove reasonably well. Tracked straight. No funny noises. Tires were low and they are 15ish years old BFG's so it was kinda floaty. I think the rear brakes are dragging so I'm going to have to look into that.
Once I got back, I decided to clean the accumulated dirt and dust in the engine bay. Here is a before pic.
Here's where I stopped. Only did most of the pax side. It was mostly just dusty.
While cleaning up, I discovered that the turn signal light had seen better days. The plastic bulb retainer literally crumbled in my hands... Found replacement lenses on Cruiser Corps along with a bunch of other useful parts that I'm going to order. But, I have no idea how I'm going to fix/replace the plastic fixture that the light bulb actually plugs into... Anyone got ideas?
Next on the short term to do list:
- refresh the coolant
- fuel filter
- finish cleaning / detailing the engine bay
- de-grease and clean the undercarriage, oil pan and covers under the engine. They all show signs of past oil leaks but I don't see any evidence of a current leak.
- wash the exterior and fit the car cover to protect the paint
- check the spark plugs and air filter but I suspect those are going to be good given how well this car was taken care of.
