Minor progress, I replaced the points and condenser, as well as cleaned all the individual contact surfaces. Bit of a fiddly job but well worth it - she starts easily now.

Next job is to properly drain and flush the tank.

 - boingk

Today I got stuck into the fuel system. The stock pump is working fine so it is staying, but the rubber line and filter before it were horrible. I replaced them with a clear filter and new line, much better now and you can see the condition of the filter as well.

Before I connected the new line and filter to the pump I ran all the old fuel out with a small electric pump, then put 10L of fresh fuel into the tank and used the same pump to draw it through. There was only about 6 litres or so in the old tank but it was pretty brown and off-looking. I'll see if it runs in the lawnmower (it runs pretty much anything) and failing that I'll take it out to the chemical disposal site at the local dump.

With the new hose and filter connected and fresh fuel in the tank she runs nicely. All up a successful day.

Looking good mate. Ever feel like the more you do to the car, the more you find that needs doing? It will be worth it in the end! 

A big steam clean under the skin!  I'm trying to think of who would do it, apart from the companies that are meant to clean vehicles being imported.

We have a 4000psi water blaster but its still not enough for decades of gease and oil, you need temperature to really do it.

Into that engine bay and then up on a hoist, do it once and its done for years.  It looks so much better now than when you picked it up.

12 hours ago, (Monk) said:

Looking good mate. Ever feel like the more you do to the car, the more you find that needs doing? It will be worth it in the end! 

Thanks mate, and yeah the more you do the more you find. With anything this old I'm pretty well prepared though, hence my entire take-apart of the electrical system to clean ALL the contacts. She's getting close to driveable so the end of the tunnel is definitely in sight! 

 

34 minutes ago, altezzaclub said:

A big steam clean under the skin!  I'm trying to think of who would do it, apart from the companies that are meant to clean vehicles being imported.

We have a 4000psi water blaster but its still not enough for decades of gease and oil, you need temperature to really do it.

Into that engine bay and then up on a hoist, do it once and its done for years.  It looks so much better now than when you picked it up.

Cheers, she sure was awful (especially inside) when I got her. I couldn't let her rot away out at the scrap merchants, so here we are. The plan for the engine bay is to get stuck into it with a pail of boiling water, toothbrush and kitchen scrubber. If that doesn't tidy it up I don't know what will. I'd pressure wash it but don't want to undo all my hard work on the electrical system!

The last bit of work I did yesterday was trying to replace the water pump. It didn't go well - the pump I got sent was the extended spindle type, so I had to lower the drive on it. Then I found that the drive was a different pattern and spindle size to the pulley I have... come on! I've got a new pump and pulley on the way to cover me, fingers crossed.

 - boingk

Hey how are you, looks great please keep up the good work and pictures.

Edited July 6, 20188 yr by rx7cblink

Thanks mate, no pictures for now but I did replace the water pump with one from a wreck someone pointed out to me. It was another KE20 that has been abandoned under a tree and is missing windows, wheels, interior and pretty much anything not made of steel. Sure enough, the water pump was still there and after a quick clean-up with a soft wire wheel it went on just fine. While I was at it I replaced the thermostat - I tested the old one in boiling water and it seemed okay but may as well be sure.

Also, I made a milestone - I drove it! I figured seeing as most of the big stuff was done I may as well see how she drove, so took her down the back lane and back up again. No real issues there, everything seems pretty normal and I'd say the 53,000km on the dash is legitimate as the suspension and transmission feel pretty good. The tyre and wheel combo scrub slightly up front at full lock but no problems otherwise.

So, looks like I have the brakes to fix and and I'm off for rego, woo-hoo!

Pictures to follow after I get the engine bay cleaned up.

 - boingk 

More milestones - working brakes!

I fitted a new brake master cylinder, which wasn't without hassle as I had to replace the line insert with the one from my old unit as the thread was different on the new setup. Pro tip, you need a solid vice and a large wrench to break the seal on that insert! Bleeding brakes wasn't such a hassle and everything is now working fine, although I need new rear bleed nipples as the old ones are pretty worn and fragile.

After that I gave her a wash 'n' wax, cleaned the engine bay (a bit) and vacuumed out the interior again. She's ready for rego now, no issues at all. A quick test-drive in the back lane saw that she's running nicely and tracking true under brakes, too.

More as it happens.

Got blueslip today, old mate must've appreciated the new master cylinder as he commented on how good the brakes were. She might not go quick but at least she stops well!

I also refitted the seatbelts after a good washing to stop them from being nasty and stained. Can't have horrible seatbelts, you're forced to handle and wear them after all.

 - boingk

Minor progress today. Seeing as its close to being usable on the road I made a few fixes - the main one is the threaded rod that retains the filter lid. I had lost mine during work on the engine and needed a replacement - I had two bolts but they weren't quite long enough so I welded them together head-to-head with a nut in between to give a bit of extra length. Perfect!

After that I took pity on the boot and vacuumed it out. Nowhere near as bad as the interior, it cleaned up nicely. I gave the spare a clean up and a lick of paint, too, as it was developing surface rust. Now I just need a small scissor jack and a retainer for the spare.

Cheers - boingk

Edited July 21, 20188 yr by boingk

Congrats on the rego hopefully I won’t be far off

Bunnings sell 4ft long threaded bar sections for $3 if you wanted to replace that air cleaner post 

Thanks for the tip on the rod mate, unfortunately I'm in far West NSW and 3 hours from the nearest Bunnings. I'll probably keep the dodgy post as it doesn't look any different from the outside!

I ended up getting her regoed today and then did a few odd jobs before taking her for a spin - little stuff that was niggling at me. I got the venetians out, scrubbed back with mould killer and hot water, then painted white again. They looked awful before, so much better now.

The engine bay got a quick clean at the carwash once it was warm, and I tied the battery down with a few large zipties as I can't find the proper retainer I bought for it - the last thing I need is the terminals causing a fire when they weld themselves to the hood or something.

So... I finally got her out on the road! The two-speed auto is horrible, but in a quirky and charming kind of way. No off-the-line urgency but 50 to 70kmh has some poke about it... right before you slug into top gear and everything slows down again. 100kmh indicated is a good cruise, and 120kmh feels like its about the top speed. I think the indicated speeds are low, too, as the wheel diameter is about 10% larger than stock, plus the auto box and partially crushed exhaust definitely aren't helping. Either way, no real problems to report so happy days.

What did we do before the days of zip ties. I think it was occy straps

Not a bad effort 7 weeks from go to show. Happy Rollaing.

Looking good. Vanetians suit it well