It's ALIVE!

Final preparations before attempting to start the motor for the first time. I've installed new: plugs, cap, rotor, ignition wires and fuel pump. I've cleaned the 32/36 carb and installed a small inline filter. I've bypassed the wiring nightmare for now with a remote start button and a single wire to the coil.

It's ALIVE!

 

The engine started on the first attempt! Unbelievable how much smoke and crap came out of the exhaust!

Speaking of exhaust... Now that the engine has run, it has come to my immediate attention the exhaust system need some serious work.

My wife and I took a trip down to Southern California to visit Ireland Engineering. Nice folks and TONS of goodies I added to the wish list. I left IE with a complete polished stainless exhaust system and ceramic coated header. We also visited 2002AD which has to be the world's largest collection of used 2002 parts.

Under pressure

All of the new hoses have been installed. Ready to fill the cooling system and test. The system holds pressure... for a bit.

Not surprisingly the leak was in a hose I had not replaced. A hose that is a p.i.t.a. to replace.

Notice the heater control valve is not looking so good nor the plastic mount that holds it. I was not surprised when I got the valve out to discover the mount was broken.

And here's the culprit. The hose literally fell apart once removed.

I fixed the mounting bracket with some JB Weld. I knew this would be a temporary fix as I had intentions of rebuilding the heater box in the future.

The heater control valve was not so simple. Initially I thought to just replace it... That is until I researched the cost. Although they appear to be made of brass, apparently they are actually made of solid gold! Luckily with a trip to the hardware superstore, McFadden-Dale, I was able to get the correct O-rings, stainless hardware and narrow hose clamps needed to rebuild and replace the valve. (Standard hose clamps are too wide for this application.)