Fitzy

Paul - please give us a rundown on what the issue was. I'd like to know how a dizzy refuses to fire only one cylinder.

Man - you guys are gonna come back as air freight. Yes Frosty, the Suburban (as well as the US pickup) has been around forever. I was only saying that it's name implies that it'd be handy around the burbs. I wouldn't like to squeeze one around any Australian burb, complete with roundabouts, speed humps and all manner of intersections and 'traffic calming' installations. On the highway, set the cruise and wake up at your destination. The Dodge RAM and other full sized pickups are finally becoming a part of our local automotive landscape. They require more room than the average parking space so you see them occupying at least 2 on many occasions. I see them being gingerly piloted around shopping centre carparks - crazy. Our carparks aren't quite as expansive as American ones, so you can see my point.

Hi Wrongway, I experienced many dramas whilst bringing my dash back to life. I ended up sculpting impossible to find bits out of body filler and then sanded them to the correct shape - hours of fun. I don't know what that cardboard stuff is called but I do know what it is. There must be a modern plastic equivalent you could use. I bonded the vinyl to the dash top using adhesive, after laying thin high density foam over it to give it a soft touch feel - modern adhesives are very good. You shouldn't need staples.

Ah,Ye Olde Eggs Benny- my fave brekky too. I remember taking a pic of the Twin Towers waaaay back. I see a pic of beer - very good but stop mucking about and go order another burger and take a pic! I like how they call those monsters 'Suburbans.' The last place you'd try and wrestle one of those things around is in a suburb. Get it out on the highway and wind it up - surely it's natural habitat.

Wow - look at you guys over in NYC. Looks a little chilly. Beer & burgers - perfect. I like American burgers because they add pickles to them. It's slowly catching on here. The traditional Aussie burger has sliced beetroot instead. You WILL be extending your culinary repertoire to something else during your stay, won't you?

It's Manifold Madness! Hurry hurry hurry - these manifolds can't last. Crazy Fitzy's NOS Intake Clearance Centre is overstocked and everything must go! Look at this beauty: brand new but unused Weiand dual plane intake for Pontiac - just 350 Australian pesos. That's about USD217 at today's rate. So, the chap who sold me his NOS Edelbrock also has this Weiand for sale, and he asked me if I would put the word out. For the record, he has a 57 Chieftain, I think. Anyway, it's a cheap intake. Let me know - I'm happy to pass on his details, and he's an honest bloke. Don't forget that shipping will also be in Australian pesos, so it's still cheap.

Yep. Just measure the Bronc's hubs and find a poly fitting to suit. These things are online for like 60 bucks - mine cost nothing.

You've been inhaling too much PVC glue!

I gotta say, your car looks really nice in that dark colour - seems to suit it. I never considered a dark colour for mine. In combination with it's lines, it looks a bit sinister.

Congrats JustA - as Gary said, yours was deserved because you were actually physically under the thing swearing & grunting and doing the hard yards. Well done.

You should fabricate my Hubba Grabber 3000 : made from a poly water fitting. It's in my GP thread somewhere. My old ute also has manual hubs and this thing makes engaging them so easy.

Hey Wrongway, I looked through my factory BODY manual and there are no clear illustrations nor directions on what to do with your weatherstrips. It outlines how to remove them, then says to reverse the order to install. Well, duh. Our respective cars are 26657 styles. You're sure you have the correct strips? Do the old ones have the metal bits on the end? Oh - the 200 code means you're old and stupid. I get that all the time and not just here!

No apology needed: driving a Corolla is like driving a fridge - just an appliance but if you want an appliance where you simply jump in, twist the key and wake up at your destination, a Corolla is the appliance. I'm sure the Bronc will serve her well - basic old truck that will simply lope along the highway.

Looks I had to learn how to do upload a video through YT. Thanks to Ringo for stepping in and deleting my prior attempt. Today I checked the oil, filled up with coolant and dribbled some juice into the carb float bowls. De-isolated it, flicked the kill switch, said a quick prayer, double checked everything and gave her a kick in the guts. Fired right up, no strange noises, no leaks and sounds as good as it ever did, hence the very short video. Drove it gingerly around the block and took her home and forensically inspected it for any sign of leaking. Will take her for a bit longer drive tomorrow. Now pass me that well earned beer!

I can't delete that video - it's not working. Ringo, if you're out there, can you delete it for me? I'm too stupid to upload a short video.

These illustrations are from the factory Body manual. Unfortunately, I read through the text and there is no mention of how they are installed and the pics are pretty basic but I THINK the metal piece goes to the front - it looks like it might be an attachment point.

