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Karmann_65 Samba Member
Joined: April 17, 2009 Posts: 534 Location: Lancashire, UK
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Posted: Thu Apr 30, 2020 3:02 pm Post subject: Re: NOOB Story. Got a 1 PO ’65 Coupe |
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I'm getting back in the groove and have been cracking on with a few jobs recently.
The entire carpet is now installed except for the piece over the petrol tank (for the moment).
Petrol tank has been blasted and powder coated a nice shiny black (no after shot sorry)
Engine bay now has a tar firewall and all the wiring is through.
Dash top with imported grab handle and period radio are in.
I got a friend round to help fill and set up the all new brake system.
Exhaust box got a good clean up and high temperature paint.
I had to come up with a way to mount the Karmann side badge. Found some narrow plastic (fist tank air pump) pipe which with a bit of packing out was a tight fit over the two pins. A dot of glue ensured that it's not going anywhere.
A full set of new side trims and the original gutter trims got fitted. The plastic clips for the side trims were a bit of a nightmare as they didn't grip the trims very well. With a bit of careful scalpel work on each and every clip, I eventually got them to work. You know when you buy a model airplane kit and you have to trim all the little stubs off when you separate the parts from the kit frame. They were like that and all needed cleaning up or they just wouldn't work.
The rear view mirror had no sun visor retainers so I modified an spare old pair of Beetle ones. May not be "correct" but they work just fine. These are the small parts that are hard/impossible to find here in the UK.
At weekend I reinstalled the engine....
and created new battery clamps.....
As a final "little" job I fit the interior door top trims. As with everything else on this build I had to get creative to fit them. All my clips were missing so I ordered a bag of 50 black plastic Christmas Tree clips for 8mm holes and modified each one to fit in the back of the trims.
Looking forward to weekend and getting some more jobs off the eternal list. |
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LVGhia72 Samba Member
Joined: April 22, 2020 Posts: 282 Location: Lost Wages
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Posted: Thu Apr 30, 2020 3:07 pm Post subject: Re: NOOB Story. Got a 1 PO ’65 Coupe |
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Nice. I like the color of the carpet. |
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Karmann_65 Samba Member
Joined: April 17, 2009 Posts: 534 Location: Lancashire, UK
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Posted: Fri May 01, 2020 12:12 am Post subject: Re: NOOB Story. Got a 1 PO ’65 Coupe |
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It's so rewarding to get parts back from paint...
This was the state of the side trim clips when they arrived. Where the chamfer pushes into the back of the trim, the excess was stopping the clips from clicking into place and had to be shaved off.
New headlight lenses arrived in the post and guess what? Even they required a non standard modification to enable the correct fit. Where the side light protrudes from the bottom of the lenses, I had to cut the holders back to clear the bulb grommets.
While fitting the door pull handles to the door cards, the glue on the leather gave way slightly so I broke out the awl and hand stitched across the hidden joint. Typical that it's the part of the handle that gets pulled on and takes all the stress. Better to fix this now that later. Really happy with the way this turned out though.
Time to install the door cards so with a full new set of metal clips and rubber grommets I set to. Despite all my careful measuring it then transpires that most of the holes in the new (home made ) door cards were a couple of mm out of position. Completely my own fault but that meant I had to extend the holes to achieve a fit. Not so easy when it's already covered in new leather but I got there eventually.
A tip to prevent paint scratches inside the doors is to fold some cardboard over the top edge of the door card until it's hooked in position on the window mechanism and then slide it out. Those top card clips can do untold damage to your paintwork!
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sputnick60 Samba Moderator
Joined: July 22, 2007 Posts: 3916 Location: In Molinya Orbit
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Karmann_65 Samba Member
Joined: April 17, 2009 Posts: 534 Location: Lancashire, UK
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Posted: Fri May 01, 2020 5:05 am Post subject: Re: NOOB Story. Got a 1 PO ’65 Coupe |
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sputnick60 wrote: |
There seems to be a batch of these clips on the market these days and they are properly crap. I think the good ones are from WCM and the bad ones are from CIP and (hate to say it) KGPR. It used to be the other way around. Urghhh Chineseium
Nicholas |
I just assumed that such niche components all came from the same factory, wherever that may be. Beggers can't be choosers.
