The Great Pumpkin - '71 Duster

Got the car running today!

So after about a month of trying to get this car started and going over every single thing I breathed on, I realized two things; A) I needed a new battery and B) I needed fresh gas.

So this week I got a brand new Red Top. I think the old one might have had a bad cell - it wouldn't hold a charge. It was 7 years old anyway, time for a new one. On another electrical note, it appears I have things wired correctly (save for one thing - more in a bit).

Next step was to drain the old gas from the tank and fuel system. After that, I took the tank to a radiator shop and had them boil it out to get rid of whatever crap was in there. When I got it back, I really cleaned up the outside of the tank, to the point where I had the D/A out trying to smooth out the top of it a little. Got all the grime and loose rust off and coated it with POR15 to prevent any further oxidation. The tank pad was shot so I used roofing tar paper and cut it to relatively the same shape as the OE pad. The tar paper won't absorb moisture. I used two sheets. Done.

So back together it went. 5 gallons of CAM 2 100 octane into the tank and turn the key. It didn't fire right away, it balked and bucked and backfired through the carb. I went on like that for a bit but I knew it was close. In a moment of brain fade, I failed to realize that the timing was way retarded. Turned it CCW and it fired. Took a while and several attempts to get it to stay lit but it finally ran. It's been over a year since it last ran, probably somewhere around Nov./Dec. of 2012.

So once it was running, I started checking timing, fluids etc. Save for one fitting on a tranny cooler line, there were no leaks observed. The cooling components seemed to be doing their job OK, the temp gauge was at 180. Good oil pressure the whole time, no concerns there. I checked the oil for metal, nothing seen so I guess that all the bucking etc. didn't do any damage. It did run fine before I took it apart and I didn't do anything to the engine but it was good to see anyway.

So the one thing that went totally wrong was the alternator - it wasn't charging. I'm not sure why. I put the car away before I figured it out but I have an idea that it might be the connector at the back of the alternator. It never felt like it was in all the way. More likely it's the wiring back to the trunk which I am dreading. Hopefully it's not a big deal what ever it is. I was so focused on getting the car running it took me a while to see if the battery was charging once it stayed lit. Once I saw that it wasn't, I shut it down but my brand new Optima was drained! I'll trickle charge it next time I'm gonna start it but I'm annoyed that I discharged a brand new battery.

Also, the brake pedal is going to the floor so I will definitely have to bleed the brakes again. I did it myself last time so I'm gonna enlist a helper this time around.

So overall I'm stoked. It was a big weight off my shoulders to know that it runs after all the crap I did to it over the last year. I'll figure out all the other stuff soon. Good day!

More to come.