Avanti R2, 1963, refresh

[unimogjohn]

Ernie, OK, you have given me my assignment for tomorrow.

[ErnieR]

Hey! I've read all that you accomplish in one day, llamas, hay...this is an easy task compared to your normal job list.

[Guest stude8]

Just another item to look at that could be making an effect on the stall problem. On Pg30 of Chassis Parts catalog there is an illustration of item 0302-3 Throttle Kicker and Bracket. Is this confirmed to be installed, adjusted and operating?

It uses vacuum to adjust the throttle plate position when engine is running at curb idle (max vacuum condition) and changes when throttle is advanced above idle condition. It has another diaphragm that can fail and leak vacuum. The adjustment procedure is on Pg20 of shop manual Figure 34 (Throttle Kicker Adjustment).

I now find my memory of where the distributor vacuum modulator derives its vacuum source is not correct. On Pg 30 of parts book the manifold vacuum "Cross" supplies the 0302-5 pipe to 0302-3 Kicker; the 1112-125 supplies the brake booster and 1721-5 nipple supplies the instrument panel vacuum gauge. SO after further review I can find a part under 0601-52 called

Pipe w/nuts, modifier -CARB END that is part of the distributor vacuum module vacuum circuit.

I suspect from a port on the carburetor base below the throttle plates but I don't see any illustration of it in parts catalog?

Take a look on your next inspection visit under the hood. Stude8

[unimogjohn]

It is Sunday, December 13, cold, windy and sleeting.

No work is going to be done outside today, good thing, as both Alice and I now suddenly have colds, headaches, etc. We are done for today.

Stude8, yes I have a new vacuum kicker on the front of the carb, and it works great. It is hooked up just like in the parts diagram. At idle if the engine starts to stall it moves to increase throttle just a bit, when you close the throttle fast it pops out and slows down the throttle so the rpms just do not drop like a rock. I will have to take a look at it again when I drop the engine into D or R to see what it is doing. It could be kicking the throttle back and flooding the engine. Like you said, something to investigate.

I am also going to jack up the car and look how the throttle valve stop rod is connected to the outside of the transmission. It could be that to make the old carb work (which was not an R1 or R2 carb) they also had to mess with/adjust the throttle valve stop. (see page 8 and 9 of the power-shift transmission section in the workshop manual) They really had to cobble the linkage to make the old carb work, and the transmission seemed to work fine when the new carb and old linkage was the same as the old car and old linkage.

Here are a couple of pics. The first one is with the new carb with the linkage set up when it went to gear correctly. Notice that they used the second hole on the throttle plate to get it to work. It is incorrect. The second picture is how I set it back to stock. Notice the length of the control rod and how much I had to change it.

Remember, the above was a month ago. Since then I have readjusted the linkage to have the little ball joint go under the arm, and adjusted the gap between the plate and the lever that goes to the transmission. A picture of that is in a post of the day before yesterday.

Just more thoughts. Anyway, I think the problem is somewhere with this linkage and how it is set up both outside and inside the transmission. I do not mind dropping the transmission pan as was going to change the transmission fluid anyway, but was going to do it on a friends lift, and not on my back. And of course the kick mechanism could be pushing the throttle around when she starts to stall and flooding the engine too. A bunch of little things to look at. Hope that this all makes sense.

And of course will check the timing again before I pull the distributor for Ernie.

[ErnieR]

Throttle kicker attaches to a 'T' fitting on the manifold. Same source as the vacuum gage. It is inactive under full vacuum and reacts as vacuum drops. It was installed to keep the car from stalling in due to hot underhood temps where the fuel is evaporating and causing an overly rich condition. It was a stop gap remedy at best and while it does keep the car from stalling when it's forced to do its job you get a nice rolling idle in response to vacuum changes.

Vacuum advance attaches to carb on the right side and is operational only when the throttle plates are opened enough to expose the slits in the bores to the air stream. My 62 Meteor and some GM cars as I recall had full vacuum going to the advance can at idle.

IMHO, a vacuum leak that would cause a dead stall when put in gear would also make for really rough idle and stalling in park also.

[ErnieR]

Thanks John, but please just advance it and don't worry about the 'numbered setting'. Just to see if there's an improvement by advancing it.

