Following my unscuccessful attempts to get the 800 started last weekend, I had time on Sunday afternoon to diagnose the starting issues. But the first things I did were to put the 2300 carb back on the Travelall and drain gas out of the tank to see how much crud is in there. I cut down some old cat litter jugs and let the gas drain out, then filtered that through an old pillowcase into a 5-gallon bucket. There was some dark particulate at the bottom of each jug, but not as much as I thought there might be. The truck is parked on a slight angle with the drain plug at the top, so I have to get her running long enough to turn around to properly empty the tank all the way, and then I’ll flush it out with clean gas. Hopefully that will sort out the dirty gas issue.
During the week I was able to sneak out during lunchtime, test all four of my spare starters (one is dead-dead, one runs weakly, and two sounded healthy) and swap the old mud-encrusted starter on the 800 for one of the good ones. This sounded MUCH better when I tried it out.
The first weekend task was to do a wet compression test. I dribbled a small amount of oil into the cylinders and checked each one again, and the compression rose dramatically on each one (125-125-150-90) which told me it’s definitely the rings that are stuck. I fiddled with the distributor for a while, adjusting it all the way counterclockwise and then to the opposite side, thinking the timing might be off a little bit, but that had no effect. Then I pulled the cap and rotor off and looked again at the position of the rotor—when I re-stabbed it, I got the rotor pointing a little ahead of the #1 cylinder, but not directly at it. So I pulled the distributor out and fiddled with it until I could line the body up and re-stab it with the rotor pointed directly at the cylinder. I buttoned the engine back up, shot it with some starting fluid, and it fired right up until the ether burned off.
Halleleujah.
From there, I played with the carb and the electric fuel pump to see if I could get it to run from the boat tank, and got it to idle happily for a few minutes. At this point I jumped in and tested out the transmission, and got it to move forwards and backwards under its own power. That was a huge relief. I didn’t want to run it for too long, as I’d pulled the radiator out to get to the crank, so I shut it down and started looking at next steps:
- The carburetor is leaking out of a relief valve on the top. This means that the electric fuel pump is pushing way too much pressure into the bowl, an issue I had with the Travelall earlier. I’m going to test the regulator I bought for that truck here to see if it fixes the problem in the short term, and then later I’ll pull the carb and clear the needle/seat assembly.
- I have to finish re-installing the radiator and test it for leaks. I put it back in and hooked up the top hose but I have to flush out the engine and put the bottom hose back on. If the rest of the truck is any indication, the engine is probably full of crud.
- Brakes. Right now the pedal is frozen solid. The cylinder was dry so I added a little fluid a couple of weeks ago, but it’s still not moving. At the very least I’m going to freshen up the front brakes and I’ll pinch off the rears in order to get it to the driveway. This is going to take some flaring and bending and swearing. If the passenger rear drum is any indicator, the pads are shot, the drum is scored, and the assembly is full of mud.
- Gas tank. I pulled the access cover off the passenger side tank and started cleaning the mud out from around it, but ran out of light before I could get it moving. It’s held in there by….something, but I don’t have experience with 800’s so I don’t know yet what to look for. The plan is to pull the tank, see if it’s salvageable, and if so, prep it to put back in so that I don’t need to depend on a boat tank. I also have to clear out about 5 lbs. of mud caked in on top of the fender from Dan’s offroad excursions. This means the driver’s side will be just as gnarly, which I was expecting.
Total costs to date:
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| 1966 Scout 800 | $500 |
| Lunch for the recovery crew | $85.00 |
| Curved points | $7.00 |
| Battery cable | $33.37 |
| Carb Rebuild kit, fuel pump | $46.30 |
| Spare plugs, wires, used starter, coil, fluids | $0 |
| Total | $671.67 |
Neal Klinman says:
Exciting to hear of your steady progress!
bill says:
Thanks Neal! How is your search for a Scout going?
Neal Klinman says:
Thanks for asking, Bill.
My search for a Scout is totally on hold. My kids are 20, 18, and 16. That translates to lots of college tuition in an on-going pattern for the foreseeable future. And lots of shifting dynamics.
Of course, I still look everyday, though. And hope for a miracle find, because you never know!
But as far as searching and finding and actually paying any kind of decent decent money for a Scout, I figure I’ll resume the search when the kids are someday out of the financial picture and on their own.
There are always too many projects stacking up anyway, so I am going to focus and earnestly try to clear that list in anticipation of eventually wanting to clear the decks to make room for a Scout and related projects (and more artwork, reading, biking, extra employment, etc) in my life. Eventually!
And I currently have FOUR vehicles registered to me and my wife with FIVE drivers in our family, so it’s a dynamic path. And I prefer to bike anyway!
So, I think I’ll continue to appreciate from afar. Hope to see you and your rigs sometime.
My parents are in SE Penna, so maybe I can coordinate a visit with you in MD sometime!
But, I still feel that Scout just around the corner, and I try to stay hopeful that our society will remain stable enough for me to be able to chase that dream!
bill says:
Ah yes, the college tuition blues—I’m looking at this same issue in a year or two. My daughter is almost 18 and doesn’t seem to be to motivated for college yet (if she stays at home and knocks out prerequisites at the local community college I will be MORE than happy) but I’m marshalling my funds for that same expense. Which is why I only spent $500 on a rusty tub of s**t.
Having three boys and needing to register multiple vehicles also makes a lot of sense—I feel your pain there. I’ve got four roadworthy vehicles, but thankfully only two of them need inspections. And I prefer to bike anwhere I can too, even though my office is well out of range! I did promise the daughter she’d have a Scout of her own, and if I can get the 800 roadworthy and safe I’m going to offer it to her. (Being a stick, it’s already almost theft-proof, and none of her dopey friends will know how to drive it, which is a bonus).
When you’re planning on being nearby next time, let me know and we can definitely find a place to meet up! it would be great to put a face to the name. And yes, I hope that society can hold itself together enough for you to join the club….!