Update:
We'll, heading towards the end of my deadline, the week has been filled with numerous triumphs and tragedies.
The first triumph came in getting the car together, and getting the carbs running.
Tradegy struck as my starter died just before taking it to the exhaust shop for final project work.
Once the starter situation was remedied, the car "limped" across town, out of time and a much needed carb tune, to Majestic Muffler, where many triumphs soon took place. Tim at Majestic did EXCELLENT work on the car! I mean WOW. The exhaust, flawless. period. I mean, WOW. The look and sound are absolutely incredible. The 4:2:1 headers were fixed. The y-connection was moved forward and welded in to work with the 4WD tranny case. Great work there as well. He did a PERFECT drop for me, by reindexing the torsion bars up front and heating the springs in the rear. Not TOO much of a drop, but low enough to look tough and still be mature (and safe/practical). It's just what I was hoping for. So, lots of triumphs.
However, he had a lot of trouble getting the car to tune right, and stop backfiring. He adjusted the timing and carbs the best he could, but his experience told him that I had a bad valve in the Si head. The engine was backfiring like crazy on the road, and making a CANON of a backfire when I shut it off. This was VERY embarrassing during the wagons stop at a gas station to fill up on the way home from the shop.TRAGEDY. The Si head had a bad valve in the #2 cylinder. The engine was timed to 16-advance, 32 wide open throttle, which was recommended by several RPR members running identical set-ups, so timing was not the issue. It was obvious that an in-car head swap BACK to the DX head was in order. It had to happen fast too, b/c I go back to work on Monday. Also, when changing out my rear drum shoes, and bleeding all four brakes, Tim found that I had a bad MC. Suck. Bleed brakes and STILL a soft pedal.
Triumphs soon followed. The machine shop in town shaved my DX head in 30 minutes time that same afternoon! My good friend, and constant helper throughout this build, Ben, came over and gave his time to help on New Years Eve and Day, and between the two days, the two of us swapped the DX head back on and tried our best to align the timing as it was when removed the Si head (we used white out to make several markings on the cam gear, belt, and dizzy). Immediately, the car drove much better, no backfire at idle or on the road, and I learned A LOT about engines through the head change. I thought I had it! Then...
Tragedy: I turned off the engine after a 15 minute test-run, and....BOOM (backfire...again!). AHHHH!!!!!!
Call father-in-law for advice: "Your OK Daniel, you just put a different head on, it just needs to be adjusted and timed again, and your backfire will go away, trust me." I wanted to trust him, but the way things have been going lately, I stayed fairly apprehensive.
None the less, I drove the car over to Majestic again this morning, to have the car timed. He timed the engine, as per the advice of several RPR members running similar set-ups, to 16-advanced for idle, and 32 for wide open throttle. I drove away with NO MORE back fire problem. None, and a PERFECT, smooth, consistent, butter idle. Smooth through every bit of the rev-range to 3500RPM on the road, in each gear. Car is running great, and best of all, NO backfire when I cut it off!!!!!!! At last, TRIUMPH!!! My buddy also got down to Beavers Honda just before they closed to pick up a '85 Carb'd Prelude MC for me. NICE! This will not only fix the MC issue, but should be a great upgrade to the system when I start to add Teg stuff back on later. ALMOST done, but...
I had been noticing a pronounced metal-to-metal grind at both of my front wheels, particularly when braking and at slower speeds. On the way back from Majestic, I took the car to Discount Tire to have them put it on the lift, and see what was grinding. While there, we discovered the problem AND a totally different VERY BIG problem. Advanced had sold me the wrong thread pitch lug nuts (12x1.25, and I needed 12x1.5), and mine were binding up bad, and not tightining well (only 3/4 of the depth they SHOULD have tightened to). They sure felt good to me! Either way, they were wrong, and would have caused some SERIOUS problems down the road, if this had not been discovered. I replaced them immediately. I was glad I went down there!
