1981 Dark Grey SX/4

[Stewartz]

Yeah the mechanic was in San Diego. I made it to Oregon on Friday (was an interesting trip). The radiator seems to be fine. The clamp was a tad loose, tightened it down pretty good and haven't had any issues! Still have the interior out, not sure when I will tackle the floor and rust issue so I didn't want to stick it in just yet.

Ended up leaving late Wednesday night, drove all the way to Weed, CA by the end of Thursday. Of course it began to snow like crazy, so I unloaded the Eagle for it's first snow adventure. Loaded the Supra onto the auto transport. I ended up having some issues getting the Eagle to run. I could get her to idle, but when I went into gear it wanted to cut out and die. I was up until 1am trying to figure it out. Finally I gave up and bought a motel for the night. Went to park everything in the motel parking lot, started right up and drove just fine. Parked it, got out, and noticed I was leaking fuel from a black cylindrical thing under the hood (later identified it as a charcoal canister). I called it a night and decided to deal with it in the morning.

Got up, started the Eagle right up. Warmed her up and drove to a Napa which ended up being closed due to a fire. I checked to see if I was leaking anymore fuel from the canister, and saw none. Decided to push on, only 180 miles to go.

It was still snowing, CHP made me chain up the UHaul, they said the Eagle was good We made it through the pass and unchained and continued on. Now the Eagle began to lose power when shifting into 3rd and 4th. If I hold the pedal in the right spot it will work, but still wants to lose RPMs and die. We hit dry road again so I swapped the Supra back to the road, stuck the Eagle back to the trailer.

Arrived in snowy Oregon a few hours later. Over the next few days I've played with the Eagle, still having the acceleration issues on and off, along with some choke/idle issues. I'm guessing it's mostly related to the canister leaking out fuel. I was told it has to do with either overfilling the gas tank or too much gas from the carburater. I had a friend help me take apart part of the carb, we discovered the needle isn't shutting off the fuel completely, causing it to overflow the floats. So either a rebuild kit or switching to GRONK's system will hopefully fix it?

I'm still trying to find a replacement/ any info on getting or fixing the charcoal canister. If there's a way to do away with it even better?

Other than those other bugs, it's a blast to drive! Eats the snow right up, loving it  

[JSK]

Thanks for the update!! Sorry to hear she's giving you more grief, though -- I wouldn't be surprised if residual gunk in the fuel tank/lines is fouling up the carb here and there. If you have the funds, it seems like a Gronk replacement would be a great investment. I'll be he (or others) can tell you how to eliminate that charcoal canister as well (you won't have to worry about emissions in Oregon, I take it?).

Glad to hear those Destination A/T's eat up the snow! I actually had a dream the other night (I am NOT making this up) that I was driving her in the snow -- had to put her in reverse and she backed up without a whimper... you KNOW I'm attached when I'm dreaming about her months after I've sold her!

Did you notice that you hardly needed those new wipers with the Rain-X I put on the windshield? I take it the heater worked ok? That control valve looked a little rusty, so I lubricated it up as well as I could (back in the day).

Remember -- the speedometer is way off right now since the tranny  has the speedo-gear for a 2.35 rear end. I made sure to include the red speedo gear in a baggie that came from the 4cyl car (3.54 gears) -- but it's really worn out. I hear that it's a normal Jeep part though - hope it's easy to find. It IS easy to access (but can be tricky to replace).

Glad you made it home safe! Thanks again for the updates.

[maddog]

i hope you get it fixed. now this is a little off topic but what year is your supra because judging by what little bit i can see of it in that one pic i would guess it's an 84 or 85.

[JSK]

Yeah - show the guys some pics of your Supra!   ...and then they can imagine how your SX/4 will look after similar treatment -- gonna be great without a doubt.

 
I wish I was familiar with the charcoal canister and carb problems - but if you search on these boards I'm sure you'll find some answers!

[Stewartz]

Yeah the RainX worked great! Those tires are also a perfect match.
Bought a GRONK carb today, hope it get's here soon!! The other one I believe is some of my trouble.

Good idea. The Supra is an 84' so you're right on.

It has a swapped 6mge 3.0L engine with roughly 55,000 miles.
Rabid chimp performance intake
Doug Thorley smog legal headers
Full exhaust system
Momo steering wheel
ACT stage 1 clutch kit
Newer transmission & differential

This is what it looked like when I bought it; It came with all the parts to put it back together and a new carpet kit.








I cleaned it up a bit, reupholstered the nasty old interior with black vinyl. I had a shop do a lot of the trim and screw work as there were far too many pieces to handle. Was a bit spendy, but I think it was worth it, definitely a fun little ride.

[shanebo]

Thats the twin to my sx4...Mine had a drive shaft issue when I first got mine too...Must be something with the grey ones LOL. Ive had Gronks carb on mine for about a year now and love it.

Gorgeous Supra by the way...It's nice to see people restoring some these iconic 80's treasures.

Good eggs to you for not only saving an eagle but a really sweet Supra!

[maddog]

that is a nice supra. what made me think 84 or 85 was what i could see of the fender flair and hood as they were both changed on the 86 models.

[JSK]

D O U G    T H O R L E Y ? ? ? ?    I think he made headers for slant six chrysler engines!!! hah - - what a small world (I've owned more Darts and Lancers than I can count)      (YES - way off topic)

[Stewartz]

Sorry for my absence!
Thank you for the compliments, it's definitely a rescue effort.

Haha Shanebo, must be a grey thing. It's running like a champ now with the Gronk. I still have some hoses and stuff to clean up, but nothing that prevents it from daily driving. Had a buddy help me out and as far as the instructions went,  I think we were successful in the installation.

 I really want to begin a full tear down, media blast, weld, paint, polish, put back together .... but for now it's not in the budget. Need Overhaulin' to come in 

[shanebo]

Lookin good! I love my Gronk carb, it breaths so much better than the old stock one did...not to mention getting rid of all those darn vacuum lines...Mine is an early 81' model and has a smog pump so it has an air rail above the manifolds, which wouldn't let the carb seat right...Gronk had to put 2 spacer plates on mine to get it to clear...Did you have that issue with yours too?

[Stewartz]

Nope, luckily it sat in there with no big issues. I had to dremel out a few spots on the main spacer so the screw tops would sit flush, that's about it. I still am not sure on which hoses can go, mind sending me a pic of your setup?

While I'm here, I'll post some pictures from an outing to the State Park today.

[Kippnidaho]

Nice pictures, What kind of springs do you have in the rear of your SX/4. I do something with mine.