Not a whole lot of time to play with the Scout this weekend, but I did a few things worth noting:
I picked up eight Autolite 303 plugs at the local NAPA. I wasn’t positive my distributor took female ended wires, so I held off on them (it does) as well as buying oil and a filter. I think I’ll wait until next week for that purchase. (I spent about $100 on wires and plugs for the other two cars, so I’m trying to stay on budget here). I have to preorder the wires, but that’s no big deal. I’ll preorder the oil filter while I’m at it. In the bad news department, the cap to the distributor is loose and comes off easily with a tug. That can’t be good.
Update: My friend Alan tells me Autolite 303s are no good and that I need 85’s, which is what the good BinderPlanet told me in the first place. Lesson learned: never believe the NAPA computer.
I then tore the dashboard down to swap out the fuel gauge out with another unit in order to see if it’s the gauge or the sender. It’s the sender. While I was in there, I looked at swapping out the nasty dash cover with a cleaner one—I have four spares in various conditions. It turns out I’ll have to cut one of the spares in order to fit a standard-size radio, or simply pull the radio out altogether and wait for a Tuffy console at a later date. There are no speakers in the rig right now, so I’m leaning towards pulling the radio, which would be one less thing to worry about when parking in public.
I also tried swapping the glovebox door with a spare I’ve got which has a better latch, but again, I was foiled. I couldn’t get the better latch to come apart, and subsequently off the door. So I pulled the original door and put the spare on: no dice. The catchplate on the inside of the glovebox doesn’t like the latch, and the sheetmetal is too small for the larger catchplate. Rats!
Finally, I returned to Wheaton to pick up the rest of the parts I’d left behind on my first trip, and in the interim, the seller had chopped the rest of the cancerous body from the frame and hauled it off for scrap.
However, he was kind enough to do a lot of saving for me, and thoughtful enough to set aside a bunch of items he thought I might like:
- The radiator (which I had to leave behind last time)
- The dash pad (which I forgot last time) – it’s in excellent shape save two small tears on the passenger side.
- Both door window regulators
- Complete sets of door glass-butterfly and main, with tracks
- Both door latch mechanisms
- Both door lock mechanisms
- Two doorhandles in very good shape (no pitting on the chrome)
- Passenger knee vent
- The entire dashboard, with intact loom, heater plastic, and switches (!)
- The bottom section of the cowl vent, with the wiper motor and arms attached
Plastic auto transmission shift cover
- One taillight lens bucket
The regulators are in far worse shape than I’d hoped; I was going to refurb them and swap them in, but the bottoms are rusted pretty good. The dash is in good shape, as are the windows and mechanicals. The radiator is the worst part of the lot, though—the bottom panel has come loose from the main assembly, so I’ll have to see if that can be repaired at all.
Overall, for the amount of money I spent, I did exceptionally well. I’ve got a handful of hard-to-replace specialized parts stored away now, and spares of other things which may wear out or be damaged over time.
