Weekend Update, 5-25
I snuck a little time into the garage this weekend to clean with the vacuum and a broom, although I didn’t get to drive anywhere. After cleaning out a pile of beach sand and pine needles, I looked over the floors and interior a bit further. The first thing that struck me is the unconventional installation of the front seats, the mounts of which are welded to the bases. So if I want to install Chewbacca’s old seats (one of which needs reupholstering), I’ll need to find a pair of new bases to start with.
I pulled the bikini top out and unrolled it for the first time, and it looks like it’s in great shape, which is a relief. When I pulled the soft top off last weekend, I did a quick inspection and found that it’s in worn but decent shape for the time being. I may pull it off and store it somehow so that I preserve it for as long as possible, because new tops are prohibitively expensive ($1K+).
The weather is lousy this week, but I’m going to try to break away from work early tomorrow evening to go pick parts from a Scout locally; there’s a pile of good parts to be had which have just been waiting for me to get to them.
First Official Voyage.
Yesterday I woke up early and got to the DMV as it opened to get my title and tags taken care of, and surprisingly it only took about 20 minutes for the whole process (minus the wait outside the front door). After work, I zip-tied the rear plate onto the carrier, opened the garage back up, drove the rig down the street to the gas station, put $10 of regular in it (the gauge still reads zero) and washed the crud off the front window. Then I pulled it around the side and let it idle while I pulled the top off for the first time since I’ve owned it. Let me say I much prefer the fast-trac top to the snap-fastener version!
I saw no leaks from anywhere under the hood, and idle calmed down real quick, even though she was hard to re-start at the pump; I’ll have to check the plugs this weekend. There’s also a tendency to stay at a high idle when coming to a stop, which only a goose of the accelerator will solve-it’s almost like the linkage or the carb is sticking somewhere. I’ve got to adjust the throw of the clutch pedal, which seems to be a lot higher off the floor than I’m used to-plus it’s got a stupid aftermarket racing pedal that I keep catching my foot on.
She has much different highway manners than my first Scout, which had a stock driveline. This one tracks pretty straight but the steering is tight and very twitchy. It’s going to take some getting used to. The brakes seem to be in good shape, and the electrical system is functioning enough to work (even though the BRAKE light never goes off).
I stopped over and picked up Mr. Scout and his wife, who were at his mother’s place around the corner, and we took a quick trip around the block with the top down, the three of us grinning the whole way. Even though I offered the driver’s seat several times, he’s still holding out for his baby.
Last word: I came to a stopsign in the neighborhood behind my house, and two kids in a white pickup gave me the thumbs-up as they turned the corner. The kid in the back (the one with all the drum equipment) looks it over and says, “That is one bad-*** big purple truck, man! Right on!”
No Joy.
The Maryland MVA is not open on weekends for titling or tags, despite what it says on their website, so I will be forced to sit in their waiting room at 8:30 in the morning sometime this week in the hopes that I can be out by 9:15. Ha, ha.
IT LIVES!
After a long wait and many rainy weekends, I finally got some time yesterday to put some doors in on my garage and pull the Scout out into the sunlight where I could crank it over without asphyxiating myself.
Mr. Scout stopped over to pick up parts he’s been storing (his Scout is moving this weekend to get serious bodywork started, but I’ll let him tell his own story) and helped me hang two rough doors that are wide enough to accommodate.
The good news is that she fired right up after some fussing with the battery connections and a squirt of gas down the carb. I pulled her out and let her warm up, and expected to see coolant dripping from the water pump like we’d seen in February, but after 20 minutes at idle without a fan shroud, there was no sign of leakage. I’ll have to pull the fan and pump off anyway to put a new shroud on, but knowing the pump itself seems to be OK is a fantastic break. Which means there is no bad news!
So, the next steps are:
Insurance and registration
Fabricate new mounts and get the spare fan shroud installed (and replace the water pump gasket while we’re at it)
Put the top down
Enjoy!
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