I’m liking this so far…
One way to build a Jeepster
- Thread starter peashooter
- Start date
peashooter
Sharpest Tool
Fooling with timing and mixture settings. Some sort if ignition problem, changed cap, then coil, Removed timing light and it started but began to stumble after 15 minutes, tachometer jumping all over. Found a short at distributor feed through. Repaired but tach still unstable. Engine won't accelerate but idles smooth. Spark plugs either very rich or somewhat lean. Noticed the ignition points had burned to a very wide gap, replaced with new. Re-torqued head bolts warm per the manual and all the bolts went another 1/8 of a turn. Good vacuum and ran smooth now, all fixed. Low on gas so I went out for a ride. Got about 1/2 mile when it stumbled and died. Poured in what was left from a gas can and got to a station ok. After fill up it ran pretty good until the first traffic light where it died just like a Jeep. Got it started and drove several miles on a loop not far from home. Periodically stumbles then clears up. Sometimes up hill, sometimes down. Rich, lean? Bad gas? Accelerates ok. Then it quit. Then all the smoke leaked out of the starter. Then I came home on the hook. A brief investigation revealed another dead condenser. Replaced the original starter with a new high-torque which bolted right in without fuss, most unusual. Wired in a starter button and the floor button went dormant. It had taken some effort to get the linkage and return spring working like it should, now obsolete.
With the new starter successfully covered a few hundred miles before the next ignition failure. Oil dripping from the new coil and too hot to touch. Replaced it with a Pertronix coil and module. Plenty of room in the glove box for a spare breaker plate. Continued adjusting jets, timing and mixture. Plugs look a bit lean but it doesn't ping. Our trip to the opposite coast is scheduled to begin in about 3 weeks. Did a 4 hour dry run that broke the vintage temp gauge and got the master cylinder leaking. I think I need those. Put in new SW gauge next to the tach behind the left glove box door. Maintaining the appearance of originality is quite a farce at this point. Couldn't get the gauge to read accurate with any of the sending units I had in stock. Opened my wallet once again and heeded the advertised warning to use only SW sending units. Turns out that matters. Had time for another test and got the idea the radiator might not be up to this but it was too late by then, we'll deal with it on the road. I sense a potential flaw in this plan.
That adventure is covered in some detail in Road Tripp'n so I won't give it away here. Spoiler alert: we made it home.
Still don't have a back seat or chrome bumpers and now some road rash needing attention but otherwise consider it done. Rear main is dripping but its not yet a trail. Transmission output seal leaks and it seems I'm not too good at setting up differentials. Winter project.
With the new starter successfully covered a few hundred miles before the next ignition failure. Oil dripping from the new coil and too hot to touch. Replaced it with a Pertronix coil and module. Plenty of room in the glove box for a spare breaker plate. Continued adjusting jets, timing and mixture. Plugs look a bit lean but it doesn't ping. Our trip to the opposite coast is scheduled to begin in about 3 weeks. Did a 4 hour dry run that broke the vintage temp gauge and got the master cylinder leaking. I think I need those. Put in new SW gauge next to the tach behind the left glove box door. Maintaining the appearance of originality is quite a farce at this point. Couldn't get the gauge to read accurate with any of the sending units I had in stock. Opened my wallet once again and heeded the advertised warning to use only SW sending units. Turns out that matters. Had time for another test and got the idea the radiator might not be up to this but it was too late by then, we'll deal with it on the road. I sense a potential flaw in this plan.
That adventure is covered in some detail in Road Tripp'n so I won't give it away here. Spoiler alert: we made it home.
Still don't have a back seat or chrome bumpers and now some road rash needing attention but otherwise consider it done. Rear main is dripping but its not yet a trail. Transmission output seal leaks and it seems I'm not too good at setting up differentials. Winter project.