dimlight65 Posted November 11, 2023 Report Share Posted November 11, 2023 (edited) On 11/8/2023 at 8:30 PM, dimlight65 said: We're planning to fix the fuel leak (yes, the temporary hose I used on the filler pipe is leaking) Saturday and put some more miles on it to make sure it keeps its cool. And this was a thing which we did... And, ta-da! It's done! We then tackled the Bilstein shocks up front... And, ta-da! It's done... I drove it to lunch at a place we are calling Bougie Mexican Food... She's a cold natured bitch! Wouldn't really idle all the way there, but after heat-soaking for half an hour or so... Hoo doggies! I'm quite pleased with the way it runs! I stopped and put in 10 or 11 gallons of gas and then drove for a while. Pulled strong in all the gears, rolled up onto the freeway with ease, cruised along at 60-70 miles per hour with no problem, and the temp held rock-steady at 180°, however... When I got back to the shop, the window glass jammed in the track and then dislocated itself from the regulator and dropped down into the door. I was too pissed off to look at it today. I* will look at fixing it Wednesday. *And by "I" I totally mean "John" Edited November 11, 2023 by dimlight65 Quote Link to comment
dimlight65 Posted November 12, 2023 Report Share Posted November 12, 2023 Our "Fender Roller 5,000,000" was beginning to look a little ragged... So I went online to look for a new one... HOLY SHIT STAINS ARCHER! $400 for a baseball bat? Anyhoo, to make a short story long, we now have the new "Fender Roller 20,000,000" at the shop... Quote Link to comment
Duncan Posted November 12, 2023 Report Share Posted November 12, 2023 (edited) Damn, I really dislike working on door glass. My arms always get scratched to shit and bloody. I hope you (and I mean John) don't run into the same problems I usually have with screwing around with doors. I'd say the old fender lip roller has given you good service. I've never seen one as worn down as that one. Chip Foose would be proud! Edited November 12, 2023 by Duncan 1 Quote Link to comment
dimlight65 Posted November 12, 2023 Report Share Posted November 12, 2023 11 hours ago, Duncan said: I'd say the old fender lip roller has given you good service. It has clearanced many a fender in its day. It will get a well earned retirement. 1 Quote Link to comment
EDM620 Posted November 12, 2023 Report Share Posted November 12, 2023 9 hours ago, dimlight65 said: It will get a well earned retirement. Kindling? 😁 1 Quote Link to comment
dimlight65 Posted November 13, 2023 Report Share Posted November 13, 2023 (edited) 2 hours ago, EDM620 said: Kindling? 😁 Are you kidding me? That is... well, was a genuine Texas Rangers gimme bat! From a marketing plan only the 1970's could have dreamed up; "Bat Night." Everyone got a free bat at the gate before the game! And no, I am not making that up! Edited November 13, 2023 by dimlight65 2 Quote Link to comment
Duncan Posted November 13, 2023 Report Share Posted November 13, 2023 33 minutes ago, dimlight65 said: Are you kidding me? That is... well, was a genuine Texas Rangers gimme bat! From a marketing plan only the 1970's could have dreamed up; "Bat Night." Everyone got a free bat at the gate before the game! Here in California, they hand out bats as part of the catch and release program for felons convicted in multiple cases. It's the new version of a three strikes law... 3 Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted November 16, 2023 Author Report Share Posted November 16, 2023 On 11/11/2023 at 7:49 PM, Duncan said: Damn, I really dislike working on door glass. My arms always get scratched to shit and bloody. I hope you (and I mean John) don't run into the same problems I usually have with screwing around with doors. Four scratches, but only three of them were deep enough to bleed, so. 😋 Glass is back in place now. It just popped out of the holder on the regulator (see below). Put some goop in there to stick it back in and rolled it up nice and tight until that cures. I think the real issue is a lack of lubrication in the seals (will fix that), and the front window channel frame being set a little too tight making the glass drag/jam (will fix that). 1 Quote Link to comment
iceman510 Posted November 16, 2023 Report Share Posted November 16, 2023 On 11/12/2023 at 7:51 PM, dimlight65 said: Are you kidding me? That is... well, was a genuine Texas Rangers gimme bat! From a marketing plan only the 1970's could have dreamed up; "Bat Night." Everyone got a free bat at the gate before the game! And no, I am not making that up! I still have two or three of them I received at Milwaukee Brewer bat night games. When I saw yours, it made me think of mine immediately, ask it looks just like them. Would have been early 70's as you said. 👍 1 Quote Link to comment
dimlight65 Posted November 18, 2023 Report Share Posted November 18, 2023 Holy guacamole! This thread is one page away from being as long as The Chickenhawk's! I really need to "finish" both of them. Quote Link to comment
dimlight65 Posted November 19, 2023 Report Share Posted November 19, 2023 (edited) The water choke was not cutting it. I never could get the small water housing to align consistently with the large base on the carbu... know what? Never mind. Suffices to say, it didn't work so today I installed a manual choke. First, I replaced the hood release with the new choke cable... Um, hello? My knob is down here! I routed the cable back along the oil filler pipe... And around the back of the donk... to a bracket on the manifold... And finally to the choke mechanism... It works well and I'm quite chuffed with it. It is going to take some practice to set the fast idle and butterfly "blind" once the doghouse is back on, but I'm sure I'll figure it out. Edited November 19, 2023 by dimlight65 1 Quote Link to comment
