Ok, so it’s once again been a while since the last update. I know these can run on kinda long, but unfortunately this one probably won’t be any different. A lot has happened since the last one.
First off, nothing further has been done on the rear wheel wells. Between getting the proper front tires installed on the car and it back on the ground, and finally getting my carburetor back from being rebuilt, those have been pushed onto the back burner for the time being.
Yep, you heard that right, I got my QuadraJet back from being rebuilt by a good friend of mine about two weeks ago after getting a rebuild kit for it at a swap meet last October. I had him do it as I don’t really speak Rochester (but I’m learning), so don’t judge too harshly.
He did a great job on the rebuild, but as with almost everything, there was some tweaking and fine tuning to be done.
Here it is when I got it back:
We had to readjust the float level a couple of times, the first time it was set way too high and was leaking fuel out of the throttle shafts and accelerator pump hole. Also, with it set that high, turning in the idle adjustment screws had zero effect. In addition, a temporary fix I had done on this leaking plug at the inlet....
.....started weeping again, so when it came off we addressed all these issues at the same time.
On the advice of a couple members here, I drilled out the old plug and tapped it to accept a 1/4” NPT plug and installed it with some Loctite 567 thread sealant. No more leaks!
With the float level and external leaks taken care of, we fine tuned the idle mixture screws and reset the timing. The throttle response now when you give it a whack is amazing! I can’t wait to take it for a rip and see how it performs.
🙂
While we were tinkering with that last week, I got some sobering news last Friday afternoon. My good buddy Mike that you’ve been aquatinted with recently told me that he suffered a heart attack the day before and had to be rushed to the hospital. After receiving immediate attention, a couple of stents and a lot of rest and medication, he’s now recovering at home.
This kinda threw me for a loop and put me off my game for a while. He’s only 49, a mere 4 years older than me. Way too young for that to happen.
I quite easily could’ve been going to a funeral this week rather than writing y’all an update. Thankfully it didn’t end up that way. So no more sharing garage time with him for the foreseeable future.
The last few days I’ve been slowly getting back into working on the car again, and by last night I had finished stripping the last of the old paint from the rubber(?) filler panels that go between the quarter panels and the back bumper.
These pieces are absolutely horrible, I cannot put into words my incredible dislike of them. They’re made of some sort of strange rubber/polymer compound or something, and are extremely difficult to work with. Virtually every one you see has the paint cracked on them because they’re so soft and flexible nothing will flex with them.
And sanding them is something else as well. It doesn’t matter if you use 400 grit or 120 grit, the material seems to “self heal” and all leaves the same finish. I despise these things and would skid them in a heartbeat if I only could.
Anyways, I had to go on a resupply mission earlier this week to get some more materials including paint, so I picked up these...
....plus some Bulldog adhesion promoter and reducer that was back ordered:
With my interest gradually coming back again and the materials I needed in hand, tonight I prepped up the filler panels with a thorough cleaning of wax and grease remover and then hit them with the tack rag and a couple coats of the Bulldog.
Here they are ready to go:
I mixed up the white with an additive of 10% flex agent, and got to shooting them.
Here’s tonight’s progress:
Not bad considering that’s a 120 grit finish on there!
Once these are dry and fully cured, I’ll install them back on the car at least temporarily. Right now the huge gaps on the car where these go are bugging the hell outta me.
The next things to receive attention will be to get back on the rear wheel wells and start on the filler panel between the back window and trunk lid. It’s currently the wrong colour and has a bit of body work to be done on it.
That’s all for now fellas, thanks for looking in on things.
D.