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Karmann_65 Samba Member
Joined: April 17, 2009 Posts: 534 Location: Lancashire, UK
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Posted: Wed May 06, 2020 12:04 am Post subject: Re: NOOB Story. Got a 1 PO ’65 Coupe |
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I've been having a look at the wiring this weekend and tidying up a few loose ends. Namely the 9 pin flasher relay but I think it should be good to go once I fit the fuses. I plan to fit the fuses one at a time and systematically test each one as I go. Wiring is not my forte as you've probably gathered.
While under the front I installed the glove box which you may notice is quite bright compared to normal. That's because the cardboard type material it's made of was in a dire state of collapse. After some reconstruction work with fibreglass and a splash of paint it's now quite sturdy, which admittedy didn't help with the reinstallation. With a bit of pushing and pulling on the box edges it's in. Another of those jobs where you need to be both inside the car and under the front at the same time. You know what I mean!!
There are still a few bits to do under here. Fuel tank needs plumbing in as does a windscreen washer pump. After a good dusting session, I've to find/make a boot (trunk ) liner and drop in the spare wheel.
Much to my annoyance, I appear to have misplaced my long sought after '66 hazard pull button. Until it turns up (in the "safe" place I put it) I've fitted a slightly later button that doesn't look too far out of place.
To prevent the later button from affecting the 9 pin relay wiring that's already in place, I bypassed the relay it screws into so it operates exclusively as a switch but still flashes.
As yet the radio I aquired is untested but that's a challenge for later on.
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Karmann_65 Samba Member
Joined: April 17, 2009 Posts: 534 Location: Lancashire, UK
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Posted: Mon May 18, 2020 9:35 am Post subject: Re: NOOB Story. Got a 1 PO ’65 Coupe |
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I've hit a problem with the hazard switch. While following the diagram for a 9 pin relay I seem to have everything correct and the hazards work as they should.
Only trouble is that the dash pull button does not illuminate at all.
After testing the voltages at the 9 pin relay I see that despite a full 12volts at pin 30, I'm only getting 7.69volts at pin -s (going to the dash switch). This appears to be insufficient to light the bulb.
Any suggestions?
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Karmann_65 Samba Member
Joined: April 17, 2009 Posts: 534 Location: Lancashire, UK
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Posted: Thu Jun 04, 2020 7:16 am Post subject: Re: NOOB Story. Got a 1 PO ’65 Coupe |
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After failing to find the problem with my 9 pin relay, I came to the decision that a rethink was in order.
Armed with a selection of old hazard pull buttons, a later 7 pin switch and a 3 pin relay this is what I came up with.....
Using this wiring diagram....
Many thanks to Ian at "Aircooled Auto Elec VW" (here in the UK) for the superb diagram. |
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Karmann_65 Samba Member
Joined: April 17, 2009 Posts: 534 Location: Lancashire, UK
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Posted: Thu Jun 04, 2020 8:05 am Post subject: Re: NOOB Story. Got a 1 PO ’65 Coupe |
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More shiny (expensive) new parts arrived in the post.
I bought new headlights recently but couldn't get along with their odd looking, flat fronted shape, so these have now been relegated to the "spares" box.
We all have a "spares" box don't we?
These are so much nicer and in keeping with the shape of the car.
With the wiring all now done and the interior fully fitted, I finally got to sit in the car again after many years of waiting. The front seats have far more padding in them they used to so I've had to tilt them all the way back on the 3 position adjusters.
Stainless tail pipes are on order.
The last few bits of work under the car are getting ticked off the list. Heat exchangers and cables are now hooked up to the body and the new fuel line is on with the in line filter over the drive shaft.
Breaking all modern conventions and loving the stock ride height.
Another spanner in the works revealed itself yesterday. With half a gallon of fresh petrol in the tank, it decided to spring a leak. Two actually! Must be from when the tank was blasted prior to powder coating. A little concerning as to the condition of the rest of the tank but after a couple of tiny plug welds it all looks good again. Time will tell after a subsequent thorough leak check.
Big push now to get it up a running.
I managed to turn the car around in the garage so I could fit the second new check strap and door card with the drivers side wide open.
