engine and drivetrain The Orange Car Lives!

[dlhoovler]

After two years of hibernation in my mom's garage, the Orange Car got back on the road today. I'm still grinning. I was very pleased with how well it cooperated, too--I think it wanted to get going as much as I wanted it to. Gotta love the rhythm of this sort of thing. Stop now if you don't want a blow-by-blow of the resuscitation. 

 

 

The old oil had only 1,000 miles on it since the fall of 2012, but it was bordering on tar; that was fixed with four-and-a-half quarts of Pennzoil dino juice (the only brand that's been in it since new, so why change now?) and a bright new filter.

 

Out with the old coolant--doesn't look too bad, but principles, you know. I hate taking out that block drain. Showering in ethylene glycol isn't my thing, I guess. In with a new 80-degree 'stat. Hoses are still soft, so I scrape the precipitate off the water neck before reinstalling them and topping up with new green juice and a jigger of Water Wetter. It was on hand from the 2014 Mid-America Fest raffle, so why not?

 

Pull out the spark plugs and let the cylinders soak overnight with a few squirts of oil. Charge up the 10-year-old Walmart battery, and after cleaning the terminals find it spins the engine with as much gusto as an '02 starter ever permits. It's not 6-volt, anyway.

 

Spin off the lugs on the new plugs, set the gaps, light dollop of anti-seize, thread them in. Click the new wires into the new cap, slip on the rotor after a drop of oil on the felt. Slide the bakelite caps onto the plugs, feeling the ratchet of each thread until they seat. Leave off the coil wire just yet.

 

Slide back underneath, spin off the fill plug on the transmission and get rewarded with a drizzle of MTL--thread it back in. Repeat for the differential. Scan the giubo and the center bearing. All clear.

 

Check the front wheel bearings, find some play in the left one. Tap off the dust cap, yank out the cotter pin, snug up the nut one notch, slide the pin back in, hammer it over. Tap the cap back on. Pull the wheels. Those 12-year-old Sumitomos don't look half-bad, decent tread, no cracking, but they are 12 years old. They should make it the two hours to Cleveland, anyway. 

 

Flushing the brake fluid gives me my only hiccup. Screw on the pressure bleeder, pump it up, turn around for a wrench... What's that hissing? Stare for a second at the split bleeder hose spraying DOT 4 all over the underside of the hood. Relieve the pressure in several ways, then clean up the mess. That old fluid is still less amber than apple juice, so it'll get me home just fine. I need to put on new hoses soon anyway. Stick the wheels back on.

 

Debate whether the Sta-bil has preserved the full tank of gas well enough to risk burning it out through a single-barrel Solex instead of draining it. Pull off the gas cap, take a whiff, hope my mom doesn't walk out just then. Compare a 12.1-gallon tank to the two 5-gallon gas cans I have on hand. Decide leaving it is worth the risk and just dump in the whole can of Chemtool I have with me. Change out the fuel filter.

 

Crank the engine over for 10 seconds or so until the needle moves on the oil pressure gauge and the fuel filter has some gas in it. Plug in the coil wire, yank the choke and hold my breath. A quick flick of the key and the M10 lights off, immediately settling into a purring idle.

 

 

As it warms up, I putter--gathering tools, lowering the car from the stands, snapping on the hubcaps, topping off the tires. Then I sit down, buckle up, put in the clutch and slide the shifter into first. Commence grinning.

 

The tires flat-spotted while sitting, and there's a light clunk from the right front. Might be the old strut mount (left was replaced a while back, but the right one may be 25 years old). Or the sway bar link donuts shrank a little. Suspension refresh awaits anyway. Otherwise, it's running great.

 

But no, not gonna make the Vintage, so don't ask. Still too much to do before a trip of that length, not enough free time before Memorial Day to do it.

 

It took everything I had to tuck the car back into the garage and drive home with my mom in my E46, but we'll be taking her back next weekend and picking up the Orange Car then. Glad to spend time with my mom, but I can't wait to be '02ing again. 

 

-Dave

[Mike Self]

Way to go Dave!  Glad the Orange Car is alive and well.  If you're thinking about OH historic plates, they're one of the few good deals in the OH DMV.  $15 or $20 and indefinite--good as long as you own the car.  And you can register YOM plates for free!

 

Un-hibernating Ludwig after a year was a little less involved for me.  Filled the Weber's float chamber with gas via a squeeze bulb, pulled out the choke, turned the key to start--cranked about 5 sec--just enough for the oil pressure to come up, then it lit off.  Drove it to Mid America six days later.  I'm lazy, I guess...

 

mike

[jrhone]

Great job. Oh and Penzoil is probably fine but Valvoline VR1 is one of the only major oil with Zinc in it still.

[dlhoovler]

Mike--I probably am going to get historic tags for the car eventually, but I'll likely put the regular plates from my now-sold E30 on it for this season, since they're valid until November. And it had been a good three years since I'd really gone over the '02, and I'd rather do everything I can not to be surprised on the 150-mile drive home.

 

jrhone--Even though I know Pennzoil today has almost nothing in common with the Pennzoil of 1971, so switching brands would be essentially meaningless, I just can't bring myself to break the tradition going to the car's first oil change (my dad bought it new and always used Pennzoil, and the "interim owner" from 1984 to 1997 carried it forward as well). Maybe I'll throw in a little ZDDP additive every now and again for good measure...

 

-Dave

Edited May 3, 2015 by dlhoovler

[danco_]

Brad Penn 20W50 partial synthetic oil has plenty of ZDDP in it. It's what I used to run, and many others on this forum run. Great oil for a great little car. 

[bmdubl02]

Congradulations….AND i enjoyed the read!

[jgerock]

Dave- wonderful reading about getting the Orange car back on the road. Still love that Roundel story from 2002 about you and your Dad.

Jim

[jrhone]

Brad Penn 20W50 partial synthetic oil has plenty of ZDDP in it. It's what I used to run, and many others on this forum run. Great oil for a great little car. 

 

True...I meant to say the Valvoline oil is the only major one that you can get at pep boys or o'reillys pretty easily and cheaply.