Engine is still running poorly. I’ve spent a few nights this week trying to get the engine to idle properly and not overheat – I’m not quite there yet. This is what is happening: Engine starts quickly (better than last week, but I still have to pump the gas pedal 2 – 3 times before turning the key). Engine fires up – if its starting cold, runs for couple minutes until warm – if its already warm, runs for about 5 seconds before idle slows and it dies… Unless I goose the gas a bit. It varies how many times I have to lightly rev the engine, but eventually it settles and will idle somewhat roughly. If I put it in gear and go anywhere, the engine will start to die as soon as I press in the clutch and come to a stop – unless I can get stopped quick enough and goose the pedal a few times. I’m getting pretty good at keeping the engine going, and when it does die, it will start right back up. It also seems to be running fairly hot. Bottom line is – I got me some engine problems, and they needs a fixin.
I’ve been trying to learn myself about the carburetor, and I’m getting more comfortable messing with it. Eventually I will either rebuild it, or get a new one; right now, I just want to make sure it is working. First thing I did was check the automatic choke. To start, I loosened the fast idle screw (name is deceptive, doesn’t actually have anything to do with setting idle speed). As I turned the screw, the screwdriver with adjustable head slipped – Clink!… Great, just great! I dropped the little screwdriver head somewhere on the engine, can’t find it, oops. Once again, the little steel pick, that I used to get the broken key out of the ignition, came in handy – I found the little screwdriver head and kept going. Ok everything adjusted up, bus runs but still dies at idle, still seems to run hot. I’m going to keep messing with it, will try to reset the timing and check the valves again. I’m also thinking about replacing the fuel pump and filter set up, and replacing the fuel lines.
Oh and I managed to break this big steel c-clamp trying to get one of the rusty side mirror bolts out – bolt 1, Drew 0.
