Category: Future Plans

Under Cover.

Two quick things: I got a pair of Fel-Pro donuts (60478) for the manifold leak last week; now I need to get some time to install one. (New company policy around here: When buying parts, buy two, use one, and put the second into storage).

Secondly, I had to kill a little time with Finn, so I brought her out to the garage with me and put the soft top back on. According to Peer Pressure, summer is officially over. But having the soft top on leads me to one of my next projects: adding snaps to the soft top frames around the windows. I picked up a snap repair kit from West Marine a month ago. The plan is to screw male snaps into the frames and add female snaps to the underside flap so that the flaps will stay in place; I have to wait for a warm day and pick up a good metal bit for the drill to get started.

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Scouting Weekend.

Mama and Finn are going away for a 4-day weekend, so I will be on my own. Naturally, my thoughts turned to projects that require time that I haven’t had, and I made a list of things that take more than 2 hours but less than 2 days to complete. The first thing that came to mind was spraying bedliner on Peer Pressure’s tub, but the amount of prep time needed for that job is just too much for one person. Next on the list was the spare gas tank I’ve had sitting in the basement, surrounded by the parts and tools needed to replace it. I called Mr. Scout, and we made a plan, which then expanded into a trip across the bridge to Chestertown, a visit to Dogfish Head, Rehoboth, and other adventures unknown.

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Manual Transmisson.

So it looks like Super Scout Specialists have new manuals in stock, which is great news. Previous printings had images that were were dark and muddy, and for someone as visually-oriented as myself, having clear diagrams and reference is mandatory. They’re having a special on them this month, so I may bite the bullet and get mine ordered next week—just in time to help drop my gas tank.

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Small Updates.

Not much new to write about right now; the truck is running really well and I haven’t made any major updates to it since last I wrote. Two small things of interest, though:

I lost my gas cap last weekend while filling up the 1-gallon tank for the lawn mower, so I bought a Stant locking replacement cap.
Super Scout Specialists is now selling updated Scout II service manuals for the low price of $95, which means I can finally buy a set. The old ones were reproduced poorly so that the pictures were useless. If these are anything as nice as the Scout 80/800 manuals, they should be a huge improvement.

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Weekend Cruise.

I haven’t gotten much done with the Scout lately, but I’ve been slowly amassing parts. One thing that has been crawling closer to completion is the radio install, but we’re not quite there yet. The DIN sleeve is in the faceplate but it needs to be trimmed a little more to fit. The head unit itself needs a source of constant power to retain the programmed memory, so I have to find a way to get a 12V wire from the battery to the dashboard. Thankfully there’s a female pigtail off the battery connector that I can tap into, so I’m going to pick up a length of 12 gauge wire and a box of connectors, pull the inline fuse from the old radio, and run it into the dashboard. I also have to rewire the rear speakers with something heavier.

photo.jpg

While I had a little time with Finn Sunday afternoon, I replaced a couple more bulbs in the dashboard, but the one I swapped out for the left indicator light isn’t working. It also happens to be the most difficult to get in without disassembling the entire speedo assembly.

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Spares.

I read a recent post on the Jalopy Journal about using a 39 Ford as a daily driver, and it got me thinking. The author talked about return on investment vs. the ever-present fear of breakdown when taking a 70-year-old automobile on the road every day; ultimately he found the satisfaction outweighed the worry and determined to press onward. Among the thoughtful and well-considered responses to the post, I found, among other things, an excellent quote from Kerouac’s On the Road, lots of support and admiration, and some good advice for the inevitable breakdown. And a list of helpful items to have in a toolkit:

  • Radiator hoses, both upper and lower
  • Pipe clamps for same
  • A rotor
  • A fresh coil
  • A starter (heh)
  • Fan belt
  • Fuel filter
  • Fuel pump
  • Fuses

This list is something I intend to work on in the next month as the weather gets warmer.

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Sender Sent For.

I’ve been doing a lot of pick-up consulting work lately, which means there’s been a welcome dribble of extra cash coming in the door. Which is good, because the Scout STANK of raw gasoline last week when I drove it to work. The main source of the fumes were from the rear, and because she was parked on a slight incline, I’m inclined to believe the top seal is bad. So I ordered a new sending unit yesterday from SSS, and when the weather gets warmer I’m going to finally drop the old tank and replace it with the new one.

Update: The sender’s in, and it looks like the proper gasketry is intact on the tank. I’ll have to unscrew the round metal retainer ring in order to get the sender in properly, then screw everything back into place. The next issue is figuring out a good safe way to plug off all of the vent tubes.

Fuel Sender

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Staying Warm.

So I think that this year I’m going to get serious about finding a viable steel hardtop for Peer Pressure. I’ve seen them on Craigslist for as much as $500 and as little as $200, but money and time have been short lately. The softtop I have is good but not great; the rear flap doesn’t seal, so riding inside is sort of like sitting in a moving wind tunnel. The top I have might have been viable had I not accidentally run over the corner one distracted afternoon—and it still might be, but the liftgate hinges are toast and the liftgate I have is toastier.

So, add that to the list.

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Thinking About Tanks.

I’ve been thinking about replacing my gas tank ever since I got the poly tank last summer, and I’m making plans to gather the tools I’ll need to swap it out this spring:

The tank
A new sending unit
A pair of new J-hooks
A pair of new tank straps (although, for $24/ea, mine may still be usable)
Caps of some kind to cap off the evap outlets on my tank
Jackstands to hold the tank up as I’m pulling the old/installing the new
A professional siphon for emptying the remaining gas

A quick look on the Binder Planet returned a few good threads with pictures and advice:
Gas tank strap install – with a few nice pictures and advice on which side of the straps to start with (the fronts)
My quest for the correct o-ring to fix my leaking gas tank at the fuel sender – info on O-rings
Gas tank belch, possible fix!! , which talks about poly tanks and using the extra emissions fittings to avoid burps at fillup time.

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