rang-a-stang's summer project/build

[SOLSAKS]

I want photos of you painting in the hotel room.

dave in NC

[rang-a-stang]

I used to do puzzles in my hotel room. My friend would rent a cello.

Never thought of working on my Jeep.

I assembled my EFI in my hotel room 2 years ago on a one month trip to Charleston. I love business trips that are close enough when I can drive my own car and bring tools/parts. I had a ranger a while ago and had a 3 week trip to San Diego. Spent each night in the parking lot and wrecking yards installing power windows and door locks. Good times!

Sorry to hear Marc. Fires suck. But knowing you, you'll have it fixed and back on the road before the smoke disappears.

Yeah, luckily this time it was a quick cheap fix. More below.

Wow, Im so glad that you were able to save it

Thank you! Me too! My son, even more so.

Ha, I used to go to college in my MOTEL rooms using dial-up. Coulda' used a fire under AOL's $ss...

See, that's what smart people do. I am not smart, so I do dumb stuff like paint grills in hotel room.

I'm just glad this didn't happen while your son was driving the rig. THAT would have been even more disastrous in more ways than one!

I get cold sweats just thinking how close the 401 could have been a 40-no-more.

And "Poof"....that sweet serpentine system set up........gone.

Very true! In the grand scheme of things, I would rather lose the "sweet" serpentine system, than my son. A little.

Hey, you don't think he tried to burn it down on purpose do you? Wait, Jake from State Farm isn't on this forum, right?

HAHAHAHA!!! Ask me no questions and I'll tell you no lies!!

I don't know, but I hear she sounds hideous.

And to think how so dangerously close we came to losing this national treasure!

HAHAHAHAHAAHAHAH!! It's a "treasure" all right!

I want photos of you painting in the hotel room.

dave in NC

Okie dokie! I'll post some below.
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Fire damage pics. Like I said, not a ton of damage per say, more like markers that a fire happened.
This is the conduit next to about #1's plug.

Here you can see the driver side of the air filter is a golden brown. The oil dipstick is also charred.

I have these cute little spark plug wire labels I got on Amazon. I had them on the plug ends and at the cap. They look like this:

Now they look like this (red arrows). The yellow arrow shows some charring to a plug boot. #1 and #3 are the worst but not too bad.

AAAAnnnnnd here is the culprit. Like I said earlier, this was laying against the air injection bolt.

I bought a new hose from Napa for $22 and after about 15 minutes I was back in business.

Took it to the smog shop Friday after work.

Smog tech was AWESOME! He had to turn on and calibrate the smog test equipment because he does so few pre-96 smog checks he does not even turn it on. So that gave me a solid 30 minutes to just sit and chat with the tech. Once everything was ready, it went on the dyno and sailed through the sniffer test. So that was visual test=Pass, Sniffer=Pass, but EVAP was next. The way the evap test works is they pinch the hose that feeds your carbon canister, put their test tool on your gas fill hole and the tool pressurizes your tank. Then the tool measures how much pressure your system loses over a set period of time. I failed QUICKLY because I had a gnarly leak(s).

Tech said if I could get there Saturday morning before anyone else comes in for a smog check, he would leave my ticket open and not charge me... yet. So I hustled home and started looking for leaks. Found these:


Those are the same hose. It is the fuel filler hose that rides just above the main fill hose on a 79. I think it is just a fuel vapor hose but nonetheless, it was bad (the pictures make it look better than it was).
So I trimmed the cracked end off, wrapped the other end in vinyl tape and headed in Saturday morning for my re-test. Same process: pass visual, pass sniffer, fail evap. But this time it took a LOOooooong time to fail. So that means my leak(s) is/are MUCH smaller. I had a bunch of other commitments this weekend so all I have done is bought new 3/4" ID fuel hose (to replace that really bad one in the pictures) and figure out a way to pressurize my tank. I hope to find/fix my leak tomorrow after work. Honestly, I am not frustrated; this is the kind of stuff smog checks SHOULD be finding. I am leaking gas fumes and that needs to stop. I am really close!

Grill:
My spare grill was a little rougher than I thought so I spent A LOT more time prepping than I expected to. I will make a thread on it later but all I got done was fiber glassing all the cracks, filling the cracks from the front, sanding the chrome down, and scraping off the peeling paint in most places where it is peeling off. Right now it is sitting on a shelf in my garage in a thick coat of primer waiting for me to finish smog. A Pignose grill is deceptively HUGE! you do not realize how huge it is until you are trying to carry it into a hotel room with out having someone ask questions...
Some sample pictures.

[SJTD]

I assembled my EFI in my hotel room 2 years ago on a one month trip to Charleston. I love business trips that are close enough when I can drive my own car and bring tools/parts. I had a ranger a while ago and had a 3 week trip to San Diego. Spent each night in the parking lot and wrecking yards installing power windows and door locks. Good times!

Yeah, really wouldn't have been practical for me flying from here to Orlando and staying at Canaveral.

[Driftwood]

I hope you don't go to the office every day with those grimy junkyard mechanic hands?

