Trophy24

Double post somehow. Will edit later

Back to electrical stuff I had to borrow a dwell meter to set the ignition points on this car. I used to have a cheap one in my tool box for use on customers' cars. It had been such a long time since I used it, it got tossed out during one of those garage cleaning purges you have to do from time to time. While setting the points, I was reminded what a great step forward electronic ignition was. Since I was still fighting a misfire on the car I decided to upgrade to a Pertronix system with a matching coil. What a difference that made. Starts right up and idles smooth. Yeah! Out with the old In with the new One thing I like about the Pertronix system is how it can hide under the stock distributor cap. Not so with the "blaster" coil. Had to face the label away from view to make it better. I guess I could have peeled it off too.

Some of these posts are out of order. I had a gap in time between updates and am trying to piece it together here. Cooling system problems. I noted a radiator leak early on in this process of getting the car on the road. I really like the Koyo option for this car. So much so I went ahead and got one. Shiny goodness right there. One of those upgrades that make you feel good every time you see it. Fitment was ok, but required some spacers away from the core support that brought it close to the engine fan. It still worked, but made me nervous. Fast forward to the first test drive in the neighborhood. The car stalled about 2 blocks from home and would not start again. I had to do the walk of shame. When I came back with my truck and a tow strap, I noticed coolant leaking from the car. After towing the car home I traced the leak to the new Koyo radiator core leaking at the bottom tank. Not what I expected for sure. Cursing in the garage stays in the garage. The place I ordered it from was no help as it had been too long since purchase. I was looking into getting some help from Koyo when I realized the motor mounts on the car were shot. I could tell because the upper radiator hose was yanking the radiator and core support when I revved the engine! Too short of a hose for the amount of movement led to a cracked radiator. Can't warranty that for sure. Special thanks to my good friend Carter for hooking me up with a stock radiator that really helped out. You are the best! Bad motor mount! Go sit in the corner! I had the replacement mounts stashed away in a box. Should have installed them sooner I guess. Live and learn.

Thanks! I do too On with more electrical. New battery can't stay alive by itself. How about that charging system? 12.2V when running is not enough. I noticed some issues with the fuse box when I did a quick fuse check. 20A fuse let go as soon as I replaced it. Hmm what has been going on here? Note the paper diagram of fuse location with what used to be a clear cover. Found the cigarette lighter socket is shorted to ground. Unplug the single wire and the short is gone. Still having a voltage drop at the fuse box for the sense wire that feeds the alternator. Time to clean up connections here. Before During vinegar bath And after about 2 hours of soak time. My experimentation with this method showed me not to leave it in too long. It will eat up your stuff! Much better Time to look into the alternator. At 35A max (maybe) the original externally regulated alternator did not impress me. I am used to much more capable systems in the cars I work on every day. I decided to go with the 1995 Nissan Pathfinder unit as it would fit in place pretty easily. The addition of a washer on the adjusting bolt and the next size longer belt were all it needed to bolt into place The addition of two jumper wires into the external regulator connector had me in business at 13.8V.

Somewhat fitting that the above image is the last one I posted. That was right before Canby 2018 and I still had hopes of sorting this car out enough to make the trip. Shortly after that post the key and the Pooh key chain went missing. Like really not to be found anywhere. After hours of searching I gave it up as a lost cause. You all have spare keys right??????? I did not focus on this detail and found myself unable to make progress sorting out the car. No spare key, no Canby trip for the Bluebird. 🙁 My awesome wife told me it was a good thing as the car probably would not have made it. I am not sure that helped me or not, but she was right (again). If you ever find yourself in this predicament, Google is your friend. I found a place to have some spare keys made based on the key code number. I picked the wrong key blank for the cut, it came out way too long. A little careful time on the grinder, comparing the pictures I had of the old key and I was in business again. All the lock cylinders work great. Back to sorting out the fuel system. I had the cleaned out tank back in with the new filler hose. Lets add some fuel! Ok where is that fuel smell coming from? Fuel leaking in the trunk. Oh man! Seems to be coming from the fuel sender O ring. Several cycles of drain the tank, check the O ring, clean the area, replace the O ring etc. Still seeping and cant really tell where it is coming from. Time for a trick we use at work. Tracing powder spray. It leaves a white residue that will change colors when there is a clear fluid leak such as gasoline. See the darker spots on the tank at about 4:30 - 5:00 close to the fuel sending unit? Yeah, pin holes in the steel tank. Found some others on the bottom of the tank too. Lots of them. My POR15 attempt to reseal the tank had some de lamination of the coating that was really frustrating. from what I read online, the coating was too thick or it was not clean enough. Either way not a success. Time to search for a new tank. Special thanks to Jeff for coming through for me on that! Much better! No leaks! With the fuel supply sorted out, time to run the engine again. After running it for a few minutes, it developed a misfire that was not isolated to any 1 cylinder. It needed normal tune up parts replacement anyway so in went new plugs, wires and cap/rotor. Same issue. I decided it was time to upgrade the electrical systems to help make this car reliable. The battery tested poorly so time to replace it. I found that new batteries here in the US have different size terminals for their connections. They are much larger and make the old lead cable ends unusable. So... time to replace cables too I guess. I came up with a solution based on what I use here at work. Yes it is much more modern looking, but the terminals are now protected, It will function perfectly and it has a clean look. What do you guys think?

These steps looks familiar Carter. You are making good progress with the shell. It will be painted before you know it and on the road!

Emailed the address thanks

PayPal sent Skib thanks man

Looks like you guys do great work! Nice to see a father and son project

If you don't mind me asking, what is special about the L13 or L14 that makes them desireable for a turbo build? I have an L13 in my Bluebird

No room at home darn it!

I think this vey thing was mentioned by a certain race car driver at the Canby dinner this year.

I had seen bits of this story. Thanks for putting it all in one place!

Looking forward to racing updates

Wheeler Dealer effect?