First Week's Progress

At the end of each day it didn't seem like we accomplished much. We'd get hung up for hours fiddling with a starter, or trying to get a bolts off something, or more often breaking bolts. We still haven't started the engine. We haven't even cranked it.

So what do we have to show for a week's work? Plenty actually. First of all, the car doesn't stink anymore, and it is vermin-free. Cleaning this thing was a full-time job for several days. The car was full of rats nest bedding, olive seeds and walnut shells, one rat carcass, one bird carcass, maybe, we are not sure what it was, and one ant farm. Thankfully, no snakes. By the time we had all this crap out we had filled the shop vac twice and started filling it again. We're still finding more rats nest material when we get into a new part of the car, such as in the headlights. But, most of it is gone and I'm not nauseous any more. But, the parts car stinks!

So, the interior is finally empty. All creature comforts are gone, everything plastic is out, most of the glass is out, a good portion of the sound deadening is out, and we've started digging into the mechanicals. Here are some highlights:

• Engine - It wouldn't crank so we took out the starter, opened it up, found a broken wire leading to the solenoid, repaired it, and the solenoid worked, but would not get power to the motor. Then, smoke came out of the solenoid and it quit working. Our fix was still good, so it must has shorted inside somewhere. The motor does run, however, and a few minutes on the Internet and few phone calls later, with some very helpful people on the other end, we found a shop that we were told would absolutely be able to help us. Great! That's much better than what NAPA and Kragan could do for use (Kragan - parts were listed, but not available, NAPA - "What's an Opel?") We'll know on Tuesday if our starter was fixed.
  
  
   
  
  
• Brakes - We pulled the rotors and got them resurfaced and the broken lug replaced. The people at Vander Hamm Goodyear were great and got it done right away. The people we have met have been the best part of this project! We pulled the calipers but haven't disassembled them yet. We'll wait for the rebuild parts to arrive first.
  
  Alan had to make up a jig to pull the rear drums. Man, were they stuck! When they finally broke loose they let out a really loud bang. I thought we had broken something. Once inside, the drums looked OK and the shoes had lots of life left on them. But, there was yet more critter crap to clean, mostly insect.
  
  
   
  
  
• Steering wheel - This has been impossible. We want to replace it with a quick-release Momo wheel but we can't get it off. We talked to Keith today (he offered us some of his spare parts) and he is nearly finished rebuilding his beautiful red GT, and told us he could never get his wheel off either. It may be time to break out the saws-all.
  
  
• Lights - All lights have been removed, and all are intact and working, but they could look better. We'll put them back in and the tail and trim lights will be wired up, and the brake lights, but we won't need the headlights or turn signals.
  
  
   
  
  
• Fuel Pump - we pulled it to inspect it, but it doesn't look anything like the one in our books or like the one on our parts car. We cleaned it and will reinstall it without opening it up because we might not be able to find parts for it. We'll rebuild the pump from the parts car and will take it to the track as a spare. Spending money on spare parts doesn't count towards our $500 build budget, right?
  
  
• Fuel Tank - It looks OK, but it has been known for a few problems, such as a dead sender (easy to fix), a brittle vent hose that fills the car with gas fumes (fixable, cheap), and brittle plastic fuel lines (we've got aluminum tubing already). But, there doesn't seem to be any gas in the car, per the smell test, and opening the fuel lines test. We're thinking of trying to flush it with something, not sure what, to make sure all rust and crap are gone before we install the new fuel lines and a second fuel filter (near the tank). By the way, any fuel system work we do, up to the fuel pump, which on this car is on the engine, are exempt from the budget limits. Safety first!
  
  
• Electrical - we've already pulled most of the wiring out of the car and will rewire it ourselves. It will be a much simpler system without having to wire up all the accessories, fans, etc. The new circuit design, including our gauge panel, is done and we'll start rewiring the car soon. I've got tons of wire and connectors in my shop so that shouldn't compromise our budget, and as for gauges, they are allowed under the "driver comfort" exception.
  
  
   
  
  
• Suspension - We're not sure what to do here. There are some nice after-market parts available that will stiffen the suspension and lower the car, but it's not possible on our budget. We could cut the real coil springs to lower and stiffen the rear (the car is know for significant understeer) and make up some simple shackles to lower the front. As for stiffening the front, I keep mentioning rubber blocks and Alan keep laughing at me. Still, I think rubber blocks, or wedges, shoved in the effectively shorted the leaf springs, will do the trick. Did I mention that the front springs are leaf springs. Yes, we've got a 19th century buggy suspension in front. Oh, and like just about every rubber and plastic part on thsi car, the rubber suspension parts look aweful. We're hoping that lots of WD-40 or Amour All will keep them alive long enough to get through one race.
  
  
• Tires - We're abandoning the 13" wheels that came with the car in favor of 14" Miata or E30 wheels. There just isn't much available in 13" tires.

Now that we've had a chance to carefully look over the car we've been able to make up a parts list and will start ordering stuff tomorrow. We've still got more cleaning and inspecting to do, and it may be time to start on the body work.