The grinding at the wheels: The Teg brake stuff I bought. The 1g Teg rotors and 2g Teg calipers combo DOES NOT work on my car. The pads on the 2g calipers stick out about 3mm too far in, and rub against the center hub on the 1g rotor. I bought the set off of a local RPR member here. He said they worked for him, but he had them on HX spindles. Well, they didn't work on Wagovan spindles, I'll tell you that! Another tragedy. I've got to switch back to my OEM wagon-stuff tomorrow morning. I'll have to wait until later to run the Teg rotors with some 86-89 Teg calipers, I guess.
Triumphs!: Discount Tire is MEGA COOL, and letting ME use one of their bays tomorrow to change out the front brake stuff and bleed my lines again...FOR FREE, on a SATURDAY! That is just CRAZY to me.
Also, Advance was able to get the hard-to-find Wagovan rotors in tomorrow morning for me, at 7:30.
So, I'm up early, and hope to get everything complete by noon. It's been a REALLY tough and stressful last stretch here on this wagon. It used to be just my wife that would become stressed out. But now, I'm really starting to feel it as well. My once strong focus is beginning to dwindle here. From the very beginning of this build, it seems as though I've done everything wrong once, and had to do everything over again twice. Quite honestly, I'm burnt. I ready for this to be over.
Hopefully, tomorrow will be the victory day that I've been waiting for. I'll keep you all posted. THEN, I'll post pics. I haven't felt deserving to post any pics, as my work is not complete just yet.
PS- We did still take the Wagon out to dinner after the head swap on Thursday. We didn't valet though, as I was afraid of the shear embarrasment that a backfire after shutting the car off in the valet lane would cause to us! However, as we passed the valet lane, we looked over to find the two valets on duty staring at our car as we drove by, pointing, and laughing! How 'bout that! I guess even a "restored" Wagovan is still a real "acquired" taste to the general public. LOL!
Good night to all.
We'll, heading towards the end of my deadline, the week has been filled with numerous triumphs and tragedies.
The first triumph came in getting the car together, and getting the carbs running.
Tradegy struck as my starter died just before taking it to the exhaust shop for final project work.
Once the starter situation was remedied, the car "limped" across town, out of time and a much needed carb tune, to Majestic Muffler, where many triumphs soon took place. Tim at Majestic did EXCELLENT work on the car! I mean WOW. The exhaust, flawless. period. I mean, WOW. The look and sound are absolutely incredible. The 4:2:1 headers were fixed. The y-connection was moved forward and welded in to work with the 4WD tranny case. Great work there as well. He did a PERFECT drop for me, by reindexing the torsion bars up front and heating the springs in the rear. Not TOO much of a drop, but low enough to look tough and still be mature (and safe/practical). It's just what I was hoping for. So, lots of triumphs.
However, he had a lot of trouble getting the car to tune right, and stop backfiring. He adjusted the timing and carbs the best he could, but his experience told him that I had a bad valve in the Si head. The engine was backfiring like crazy on the road, and making a CANON of a backfire when I shut it off. This was VERY embarrassing during the wagons stop at a gas station to fill up on the way home from the shop.TRAGEDY. The Si head had a bad valve in the #2 cylinder. The engine was timed to 16-advance, 32 wide open throttle, which was recommended by several RPR members running identical set-ups, so timing was not the issue. It was obvious that an in-car head swap BACK to the DX head was in order. It had to happen fast too, b/c I go back to work on Monday. Also, when changing out my rear drum shoes, and bleeding all four brakes, Tim found that I had a bad MC. Suck. Bleed brakes and STILL a soft pedal.
Triumphs soon followed. The machine shop in town shaved my DX head in 30 minutes time that same afternoon! My good friend, and constant helper throughout this build, Ben, came over and gave his time to help on New Years Eve and Day, and between the two days, the two of us swapped the DX head back on and tried our best to align the timing as it was when removed the Si head (we used white out to make several markings on the cam gear, belt, and dizzy). Immediately, the car drove much better, no backfire at idle or on the road, and I learned A LOT about engines through the head change. I thought I had it! Then...