I am immensely enjoying this saga of German cars. I agree wholeheartedly with Dwight - overcomplicated for no good reason. In Australia, only the brave venture into Euro territory when purchasing a car - we subsist predominantly on a diet of Jap stuff which have been proven to be durable & reliable. Toyota rules the roost here and we are all thankful for it. You know how I keep banging on about Corollas? Buy her a Corolla and just keep it serviced and it'll probably outlive her and the rest of us.

You may as well check the brake booster vacuum hose too - another potential (but unlikely) source of a leak, although having said that my old booster diaphragm was shot and needed to be replaced. Whilst shot, I still had power brake assistance but the trans wouldn't shift of it's own accord. You say you have a new distributor? Mine is a Cardone brand - unfortunately like everything else is made in China. The crummy points & condenser that came with it were no good. Your reported voltage scenario sounds very strange. The 12V to coil at ignition 'ON' is fed from the starter motor contact, and the running voltage is fed from the ignition switch. Why you don't have 12V for a start is a mystery. You need to check for a good solid connection from the starter terminal to coil first.

Thanks Andy - I could never figure out why that hole was there, but now I know! And thanks to Wrongway too. Yeah, it looks neat. Let's see if it actually runs. I shall report later. A quick note: that bloody RTV spread further than I anticipated so it ended up a bit messy. I shall fiddle with that and clean it all up at a later date. There seems to be a higher visibility of intake gasket with the new manifold, hence the sight of gasket goo everywhere.

When you are running points, this is what is supposed to happen: 12V is routed through the ignition switch when you start the engine. Once it's running and you release the key, it springs back slightly to the 'run' position which now uses a different contact on the back of the switch and sends voltage to the coil but through a factory 'resistance wire' which drops it down to 6V or so, to allow longevity of points. Constant 12V to points will make them burn out quite quickly. So, with engine not running and ignition 'ON' you should have 12V at coil + terminal. Once it's running, you should have 6 or so. I suppose it'd be prudent to check that your earth lead from coil to distributor is also in good condition. A good earth is vital. If you ever peered into your engine bay and wondered why GM fitted so many little earth straps, they are all there for a reason. If you happen to ever go to electronic ignition, then you'll need constant 12V to the coil + which means running a nice new wire from the ignition 'START' feed so as to ensure 12V. Phew!

Right - Ames order turned up so straight into it. This time I ordered Edelbrock intake gaskets - apparently you need to use a softer gasket when bolting aluminium to cast iron. Get this: I had to trim (quite extensively) those gaskets just so they would fit. I had to trim the underside edge to clear the valley pan and had to lop off one end because it was too long and was going to foul the heater hose takeoff on one side and on the other it served no purpose at all. Heed my advice: if you are also going to fit an Edelbrock manifold, stick with Mr Gasket gaskets which have always been a perfect fit for me. Fortunately, the Edelbrock ones had an exhaust crossover plug in each gasket, but not as neat as the Mr Gasket ones, I thought. So, after fiddling about, I glued them onto the heads, test fitted the intake, smeared a litte RTV on it's faces and whacked her in. You'll see from the pics that I neatened my old aftermarket temp gauge sender unit arrangement and this time plumbed it directly into the manifold - something I couldn't do with the stock intake. I also modified the PCV intake and it's now snug & neat. I also ordered a remanufactured alternator and new regulator so bolted those in too. Everything looks nice - can probably try and start it tomorrow and see if it runs!

What? Whaddya mean inappropriate?

Paul - are you using qualiy points & condenser? My mechanic changed the garbage Chinese supplied items that came with my brand new distributor because he said he 'couldn't get a good spark.' For the record, he has put Bosch ones in and also a Bosch GT40 coil. Use NGK plugs. There seem to be numerous quality issues with everything these days. As Kiwi suggested, be methodical. Start with fuel (the simplest) and check everything - all components. Then move to electrical. Are you getting 12V to the coil? You're using points like I am, so voltage should drop to 6 or so once engine is running, due to resistance wire feeding the coil, or you might have a ballast resistor. Vacuum leaks are notorious for poor running. A possible telltale of a leak is the engine not idling properly - speeds up and almost dies, then repeats. Any timing 'flutter,' where if you observe the timing marks as the engine is running, are they stable? Might be a dodgy vacuum diaphragm. As simple as old engines are, they will all drive you crazy with the most irritating symptoms that are seemingly unfathomable to diagnose. Good luck.