Fortunately, on the Powershift trans you can drain it just by removing the filler pipe and there is an inspection cover and pipe fitting to drain the converter. If memory serves the filter is just a screen that gets washed off so if you wanted to do a quick and dirty fluid change without dropping the pan it's pretty simple.

BTW, when I first got my car I drove it for a couple weeks with no transmission control rod. So I don't think a maladjusted one is cause for a stall.

Feel better...

Edited December 13, 2009 by ErnieR (see edit history)

[unimogjohn]

Ernie/Stud8/et al - Recommendation on distributor? Dave T. sent me this note: New Mallory Unilite electronic distributors available that we have custom made for us. They are $369.00 outright. or a $50.00 trade in on the Prestolite dual points.

Other than the cost (a bit more than double), have you used or know of folks who have converted to electronic ignition? Worth the extra money. I am willing from straying from original on the basis of safety/reliability/performance.

Thanks for all the opinions/suggestions.

[ErnieR]

I have the Mallory. You would need to re-curve it for proper R2 timing as it is set up with a Chevy curve 36 total, too much for an R2.

Summit has the kit and it's not expensive.

Your dual point is worth a lot more than $50. Ebay would net $150 or more.

I would spend a little more time seeing if I really needed a new or rebuilt distributor. Not much to go bad on them...

Worn bushings=erratic dwell readings, Grab the rotor and check for excessive side to sied motion.

Advance weights could have worn holes and you could have wear on the mounting pins. Symptom would be inconsistent centrifugal advance. Easy enough to check...open it up and do a visual of the weight bores and pins. Sometimes just a simple clean and lube takes care of a weight issue. Check the springs while you're in there.

The breaker plate moves with the vacuum advance. The breaker plate needs to move freely but there's usually nothing needed than a good dose of WD 40 and a light lube.

If Dave can rebuild the distributor he can get you a vacuum can. Easy install.

You would have to do the same amount of dis-assembly to re-curve the Mallory Distributor.

I ran my car for years with a Delco window type distributor with a Pertronix installed. I bought the Mallory on a whim but saw no advantage over the Delco. I did, however, notice a big improvement when I went from the Delco with points to the Delco with the Pertronix.

Back to the original question...the Mallory works fine but no better than a good distributor with a Pertronix conversion. It would require you to recurve the centrifugal advance and adjust the vacuum advance can. The cap and rotor are not common in local parts stores so I bought a spare set, along with a spare module. You may have to change the ballast resistor, I bought a Mallory unit just to make sure I had the right combo.

[Guest stude8]

It comes down to what is the definition of "Rebuild" on the Autolite.

Does it include new shaft bushings (0601-25-1 & 0602-25-2); shaft / advance weight post assy (0601-33); weights [If worn out of tolerance] (0601-37); drive gear [If worn out of tolerance] (0601-44); vacuum module (0601-45); points; condensers; rotor & cap? All those would equal a virtually new distributor.

Yours may need all or only a few of the wearable items? Too bad you are not closer to Illinois, I would put it on my Sun 504 machine and tell you in 10 or 15 minutes. I would trust Dave T's judgement in the matter of a rebuild as opposed to modern substitute.

Stude8

Edited December 13, 2009 by stude8 (see edit history)

[unimogjohn]

OK, I will go for the rebuild. Dave said that it included everything, bearings, cap, rotor, adjusted new points, condenser, etc. Factory new, show quality. I will send it to him next week. Tx for the comments/suggestions.

[unimogjohn]

It is Monday, December 14th. Still under the weather, both of us, but the llamas wait for no man. They have to be fed, so dragged myself out of bed at 7 AM and started the Unimog and headed into the girl's pasture. Got out the tractor and pushed a big hay round off. The girls are happy now. But now I have to go up a hill and out the gate. Ground is frozen, but only a 1/4 inch or so, now there is mud, but the Unimog crawls up the hill in low gear slipping a bit, but I get her out and on the flat. The boys are going to have to wait.

Now on to the Avanti, increase the timing from 12 degrees at idle to 26 or so, adjusted the throttle and kicker plate. The "green hornet" is moving, did not stall. Drove her around the yard and through a bit of mud, but she kept on going and did not die. Reverse works OK too. Really clunks into gear, but idle may be set a bit too high. I do have the vacuum to the distributor disconnected and plugged, if I left it unplugged the engine wanted to die.