[rang-a-stang]

Yeah, really wouldn't have been practical for me flying from here to Orlando and staying at Canaveral.

True! Although one time, I flew from LA to Norfolk with 4 Ford Falcon hubcaps, and polished/detailed them in my hotel room. I also rebuilt a carb in my hotel in Jacksonville beach a while ago.
The secret to getting it done is how you package things so as not to trip the sniffers at the air port.

I hope you don't go to the office every day with those grimy junkyard mechanic hands?

I ALWAYS have junkyard hands. I am also not sure if I own clothes that do not have some sort of fluid stain on them. Keeps me humble.
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Let's see, where were we? Ah yes; failed smog (twice) because of EVAP test. I did some asking around and reading on the interwebz on how to test an EVAP system. I found that I needed to lightly pressurize my system and use soapy water to look for leaks. I found a regulator in my tool box that allowed me to dial down my compressor pressure to 5psi. I hooked that up to my hose, hooked up my blow gun to that, and hooked my blow gun to the EVAP line. Looked like this:

My blow gun (was I think $2 at Farbor Height about 10 years ago) was leaking like an 8 year old after a bean burrito. So I pulled it apart at my desk, while working, and rebuilt the little piston in there. Look how bad the original, crappy O-Rings were (the 2 little ones on the table) compared the crappy replacement ones I installed. I have had some issues with O-Rings these last few days. More below.

Then I started spraying stuff down with really soapy water. Found bubbles at my fuel pickup O-Ring. So you know what they say: Sun's out, tank's out! err.... something like that.

Notice the nice dark anti-corrosion coating on the front 2/3's of my tank from my Transmission. Plugged up all the ports in my tank and fed 5PSI of air pressure in through my fuel return line. Bubbles aplenty at both the fuel pickup and fuel gauge sender.


I replaced these 2 O-Rings last smog check so after only about 2.5 years, this is how they look:


I found a spare O-Ring for the fuel sender in my stash of left over gasket and o-rings so I skinned it with "All-Seal" which is this goop you get that is supposed to be gasoline resistant and help it seal. I took the Pickup O-Ring to my local hardware store and found this one in the Hillman area. It is the same dimensions but fatter.

I skinned it with silicone grease to hopefully keep it soft and supple (and sealing). It was a little harder to close the pickup since the O-Ring was fatter but I am good with that. Sealed the tank all up again, sprayed it with soapy water, and no bubbles! Woo Hoo! While the tank was out I also took some emery cloth the fuel gauge spade terminal. It's amazing how much of a difference this can make.


On a related note, there was MAYBE 1/2 a gallon of gas in my tank. I bring this up because, even with that little bit of gas and no baffle, I was still getting good fuel pressure. That's a win!
Once it the tank was back in I pressurized my EVAP system again (to 5psi) and checked for bubbles every where. I found a TTTtttteeeennny tiny bit at the roll over valve in the fender well but that was it. I left my system pressurized for 5 mins, opened the gas cap and heard a slight whoosh. I took that to mean it was good enough.

This morning I headed in for my third test.

Again, smog tech had to re-calibrate all the testing equipment because my last check was the last time he had used the pre-95 equipment. Again, visual=pass, Sniffer=pass, then on to EVAP. After 5 mins:

I am not sure what it feels like to win a million bucks but I cannot imagine it feels much better than that. I sat and talked with the smog tech for another, good hour. I went to go check out and all he charged me for was the actual certificate!!! I paid $87 for my first failure and expected to pay ~$97 for my pass but the guy only charged me the mandatory $10!!!! It's not very often I am this excited about things! Wow!

So smog is COMPLETE!!!! My truck is good for 2 more years. And at the end of those 2 years, I will be living in Idaho and not need to CA smog anymore! WOOo HOOOOOO!!!!! Now to set my timing back to something decent, put my prized dual snorkel/SOLSAKS tagged air filter back on, and put my headers back on. Not right now though... I need a break from this thing.

[bkilby]

Very nice! Congrats Marc. Such a nice accomplishment. Me? I would have tossed that air nozzle in the trash and bought another. Lol. I guess I'm just too lazy sometimes.

[Rusty76]

Nice story
Good Job

[Driftwood]

That is SOOO exciting to see you conquered the smog check!

By the way, what is the terminal block for in the lower right of this pic? Is it a ground block, power block or both? I don't have it on my 79. Is it factory or aftermarket? The heat shrink looks recent.

[GWNashville]

rang-a-stang

Congrats my friend!!!

[Full Size Jeeper]

Rang, that's great! That machine has sent more classic cars to an early grave. Your perseverance/hard head, surprised the $hit out of that smog Tech.

[78 WIDETRAC]

Congrats on another 2 years of driving an old beast in Cali.



Good job tracking down the problem. Very impressive. You must have the tank removal and reinstall down pretty good. I just reinstalled mine on the 79 and it was a PITA! I like the new look of your grille. I guess Its the same look as you have had forever. It just didn't stand out to me like it does in the last front end pic.

