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.
Category: Future Plans
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.
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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.
Holley 2300 Installation
This is only peripherally related to my engine (I have a different carb setup) but the writeup is good so far: This gentleman is swapping a Holley 2100 for a new 2300 350CFM unit, which is the one I’d like to eventually have on my Scout.
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Dead in the Water.
Well, it’s official: I’m overheating. I got the Scout out on the first dry Saturday in three weeks, made it down the hill to Ellicott City to gas up, and across the river into town before the temp gauge spiked beyond where I was comfortable. I pulled over into the International dealership at the top of the hill and popped the hood to take a look. The radiator cap was cool to the touch and the overflow tank was at its normal level; there was no sign of steam although I could faintly smell cooking antifreeze. I slowly unscrewed the radiator cap and got a burst of steam as well as gurgling from down below. After a half an hour cooldown, I made it back through town and about halfway home before I had to pull off again. It took two more rests to get it back in the garage.
So, the plan has changed a little: I’m going to mock up the fan shroud supports, probably out of some aluminum sheet I saw at the Lowe’s, buy a new water pump online, and then scoot down the street to our local garage to have the cooling system sorted out. At this point I just don’t have the time to fool with it myself, and I don’t want it sitting for months without running like my last Scout.
Then, after that’s fixed, I’ll bring it down to my other mechanic, who has experience with carburetors, and have him go through the Thermoquad and the ignition for me.
Meanwhile, there’s a fantastic thread on the Binder Planet about tuneups, including overhaul of distributors and cleaning carbs. I’m subscribed and watching it closely.
Random Links.
I haven’t done much in the way of working or playing with the Scout, but I’ve been keeping my eyes open for future plans. Here are some links I’ve collected for possible future purchasing:
Heat Shield Mat – this will come in handy for next summer when there’s a ton of heat coming off the engine.
Door jamb switch – a possible replacement for the ones I’ve got.
New Steel Doglegs.
Super Scout Specialists now have handmade steel dogleg replacements (the steel curves at the bottom of the A and B pillars, which rust out at the wink of an eye). Seeing as my Scout has some rot on the inner doglegs, we’ll file this under “future purchasing”.