Archive: 2008

Took off rear bumper and other things.

Tagged: Disassembly
9th April 2008
Sheared another bolt on the towbar – these really were rusted through, and the the last remaining one just spins in its hole, so had to drill the heads off all the bolts. The bumper and towbar then fell off. Also took out the last rear quarter window (had to cut and pull the plastic roller off). Removed some strips along the floor and in the door area, and removed…
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Windshield out.

Tagged: Disassembly
8th April 2008
Used a stanley knife and a guitar string to cut the rubber seal around the window. Got 3 sides done nicely, but on the fourth could not get the knife blade in properly nor the string all the way through; no matter what angle, how hard or how many times I tried. Eventually stabbed most of it away using just the tip of the blade. Lifted windsheild out and as…
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Doors off and a couple windows out.

Tagged: Body, Disassembly
7th April 2008
Took both doors off. Took rear window and one rear quarter window out. The rubber seal for the back window had almost completely disintegrated so the glass just lifted out. One quarter window was seperated from its tracks (a plastic roller has fallen off) so this was also simple – the other side is still connected to the guide tracks, so I’ll leave it for now. Don’t do this to…
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Not much done.

Tagged: Disassembly
6th April 2008
It decided to snow so not much done. Took trunk lid off and cleaned the trunk area out. Some pictures of the rust near the shock towers are below. Took tail lights out. Tried to take the bumper off but a mounting bolt in the trunk just spins, and I sheared the two mounting bolts for the towbar which connects to the bumper… too damned cold to sort it out…
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It’s slowly disappearing.

Tagged: Disassembly
5th April 2008
Took front left fender off, much easier than the other one. Will also need replacing; not only the rust but a cross section of the panel showed that the filler on it was at least 4 times that of the metal itself. Also took the wheelhouses off. Off as well came a lot of the front end; valance and a load of support panels and the doors.   Fender, valance…
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So begins the stripping down.

Tagged: 1967 Pontiac Firebird
4th April 2008
Front right fender taken off with difficulty, unsure of how it all fitted together and to help a few of the bolts were rusted to the nut or the body, so there was a lot of cutting to the sheet metal. This sides lower fender panel was also taken off. Found a fair amount of rust about the place, the fender and lower panel will need to be replaced. The…
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Intake manifold test.

Tagged: 1967 Pontiac Firebird
3rd April 2008
Engine started nicely again. Performed intake manifold vacuum test (just stick this gauge into one the vacuum hoses, then start the car and note the vacuum reading). Results are good, maybe a little high though. Results below (in inches of Mercury): Fully depress throttle, needle jumps between the two throttle blip indicators. At idle the needle flickers with a range of ~0.7 sits at about 22.5. As throttle is gradually…
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Compression test again.

Tagged: Engine, Ignition
2nd April 2008
Car started straight away today. Thought I’d do the cylinder compression test again before moving on to test the intake and fuel fump vacuum pressures. But, battery run out after the compression test, so intake vacuum will have to be tomorrow. The difference in results from yesterday, although minor, are probably due to the engine being hotter as the test was conducted quicker this time round. Curious why number 4…
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Compression test.

Tagged: Engine, Ignition
1st April 2008
Car would not start today. Ha. Gravity fed petrol into pump then reattached fuel lines and car runs. Unsure of problem. Performed compression tests on the cylinders of the engine – remove all spark plugs, then screw the gauge into each spark plug hole whilst turning the engine over.   An engine overhaul is intended (new gaskets, piston rings etc.) but this test should flag up any serious problems. Diagnosed…
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And it fired up.

Tagged: Engine
31st March 2008
Gravity fed petrol into pump via hose and funnel, with pump to carb line fully attached. Turned engine over, everything fired.   Pretty f*cking loud. (Probably due to the sawn-off, half length, rusty exhaust pipes)   Turned it off. And on again, sounds good, no obvious misfires or horrendous noises. Topped up water and oil levels, reattached fuel tank to fuel pump. Turned key and engine fires, idles indefinitely –…
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Fuel pump again.

Tagged: Engine
30th March 2008
Took fuel pump out again, manually pumped it to get a better feel for how much force is needed on the lever. Then tested it by holding the pump in the opening for the lever whilst the engine is turning. Cam movement is definately sufficient to move lever. Bolted back on.   Attached hose to fuel inlet on the pump and the other end of the hose in a fuel…
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