Just dragged out the dwell meter that I bought when I was 16 years old, it says that the dwell is 31 degrees.

Ok Ernie and Stude8, what does this all mean with the way over advanced timing? Should I pull the distributer and send it off?

Edited December 14, 2009 by unimogjohn (see edit history)

[ErnieR]

Don't worry about the numbers on the timing just yet. I think you should use the 26 as a static baseline for now and adjust the idle as low as it can go without stalling in gear, re-check timing and reset to 26 if necessary, and move on. Once you have the blower installed and can test drive it your ultimate settings are unknown. You don't know if the balancer has slipped making the line useless. My car is nowhere near the line, I covered it with timing tape and made up my own TDC point. It reads 16 but if I use the factory line on the new balancer it's much higher.

The distributor may just need a good clean and lube whether it really needs a rebuild requires a closer inspection.

Now you can nurse that cold.

ErnieR

Edited December 14, 2009 by ErnieR (see edit history)

[ErnieR]

I fired off a fast response before...

Here's a good sequence to use.

Bring the curb idle, engine completely warm, down as far as it can go. Use your 26 static as a base, for now, and if the timing has changed reset it back. If you do that the idle has probably gone up so adjust it again and recheck timing. Timing will probably be OK so move to mixture screws. A good starting point is 1.5 turns out then adjusting in or out to achieve the highest idle possible. Out is richer and I would favor richer over leaner at this point. Adjust curb idle again if necessary and do a final check on he timing.

If your vacuum advance line is pulling vacuum the curb idle is too high you should have no vacuum at idle.

The Avanti linkage is fussy and prone to sticking open a little. I didn't notice if you have the second spring from the linkage to the rear acorn nut of the valve cover attached. That spring makes a world of difference.

[unimogjohn]

Ernie, will do, and I do have that second spring.

It is still Monday, now PM, December 14th.

I am so happy, it goes into gear without killing the engine. Grab Alice and say, "let me take you around the yard in your Avanti". She jumps in, I start the car, OIL is spraying out of the front of the engine !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We have a gusher. So turn off the car, Alice says "I guess we are not going anywhere?" As usual, I say yes, and frustrated I turn to the green hornet and smile a bit; she is not ready yet to hit the road. Stubborn little beast.

The oil is squirting from the pressure vent line that goes to the supercharger from the fuel pump. I believe that this is suppose to be a vacuum line, not an oil line. I guess if the pump was to go, better now than later. And it was not just a dribble of oil, it was pumping it out. Here are pics of the results of the oil gusher.

And I just got a call from John and Betty Myers; the supercharger is done. I asked them to throw in a fuel pump rebuild kit too. The rebuild as expected was $619 plus shipping, and with the kit, probably close to $700. I had budgeted $700 so we are good. However, this is the last planned expense for the "refresh". From now on, we are in the RED.

[ErnieR]

Jeez John! That busted diaphragm can allow all the fuel in the tank to drain into the engine! I would suggest pulling the inlet hose off and plugging it.

Quirk of the Avanti, because the fuel tank is higher than the fuel pump any breach in the line can result in a large fuel spill.

Dave T has the fuel pumps, I suppose Myers does also.

[Guest stude8]

Boy sometimes your luck really runs out big time. I would check the oil pan level soon, if it shows over full it would be a good time to drain it and refill with fresh oil. Overfull would probably contain lots of gasoline and thats not good for the bearings let alone the fire hazard.

Ordinarily I would have a 1/8" pipe plug in the blower pressure connection on the fuel pump but in your case you should have probably stopped it before anything serious happened. If it were sealed you could get a crankcase full of fuel before anything was obvious.

That about gets you to the end of the accessories to rebuild, check the water pump pulley for excess side to side slop before it lets go and launches the fan assembly into the radiator core. Oh yes, the fan viscous drive can cause some horrors like putting the fan through the hood! Check the viscous drive for drag with engine shutoff, it should have some resistance to rotate by hand, if it is free and spins easy put it on the replace next list.