Tragedy: I turned off the engine after a 15 minute test-run, and....BOOM (backfire...again!). AHHHH!!!!!!
Call father-in-law for advice: "Your OK Daniel, you just put a different head on, it just needs to be adjusted and timed again, and your backfire will go away, trust me." I wanted to trust him, but the way things have been going lately, I stayed fairly apprehensive.
None the less, I drove the car over to Majestic again this morning, to have the car timed. He timed the engine, as per the advice of several RPR members running similar set-ups, to 16-advanced for idle, and 32 for wide open throttle. I drove away with NO MORE back fire problem. None, and a PERFECT, smooth, consistent, butter idle. Smooth through every bit of the rev-range to 3500RPM on the road, in each gear. Car is running great, and best of all, NO backfire when I cut it off!!!!!!! At last, TRIUMPH!!! My buddy also got down to Beavers Honda just before they closed to pick up a '85 Carb'd Prelude MC for me. NICE! This will not only fix the MC issue, but should be a great upgrade to the system when I start to add Teg stuff back on later. ALMOST done, but...
I had been noticing a pronounced metal-to-metal grind at both of my front wheels, particularly when braking and at slower speeds. On the way back from Majestic, I took the car to Discount Tire to have them put it on the lift, and see what was grinding. While there, we discovered the problem AND a totally different VERY BIG problem. Advanced had sold me the wrong thread pitch lug nuts (12x1.25, and I needed 12x1.5), and mine were binding up bad, and not tightining well (only 3/4 of the depth they SHOULD have tightened to). They sure felt good to me! Either way, they were wrong, and would have caused some SERIOUS problems down the road, if this had not been discovered. I replaced them immediately. I was glad I went down there!
The grinding at the wheels: The Teg brake stuff I bought. The 1g Teg rotors and 2g Teg calipers combo DOES NOT work on my car. The pads on the 2g calipers stick out about 3mm too far in, and rub against the center hub on the 1g rotor. I bought the set off of a local RPR member here. He said they worked for him, but he had them on HX spindles. Well, they didn't work on Wagovan spindles, I'll tell you that! Another tragedy. I've got to switch back to my OEM wagon-stuff tomorrow morning. I'll have to wait until later to run the Teg rotors with some 86-89 Teg calipers, I guess.
Triumphs!: Discount Tire is MEGA COOL, and letting ME use one of their bays tomorrow to change out the front brake stuff and bleed my lines again...FOR FREE, on a SATURDAY! That is just CRAZY to me.
Also, Advance was able to get the hard-to-find Wagovan rotors in tomorrow morning for me, at 7:30.
So, I'm up early, and hope to get everything complete by noon. It's been a REALLY tough and stressful last stretch here on this wagon. It used to be just my wife that would become stressed out. But now, I'm really starting to feel it as well. My once strong focus is beginning to dwindle here. From the very beginning of this build, it seems as though I've done everything wrong once, and had to do everything over again twice. Quite honestly, I'm burnt. I ready for this to be over.
Hopefully, tomorrow will be the victory day that I've been waiting for. I'll keep you all posted. THEN, I'll post pics. I haven't felt deserving to post any pics, as my work is not complete just yet.
PS- We did still take the Wagon out to dinner after the head swap on Thursday. We didn't valet though, as I was afraid of the shear embarrasment that a backfire after shutting the car off in the valet lane would cause to us! However, as we passed the valet lane, we looked over to find the two valets on duty staring at our car as we drove by, pointing, and laughing! How 'bout that! I guess even a "restored" Wagovan is still a real "acquired" taste to the general public. LOL!
Good night to all.
it looks great man! glad to see someone with a bad ass 3rd gen on here.
So, replaced it with a refurbished unit and now the wagon is running fine again (for now, LOL!).