I spent most of my time in 2023 focused on the Travelall, but there were a couple of issues I sorted out with the Scout; the main one being the exhaust leak. That sort of sidelined her for a good chunk of the summer, but I got her fixed in August. There are a couple of small issues that need to be addressed that I’d like to tackle in the spring:
- Fix the turn signal canceler. Left turns don’t work but right turns do. Why? Probably because I put the plastic return ring in the wrong position when I reassembled the column. At least now I’m not as afraid to tear into it as I was the first time.
- Get the exhaust manifold fixed. One side leaking again and making lots of noise; I haven’t been able to figure out which is the culprit.
- Replace the wing window seals and spring hinge. My wing windows are leaky and loose. The gaskets are dry and brittle, and the spring hinges inside the door are both broken. I have new rubber on the bench in the basement, and I’m trying to assemble two working replacements from the six spares I’ve got (this is more of a problem than it sounds; there are two failure points on these windows and most of mine have fallen victim to at least one of them). I’ll probably bite the bullet and pull the working windows from the truck.
- Swap the gas tanks. I have the original steel tank Peer Pressure came with, and I’ve heard from several places that poly tanks will never seal at the sender properly. I’m inclined to believe this after eight years of suffering through gas fumes and leaks. Having looked at the inside of the tank and cleaned up the outside, there’s a new sender mounted and ready to go. The next step is grounding the tank and checking the wiring before it goes onto the truck, and then actually swapping it out.
- Get the spare engine on a proper engine stand. I’ve been saying this for a couple of years now, but I’d really like to get it done. The problem isn’t the stand, but how I can lift the engine up onto it. My garage is in no shape to support a chain hoist or any kind of overhead block and tackle, so I’ll have to borrow an engine hoist from somewhere for a 15-minute operation.