GUMBY LIVES!

Got a minute today to work on Gumby (weekend with my daughter, no serious time to wrench). After installing the new coil, and checking all the plug wire connections, a spurt of starting fluid and a short prayer, and....

wrrrrrrrrrrr...CHUGrrrrrrrrrCHUGrrCHUGrrrrrrrrrrrCHUG CHUG CHUG CHUG CHUG CHUG CHUG....

Well, my bad, I had to stop running it after 5 seconds because there was oil spraying all over the driver's side of the block. Thought it was bad news, then found I just failed to torque down the oil filter, I had only finger tightened it. So, at least the left side of the engine is now rust-proofed!

So, to make a long story short, she fired,and she ran surprisingly smoothly for a 40-yr old engine that has been sitting for 10-15 years.

Another MV engine saved!

&

Hard to post a pic of a running engine to show that it is, indeed, running. The vehicle is still immobile, I haven't done the brakes yet, so even if I can "move" I still can't "stop". However, I will try and post a video of the running engine this evening. The water pump is leaking profusely due to shot bearings and a bad gasket, so I'm not going to run it long. (will remedy the water pump and brake problems this weekend)

I found out the reason the oil was leaking everywhere was because the oil filter o-ring gasket slipped off the filter during installation, so oil came profusely out of the gap between the filter and the block. Installing a new filter on Sunday fixed that problem.

Okay - here's the video! Sounds a bit tinny, like it's off timing or firing on a wrong cylinder, but it's just the poor quality of my video - filmed using my dinky digital camera.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lezuYtOO-9o

Told you it was just the condenser and coil!

Glad you got her running. Way to go!

Cool! Sounds great.

Ferroequinologist said:

Told you it was just the condenser and coil!

Glad you got her running. Way to go!

Click to expand...

Actually, it was just the coil. I tried leaving the old condenser in there and it worked fine, but I have two spare condensers in case the original goes south....

I guess I should have said condenser OR coil....

Okay, more progress this weekend:

I got the new water pump, pulley and gasket installed (thanks for the gasket Pinky!). Also installed the new 24v horn, courtesy of Austin Weber in TX, man he wasn't kidding that sucker is LOUD! Also, I sanded, primed and painted the rear undercarraige from the transfer case back, to add some corrosion protection over the bare rusted metal that was there. I used red oxide primer and hand painted with flat black Ace Rust Stop paint. Should last for a while before I need to worry about undercarriage rust again.

Also, I managed to waste 5 hours changing the e-brake band and installed new hardware. If you ever want a PITA job, try laying on your back for 5 hours in 90% humidity changing a rusted, and almost impossible to remove e-brake band on a M715 series truck. They make it so that there is almost a 0% chance of that e-brake failing and coming off when you really need it, but in the process, made it so that you CAN'T remove it easily if you have to. Glad I'll never have to do that again, but I still need to figure out why the e-brake lever catch isn't grabbing up front. I pull back on the lever, the catch doesn't, and the lever just slides back forward. Oh well.

Also painted the exhaust parts with BBQ grill flat black paint, getting ready for install. I should be able to do most of it this evening when I get home from work.

And lastly, I repaired the rust hole in the bottom passenger side of the vent channel up front. I removed most of the rust with a combination of tools, primed, then put down several layers of metal tape (used in HVAC applications, no it's not duct tape). I used this metal tape because once it's down, it will not ever come up. Then I painted twice with rattle-can gloss black paint to seal it up. No more water dripping into the passenger side floorboard anymore when it rains!

I'm thinking of sealing the vent channel up completely to prevent any future rot outs - the vent never really worked right anyways, the real redneck air conditioning is rolling the windows down. I am thinking of putting a thin piece of clear Lexan underneath the vent channel cover, to maintain an original look, while keeping all the rainwater out of the channel. What do you guys think?

Mike, you going to Haspin? I got a spare E-brake handle, ratchet, locker, thing, assembly. If not gimme your postal addy.

I will be going to Haspin with or without Gumby, depending it I can get it roadworthy before then. If without, I will gladly be the B driver in someone's ride at Haspin. I just look forward to getting back into the offroad scene, and meeting new faces.

Please bring the e-brake handle ratchet locker thing assembly. I can use spare parts!

I will have it with me.