Stude8

[unimogjohn]

Stude8 and Ernie, ran out last night and clamped the fuel line, and I also checked the oil level, it is fine. It also had no smell of fuel in it. I have checked the fan and water pump for play, and both seem to be OK. I will not touch them for now, but will keep an eye on them.

If the rain holds off today I plan to pull the distributor and fuel pump. I do have a pump rebuild kit coming, but hopefully I can open up the broken one and see what failed. Should be interesting. The distributor will go to Dave T. today or tomorrow.

[Guest pfloro]

Hello unimogjohn:

Like many others, I've been following your work for several weeks. I stumbled upon this thread on Thanksgiving evening & was glued to the screen for a few hours! It's great to see your progress in saving this piece of Studebaker history.

With the supercharger in place, the 'power-to-weight' ratio will make your Avanti a rocket ship!

Paul

Edited December 16, 2009 by pfloro (see edit history)

[Guest stude8]

I haven't seen any comments about pulling the Studebaker distributor so I'll say BE SURE TO CHALK A MARK on manifold or head to indicate exact direction rotor was pointed when installed and running OK. The Stude distributor drive gear to cam shaft is helical and will rotate a few degrees when distrib is pulled up and out of engine. This means when it gets returned to engine it has to be rotated slightly ahead of where it was when pulled so when seated on block the rotor will again be at close to correct position.

The other things to keep in mind, do not crank engine with the distributor out (like pushing car in gear) or the reinstallation will require getting #1 cylinder piston at TDC with both valves closed and it will be tricky to get the cam gear/drive gear meshed AND get the oil pump drive shaft "tenon" engaged in oil pump drive slot. *If distributor overhaul involves replacing gear on shaft then it is going to be a step by step from the shop manual to get the timing aligned right again.

The 1929-31 Studebaker President distributors had an excentric slotted drive so distributor could be pulled and replaced without any problems or alignment gymnastics, but it was a Delco-Remy not Autolite/Prestolite.

Stude8

[unimogjohn]

Paul, thanks for the nice message. It does encourage me to keep going. And the blog makes we do something almost every day so it keeps me focused.

Stude8, yes, made my marks and took a picture. I will not move the car until that distributor is back in.

It is Tuesday, December 15th. Alice drove her Avanti for the first time. Errrr, well, she steered it while I was pushing with the tractor. So the Avanti is in the Avanti garage. I am now out of the wind and rain, have lights, and can actually heat it a bit if I need to.

Pulled the distributor. Very dirty and some of the wiring is frayed. I will feel better when it is rebuilt. It will be mailed to Dave T. tomorrow. I can see that I am going to remove some more components so I can just drop the new one straight down. All the wires and brackets sure get in the way.

Pulled the fuel pump. The upper part of the pump is full of oil. All the fittings broke easily so it was not a difficult job to get it out. Took off all the brass fittings and cleaned them, and then cleaned the outside of the pump. There is really no wear on the long arm that goes to the cam. Tomorrow will take it apart on the kitchen table for a look see. I should have a rebuild kit in a day or so. Actually, won one on Ebay and then order another one from Jon Meyers. So I have a spare now.

And yes, there is gas in the oil. So will change oil before we do a restart in a couple of weeks. I did change the oil when I got the car, but now it probably has an hour running on that oil/filter. But the oil is dirty already, so I do not mind changing it again.

Here are some pictures of today's fun.

Edited December 15, 2009 by unimogjohn (see edit history)

[keiser31]

unimogjohn...I have a question. Is that distributor shaft slightly bent or is it my imagination?? Maybe an optical illusion, but putting a straight edge up to the monitor, it looks sort of angled.

[ErnieR]

Hook a remote starter switch to the solenoid or get the Mrs. to tap the engine while you push down on the distributor and getting the oil pump to engage the shaft is a snap. Usually takes only one little 'tap' and the distributor will fall into place. Most of the gear is engaged when you do this so mis-alignment is a non issue.

[unimogjohn]

It is still Tuesday, only later in the PM, 7:22 to be exact.

Keiser31, you been drinkin? Actually, you are right, the piece that drives the oil pump is on a separate shaft that is held in place by a round split pin, and there is significant play to allow it to wobble on the distributor gear shaft. Why? I really do not know, but have seen other pictures with the same deflection.

