I was sure that my water pump had failed. A new water pump was only $30. Surprisingly, the old water pump was just fine. I did install the new water pump and replaced a few rusty alternator bolts while things were apart. The car stays cool now and all I can figure out is that it was overheating because there must have been a huge air bubble keeping the water pump from moving the coolant. It's all good now and back on the road.
The new radiator was easy to install. Perfect fit. The bottom outlet points to the side and therefore needed a newer style hose which also fit perfectly. Moving the rubber bushings to the upper position was easy since holes were already there. My temp gauge still goes way too high and the lower hose stays cold. The thermostat checked out fine in hot water and opened at 185 and was fully open at 190 degrees. I've ordered a new water pump since I really don't see any coolant flowing.
The fuel lines were replaced and this car is running well again. Now I can turn attention to the engine cooling system. It might need a new radiator.
While trying to sort out some engine cooling problems, I developed a fuel leak at the fuel filter. Since the whole fuel system needs to be explored and updated, I decided to take the tanks out and start fresh. Tanks were in great shape and have been reinstalled. New hoses have been ordered.
About 2 weeks ago I noticed that the car was very hard to start. With the help of forum friends I found a large vacuum leak on the underside of the intake manifold. Tonight I removed parts to fix the vacuum leak. While I have things apart I'll clean up a few things and replace some of the bad hoses.
The hood had thick rust beneath the primer. It was hard work, but I have the hood stripped and the rust is gone. The satin clear coat looks pretty good for now.
The previous owner sanded the hood and applied primer. However, the rust was still very thick beneath the primer. It had only been sanded smooth. Using the poly carbide disc on my grinder gets the rust off down to the bare metal. The center clear area in the 2nd and 3rd pictures was the same as the darker brown all around it before I used the disc.
Today I installed the rear shock inserts. The old shocks did not have any gas. The car handles pretty good now.
I have the PS door partly stripped. I ordered some rear shocks yesterday. This car should handle much better once installed. Gonna have the drive shaft universal joints looked at soon.
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October 2016
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