Painted the brake drums and couldn't resist getting the wheel bling on.
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restocal63 Samba Member
Joined: November 05, 2006 Posts: 224 Location: Malta
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Posted: Thu Jun 04, 2020 12:32 pm Post subject: Re: NOOB Story. Got a 1 PO ’65 Coupe |
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You are doing an amazing restoration, keep up your good work.
By any chance do you have any approximate dimensions of the front kick panels and the metal strips which hold them in place, as they are missing from my car and karmann ghias are very rare in Malta.
Thanks in advance. |
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Karmann_65 Samba Member
Joined: April 17, 2009 Posts: 534 Location: Lancashire, UK
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Posted: Thu Jun 04, 2020 1:29 pm Post subject: Re: NOOB Story. Got a 1 PO ’65 Coupe |
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restocal63 wrote: |
You are doing an amazing restoration, keep up your good work.
By any chance do you have any approximate dimensions of the front kick panels and the metal strips which hold them in place, as they are missing from my car and karmann ghias are very rare in Malta.
Thanks in advance. |
Thanks for the kind comment. Unfortunate that it took a lockdown for me to start making significant progress again.
I've sent you a PM about the foot plate |
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Rome Samba Member
Joined: June 02, 2004 Posts: 9653 Location: Pearl River, NY
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Posted: Thu Jun 04, 2020 6:11 pm Post subject: Re: NOOB Story. Got a 1 PO ’65 Coupe |
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Lovely color! Am glad you kept the original 1-year only Ghia hubcaps and beauty rings. I have not read through your entire thread but did a search for "1966" which had no results. Have you realized that you have a 1966 model year Ghia, and not a '65 per your thread title?
Your headlamps protrude a lot beyond the fender-mounted trim rings. This is usually due to generic "Beetle/Ghia" headlamp mounting brackets. Did you try fitting the used, original-looking brackets which you modified for the city light bulbs? True Ghia brackets with 141 part numbers bring the headlamp deeper into the fender bucket so that the outer edge of the headlamp is "nearly" flush with the fender trim ring. I looked in the Gallery for Ghia headlamps but could not find one where the lamp was adjusted so that it was parallel with the trim ring. If you look at (zoom in a lot) this '68 Ghia which I'm nearly certain has the same headlamp bracket as yours originally had, you can see how much less protrusion there is-
Trunk liner: I've seen repro liners advertised, which are made of a dense cardboard/card stock "somewhat" like the originals. But due to the many folds at the front, as well as the side "ears", the repros will likely not fit or look nearly as good as an original. The originals had a vinyl bound edge near the front edges. The liner was flat along the trunk floor over the gas tank, then made an upward bend as a cargo stop, and bent downwards with at least a few lateral folds. Here's a shot from 67 Florida Deluxe's fine '66 Cabrio where you can see a small bit of that edge binding. Also the surface pattern. The material had a waterproof coating, though if the material tore from age and careless loading, the base material could rot from exposure to moisture.
Here's what appears to be a repro. You can see the lack of that front edge beading, the gas filler neck does not have the liner behind it as an additional luggage protection, and most likely less lateral folds at the front edge. The side ears are proper height, as they fit into those two small bent-down J hooks just below the trunk seal. On my '64 Ghia, there is an approx. 1 1/2' x 3' mat under the trunk liner which helps to even out the gas tank topside reinforcement ribs. This factory-fitted mat is approx. 1/2" thick and made of a semi-dense fibrous material almost like impregnated horsehair.
Since you seem to be a resourceful fellow, if you attempt to make your own trunk liner, here's a drawing to start with (from AlienJohn). Your measurements will vary since this one is for a much later Ghia that does not have the notch for the tank filler neck in the front.
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67 Florida Deluxe Samba Purist
Joined: June 21, 2005 Posts: 7987 Location: Gainesville and Tampa, Florida
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Posted: Thu Jun 04, 2020 7:01 pm Post subject: Re: NOOB Story. Got a 1 PO ’65 Coupe |
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Rome wrote: |
Lovely color! Am glad you kept the original 1-year only Ghia hubcaps and beauty rings. I have not read through your entire thread but did a search for "1966" which had no results. Have you realized that you have a 1966 model year Ghia, and not a '65 per your thread title?
