1971 142S "I'll keep this one"

Keep up the good work!

Glad you got it rolling!

Nice to see you might keep this one.

Good job!!!
Put some anti-freeze in that thang!
Steve

sksmith said:

Good job!!!
Put some anti-freeze in that thang!
Steve

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Once the mother****er stops having intermittent popping through the carb at partial throttle under load (I've eliminated all possible vaccuum leaks, need to check timing and replace cap and rotor), I will. I'll put the grille and radiator to core support sheet metal back in as well.

Joey and I just spent 2 hours cleaning and re-organizing the garage because doing what we do with one workbench and hand tools gets very messy.

Great work and impressive how quickly you've gotten all this done! Sounds from the mechanical thread that you've got the carbs mostly sorted out...hope you get the other kink worked out quickly.

So, spent 2 hours on the car this morning, and did the following in order:
-Pulled the cap and rotor to inspect. Cap had ZERO center contact left in it. Replaced both with Bosch.
-Adjusted valves while cold to .018".
-Started the car, still ran like dog ****. Decided to check timing and it was fine (~11deg BTDC).
-Removed/inspected points- bearing/wear block was severely worn, so I replaced with new Bosch points.
-Went to start, and wouldn't start. Re-verified points gap, went to check timing, and discovered that the timing had moved over 40 degrees advanced!
-Re-set timing, car ran miles better, still had a lean pop and somewhat unresponsive rear carb. Ran both jets all the way to max rich, and the car ran far better.
-Took the car for the first uneventful test drive, and it has 10x the power compared to before. I am going to lean it a 1/2 turn each as there is still some occasional exhaust backfiring/popping and continue to tweak/tune.

Joey and I are going to gear up and go for a ~100 mile drive to really test on it. Also, I went to the gas station and checked the tire pressures, to discover 38 PSI in the fronts and rears . Volvo calls for 27/30 front/rear and I put in 28 all around, and the car feels much more planted. I used 5th gear for the first time, and I LOVE the .80 overdrive. Still pulls well even at 60mph and keeps it quieter.

Have you replaced the condenser?
A bad condenser can cause rough start, rich/lean conditions & misfires.
Worth a shot, if you can find one.
Steve

What a day.
Joey and I woke up at 5:00AM for a 6:00AM departure to Morgantown.
Pulled into the leasing office's parking lot at 12:45
One pit stop in Mount Airy to "fix" an alternator issue (1 hour), and another in Hancock to "un-fix" it. Since putting on the GM alternator, at higher RPM's (3k+), the ALT light will begin to faintly glow. I figured my reference wire wasn't seeing enough voltage drop, so I put it on the fuse box. An hour later, the car began to run like a dog turd and the tach got all wonky. I was able to make it to the NAPA in Hancock MD (right at the 68/70 interchange) and use their charging system tester and jump box (1.5 hour). I cleaned and replaced all of the junction block connections, moved the reference wire back to the battery terminal, and disconnected the electric fan. I also bought a new battery as my cheapie $50 walmart special was showing 9v with the car off. The car was charging, but the light would still faintly glow at like 3200 and above.

The car definitely doesn't like hills, especially loaded with tools, two big guys, and a bunch of clothes and stuff. We were usually using 3rd pulling ~50mph in the slow lane up the really long grades with no running starts.

Thanks to Joey for all the help, copiloting, and the awesome picture crossing back into WV.

The important thing is that you didn't arrive on a flatbed.

Well done. You did it, that's more than many owners can claim.

It's really impressive what you accomplished in such a short time! It's a really nice looking car.

I'm just glad you kept the damn thing and didn't sell & regret like the 145. Congrats.

And if you upgrade your orbital and compound game, that paint really will come back to life. And that will completely change how you and others view the car.

IansPlatinum said:

I'm just glad you kept the damn thing and didn't sell & regret like the 145. Congrats.

And if you upgrade your orbital and compound game, that paint really will come back to life. And that will completely change how you and others view the car.

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The only way this car is leaving is if a 68-72 145S comes up for sale, I think.

I have a Griot's random orbital, but I need to get a replacement velcro pad mount. After 20 years of service with my dad, the foam finally gave up the ghost.

Also, thanks for all the props guys. Seriously- it means a lot coming from the guys whose builds I have followed and admired for quite some time. I've been kinda inactive lately as I just moved into my apartment and still getting settled and life is winding back to college life.

I have determined that this car most certainly needs new springs and shocks as well as a rear sway bar. I could feel the car understeering/behaving poorly trying to merge onto the highway on a long, semi-banked on-ramp. Also, any weight in the trunk with a person in the back seat would make the rear tires rub going over any bump or taking a turn.

vwbusman66 said:

The only way this car is leaving is if a 68-72 145S comes up for sale, I think.

I have a Griot's random orbital, but I need to get a replacement velcro pad mount. After 20 years of service with my dad, the foam finally gave up the ghost.

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Haha, I feel ya. That's why I snagged my 71. Get the new griot's compound, I was blown away. Their boss pads are the beez kneez too

for cutting through all that oxidation and junk a traditional rotary machine would probably be a preferable choice over a random/DA

Stiggy Pop said:

for cutting through all that oxidation and junk a traditional rotary machine would probably be a preferable choice over a random/DA

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I was blown away with how quickly my random orbital did its job. Griot orbital with griot's compound. Same year, same color paint.

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Not saying they don't work, but when you really need to cut a rotary will usually do the job faster, cut deeper, and push more polish into the paint. I've certainly found it to be the case when I was doing boats for a living at least.

Either way, whatever you use it'll be good

Badass dude. It'll be fun having that at school. Probably.