Category: Future Plans

Hidden Tunes Via An iPod.

Here’s a really interesting article on the Jalopy Journal with some good information about hooking up an iPod to a hidden amplifier. The interesting part is the iPod dock connector, which I’d never really thought about searching for before. I believe the Kenwood head unit I have is equipped with RCA jacks that will support AUX input, so I may switch over to that instead of a mini stereo cable out the front.

Update: I’m out of luck with the Kenwood unit (it’s got no aux inputs on the back), so I may just sell it on Craigslist. I never liked the control/button setup anyway.

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Sounds Like Progress!

I almost forgot to mention the 6×9″ speakers Santa left under the tree for me, which will fill two jagged holes in the inner bulkhead and finally provide some form of in-flight entertainment. The current radio will stay until I make a proper DIN-sized cutout in one of the spare dash panels I’ve got, and then I’ll replace it with the old Kenwood from the Jeep. Thanks, Santa!

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Manual.

Santa brought me, among other things, the Dave Emmanuel book for my Thermo-Quad. With this, a copy of the 1972 Chrysler manual, and a copy of the 1982 Federal Mogul manual, I should be in pretty good shape. I’m going to pick up a second spare carb in January for dis-assembly and tinkering so that I’ve got a complete bench model and one for practice.

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Fixing Sloppy Steering

There is a huge amount of play in my steering, so I read this post with interest. Among the advice:

…have someone turn the steering wheel back and forth while you watch the rag joint and the input and output shafts on the steering box for slop.

There is an adjustment on the steering box. Look for a 5/8 or 11/16 nut usually on the side of the box. It is on a shaft that usually has as screwdriver slot in it. Raise your front end off the ground. Center the wheels. Hold the center shaft while you break loose the nut. Turn the screw in to some resistance. Temporarily tighten the lock nut. Check for play again. If the adjustment is too tight, steering will be stiff at center. If so, back off a little.

Additionally:

…in addition, the correct way is to disconnect the drag link as well. As long as I have dealt with the lash in any Saginaw box, the correct way was just the same as any adjustment. All adjustments are made off-vehicle, so you must, as the books say, remove all preload. Which means pulling the drag link. Make it seem like it is off vehicle. While true final adjustment is made with the steering wheel connected and the gearbox mounted, note that the drag link is not! Also note that a dial indicator and lb-in torque wrench are also used. Inch pound that is, which means there is little room for mistake/carelessness.

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Rear Bumper Fabrication

Mr. Scout and I have been talking about getting materials together and building a pair of rear bumpers jointly to save on materials and time, and he sent me a link this morning: a write-up on a project from the Binder Planet. The author built it for an 800B but the design could be modified for a Scout II pretty easily, we figure. The part that interests me is the swing-away tire carrier and Hi-Lift jack mounts, which would clear up a ton of space in the back of Peer Pressure.

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Wires.

I ordered a set of plug wires from RockAuto yesterday afternoon, as well as five dash bulb sockets and lights. Originally I was going to buy a gas tank sender and get the new tank ready for installation, but I suddenly came to my senses and realized that I don’t have an entire weekend to deal with that project. So, I ordered wires to go along with the plugs I’ve already got, and I figure I can get them installed in a couple of hours.

I also worked with the third bench seat a little more, and have it almost to the place where it’s ready to go in—but I have to do some POR-15 work on the mounting plates and bed before it goes in for good. The bed itself needs a good media blasting and sealant coat soon, because there’s some light rust coming up under the purple paint that I’d like to mitigate immediately as well as some flaky areas around the wheel wells.

I’m moving up my plans for a welder to near the top of the list, because I see some metal repairs in my future.

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Short-Term Projects.

So, now that the carb is working correctly, I’m looking at small, inexpensive things that I can accomplish next on a tight time and money budget. There are a ton of things that are crying out to be worked on, unfortunately.

job cost
Pull the windshield cowl, pull the wiper motor, and replace with a working unit. rebuild replace $???
Disconnect and pull out the A/C dash unit (for easier access to the dash electronics) $0
Swap out the dash plastics with replacements $0
Pull the emergency brake assembly, wire wheel it, repaint, and replace $0
Take the old mirror off the door and replace it with the stock mirror – SSII mirror installed 9/1/12 $40
Replace wires and plugs with the new set in the garage. – Installed 8/19/12 $0
Buy some Peel & Seal and apply to the trans tunnel and firewall. $25
Buy some kind of carb soak and dunk the spare Holley 2300 in it for an initial cleaning. $10
Borrow a welder from someone and weld in some angle iron to the bases of the bucket seats $?
Paint, mount, and install the original bucket seats $0
Re-route and run new heavy speaker wire, solder all connections and heatshrink $0
Degrease the engine $0
Fix the emergency brake release handle Mostly done; might need to replace the handle $40
Buy a new fuel tank sender, J hooks, gas lines, drop and replace the gas tank, diagnose the gauge issues $70 + hoses
Pull the driver’s door apart (again) and replace the scissors mechanism (again) $0
Pull the speakers and install foam baffles $0
Replace both battery cables. $0
Buy a can of engine degreaser and clean the firewall. $8
Pick up a box of ten dash bulb sockets and bulbs and replace everything in the dash that doesn’t work. (gauges done 1/11, speedo still needs work) $15
Grind out the rust in the passenger floor, interior wall, and door flanges, then POR-15 and cover with some kind of finish coat. $25
Pull the radio from the Jeep and install it in the Scout. $0
Put a pair of inexpensive 6×9 speakers in the rear fenders $30-50
Drop the third rear bench seat in and see if it fits.
$0
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Notes for Myself.

This to-do list is going to make more sense to me than to anyone else, but I’d like to get it out of my sketch book and up here where I can actually find it. It’s in rough order of importance for the year; I expect only to get about 1/5 of it done, but a guy can dream, right?

Install Holley 2300
buy rebuild kit – $60+
buy 2bbl. intake – $50

Rebuild the Thermoquad
buy Thermoquad rebuild kit – $50

Finish sanding and painting the seat bases, weld in some support on the bottom
Sand the bed and floors – buy stripper & discs
Fix the driver’s window scissors – It’s binding when pressure is first applied to the crank.
Clean sand & paint
Inner fenders
Windshields
Travel Top
Dogleg

Fix the rear bench seat – I’d like to replace the upholstery with something cleaner. The replacement bench seat I have doesn’t fit correctly (the latch doesn’t meet the striker on the wheel wells).
Fix the brake light indicator – the switch on the pedal is bent.

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