The 1300 dollar fixer upper surprise project

[shanebo]

Well Toug, things look alot better as of tonight for bluebird!!...Cleaned up the plugs and and she fired right up....the three front plugs were basically a solid lump of carbon. She runs really well!! it does have a minor vaccum issue..I can hear it hissing. The temp gauge does not work but I can chauk that up to a loose wire or bad sending unit. It also does not want to kick back down from high idle once warm...If i push in the little vaccum motor thing on the carb it idles down and idles real nice. It shifts good too. When you put it in gear and take off it hesitates a little but once it hits a little higher RPM it revs out just fine....Im sure she needs a good tune up. when you take off you can smell she runs a bit rich....that would explain the hesitation when accelerating...a little tweeking of the carb should help alot....We just need to check the trans. fluid and rear diff and she should be clear for take off!

[carguy87]

The little vacuum thing is used to boost up idle when you have your headlights on or your a/c.  It can be adjusted per the service manual, but I would recommend checking to make sure both of those are off first or that someone didn't just hook up any one vacuum line they had laying around the engine bay to it.

[shanebo]

I was wondering how that thing worked....these old carbs sure had alot of complicated stuff that could go wrong with them.

[JayRamb]

I was wondering how that thing worked....these old carbs sure had alot of complicated stuff that could go wrong with them.

Thats why a lot of the hood releases broke, unfortunately.

[tougeagle]

I'm not too worried about the running rich part, it will probably run great at 4900 ft I'm actually glad it's a bit rich, that means it should run well on the trip home...

[shanebo]

I actually drove it into town today and it shifts good....and it would be great if I had a temp gauge to see how much it heats up...The heater works good...I think with just a little TLC and some rattle cans it sould be a good car.

[tougeagle]

I'd be willing to bet it's the gauge temp sending unit... which if so, is more evidence to back the possibility of the car having overheated at some point, which would have led to the headgasket failure, or was a result thereof

[shanebo]

Either way we'll get her back on the road....Hows that rear end workin out by the way?

[shanebo]

Heres a few pics from the axle swap Toug.

[tougeagle]

Rer e

Either way we'll get her back on the road....Hows that rear end workin out by the way?

Rear end is working out okay. Something sounds a little funky on the pass side drum, but ill worry about it later. If it comes to needing a new drum i know where to get plenty...other than that its working well. Definitely still binding but thats because of the transfer case. Should have swapped those out instead. Thanks for the pics btw any chance you could email the rest to me?
I cant wait to get bluebird home...still trying to decide if i wanna do the head gasket here or up there.... If i can get use of the shophere for a day i can have andy check it out and confirm or deny my diagnosis

[shanebo]

Hey Toug,

I think I got a sollution to you t-case problem...I sent ya a pm about it.

[tougeagle]

Excellent, read and replied

[tougeagle]

This is not a fun post to have to type......

I am forced to sell Caroline, here is why:

I noticed over the past two months that the engine bay keeps getting a mysterious coat of oil, and it's been getting increasingly heavier after highway drives, to the point that I got pulled over on the way from Greeley to Westminster last night because Caroline was smoking so bad. I popped the hood and everything was dripping in oil. I figured perhaps one of the sending units in my aftermarket gauge cluster was leaking, and so I sat in a parking lotwith it, revving it, when I noticed the dipstick tube moved. I pulled the tube and noticed fumes every time I revved the engine.... gas fumes. A compression test in an O'Reillys parking lot proved my fears....... cylinder 6 is at 75 psi, the rest are within 5 psi of 125. I am out of time, money, tools and space. I cannot continue this any longer.... I am selling caroline, and will include Bluebird for free, please see my ad for details. You all have been great, and supportive, and I just hope you can help me out this one last time. I will not be leaving the forum, but I will be going dormant, as I do not plan to own another eagle for at least a few years. I can still answer questions and give advice, but those will have to be in the form of pms, I will need some space, finding this out today tore a hole in my heart. I need a stable job, disposable income, a garage, and tools to give an Eagle the love and attention it deserves.

[brentsydlik]

sorry to hear this toug... i know what you mean though... its tough right now.

[maddog]

i hated having to read that dude, i wish you the best of luck with your sale because if i had the money you know i would buy them.