What did you do to your 2002 today !

['76mintgrün'02]

On 5/18/2023 at 6:06 PM, RichenFamous said:

Why is the dwell drifting this much? Brand new points and the rubbing block is wearing quickly? Do you lube the distributor shaft - if so, what lube? 
 

800 miles a day at 3500-4k rpm is crazy! I want to head south and run Route 66 one of these days but I gotta add some sound deadening material to help me out 😄. 

 

I'm not sure why the dwell changed like that.  It'd jumped up three degrees since I'd checked it last.  I dialed it back down and it stayed right there.  It still said 60 after the next 1000 miles.  I use an old tube of Borg-Warner distributor grease, but I didn't have any with me, so I just pushed some back behind the rubbing block.  I'm thinking maybe it was contaminated and that caused the rubbing block to wear, but I don't know where the 'dirt' would have come from.  I'll be keeping some grease in my on-board tool kit from now on.

 

I drove 940 miles on day one and 600 yesterday.  It feels realllly good to be home.  Most of the drive was between 4000-4600 rpm.  It's crazy what these little cars can tolerate.  It'd probably still do 5k-all-day, but I tried to resist that temptation.  Doing 80-85mph is thrilling (tiring) enough.  This is what eighty looks like.  It requires doing a little math since it's a 49-state '76.

 

 

My goal on day one was to go from Sioux Falls to Missoula, but I stopped sixty miles short when I noticed that the L light was dimly lit.  I'd been driving with my lights on for about an hour when pulled off at the next truck parking area.  I got out my trusty INNOVA 5568 and the volt meter read 11.3.  There was no change when I revved the engine. 

 

The next trucker that pulled in saw my hood up and asked if I needed help, so I told him my alternator was dead and asked if I could take my battery to his truck and connect it to his, using my jumper cables.  He said yes and offered to use his cables and his tools and to carry it over for me.  He even offered to feed me soup!  He said I'd passed him a number of times on the road that day and asked a few questions about the car.  The battery was fully charged within about an hour, but we left it on a little longer for good measure.  The volt meter said his semi puts out 13.6 volts, like our cars (are supposed to).  The semi batteries were HUGE.

 

On 5/18/2023 at 6:23 PM, John76 said:

Installed a Solid-State Voltage Regulator

I used a Hella 5DR 004 243-041 that I used on my '78 BMW motorcycle.

My original Bosch VR (0 190 601 006) was only charging at 13.6 V on a good day.

What a difference!  Now charging steadily at 14.0 to 14.2V.

 

I'd have been happy getting 12.5 out of mine!  I tried a spare voltage regulator when I put the charged battery in, but that didn't make any difference.  All the alternator wiring seems fine. 

 

I drove all the way home yesterday (600 miles) with a dead alternator and learned just how far I can go using the battery alone.  (AC Delco AGM)  I connected my INNOVA 5568 to the battery and ran the wires in through the wing window, so I could monitor the voltage (drop) while driving.  It dropped 1/10th of a volt every 60 miles or so.  (Try that with a modern car).

 

 

I drove three hundred and sixty miles on the charge that he gave me, then stopped at a Love's Truck Stop in Moses Lake and used their jump-box charger for as long as I could stand it.  It had dropped from 12.7 to 12.1 and their charger bumped it back up to 12.3, but stalled there.  I wanted to get home before dark, so I put the battery back in and headed out.  I think their jump-box was a piece-of-crap because the voltage dropped the two points I'd gained within a few minutes on the road. 

 

I had to turn my lights on for the last thirty miles (at 11.4 volts) and the meter read 11.1 when I arrived.  I didn't know it'd run at eleven-point-one.  That was a nerve wracking drive.

 

 

As soon as I got home I put it on the charger and it seems to be recovering fine.  I'm ready for a little recovery time too.  Whew!

 

Tom

 

P.S.  these cars draw a lot of attention out on the interstate and people seem eager to help if you have trouble.  At one gas stop in Wyoming, people from three different cars came over to see mine and say hi.  I don't mind fending off compliments.  I think we need a special thread just for sharing positive reactions to our 2002s.   

[John76]

1 hour ago, '76mintgrün'02 said:

 That was a nerve wracking drive.

Hah!...Probably for all the other vehicles that saw your "undercover trooper" car as well!  👮‍♂️

 

[JohnS]

Go Team Innova! 😄

[tzei]

I was 2 short of side mirror cage nuts and they seems to be nla. So i took a strap of sheet metal and welded two 4mm nuts on it. Painted it and then wigled it in the door. Filed mirror base bracket a bit so i could use ss washers to even everything up. Was pita to get it in position but eventually got mirror assembled.

