I’ve been doing a lot of pick-up consulting work lately, which means there’s been a welcome dribble of extra cash coming in the door. Which is good, because the Scout STANK of raw gasoline last week when I drove it to work. The main source of the fumes were from the rear, and because she was parked on a slight incline, I’m inclined to believe the top seal is bad. So I ordered a new sending unit yesterday from SSS, and when the weather gets warmer I’m going to finally drop the old tank and replace it with the new one.
Update: The sender’s in, and it looks like the proper gasketry is intact on the tank. I’ll have to unscrew the round metal retainer ring in order to get the sender in properly, then screw everything back into place. The next issue is figuring out a good safe way to plug off all of the vent tubes.
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So I think that this year I’m going to get serious about finding a viable steel hardtop for Peer Pressure. I’ve seen them on Craigslist for as much as $500 and as little as $200, but money and time have been short lately. The softtop I have is good but not great; the rear flap doesn’t seal, so riding inside is sort of like sitting in a moving wind tunnel. The top I have might have been viable had I not accidentally run over the corner one distracted afternoon—and it still might be, but the liftgate hinges are toast and the liftgate I have is toastier.
So, add that to the list.
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I’ve been thinking about replacing my gas tank ever since I got the poly tank last summer, and I’m making plans to gather the tools I’ll need to swap it out this spring:
The tank
A new sending unit
A pair of new J-hooks
A pair of new tank straps (although, for $24/ea, mine may still be usable)
Caps of some kind to cap off the evap outlets on my tank
Jackstands to hold the tank up as I’m pulling the old/installing the new
A professional siphon for emptying the remaining gas
A quick look on the Binder Planet returned a few good threads with pictures and advice:
Gas tank strap install – with a few nice pictures and advice on which side of the straps to start with (the fronts)
My quest for the correct o-ring to fix my leaking gas tank at the fuel sender – info on O-rings
Gas tank belch, possible fix!! , which talks about poly tanks and using the extra emissions fittings to avoid burps at fillup time.
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Here’s a really interesting article on the Jalopy Journal with some good information about hooking up an iPod to a hidden amplifier. The interesting part is the iPod dock connector, which I’d never really thought about searching for before. I believe the Kenwood head unit I have is equipped with RCA jacks that will support AUX input, so I may switch over to that instead of a mini stereo cable out the front.
Update: I’m out of luck with the Kenwood unit (it’s got no aux inputs on the back), so I may just sell it on Craigslist. I never liked the control/button setup anyway.
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This guy did some seat base repairs that are exactly what I need to do with mine.
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I almost forgot to mention the 6×9″ speakers Santa left under the tree for me, which will fill two jagged holes in the inner bulkhead and finally provide some form of in-flight entertainment. The current radio will stay until I make a proper DIN-sized cutout in one of the spare dash panels I’ve got, and then I’ll replace it with the old Kenwood from the Jeep. Thanks, Santa!
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Santa brought me, among other things, the Dave Emmanuel book for my Thermo-Quad. With this, a copy of the 1972 Chrysler manual, and a copy of the 1982 Federal Mogul manual, I should be in pretty good shape. I’m going to pick up a second spare carb in January for dis-assembly and tinkering so that I’ve got a complete bench model and one for practice.
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There is a huge amount of play in my steering, so I read this post with interest. Among the advice:
…have someone turn the steering wheel back and forth while you watch the rag joint and the input and output shafts on the steering box for slop.
There is an adjustment on the steering box. Look for a 5/8 or 11/16 nut usually on the side of the box. It is on a shaft that usually has as screwdriver slot in it. Raise your front end off the ground. Center the wheels. Hold the center shaft while you break loose the nut. Turn the screw in to some resistance. Temporarily tighten the lock nut. Check for play again. If the adjustment is too tight, steering will be stiff at center. If so, back off a little.
…in addition, the correct way is to disconnect the drag link as well. As long as I have dealt with the lash in any Saginaw box, the correct way was just the same as any adjustment. All adjustments are made off-vehicle, so you must, as the books say, remove all preload. Which means pulling the drag link. Make it seem like it is off vehicle. While true final adjustment is made with the steering wheel connected and the gearbox mounted, note that the drag link is not! Also note that a dial indicator and lb-in torque wrench are also used. Inch pound that is, which means there is little room for mistake/carelessness.
Mr. Scout and I have been talking about getting materials together and building a pair of rear bumpers jointly to save on materials and time, and he sent me a link this morning: a write-up on a project from the Binder Planet. The author built it for an 800B but the design could be modified for a Scout II pretty easily, we figure. The part that interests me is the swing-away tire carrier and Hi-Lift jack mounts, which would clear up a ton of space in the back of Peer Pressure.
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.