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Dug Nichols

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Everything posted by Dug Nichols

  1. Dug Nichols
    Are those early door cards on that car?? I don't when the pattern switched, just wondering.
  2. Dug Nichols
    Wow, that's a great looking car! And this is a fantastic turn-around thread going on here :). Thanks for the more detailed writeup and photos @Dosky, it's fun to play along as you get into what seems to be a great find (IMO). I too noticed the missing door-latch-thingies. I recently ordered them for one of my cars, and here's the part number: 51-21-1-809-735-M9 I bought the car and noticed the doors were a PITA to close -- had to really slam 'em hard to get the catch to catch all the way. Ordered these cheap buggers and put 'em on and immediately solved. Kinda the cheapest+bestest 02 fix :D
  3. Dug Nichols
    I'll chime in on the love, and a belated Happy Birthday Steve! Totally agree on all the great positive comments above. Since I moved to Minneapolis, I always try and stop in to pick up my parts to have a quick chat with Steve, and he's always interested to talk even though I know I'm just interrupting him on the job. Super good guy.
  4. Dug Nichols
    '73 Sahara down off jack stands for first time since last October! Yesterday I finished up the differential seals and re-installed it, hooked up a new IE exhaust, and lowered it down. This morning after troubleshooting the timing for like 3 hours, (figured out I had it 180 degrees off :/), got her running and test driving, then oil change. This car runs great! It's so interesting how different it is to my '76 with IE stage 1 springs, smaller 320is steering wheel, bigger sway bars, and camber plates. The '73 with it's original everything is so easy to steer and drive. Engine is tight, and it's running all right. Woo hoo!
  5. Dug Nichols
    I GOT IT! It was indeed 180 degrees out. I pushed the car in gear another 360 degree turn of the flywheel to TDC mark, then the rotor was pointing 180 opposite direction. Pulled dizzy and moved rotor -- now running! Jeeez, can't believe that took me multiple hours to figure out... oh well, on to dialing it in now. Thanks for the help everyone
  6. Dug Nichols
    @ray_ I'm thinking this too, and perhaps the pencil was confirming exhaust stroke not compression stroke. But, what is the fix / how do I move it 180 degrees?
  7. Dug Nichols
    The car was running great when I put it up on jacks last fall. I had put a Pertronix in it and got it purring. Confirmed the plug wires in correct order (though this wouldn't have made any sense at all given the above, but still I had to do it as I'm pulling out my hair). The dizzy has a 72 stamp in the little circle facing front on the shaft. And yeah, it's a '73 Sahara, not my '76 Mint. I do have a timing light. Not sure how this would help until I get it running? I've lined up the rotor with the notch on the distributor housing. I'm wondering if somehow I'm not actually on TDC for cylinder one with this process, but through all the research and reading keep coming to same procedure of: - find flywheel TDC - insert dizzy so that rotor aligns with notch and cap w/ cyl #1 ^^^ is what i've done three times. each time trying to do small adjustments clockwise or counter, after it doesn't work right away, to see if it's just slightly off. but always getting the backfire/carb like it's way outta whack or something
  8. Dug Nichols
    Lasf Fall I put the '73 up on jacks in the garage to start the restore process of redoing all the engine, trans, and diff seals, new exhaust repair backup light, etc. Last night I achieved a major milestone and completed all of the under-car work (just re-sealing the front engine seal remains) and got it down off the jack stands for the first time in 10 months. Huzzah! And now 4 hours of tinkering with the dizzy later, I'm still not getting the timing right. So close, yet so far... I've found TDC with the OT marked bar-line on the flywheel. I've confirmed it with the pencil in cylinder #1. I've aligned the rotor to be on cylinder #1 plug, and also roughly 3 degrees ahead of the timing mark on the distributor base. Turning over the engine consistently yields occasional backfires out the carb, and every once in a while out the exhaust. Turning the dizzy in small increments and re-trying, in both directions, doesn't seem to change anything. I've done the entire procedure over again three times, to make sure I didn't get something wrong. Same results. Starting to pull my hair out and out of ideas... Figure I'm probably missing something basic but I just can't figure out what it is. I've done this procedure previously (though many years ago), and didn't have a stumper like this. Any ideas??
  9. Dug Nichols
    Thanks dlacey! Great advice on the vice.
  10. Dug Nichols
    Hey guys Pulling out the seals for the half shafts I found them to be quite difficult to get out. Not completely stiff, but definitely not coming out as a complete unit (both sides). I used a screwdriver to work out bits at a time, and have gotten to the point in the photos. From looking at diagrams in manuals it appears that there should not be a metal lip like I'm currently seeing, having removed all the rubber. Is what I'm seeing an inner part of the seal itself and then I just need to figure out how to get this remaining bit out? Seems that way but wanted to double check. Also any tips appreciated on removal -- heat + ?. Thanks! Dug aka Otto (diff newb)
  11. Dug Nichols
    I did my bumper conversion to early style myself, having never done this before. I think I spent somewhere around 5 - 7 hours in total on it. I didn't have any troubles removing any bolts (no torching). I chose to use the early mounts up front, and covered the large late-bumper access holes with pieces from the big bumper, and put fog lights on the early bumpers in front of that. Back was super easy, as noted above. Would I do it again? Depends on the car. Sometimes I regret not having a stock car (including the original steelies), but for the vast most part I really like the clean look of the early bumpers on my '76 mingtrun. But I want to take it farther and do a side marker delete :)
  12. Dug Nichols
    I put Kumho Solus 185/70 on my (relatively) newly acquired '73. It had tires from the 80's on it when I got it and needed something pronto, and this is what I was able to find. I can't report on performance other than some gentle cruising as I sorted out the car before putting it up on jacks in the garage last Fall, however. Price is right: https://www.amazon.com/Kumho-Solus-TA11-All-Season-Radial/dp/B01A0PS5ZG @adawil2002 curious for your hesitations on this tire. I'm hopeful to discover myself yet this Fall as I'm working hard to get Carolina road-worthy, but would be interested to know the concerns
  13. Dug Nichols
    All right, stamp says 11 and 40 on top, and below this is a 1 over 7. So if I'm interpreting the coding correctly this means I have a 3.64 ratio built in January '77. Right? I'm neither excited nor displeased to know this isn't a 3.91. I've got that in my '76 with a 5 speed and it's great, but this car has a 4 speed which I don't have any immediate plans to replace so the 3.64 will be nicer on the highway.
