I was just gonna keep up the private email to the Cap'n, but decided
halfway through, to share it with the lists.
"Robert E. Shlafer" wrote:
> Nice "lineup" :)
>
> Cap'n. Bob
> '60 :{)
The orange one is now the property of Charlie Shelden in OKC. The engine
is in the blue one though!!
Speaking of the blue one, I had a fucking heart attack yesterday. I have
not had a problem with it, other than hard shifting, pump the clutch
pedal a couple of times and go on. I am buzzing over to Cleburne, and
almost there, I glance at the oil pressure, and I have 2 needles!!
I shut it down and coast into a gas station for water. The water temp
needle was at 80 on the OIL PRESSURE part of the gauge!!!
BTW, the bulb is in the head, not the radiator, this is fortunate
for me, as the water was completely gone. Those of you that can put your
temperature bulb in the head, DO IT, the radiator would not have shown
the temp correctly.
To continue, it was dieseling because of the heat and did not really
want to die. It finally did, and I finished my coasting to water. I
popped the bonnet, got a rag from the boot, and gave the radiator cap a
half twist. Once the pressure was released, I gently gave it another
twist and yanked my arm out of the way, as there was a blast of hot air
coming out of the radiator at this point.
Much as I hated to, I went back and started the car, I heard it is fatal
to put cold water in an overheated engine. The radiator was so hot
inside, it was blowing the water back out, geyser style. The water
hitting the head was boiling off instantly. I shut the car down again,
it stopped right off this time, and proceeded to hose down the outside
of the radiator. After it stopped expelling hot air (something I doubt
will ever happen at Just Ed's), I started the car again and proceeded to
fill. I got the temp down, and got the radiator topped off. I cautiously
checked the oil, it was a quart low, but not milky. I add a quart, as I
always keep two in the boot, one on each side. The Castrol bottle fits
perfectly in the area between the rear side supports and the outer skin.
I don't use those areas for anything else anyway, so why waste the
space? Be careful of your wiring that runs round there though!!
Funny aside, when the 68 was in the shop getting bodywork done, the
owner called me and said he had struck oil!! Seems I had forgotten to
remove the quart on one side, and when he went to cut out the panel, it
ruptured the plastic bottle, leaked out oil, and caught the side of the
car on fire...................
Anyway, so off to meet Martha for lunch, and then go get the car
inspected. Those that don't know, the blue Sprite is a 65. It was hot,
so I took the top off, and rather than fold it into the boot (I was also
stopping for yard sales) I put it over the top on the 65 Midget in the
back yard. Wouldn't you know it, about 1 mile from the inspection
station, here comes a turd floater (rain in redneck talk). I mean BIG
drops, the kind that sting your eyes like they are filled with acid
rain, drops!!! I forge on as I can make a right on the red signal just
ahead, and hope to catch the last light on green, go through and buzz
into an open bay at the station. The light is red, and PACKED, so I whip
into a gas station on the right, and under their awning. I go ahead and
top off the gas tank, and that helps to justify my using their awning as
a rain shelter. It slows down after about 15 minutes, so I hop in and
head for the inspection station. Most stations won't inspect after it
rains, as you cannot effectively check the brakes, but I have been
getting my cars inspected here for 26 years. I whip into his inspection
bay, and slam on the pedal, leaving 3 black streaks on his floor (he is
a redneck too!!), I need to find out why there were not 4 streaks. But I
got my inspection finished............ He KNEW my wipers were working!!
So the rain picks up again. Here I am, Macy style, about 8 miles from
home, and 3 of those miles are through town. The rain slacked off after
a bit, so I decide to bite the bullet and go for it. For those that
don't know, the later seat squabs, like in our 68, you sit pretty low,
and once you get to about 35, the rain goes over your head for the most
part. The 65 seat squabs are THICK, and my head is barely above the
windscreen. I have no more than left the station, when it starts to rain
again, in torrents. I opt to go around downtown, take some side roads,
to avoid stopping at the lights. Just my luck, a huge truck hauling
gravel is in front of me, the spray off his truck is horrendous.
You have to picture this, I am in a downpour, no top on the car. The
wipers are going, barely keeping up with the rain on the outside of the
screen, and doing nothing for the rain on the INSIDE of the screen. My
glasses are soaked, inside and out, and I have my hand over my eyes as a
rain block. I have a Brit Flag do rag on my head, so I have a pirate
look to me, and with my hand up, it appears I am scanning the horizon
for ships to pillage. Add to that, I am leaned at a 45* angle to the
right to TRY and get the rain to go over my head. I finally had to throw
my glasses in the passenger seat, as they were to wet to do anything but
obstruct my vision even worse.
As I got closer to home, the car started to run rough, I had gone
through some deep puddles of water along the way. As I pulled into the
garage, it died, I was worried that the heat may have blown a gasket. I
went out prior to posting this email, and the oil is black, not milky.
After this long, tedious tale, my question is, what other damage should
I be looking for because of my overheating episode? I appear to have
dodged a bullet on a blown head gasket or warped head, but what else
should be expected as a possible problem?
If you get this far, thanks for reading, and thank you for any valid
advice (that is for YOU, Ed) you can offer.
Brad
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