 

[FunElan]

On the way home from BayArea02, my passenger discovered that my heater core was leaking coolant onto his white leather sneakers. Oops. Today I set about bypassing the heater matrix, as I never use the heater anyway, and haven't really in my 16 years of ownership. The valve is frozen stuck in the open position. 

 

While at Advance auto parts, my father happened to notice a molded hose in a shape that looked like the one required for the job. $13. The PN is photographed, for anyone who wants to know for the future. It's a Dayco hose (made in USA!). It had been a few years since I changed the coolant, so today was a good a time as any. The car always runs really cool. I've only driven a few miles since completing the bypass - it might be running a tad warmer than before, which I expected. Still under halfway on the gauge though. 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 22, 2023 by FunElan

[sczapiga]

On 5/20/2023 at 1:28 PM, John O said:

Tarmac rally car. Hoping to get built by September. Spec so far

Schnitzer M10 2.0 with Kugelfisher and custom fabricated carb

235/5 gearbox

E9 4.7 diff with Drexler LSD and oil cooler

Bilstein coilovers

Quick ratio LHD steering box  ( still to source)

 

 

Sounds great👍🏼 I look forward to keeping up on your progress. Are you using the Bilstein universal coil over tubes? On the 2002 knuckles or E9? 

[jp5Touring]

Drove it 1545 miles round trip Michigan to The Vintage and The Foundation in Greer, SC.

Ran like a champ and only a minor problem. Broke a slat on the grill on trip back I think.

Oh yeah, bought a 3.64  LSD while there. That was on my wish list. 

 

 

Pilfered FB photo at The Vintage.

Edited May 22, 2023 by jp5Touring

[tzei]

M2 MOT test ok. Inspector was happy with my rear disc brake conversion so Civic disc & 41mm VW caliber is good combo with 270mm ventilated disc & 4x40mm caliber up front.

[M3This]

Since the car is home from paint started putting parts back on to quickly realize I’m missing a handful of minor things that stopped the process. At least I got the pedals mounted and newly plated latches on the trunk and doors. 

 

 

 

[autokunst]

We were disappointed that we couldn't make it to The Vintage this year.  But we did take a drive up to Road America yesterday for the SVRA Vintage Festival.  The big surprise was that the guy we bought Stuart from was there as well.  He and his family really enjoyed seeing the car and everything we've been doing to it.  We put about 150 miles on the car - the longest single day drive for us in this car yet.  The drive revealed a few rattles and clunks that we will put on the list, and the highway speeds demonstrated how loud the car is in the cabin (mostly wind noise, but also the engine spinning away at 4,000rpm).  All in all, a very successful and enjoyable drive/day.

 

Edited May 22, 2023 by autokunst

[HobieDog]

On 5/21/2023 at 12:27 PM, '76mintgrün'02 said:

This is what eighty looks like.  It requires doing a little math since it's a 49-state '76.

 

Can you expand on this comment?  Are the 76's more prone to having incorrect speedos?  Asking because I also have a 76 and noticed that the speedo was off by ~10% (a guess).  I only drove the car for a few miles around town before tearing into it, but this is on the list of things to look into. 

Great to follow along your journey!  

[Mike G]

38 minutes ago, HobieDog said:

 

Can you expand on this comment?  Are the 76's more prone to having incorrect speedos?  Asking because I also have a 76 and noticed that the speedo was off by ~10% (a guess).  I only drove the car for a few miles around town before tearing into it, but this is on the list of things to look into. 

Great to follow along your journey!  

there are free gps speedo apps for your phone if you ever want to check exactly how much it is off by. 

[John76]

31 minutes ago, HobieDog said:

Are the 76's more prone to having incorrect speedos? 

My '76 (CA car) has a 3.64 diff, stock 4-speed trans, and 185/70 x 13" tires.

Speedo is "spot-on" according to GPS at 50, 55, 60, 65, 70, 75, and 80 mph.

The '76 49-state cars have the 3.90 diff ... but didn't change the speedo gear to match.

 

 

[jimk]

21 minutes ago, John76 said:

The '76 49-state cars have the 3.90 diff ... but didn't change the speedo gear to match.

The gear in the transmission remains at 2.5:1 as always.  The speedo is marked on the case backside for the number speedo cable turns per mile for the diff ratio in the car. 

[John76]

1 hour ago, jimk said:

The speedo is marked on the case backside for the number speedo cable turns per mile for the diff ratio in the car. 

Here's what the speed/distance ratio shows on the back of my speedo.

I thought (wrongly) that the speedo was calibrated internally by the selection of a small plastic gear set.

VDO would not stamp the ratio on the back if it was internally adjustable?