Trunk liner: I've seen repro liners advertised, which are made of a dense cardboard/card stock "somewhat" like the originals. But due to the many folds at the front, as well as the side "ears", the repros will likely not fit or look nearly as good as an original. The originals had a vinyl bound edge near the front edges. The liner was flat along the trunk floor over the gas tank, then made an upward bend as a cargo stop, and bent downwards with at least a few lateral folds. Here's a shot from 67 Florida Deluxe's fine '66 Cabrio where you can see a small bit of that edge binding. Also the surface pattern. The material had a waterproof coating, though if the material tore from age and careless loading, the base material could rot from exposure to moisture.
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Hey, Karmann 65, I uploaded a few more pics of my 1966 trunk liner for reference. Let me know if you want any more pics.
_________________ -Kent (BaT "daleallen")
OG member of the '67 Posse
A few of my toys, past and present
'56 Oval, '66 KG Conv't, '67 21-Window, '67 Bug, '79 SuperVert, '55 Pre-A Continental |
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67 Florida Deluxe Samba Purist
Joined: June 21, 2005 Posts: 7987 Location: Gainesville and Tampa, Florida
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Posted: Thu Jun 04, 2020 7:15 pm Post subject: |
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Karmann_65 wrote: |
Anyone know what features of a '65 might be one year exclusive? I'm no expert but it seems to be something of a crossover year for certain parts.
The oddities I've found so far seem to be the door latches, the 10 slot wheel beauty rings and both the interior and exterior mirrors.
The wheel trim rings I'm gonna try to knock back into shape because the previous owner obviously used a screw driver to pull off his chrome hub caps.
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There's lots of oddities on a '66!
As to trim rings, the proper set has a little rubber border (grommet) surrounding the valve stem. They are also stamped with the VW logo and part number. I found an NOS set to replace mine that were screwdriver poc-marked like yours.
I got my set from a British bloke, aka TheGermanJunkies. Seb is a stand-up guy and the trim rings were dead balls on perfect for my ol'beater! He has at least one more NOS set, I believe --- FYI.
-Kent _________________ -Kent (BaT "daleallen")
OG member of the '67 Posse
A few of my toys, past and present
'56 Oval, '66 KG Conv't, '67 21-Window, '67 Bug, '79 SuperVert, '55 Pre-A Continental |
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67 Florida Deluxe Samba Purist
Joined: June 21, 2005 Posts: 7987 Location: Gainesville and Tampa, Florida
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Karmann_65 Samba Member
Joined: April 17, 2009 Posts: 534 Location: Lancashire, UK
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Posted: Thu Jun 04, 2020 11:38 pm Post subject: Re: NOOB Story. Got a 1 PO ’65 Coupe |
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Rome wrote: |
Lovely color! Am glad you kept the original 1-year only Ghia hubcaps and beauty rings. I have not read through your entire thread but did a search for "1966" which had no results. Have you realized that you have a 1966 model year Ghia, and not a '65 per your thread title?
Yes, I'm aware of this. The car was first registered in '65. I started this thread before knowing about "year models".
Your headlamps protrude a lot beyond the fender-mounted trim rings. This is usually due to generic "Beetle/Ghia" headlamp mounting brackets. Did you try fitting the used, original-looking brackets which you modified for the city light bulbs?
I've tried all combinations of parts, old and new and can not get the head lights to sit any deeper into the buckets. I totally agree they sit proud of where they should be and will be taking this up with the seller of my (not inexpensive) new lights. I explained the problem I had and yet the new ones (with curved lenses) fit just the same.
Trunk liner: I've seen repro liners advertised, which are made of a dense cardboard/card stock "somewhat" like the originals. But due to the many folds at the front, as well as the side "ears", the repros will likely not fit or look nearly as good as an original. The originals had a vinyl bound edge near the front edges. The liner was flat along the trunk floor over the gas tank, then made an upward bend as a cargo stop, and bent downwards with at least a few lateral folds. Here's a shot from 67 Florida Deluxe's fine '66 Cabrio where you can see a small bit of that edge binding. Also the surface pattern. The material had a waterproof coating, though if the material tore from age and careless loading, the base material could rot from exposure to moisture.
