Well, evrytime I think an individual can't posibly be more brain damaged,
I discover I'm wrong! Here are some PO nightmare stories with the
Smidgin.
First, when I got the car, the points were beyond fried and the timing
was WAY off, so it barely ran. The 1st/2nd gear shift fork was bad, so
no 2nd gear. There was a bolt (?) sticking out of the mouth of one of
the carburettors, just rattling around in there. The choke cable was so
badly frayed that it kept the choke stuck open. The heater core wasn't
even connected and the hose was plugged with yet another bolt. The
blower and the horn are not hooked up. The seatbelt attachements that
bolt to the transmission/driveshaft tunnel are missing on both sides.
There was no oil in the dashpots and who knows when the engine oil had
been changed last.
So, I thought it couldn't get worse than that, but yesterday I go to
change a bad valve cover gasket and figured that while I'm in there, I'll
adjust the valves. Well, if a little clearence is good, no clearence
must be better, right? Every single valve was adjusted to the point
where it was touching the tappet, and some were even keeping the valve
open, if only by a hair!!!!
Good lord what was this dufus thinking?! So I adjusted them, and lo and
behold, the car runs much smoother, accelerates better, and cruises much
more easily on the freeway. Imagine that! Now if I could only figure
out why the bolt was in there....
Anybody else have a good PO horror story? Please share!
Cheers,
Andy Ramm
'67 Midget Mk III -- The Smidgin
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