10/24/09

Oops!

So I had a little accident, I was trying to time the engine by myself which I have done in the past without any problems but low and behold this time I did. I was using a bamboo stick in my first cylinder to help me realize the placement of the piston, when as I was cranking it the stick got stuck and snapped. Oh shit! Needless to say there wasn't any way to get it out... I tried. So long story short... after freaking out for a couple of days I decided to take the engine apart (which has actually been easier than I thought it was going to be). Granted I did make a big mess when I disconnected the hose to the radiator. I'm glad I did take the engine apart though, the bamboo stick broke into a few small pieces, and I found a bunch of gunk piled up inside. Margaret and I ran to Chevs of the 40's to get a new set of gaskets for the engine when I put it back together. Hopefully we'll get a chance tomorrow or Monday to replace all of the gaskets and get the engine put back together. Then maybe even start it up?!

10/12/09

The New Distributor

So after much pain and agony! I was able to get the new distributor to fit. I had to run all over town to find a new nut and bolt set that would fit to replace the one I had to cut in half. The set is used to hold on a clamp with a plate off of it to hold the distributor down. Needless to say though, I think I got it in the right spot and it's all hooked up and ready to be fired!

Well we tried it....no luck. But there is a big spark now...so I just need to go through and retime the engine and try it again.

10/10/09

Bought the New Distributor

Picked up the "new" rebuilt distributor yesterday from Dan's Classic, in Portland. The distributor came in a box sealed inside of some thick plastic and it came with a new cap and rotor as well. Maybe it's a sign things are going to work!! This morning I removed the old distributor and now I'm working on removing the vacuum advance clip. Once I get it removed I should be able to transfer it over to the new distributor and then put the new distributor in and maybe I'll get lucky and won't need to re-time the engine. If so it shouldn't be too hard this time around since I have the hand crank for the engine now.

10/5/09

Not the Carb

So I got the carburetor rebuilt without too many hiccups. Rob came up on Friday afternoon to help me with Diane again, and we tried to get her to start, with of course, no luck. Let me just say I'm getting very frustrated! We tried messing with the timing of the distributor again and even tried flipping the wires 180 degrees. Nothing... then we tried testing the spark again...come to find out the spark has diminished to just about nothing again after the distributor. So I'm going to have to buy a new distributor and hope it'll fix all of my problems. Once I purchase it I'll have to retime the engine and then keep my fingers crossed as I step on the starter.