  14. Dug Nichols
    Plot is thickening.... I'll post a photo of the stamps when I get home tonight. (also sorry my bad on the gasket cover)
  15. Dug Nichols
    Thanks for the great insights everyone!
  16. Dug Nichols
    Hooray! I got the differential out of my '73 that I'm slowly working on sorting out and getting running after many years stored in a garage. It was demonstrating leaks on one of the output shafts and at the rear cover. After getting it out, I started cleaning about a 1/4" of sludge all over it, especially near the rear and one side. As it started cleaning up, I noticed that there's two yellow dots painted on the top of the diff. Hmmm, me thinks this may not be the original differential for this car. (I bought from original owner but he had spotty records). I got the cover off and see there's no gasket at all! Well there's one obvious place I'll be able to improve it. Then, turning my attention to the output flanges I see that these flanges do not match the shop manual or realoem diagrams. There's no center bolt holding the flanges in. Curious. And, uh oh, now I'm stuck. After all this fun, I'm left with two questions I'm hoping the hive can help me answer: 1. What is this differential? It is stamped 01M76 on the outside. On the inside of the rear cover is 1.204.113 225 2. How do I access the shaft seals?
  17. Dug Nichols
    Went to pick up Kid#2 this eve thinking it was her and a friend. Actually it was her and three friends :0 So, in the spirit of What Did I Do to my 2002 today? - Fully road-tested the suspension with maximum load. All good. - Used all three seat belts in the back. Click click and Click. - Exercised the front seat adjusters. Achieved maximum FRONT. And reasonable driving experience too. - Laughed with the kiddos the whole 20 mile ride home with roof open and windows down as they regaled their adventure of the day Pretty great. :)
  18. Dug Nichols
    Slowly slowly getting the '73 ready for the road. This weekend I got the transmission leak solved (reverse light switch) as well as reconnecting the reverse light switch, which for some reason had been disconnected. Driveshaft reconnected up front. Started to investigate the rear diff and have decided to drop the diff out and replace the rear seal and both output seals. My goal is to get this car (which has been up on stilts for 9 months now) on a drive yet this Fall, so moving into high gear on weeknights to tackle remaining issues.
  19. Dug Nichols
    We bought a 2006 Honda Odyssey in 2009 (lease return) when our kiddos were 4 & 2. It's been a fantastic vehicle for us and we still have it. Just took a 2700 mile road trip in it this Spring, it's quite the comfort delight on a long trip. Hauls 8 people, tows all the toys, and up here in Minneapolis it's often better than a pickup for hauling in the winter. 25 - 27 mpg on a road trip. It is BY FAR the least expensive vehicle per mile we own. (I'm a nerd and have spreadsheets for all vehicle expenses and calculate $/mile)
  20. Dug Nichols
    Hey @Buckeye what manual is this from?
  21. Dug Nichols
    That sounds amazing! Droooool Nice steering wheel too
  22. Dug Nichols
    Congrats! That's a great looking car. I really like the clean look of early cars w/ no lower trim and fewer side markers. You will have fun with this! As already said, this group of people has AMAZING knowledge and passion for these cars, and are great people to get to know. The pro search tip of just using Google vs the site search is a very good one. More pictures please :)
  23. Dug Nichols
    Awesome, thanks for all the great info everyone. I did indeed search extensively on the FAQ and across google, but wasn't able to find the answer dang provided. I should remember how this works, having done a 5 spd swap previously myself, but alas my brain had purged that bit of info...
  24. Dug Nichols
    Interesting! This car is a ‘71 and it has the clips on the transmission crossmember. What’s a tip to get the selector shaft able to accept a new seal?
  25. Dug Nichols
    Working on re-sealing the '71 Sahara acquired last Fall and I've come across a switch that I'm not sure about. - the reverse light switch has no wires connected to it - there are two cut wires hanging off of the wire run that is going to this switch in question I was thinking that it might be a jerry-rigged reverse light switch... in this pic the car is in reverse and the switch is not activated. Any ideas? Also, it's not apparent to me how to get the shift selector rod into a state that I can replace the seal. Is it comprised of two pieces that are joined where this switch is?? Lastly, as I'll be replacing the reverse light switch and seal (this definitely is the main culprit for the nasty leak and gunk everywhere) I'm wondering if I need to connect the switch to the cut wires, leaving this unknown switch in place, or use the wires that are on the unknown switch. I suppose getting a 12v supply and testing would the way to go (he answers his own question).
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