VIN 4519: 14-year "garage find"

[Rich_NYS]

Great info, thanks Jonathan! I like those wire clips you have....definitely would be a good score to find some.

[Rich_NYS]

Check for looseness (play) in the ends of the quadrant link. When you get a lot of play it doesn't keep the throttle arm against the stop and the idle will increase as the throttle plates open. ~snip~ Make sure the throttle spool is not sticking. You may have to take it apart, clean it up, regrease it and reassemble. The 30 year old grease gets like glue and prevents the spool from moving easily. ~snip~

~snip~ Each end of that linkage has a small nut that you use to tighten it down once you're finished adjusting things. The reason both ends can be adjusted, and rotate opposite ways, is so that you don't have to make a full 360 degree thread adjustment all at once. ~snip~.

Today I revisited my idle hunting/idle increasing issue. I familiarized with the quadrant link adjustment and adjusted it by loosening both nuts & turning the rod. Although I did find a bit of "play" in the linkage (some of it where the stud connects to the throttle arm,) I decided to try to isolate the idle increase with the quadrant link detached to remove the throttle spool from the equation.

I'm seeing the throttle arm itself sticking a bit; I think it's the linkage or spring, not the throttle plates (I checked the springs & cleaned inside there.) I'm working on cleaning & lubing the throttle arm spring, but ran out of time today so I wasn't able to finish.

For whatever reason, the idle hunt has improved greatly...the car ran really nice today with minimal hunting.

[powerline84]

Bad ass

[Rich_NYS]

I haven't done anything with 4519 since removing the front brakes. I have new parts, including Dave's idle ECU but haven't installed anything.

I got it running, and likely only need to rebuild the brakes & clutch hydraulics, but still haven't moved forward. Having two cars means twice as much work and I think I have a mental block from being somewhat overwhelmed. It's also a pain in the ass because I have limited space. I think when I'm back to having only one car, I'll be back in my power-groove.

Now that driving season is here, I'm driving 4728 frequently so I don't want to sell it yet. I think I'll pick one small task per week for 4519 and get the brakes & clutch finished over the next few months. Once I can drive it in & out of the garage I'll probably have a fresh perspective, and list 4728 at the end of the summer.

[Rich_NYS]

With 4728 sold and several other things crossed off my to-do list, I now have a clear runway to move forward with 4519.

The weekend before Thanksgiving I'm going to lift the body off the frame.

Although it only needs clutch & brake hydraulics rebuilt and headliners replaced, I decided to play the long game and go "whole hog" with restoration & upgrades.

Goal: have it on the road by Rocktober 1st, 2021.

[Rich_NYS]

Sunday I did most of the prep for a separation, yesterday I split the car into two pieces. I also took the seats out so I could inspect the rails and prepare for removing the carpets. Body/frame separation is the way to go; if I separated 4728, I think I would've saved months of time with all the work I did.

-Most of the body bolts were just finger-tight, and the rearmost drivers-side bolt was barely installed...the end of the bolt was flush with the captive nut.
-The frame is solid, but has some peeled epoxy and surface rust, mostly in one spot, below the rack.
-The calipers & suspension parts look pretty cruddy, but since I'm replacing the suspension & doing a complete brake resto, it machts nicht.
-The clutch slave looks pretty rough, I'm guessing that's the reason the clutch pedal goes to the floor.

This Sunday I'm going to put the body on a flat trailer so I can move it into my backyard & out of the way. I'll move the chassis into my garage, then back outside when I do sanding/grinding & paint work.

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This is the worst area; it's solid, just looks like crap:

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[NJP548]

Looks like a nice project! Depending on how quickly you go through this, I would like to stop by during my next visit to Lake George (July 2021!).

-Nick

[Rich_NYS]

Looks like a nice project! Depending on how quickly you go through this, I would like to stop by during my next visit to Lake George (July 2021!).

-Nick

I'll plan on seeing you in July for sure!

My goal is to have it on the road by Rocktober 1st; definitely doable before then, but giving myself a long runway. I need to get some stuff done on my house.

Sent from my LGL164VL using Tapatalk

[NJP548]

Sounds good! I'll reach out when we get closer.

That timeline is definitely doable!

-Nick

[Rich_NYS]

This past weekend a few guys from our local club helped me put the body on a flat trailer. Bonus: one of our guys arrived in a new C8...very cool!

We lowered the body onto a flat trailer so I can move it out of the way until Spring. I'll soon begin stripping the frame.

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