Tough Decisions
and The Bayou Rovers Brain Trust
I am being forced to make a tough call now. Do I rebuild the hydraulics and all the wiring on Maggie as she sits, and risk screwing things up when I take her down to the frame at a later date? The advantage would be that being able to drive her, I would know whether her transmission was good. Or do I go ahead and take her down to the frame now, and do the hydraulics with ease, taking the risk that the transmission is bad?
The considerations are that the entire hydraulic systems will have to be replaced or rebuilt. It's the pipes that I am worried about screwing up, as well as breaking off bolts in wheel cylinders that I can get into better during a frame-up. The other clincher is, somewhere in Maggie's past, an owner removed the floorboards, seat box, and parking brake. Is there some bad juju lurking in the transmission? It would not be good to find out after I do a frame-up restoration, and then have to tear things back down to set it right!
While the Bayou Rovers Brain Trust was debating the merits and deficits of either restorative path, parts continued to arrive in the brown UPS van of joy. When I restored my first Series Rover, Beula, I was not yet online. Thankfully Beula was not missing any significant parts, and she was a runner. Maggie, however, was needing several parts that would be prohibitively expensive to buy new. Well the friends I have made on the internet have begun to bail me out. This has given me a huge advantage. The steering sector, the waterpump and associated equipment, and the missing handbrake parts all make sense to replace with used. The lack of these parts would have made Maggie a parts car. Many thanks fellows, you know who you are!
While we were still deciding which path to take, I continued to press on. I received a waterpump through the mail, and searched out the various bolts to attach it. Then I drilled out the alternator dog on the side of the engine block to accept a 3/8 inch bolt for an alternator.
This time around, I acquired a Ford alternator that has nuts and bolts to attach the wires, and does not need a spacer to align the pulleys. It fit right on. I am not sure of it's application yet, but will post a number or something here when I find out. It will require an external voltage regulator.
The Delco 10si is a more common conversion. Click here to learn about installing a Delco alternator on the 2.25.
No matter whether we strip Maggie down or not, I want to completely warm up the engine, to make sure there is no blown head gasket, no cracked head, and to burn some of the oil off. I put on a fanbelt, bolted in the radiator, and hooked up the hoses.
Finally, white smoke rose from the Bayou Rovers Brain Trust Compound, and an answer was forthcoming regarding the gearbox. Maggie would be raised up on four jackstands, and she would be started up in each gear with permutations of 4WD and 2WD to check for noise in the gearbox at various RPMs. Of course, that would involve extended running, so pressing on with the cooling system ended up being the thing to do. Maggie's mojo must be working!
Next weekend, Checking the Transmission!
[ Rover Assessment ] [ Steering Straight ]
[ Minimal Wiring ] [ Worth $500? ] [ Fuel Supply ]
[ Idle Thoughts ] [ Tough Decisions ] [ Spinning Wheels ]
[ Stripping Down ] [ The Bulkhead ] [ The Bulkhead 2 ]
[ Maggie's Motor ] [ Chassis Prep ] [ POR15 & Parabolics ]
[ Synergy ] [ The Breakfast ] [ Waking the Neighbors ]
[ A New Look ] [ Test Drive! ] [ Designing Woman ]
[ Mystery Solved ] [ More Juju ] [ Whoa Maggie! ]
[ Finish Line! ] [ Epilogue ]
[ Due Thank Yous ]
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