Wires.
I ordered a set of plug wires from RockAuto yesterday afternoon, as well as five dash bulb sockets and lights. Originally I was going to buy a gas tank sender and get the new tank ready for installation, but I suddenly came to my senses and realized that I don’t have an entire weekend to deal with that project. So, I ordered wires to go along with the plugs I’ve already got, and I figure I can get them installed in a couple of hours.
I also worked with the third bench seat a little more, and have it almost to the place where it’s ready to go in—but I have to do some POR-15 work on the mounting plates and bed before it goes in for good. The bed itself needs a good media blasting and sealant coat soon, because there’s some light rust coming up under the purple paint that I’d like to mitigate immediately as well as some flaky areas around the wheel wells.
I’m moving up my plans for a welder to near the top of the list, because I see some metal repairs in my future.
Short-Term Projects.
So, now that the carb is working correctly, I’m looking at small, inexpensive things that I can accomplish next on a tight time and money budget. There are a ton of things that are crying out to be worked on, unfortunately.
| job | cost | Replace wires and plugs with the new set in the garage. | $0 |
| $0 | |
| Pic |
$15 |
| $0 | |
| Put a pair of inexpensive 6×9 speakers in the rear fenders | $30-50 |
| $0 | |
| Buy a can of engine degreaser and clean the firewall. | $8 |
| Buy some Peel & Seal and apply to the trans tunnel and firewall. | $25 |
| Buy a new fuel tank sender, J hooks, gas lines, drop and replace the gas tank, diagnose the gauge issues | $70 + hoses |
| Buy some kind of carb soak and dunk the spare Holley 2300 in it for an initial cleaning. | $10 |
| Grind out the rust in the passenger floor, interior wall, and door flanges, then POR-15 and cover with some kind of finish coat. | $25 |
| Borrow a welder from someone and weld in some angle iron to the bases of the bucket seats | $? |
| Paint, mount, and install the original bucket seats | $0 |
Update.
- Appointment made to see if the local parts Scout will run: check.
- Appointment made to have my mechanic rebuild the Thermoquad and look over the rest of Peer Pressure: check.
Notes for Myself.
This to-do list is going to make more sense to me than to anyone else, but I’d like to get it out of my sketch book and up here where I can actually find it. It’s in rough order of importance for the year; I expect only to get about 1/5 of it done, but a guy can dream, right?
Install Holley 2300
buy rebuild kit – $60+
buy 2bbl. intake – $50
Rebuild the Thermoquad
buy Thermoquad rebuild kit – $50
Finish sanding and painting the seat bases, weld in some support on the bottom
Sand the bed and floors – buy stripper & discs
Fix the driver’s window scissors – It’s binding when pressure is first applied to the crank.
Clean sand & paint
Inner fenders
Windshields
Travel Top
Dogleg
Fix the rear bench seat – I’d like to replace the upholstery with something cleaner. The replacement bench seat I have doesn’t fit correctly (the latch doesn’t meet the striker on the wheel wells).
Fix the brake light indicator – the switch on the pedal is bent.
SS2 Mirrors from SSS
I think I may bite the bullet and order one of these mirrors from SSS to replace the lousy plastic junk that’s hung on my door. I like the look of these, and I’d rather have metal screwed to something sturdy than the wobbly crap I have now.
Battery Not Included.
So, this Tuesday, the Scout made her maiden 2010 voyage into the city after having a new water pump installed. As recounted elsewhere, everything went smoothly until the 5-year-old battery decided it was finished, and stranded me in the parking garage after work. Jen came and gave me a jumpstart and I made it home fine, so it’s pretty obvious what the next outlay for the Scout will be.
After that, we move on to the carburetor. The mechanics tightened the Thermoquad down and plugged up a vacuum hose that was open, and the engine sounds a heck of a lot quieter now. They warned me about gas leakage from the carb, though, and suggested a rebuild ASAP, which has been on my radar since the day we got the truck started. I’ve been doing some research into rebuilding the Thermoquad, and from what I’ve read it sounds like a hassle to get dialed in correctly (and moreso to find someone competent enough to do so).
So I think my plan of action will be to buy a new or rebuilt Holley 2300 series and install that in place of the Thermoquad. From what I’ve heard the 2300 is more common, easier to work with, and generally a friendlier unit to n00bs like me. IHOnly North is offering rebuilt carbs for a decent price, and I will definitely give them a ring when I’m ready to swap out what I’ve got.
Repairing a Windshield Screen
Here’s some good info on repairing a windshield screen from a full-size Chevy message board: essentially, it involves stripping and cleaning the afflicted areas, and welding in new metal to the worst areas. Which will require the purchase of a welder. Priorities, priorities…
Meanwhile, I’m waiting until we have our taxes done to make any major moves on the Scout. I’m leaning towards hustling it down the street to Ridgeway Automotive to have some professionals diagnose the problem and be done with it once and for all; I don’t have a lot of time to fool with it, and now that it’s getting warmer I’d like to be driving it.
Road Tires.
Peer Pressure came with a set of 32×11.5R15 BF Goodrich Mud Terrains, and they are very, very nice tires. However, they’re also noisy as hell and I’d like to have something better suited for everyday driving mounted in their place, so I thought I’d do some preliminary pricing. The first step was to convert the US size to metric, and I found this calculator which translates to 292/74R15, something I haven’t been able to find in mixed-use tires—rounding up to 295/75R15.
| Yokohama Geolander A/TS | 32×11.5R15 | $126 ea. | This is probably the friendliest tread pattern of the three, and the cheapest. | Dunlop Mud Rover | 32×11.5R15 | $153 ea. | This is still a pretty aggressive looking tread pattern. |
| BF Goodrich All-Terrain T/A KO | 32×11.5R15 | $155 ea. | This looks to be a less aggressive, more road-friendly tread pattern. |
FYI, the Mud Terrains I’ve got on now list for about $179 each.
Electronic Ignition.
Add this to the list of future plans: adding electronic ignition. I like the idea that it’s a simple install and that you can go back to points if the module fails.
Heat Reflective Matting.
I stumbled upon some good advice while perusing the Binder Planet this afternoon: an inexpensive alternative to Dynamat, called Peel & Seal. The commenter claims it’s only about $20 at the Home Depot. I’ll have to pick some of this up next time I’m there.
Update 2.20.10: Struck out at Lowe’s. Doing some reading on the product, I don’t know if I’d want to use this stuff after all. I’m also not sure if the idea is to put this stuff on the inside of the cab or out.
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