dimlight65 Posted November 25, 2023 Report Share Posted November 25, 2023 While buying parts to "Mad Tight Drifter" (or "Rice Out" if you prefer) the Smart Car, I dropped a few items for the Dajiban in my shopping cart... The Bride shift gaiter dropped on pretty well, but I need to tuck it under the carpet... And since I needed to re-tap the threads from 12mm x 1.25 to 1/2" x 20 to install either one, I decided the bubble knob was easier and more Dajiban! Final (for now) setup... 2 Quote Link to comment
dimlight65 Posted December 3, 2023 Report Share Posted December 3, 2023 I need to get a state inspection done so I can renew the license. Quote Link to comment
dimlight65 Posted December 3, 2023 Report Share Posted December 3, 2023 Epic fail. I went to several places with state inspection signs and none of them were doing them today. I finally gave up, parked the van, and came home. Some notes from the drive: The shifter is perfect. It falls to hand and rows through the gears... well, perfectly. But the carb really needs to be tuned. It's running fat, is very sluggish, has rev-hang somehow, and the fast idle on the choke is either "too fast" or "dies" until 140° or so. Having said that, I gave it the beans to get out in front of some traffic and it pulled pretty well, lighting up the tires through second. Was nice. 3 Quote Link to comment
dimlight65 Posted December 7, 2023 Report Share Posted December 7, 2023 (edited) I never realized I didn't like my wiper cowl until John showed me one from a Hapsburg Chin "face-lift" ('98+) van. Old, flat, boring cowl... Face-lift cowl... But first we need to cut holes for the coolant fill/bleed thingies... And in place... Swoosh that air over those wiper arms! Yes, one of the best $5 I have spent on this van! Edited December 7, 2023 by dimlight65 3 Quote Link to comment
dimlight65 Posted December 8, 2023 Report Share Posted December 8, 2023 Well, I dropped the van off to have the carb tuned. I probably could have done it myself, but I am far too lazy, and get frustrated far too easily, to mess with it. So, what's next for the Dajiban, you ask? Well, I'm not saying this is going to happen, but... 1 Quote Link to comment
Duncan Posted December 9, 2023 Report Share Posted December 9, 2023 (edited) 2 hours ago, dimlight65 said: Well, I dropped the van off to have the carb tuned. I probably could have done it myself, but I am far too lazy, and get frustrated far too easily, to mess with it. So, what's next for the Dajiban, you ask? Well, I'm not saying this is going to happen, but... That car has a license plate, so I'm presuming he drives it on the street. I bet he gets laughed at a LOT with that stupid contraption. It reminds me a a guy who was on Ratsun for about ten minutes and he had some FWD toyota with a rear spoiler that was about twice as big as that Miata spoiler. Ratsun was brutal (deservedly so) and he was laughed right the hell outta here.. Edited December 9, 2023 by Duncan 1 1 Quote Link to comment
dimlight65 Posted December 9, 2023 Report Share Posted December 9, 2023 So... we have one "No" vote on the active aero. Noted. 2 Quote Link to comment
datzenmike Posted December 9, 2023 Report Share Posted December 9, 2023 I couldn't watch but did he test this in a wind tunnel or assume that it 'should work' as expected? The down force is proportional to the drag induced by the wing. Quote Link to comment
Duncan Posted December 9, 2023 Report Share Posted December 9, 2023 13 hours ago, dimlight65 said: So... we have one "No" vote on the active aero. Noted. The ONLY car street driven that is Ok with that kind of spoiler is the Plymouth Superbird and/or the Dodge Daytona. (even then, they are dorky looking) I can see it being useful going 150mph plus on a track, but the only time a Miata is going to go 150 is if it's going over a very tall cliff... But hey, it's your van. If you like it, I'm all for it if it makes you happy. 1 Quote Link to comment
EDM620 Posted December 9, 2023 Report Share Posted December 9, 2023 13 hours ago, dimlight65 said: So... we have one "No" vote on the active aero. Noted. Make that 2 - seems a touch irrelevant on an aerodynamic brick I could see using the methodology to do something funky - Speedy Bong dispenser? Licence plate flipper? Gattling gun loader? Quote Link to comment
dimlight65 Posted December 9, 2023 Report Share Posted December 9, 2023 6 hours ago, datzenmike said: I couldn't watch but did he test this in a wind tunnel or assume that it 'should work' as expected? The down force is proportional to the drag induced by the wing. He ran it at... I don't remember which track he said, but the whole point of it was to induce drag as an aero brake. His original idea was a three position setup with regular angle of attack, flatter "drag reduction" angle, and air brake. By using Miata headlight motors, he had to choose two of the three and went with regular and air brake. Quote Link to comment
dimlight65 Posted December 9, 2023 Report Share Posted December 9, 2023 We added some suede "Wear Patches" to the bolsters of the seats... Ok, so one of the shop cats might have scratched a hole in the seat, prompting the modification, but I think they turned out pretty well... Thanks John. 3 Quote Link to comment
dimlight65 Posted January 1 Report Share Posted January 1 I can't remember if we mentioned that I took it to a professional shop to have the carb tuned... but we did that. They have found... issues. It's been locked away at their place for the last few weeks. I stopped by to visit her Friday and I have to say, pictures do not do her justice! I walked into the shop and was gobsmacked by how fucking cool that van is in person! Ok, that's all I have to say. Thank you for coming to my TED Talk. Quote Link to comment
EDM620 Posted January 1 Report Share Posted January 1 Whew, and I thought it was going to be a Financial advice session! 🤑 Have a great New Years! 1 Quote Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.