I stumbled across this post this afternoon, which could be helpful in diagnosing my hard starting issues (10 pumps of the gas, prayer, and usually a repeat of the process):
“Item #1 – Hard starting can also be caused by a weak fuel pump, NAPA p/n M6959 is a good one to use. ”
Over the last couple of months, between two different Scouts, I was able to scavenge a right and left window regulator to replace the rusted, frozen metal in this rig. I had to finally grind a bolt off of one of the spare doors to free up the passenger side, and I got a clean regulator for the driver’s side from the white scout a few weeks ago. After a careful wire brushing, I got the rust, paint, mud, and gunk off of the metal and made it ready for paint.
Update 7.26: I installed the driver’s side regulator on Saturday, and it made a huge difference with raising and lowering the window. I wasn’t sure I had it correct at first, but a little troubleshooting ensured a proper fit.
So, to recap, I had some alarming issues come up with the throttle last weekend on my return from a dump run. Specifically, I lost about 40% of my available power on the way home, out of the blue, with no advance warning. As it turned out, the issue was not with the carb or the engine, which I feared, but with the throttle cable itself. There’s a trio of clamps which theoretically hold the cable into place, but up until last weekend, the vendor’s sticker was the only thing keeping it from moving as the throttle advanced.
Sunday I got a little time while Finn was asleep to poke around under the hood, and I made a fix to the third clamp in order to keep it from advancing: about four winds of electrical tape under the clamp now hold it in place without binding the cable. I took it out for a test spin and everything seems to be fine again.
So, last week, I repaired the hose from the inlet tube to the gas tank, which had rotted out and was leaking. I figured, since I’d driven at least 75 miles since last putting gas in the tank, that I’d need some more. (The gauge reads empty). At the filling station down the street, the pump clicked off several times after only five gallons, and since my old Scout did this routinely on an empty tank, I thought nothing of it—until I heard the spatter of gas on the pavement below.
This time, it was a smaller hose the PO had used to plug off two of the evap tubes; I’d filled the tank to the top and now the little 3/8″ hose (which is at the high end of the tank) was leaking. Swell.
I returned home to see if there was anything I could do; I didn’t have any tape that would stand up to gasoline handy, so I decided to drive it to the dump (the entire bed was full of debris I’d loaded previously) and burn off some gas. After a brief stop at the Home Depot to pick up a fire extinguisher (the thought of cooking off while motoring down the highway was foremost in my mind), I waited in a mercifully short line at the dump and got rid of another load of crap.
On my way out, I quickly noticed something peculiar with the gas pedal; it was closer to the floor than it had been minutes before. I was still getting throttle enough to make it into 4th gear, but my speed topped out at 45mph or so with the pedal to the floor, far short of the 65 I’ve had it at before (I’ve never had the hammer all the way down before this).
Checking the linkage, I don’t see anything loose with the connection at the firewall, on the pedal itself, or up to the first mount on the carb. I’m dealing with a Carter Thermoquad, something I have no experience with (my old Scout had a Holley 1920 on a 2-barrel 304; this is a 4-barrel 345). Bad linkage? Bent pedal?
My first thought is the linkage itself. The wires and connections are tight, but perhaps something came loose in the carb iself. The throttle cable is brand-new (still has the vendor sticker wrapped around the sleeve) so I know it can’t be that. This is going to take some sleuthing by mechanics smarter than I.
I drive into work yesterday to take advantage of the sunlight and warm weather, and the old girl did not let me down. She fired right up in the morning and I got out onto I-95 grinning from ear to ear. Larger bumps send her into a bit of a panic, because the shocks and springs are so tight any sudden movement gets transmitted and amplified by the short wheelbase and stiff suspension. I have to be very careful with the steering, as well—there’s a bit of play, and then when it starts turning, it’s turning.
In the parking garage I had a bit of a scare when I drive up to the height warning sign and could touch it with my entire palm from the driver’s seat, but we squeaked under it with inches to spare.
I had to drive out to Ellicott City after work to get some paperwork notarized, and enjoyed the scenic route by the river. There is still some question as to how much gas she needs to start; I’m averaging about 10 pumps of the pedal to coax her to life each time, which is concerning. The carburetor is a Carter Thermoquad, which will obviously need some attention in the near future. (I’d love to ditch it and go to a Holley 2300, but that may need to wait until money is not so tight).
This weekend was in the low 70’s, and between spending time with my daughter and doing a ton of overdue yardwork, I took some time to fool around in the garage. The first order of business was to clean out the space and organize everything better; the back half of the garage has been used for a no-man’s land for years, and thus was piled randomly with junk. I’m also storing a bunch of parts for Mr. Scout, which demanded better accommodations, so I swept, organized, and cleaned up the entire bay.
Next, I wanted to pull the panels off my donor doors and see what shape they were in. It looks like they’re reasonably clean, although everything suffers from light surface rust and needs a good wash. The door pulls and window cranks are both clean, but one foam armrest is toast and the other is marginal. I also pulled what looks to be an original rearview off the driver’s door and took steel wool to the grime covering the chrome; it cleaned up better than I hoped it might.
On the sad side, the liftgate is rusted out beyond economical repair; every time I moved it I left piles of rust in my wake, so I’ll just strip the parts off and ditch the frame.
Finally, I got a strange urge to pull the dashpad off for examination. Someone paid a good deal of money to cover a cracked green foam pad with blue vinyl, ruining the foam with staples and glue. Hopefully the pad Mr. Soundman’s offered me is in better shape than this one.
This morning I dropped by Mr. Soundman’s house to lend a hand in de-tubbing his Scout. He has a 1972 with relatively clean sheetmetal but a frame that’s seen better days. His plan is to add his good parts to a donor frame to make one clean Scout.
He’d gotten everything off the tub prior to this morning, and soaked the body bolts in WD-40 to make for easier removal, so we got right to work. The body bolts came off, the steering linkage was removed, various electrical connections were removed, and the tank got drained and dropped.
Then, it was Miller time.
The next step was to get it as close to its final destination as possible so as to save our lower backs from years of chiropractic reconstruction. After removing a length of fence, we angled the truck out of the carport and into the backyard within a stone’s throw of a flat concrete pad. Experimentation with 2x4s and leverage determined that we needed to lower the front of the frame to get the tub high enough to clear the transfer stick, so we removed the front wheels and lowered the body onto jackstands.
Once that was accomplished, we heaved the tub off the chassis and the four of us got it over to the concrete with only one (hopefully) minor strain. Boy, was I glad that went quickly, and surprised at how much that thing weighed. Note to self: this is a 6-man job.
Then, it was a matter of redoing what we’d undone to get the frame back on four wheels and into the carport. A little shoving, a little kicking, and the chassis was under cover for the evening.
All in all, it was a very successful day—the four of us got a lot done in five hours.
On the heels of my earlier post about Bisio Motors up in Portland, Mr. Scout sent me this weblog post with some more information and a video interview.