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.

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.

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.

Carburetor Progress

I decided to rebuild the carburetor. Something I've never done or even thought of doing before, but have a feeling it might be the answer to all of my issues with Diane starting. Here's a couple of before pictures. I'm hoping that my suspicions are correct.

So I have completely dismantled the carburetor and begun to clean it all up. What a pain! Luckily it's a fairly simple thus far. There is a ton of carbon build up inside. Most of it is cleaning up fairly well though. I'm hoping to have it rebuilt and reinstalled either tomorrow or on Monday so I can try to fire her, Diane, up.

Well I got the carb. rebuilt today. Not too many hiccups. Replaced most everything inside and resealed all of the new gaskets and put anti seize on the bolts. I get it reattached tomorrow and try to start Diane again. Unfortunately it started to rain tonight and got chilly outside too fast for me to get it done tonight.

Some progress

It's been a few weeks since I've posted again. Between the hot weather and just being busy I haven't worked on Diane too much lately. But since I have had her for just over 6 months now I thought I should do a progress report. In the last 6 months I really have done a lot, even though she doesn't look like I have. First I guess I was able to remove the wheels without breaking or slicing off any of the nuts, and have put her up on blocks in the garage. I have replaced basically everything electrical in the engine bay, from the battery, cables, plugs, points, starter, and coil. I have gotten most of the major dents out of her, and have removed most of the trim, except for the couple of stubborn pieces. I've emptied the gas tank twice trying to remove any built up debris. Both side windows have also been removed, along with the steering wheel to help me gain access to the underside of the dash.

I know there are still a couple of things I'm missing from the list but, so far that really looks like I've done a fair amount. I realize that I have a much, much longer road ahead but at least I have a decent start. Thankfully I have a wife that is very accepting of how long it's going to take to rebuild Diane.

My current projects are working on rebuilding the carburetor, and removing the remaining trim ( the front grill, front window trim, and passenger side door handle). Then I'm not sure of exactly what I'll do next. If rebuilding the carb gets it so I can start Diane, then I'll probably purchase a newly converted generator, and then maybe start on converting the breaks so I can drive her onto a trailer to take her to get washed. If rebuilding the carb doesn't work then I'm thinking I might need to break down and by a new one and go from there. Although I'm sure it's fairly obvious I have a lot of work ahead of me. I'm going to try to get back into writing everything as it's happening unlike I've done here for the past couple of months.

I haven't worked on Diane too much during the past month, execpt for the occasional 10-15 minute interval here or there, where I continue to work on removing the trim. We've just had some many other things pop up...such as building a new deck in the back yard, a couple of painting projects, and helping our neighbor out with his truck, or the fact that it's been in the upper 90's to low 100's for the past 2 weeks, etc., etc.. But without fail I want to have the rest of the trim off by the end of the weekend. I really only have a few pieces left...the emblems, the grill, windshield trim, and the passenger door handle assembly. I think it should be managable, as long as it's not too hot.

Still haven't gotten the grill or the front window trim all the way off yet...hopefully it'll come though. I have been able to get most of the major dents out of the front fenders with the tools I had to buy! It sure is nice to be able to see some progress. I'm going to continue working on the trim this weekend to see if I can make any more progress.

So it's been awhile since I last posted... Diane is still about the same. I've been working on the timing still to see if she'll start, but of course I haven't had any luck yet. Since the engine is not cooperating with me I've been working on the trim, which for the most part has come off pretty easily except around the front window, and one of the bolts on the front grill. Another piece that's been giving me trouble is the passenger door handle and lock... my books make it look simple but after sitting for 59 years things are definitely a little bit more difficult.

I've come to the conclusion that I may just need to forget about getting her to start until I get everything else done. Which means I could go ahead and pull the engine and start on some of the body work. Since I don't have my fuel lines hooked up I decided to drain the gas tank again, only this time when I opened up the line nothing came out, so I had to dismantle it from the bottom of the tank in order to get it to flow.