Here's what appears to be a repro. You can see the lack of that front edge beading, the gas filler neck does not have the liner behind it as an additional luggage protection, and most likely less lateral folds at the front edge. The side ears are proper height, as they fit into those two small bent-down J hooks just below the trunk seal. On my '64 Ghia, there is an approx. 1 1/2' x 3' mat under the trunk liner which helps to even out the gas tank topside reinforcement ribs. This factory-fitted mat is approx. 1/2" thick and made of a semi-dense fibrous material almost like impregnated horsehair.
I never cease to be amazed at the levels of detail and knowledge coming from fellow Samba contributors.
Alas, for a trunk liner I was thinking more along the lines of making a liner and covering it in a similar carpet to the interior. Not standard I know but I could point out many things on this build which deviate from stock.
Since you seem to be a resourceful fellow, if you attempt to make your own trunk liner, here's a drawing to start with (from AlienJohn). Your measurements will vary since this one is for a much later Ghia that does not have the notch for the tank filler neck in the front.
Many thanks for the template. That will most definately come in useful. |
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Karmann_65 Samba Member
Joined: April 17, 2009 Posts: 534 Location: Lancashire, UK
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Posted: Thu Jun 04, 2020 11:58 pm Post subject: |
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67 Florida Deluxe wrote: |
There's lots of oddities on a '66!
As to trim rings, the proper set has a little rubber border (grommet) surrounding the valve stem. They are also stamped with the VW logo and part number. I found an NOS set to replace mine that were screwdriver poc-marked like yours.
I got my set from a British bloke, aka TheGermanJunkies. Seb is a stand-up guy and the trim rings were dead balls on perfect for my ol'beater! He has at least one more NOS set, I believe --- FYI.
-Kent |
Strangely, I've ended up with 3 sets of 10 slot trims. My original beaten up set. A set of used trims I bought hoping they were in better condition than my originals. And a set of brand new "repro" trims.
All 3 sets are different.
The originals are a stiff aluminium with an almost brushed finish.
The used set are heavier and shinier, and appear to be a chromed steel.
The repros are not dented but not perfectly formed either and and quite flimsy. They look a little dull sat next to the chrome hub caps but these were in the best overall condition so that's what I've gone for (for now).
None of them had grommets which I guess are to protect the rubber valves. |
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Karmann_65 Samba Member
Joined: April 17, 2009 Posts: 534 Location: Lancashire, UK
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Posted: Wed Jun 10, 2020 12:29 am Post subject: Re: NOOB Story. Got a 1 PO ’65 Coupe |
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It's alive!!!!!
Link
An encouraging result after all this time. A quick static timing set, points and valves gap check, clean oil, plugs and leads.
Fresh juice and away she went. |
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dc Samba Member
Joined: April 03, 2004 Posts: 1426 Location: Kitsap Peninsula
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Posted: Wed Jun 10, 2020 10:13 am Post subject: Re: NOOB Story. Got a 1 PO ’65 Coupe |
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Woo-Hoo! Congrats!
Mine also had a first start in decades due to these strange times. _________________ 1963 Karmann Ghia |
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Karmann_65 Samba Member
Joined: April 17, 2009 Posts: 534 Location: Lancashire, UK
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Posted: Thu Jun 11, 2020 1:32 am Post subject: Re: NOOB Story. Got a 1 PO ’65 Coupe |
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dc wrote: |
Woo-Hoo! Congrats!
Mine also had a first start in decades due to these strange times. |
Thanks DC. Strange times indeed and a little sad that this is what it took to make headway on our projects.
I still have to cure a fuel starvation problem. Once the petrol in the float chamber is used up, the engine stalls. Thinking it's related to the new pipes not being primed as no fuel is reaching the inline filter over the gearbox. I'm going to try raising the front of the car and disconnecting the pipe at the pump entry point and let gravity run the juice through the line. I've tested the mechanical pump in situ with a jug of petrol and that seems to be working fine.
There's always something to figure out, even on the days when I can't get out in the garage. The latest has been the rear seat retaining strap. It arrived in the post this week but needed a shiny metal mount to look right. A quick web search came up with a small replacement case handle from Amazon.
You can see where this is going!
Super cheap and looks just the ticket. |
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