[bluehwy]

Sweet! I'll see you up north; house went into escrow this weekend!

[rang-a-stang]

Very nice! Congrats Marc. Such a nice accomplishment. Me? I would have tossed that air nozzle in the trash and bought another. Lol. I guess I'm just too lazy sometimes.

Hahahaha! I know! I was going to toss it but had time to kill while working. Figured, why not try to fix it? Saved me enough money to buy 6 miles worth of gasoline!

Nice story
Good Job

Congrats my friend!!!

Thank you, gentlemen!

Rang, that's great! That machine has sent more classic cars to an early grave. Your perseverance/hard head, surprised the $hit out of that smog Tech.

FOR SURE!!! That stupid machine also makes my rig worth that much less in CA. Honestly, it also kept me from bailing on this truck a year ago. If my truck was CA smog exempt (I could sell it with a clear conscience that it would not need smog) I would have sold it when it was backfiring.

That is SOOO exciting to see you conquered the smog check!

By the way, what is the terminal block for in the lower right of this pic? Is it a ground block, power block or both? I don't have it on my 79. Is it factory or aftermarket? The heat shrink looks recent.

That is a bus bar I removed from the mid 90's chevy truck that donated it's EFI harness. That is the bus bar that distributes power to various electrical circuits when the key is set to "run". I have a plastic cover for it but had to keep taking it off and ended up forgetting to put it back on. I need to find it and put it back on...

Congrats on another 2 years of driving an old beast in Cali.

Good job tracking down the problem. Very impressive. You must have the tank removal and reinstall down pretty good. I just reinstalled mine on the 79 and it was a PITA! I like the new look of your grille. I guess Its the same look as you have had forever. It just didn't stand out to me like it does in the last front end pic.

I can pull my tank in 15 minutes, now (including grabbing tools out of my tool box). That's not bragging, it's whining. I do feel good knowing it is fixed (and hopefully for good).
Thanks! When I finish painting my next grill it will be even better. Still blacked out but a much better finish and the chrome surround is in much better shape.

Sweet! I'll see you up north; house went into escrow this weekend!

LLLLUCKKKY!!!!!! Happy for you!

[rws31]

I'm glad to see you got it past smog. I'm glad I live in the land of the free. If I had to do all that work to smog it, not sure I would want to. But I probably would.

You've been busy, catching fire, painting, center caps, passing smog and a bunch more. Just caught up up on your build. If you ever fly into Orlando and need something to work on at night to keep you busy, I got plenty lol.

Looks great, especially after the front springs.

[rang-a-stang]

I'm glad to see you got it past smog. I'm glad I live in the land of the free. If I had to do all that work to smog it, not sure I would want to. But I probably would.

You've been busy, catching fire, painting, center caps, passing smog and a bunch more. Just caught up up on your build. If you ever fly into Orlando and need something to work on at night to keep you busy, I got plenty lol.

Looks great, especially after the front springs.

If I could sell this thing and keep a clear conscience, I would have to prevent going through smog. It really does suck as bad as you hear.

HAHAHAHA!! Sounds good! I may take you up on that. We have one more of our big USCG tests in Hawaii next year then the 3 after that are all in Charleston, SC. Sometimes when the ship is homeported in Charleston, we'll do our at-sea testing in JAX. If we do, and we pull in for the weekend, I'll get a rental and make my way down there.
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Felt like doing a quick, hi-impact project this weekend. Plus, I feel like I have a ton of half finished projects in the air. So I decided to sand the upper passenger side and get the upper sticker put on so it matches the driver side. I figured 4 hours of sanding, buffing, and waxing, then an hour of sticker application. Wrong.

So remember my truck has a good 3 or 4 coats of yellow paint on it. I found my first area of bondo that was well applied. I had no idea this was here and left it intact. I had sanded down to the original coat starting at the back corner and made my way up to here.

I also have a feeling my passenger door was replaced at some point becuase other than the spray paint on it, there was only one coat of yellow paint. The area under the original black stripe was cracking and starting to surface rust, too. There are no other areas on this truck with this type of paint failure. Also, the stripe was thick and chunky. When I sanded it, it came off in a brown dust, almost like rust. Weird. And there was no yellow under the stripe.

So I masked her up, primered, and painted.

Here's how I lifted the scrapers so I get under them without getting paint on them (notice the rope in there):

some 600 grit over the primer, then a couple thick coats of single stage Saxon yellow, then some 600 grit to knock down the horrendous orange peel I just put on it, 1200 to get rid of the sanding marks, 2000 to shine it up, cut, buff, polish, wax, and stickers later:

Here's the real success. Notice how close the sheen of the sticker matches the Rustoleum. This Phoenix Graphics kit is really nice and I am really happy with it.

This is success becuase this part of my truck used to look like this:

I wanted this sticker on before I move on to my flares and I want my flares done before I move on to the big black side stickers. Side stickers before the grill and bumper work. Sigh... so much to do. Lip stick on a pig!

I have another big project coming up next month as well. It's not really a good one but my work on the outside will probably stall until November'ish.