The Landshark goes to school!

Or rather, takes me back to college for homecoming.  

That's right, The Landshark is going to Sewanee for the weekend.  Google has it at 109 miles.  Most of it interstate.  I've been testing and tuning the last two weeks to get the car in shape.  This weekend's the big test, and my 10 year reunion.  I'm looking forward to the drive.  The reunion should be fun too.  

What's the big deal though? People drive that far every day to work.  This car though, this piece of German engineering, steel and glass wasn't running in July.  In August, it would start and run fitfully, barely reving.  In September, it ran and took me to work a few times, but blew hoses, overheated, and required replacement of virtually everything rubber in and around the engine. October came and with the cool weather an end to the overheating, two weeks of reliable trips to work, with only minor coolant loss from incorrectly tightened hoses.  

Now, with new front tires, a tank of 89 octane gas for comparison, and a well, running engine, this car is going out on the road.   I'll have an update after the weekend. Or I may try and twitter the trip.

http://twitter.com/JacknSundrop

Busy, painful weekend.

I spent almost all day Sunday working on the car.  Really just on one thing.  

The air intake boot.  It is a piece that sits on top of the air and fuel regulator and underneath the intake manifold.  This is a very small cramped space that is difficult to work in.  The old boot was petrified rubber.  I had to cut it out after loosening the clips that hold it in place.  The manuals are not helpful with this piece.  

"Detach the boot from the mixture regulator and air intake, and slide the boot out, installation is the reverse of removal".  

There was no mention of the jungle of fuel lines, vacuum hoses and supports that are in the way.  Not to mention that it is covered on one side by the intakes, the fuel distrubutor in the front and the throttle in the back.  I'd rather ride into the Valley of Death with the Light Brigade than replace this piece again. My arms were black with grease to my elbows when I was done, they're now black with bruises.  

For anyone doing the same thing, my only piece of advice is to take the clips out completely before trying to put the boot back in.  You can unscrew them all the way and then feed the loose end in and around each lip of the boot once it is in place.  

For all the trouble, it fixed my final vacuum leak, as the new boot has no holes, and as I loosened most of the vacuum hoses to get it in and out, I was able to inspect and test them as well.  

I also reattached the exhaust to the muffler and now have a somewhat quieter car.  This has allowed me some quiet time to contemplate the new sound coming from the left rear of the car.  I think I have a drum brake that is binding.  

I'll find out this weekend.  I needed to bleed the brake lines anyway.

The car is almost road-ready.

I've been on test drives, and am reliably making it back and forth to work, except for Monday night, when I learned that 1/4 a tank really means empty.  Apparently these German gauges are notrious for their precision, but not their accuracy.  

The odometer is working again.  With some parts from the Pull-a-Part I was able to make one working odometer.  I'm proud to say I've driven 46 miles since Tuesday night.  I also replaced the last radiator hose, before it could blow or disintergrate.  I'm getting new front tires this weekend and plan to replace the rubber air hood between the intake manifold and the air intake.  With that, the last of my vacuum problems will be fixed.  For now.  I will also bolt the exhaust back to the muffle.  This should quiet the engine enoough to do some more fine tuning 

I could walk 20 miles home if I had to. I just wouldn't want to.

Just a short trip today up the road.  About 20 miles.  The Landshark did not like the stop and go traffic in the next town, He let me know by pegging the temp gage when we were under ten miles an hour.  It was a short stretch of stops.  Before and after the traffic we pushed it a little cruising easily at 60.  I'm lacking some power due to some air leaks in the engine, but I'm tracking those down.  New tires are the next item I found out about today.  The fronts do not like 45-55 mph. Above that though, it was smooth with the engine roaring.  Of course it was roaring because the exhaust has come uncoupled from the muffler, but two bolts and a gasket wil quiet it back down.  

The highlight was just barely making it to 70 for a little while.  In todays cars, no one even blinks at 70.  It's the speed limit.  You can't even feel it.  You get passed if you're only going 70.  

70 is fast though.  It takes an older car to make you realize that.