The fuel pump....... You know I cannot leave things alone for too long. Had a few minutes so decided to at least open up the pump. Now that is one mucked up pump, it is a wonder that it worked at all. There is a lot of gunk inside the pump's primary chamber, and I am sure that the output chamber (that I have not pulled apart yet) will be just as bad. It is really interesting, if you let this stuff stay exposed to the air it will turn into a dust. My Dremel tool with a little brass wheel will clean up all this stuff.

Well, the pump diaphragm looks fine, but it is the small rubber stem seal at the very top of the pump shaft is what failed, looks to be split right in half. No gas was getting into that area of the pump, but that area was full of oil. I am sure that it was also causing the pump some pumping issues as it had to work against the oil in a chamber that is suppose to be just air.

Found a good rebuilding instruction site with lots of pictures on Bob Johnson's technical site. This looks like a doable thing for me. So will give it a go.

Studebaker Drivers Club, Inc.® - R1 fuel pump rebuild proceedure - w/pics!

Here are some pictures of what I found.

[unimogjohn]

It is Wednesday, December 16th.

First thing this morning I headed to the Post Office and sent off the distributor to Dave T. He should have it by Friday.

In the teens this morning, but the sun is coming out, suppose to be a high of 40 degrees today. Glad I am working inside today.

Decided to tackle the fuel pump. After two hours of study and fiddling I have the top half of the fuel pump apart. As suspected the rubber seal hat between the pump housing and the spring had failed, split almost in half. Why?

On close inspection I realized that the previous re-builder (have documentation that the pump was rebuilt at a gas station) had put the pump together wrong. He put the metal ring that the spring is suppose to ride in on the lower pump stem and not on the top of the spring to protect the rubber seal. So the spring was able to easily cut the rubber as it had no protection from the movement of the spring. It was only a matter of time before failure. I believe that the car did not start when the re-build was done and the owner then gave up making any repairs. This was in 1997, he had spent almost $500 to get it running, but it was already too late. So when I got her running again, it was only a few minutes of running time before the seal failed.

It was not too tough to take apart the pump top, I hope that it goes back together as easy. I had to use a bunch of different tools to get it all apart. Also I did use the Dremel tool with a little wire brush to clean out all the old fuel residue, it did a great job. Here are some pictures.

Going to try to get the lower half split this afternoon. I took a big screwdriver to the two screws holding the halves together and could not get them to break loose. I plan on putting it in a vice, use my largest screwdriver and see if I can get them to move. I have them soaking in Kroil right now. Hope that I can get them loose without damage to the slot.

[unimogjohn]

It is Thursday, December 17th. Cold here this morning, 20 degrees. Brrrrrrrr!

Got an early surprise this morning, the UPS truck at 9 AM, and a big box from Myer's Studebaker. The supercharger has come back home. And I got a rebuild kit for the fuel pump too.

The notes that Jon made on the rebuild are as follows: "Tear down and found unit dirty with metal particles in the oil. The drive set was just on the verge of going bad. Had a lot of small marks where metal pieces had been mashed between the balls and races. Had a home made shim between the impeller and drive race. Impeller had hit housing a little. Rebuilt complete unit, clean and paint. New drive element set and seals."

The damage to the bank accounts was $992.81. This included $35 for the fuel pump rebuild kit, and $24 for shipping. Labor was $315, drive element set was $585, and the seals and shims were a total of $35.

Attached are some pics, including the home made shim.

So what is the plan for the supercharger installation. Well, I am going to wait until the fuel pump and the rebuilt distributor are done and installed. I want to make sure the engine is running right and the car driving OK. I also want to spruce up the engine bay a bit more to include some touch up painting. And of course I have to finish cleaning up all that oil that puked all over everything.

The supercharger sure is pretty and when installed will look like lipstick on a pig. But I do want an original engine bay so will not go wild with the painting and detail. The bay should be the body color, but it was painted flat black, now with the black flaking off you can see the original red. I have not decided if I should leave it as it is or repaint it flat black so it looks a bit more presentable.

[ErnieR]

I paid approximately the same amount for a blower rebuild over 10 years ago so pricing is certainly fair.

[unimogjohn]

Ernie, did not mean to imply that I thought the price was not fair, it is just expensive to an old man on Social Security and trying to eke a living out of raising llamas and ducks. Anyway, I am moving forward and not stopping.

On a side note I have been watching a 63 R2 on Ebay, Studebaker:eBay Motors (item 320461026183 end time Dec-20-09 13:20:40 PST)

Other than a much better paint job, chrome work, and a partial interior, it looks to be in about the same shape as mine was. It is up to $10,100. It will be interesting to see how much it finally goes for, or if it does not meet the reserve. Its supercharger is not hooked up, it has the wrong carb, smokes, etc. so it sounds kinda like mine was when first purchased.

It is Thursday, December 17th, decided to tackle the lower half of the fuel pump. Soaked the screws holding the two halves together all night. Put it in a vice this morning and turned the big screwdriver as hard as I could. Crack! One gave up, and then the other one. Boy they were in there tight.

You know, sometimes you are glad that the thing broke. This is one of them. Opening the pump you can see that one of the chambers was full of gunk. No wonder I was eating fuel filters like crazy. So am glad that I will be able to clean up all this stuff and make it like new again. Will start the re-build tomorrow after I get everything cleaned and shiny new.

Here are pics of what I found.

[ErnieR]

John, I didn't take it that way at all. Just a comment. That money is an investment for sure.

It wasn't too easy for me to find someone to rebuild the blower only 12 years ago.

Imagine if that fuel pump decided to pump that oil into your newly rebuilt supercharger!?

[Guest stude8]

Just rejoice you didn't have the new blower hooked up to get all that sludge pumped into it. I think your plan to keep the blower in a box until all restoration of mechanics is complete and the engine has a few road miles to prove out all the work. It will get better gas mileage without the blower so it helps the economics of the rebuild.

You mentioned pushing the Avanti around the property recently, remember the rear bumper is more decorative than functional so a tow rope is a better choice if any movement is needed without the engine powered up. Stude8

[TexRiv_63]

John,

I know you have plenty on your plate with this project, but seeing all the gunk in that fuel pump, you should seriously consider checking inside the carb and also give your gas tank a good cleaning for insurance.

[unimogjohn]

To answer some questions:

Pushing the car: I pushed the car into the tent with the tractor very slowly and carefully, just put the loader blade on the rubber bumper and lightly pushed. I was very careful, they are new rubber bumpers on the front.

On fuel issues: I did drain the main tank twice, replaced the hose from the tank to the lines, from the line to the pump, and the line to the carb. So all the rubber has been replaced. I also flushed the line from the tank to the fuel pump. But yes, there still could be gunk in the tank itself, I should be able to tell when I put a new plastic, see thru, filter on it. Yes, there could be gunk in the newly rebuilt carb. That is a concern. But it seems to be OK. Remember it is a sealed unit and I just do not want to pull it apart unless I have a good reason to suspect that it has an issue.

It is Friday, December 18th. Big snow storm expected this PM, they say one to two feet when it is all over Sunday PM. So spent the morning getting ready; fueled the two generators, filled all the feed bunkers, put rear blade on tractor, put out little hay bales so we do not have to haul them through the snow, etc, etc. Busy, busy, but we are ready to hunker down for a few days.

I did spend some time on the fuel pump. It is all cleaned now. Used several different sizes of little wire brushes with the Dremel tool to clean everything. I removed the two rivets holding the springs and rubber valves by taking a drill of the right size and using a larger hammer just popped them out. So now comes the assembly. Will start that today at some point.

I have been told that we better get the Unimog and go out and find our Christmas tree before the snows come. I think I will have plenty of time over the next couple of days to put that pump together. I still have to figure out how I am going to pin/preen those rivets with the tools I have on hand.

Here are pics of the cleaned pump.

[unimogjohn]

It is Saturday, December 19th. Did I say it is snowing and blowing. Started last night about 7 PM, continued all night, and is expected to continue Sunday and part of Monday. We have 17 inches on the ground now, and they say today will be heavier, so expect 18 to 24 inches more. Alice and I headed out and checked on the critters and made sure that everyone was in the barns and had lots of hay. I also cleaned off the Avanti garage, just pushed from the inside and all the snow just slid off. Here are a couple of pics.

Hope to complete the rebuilding of the fuel pump today too.

[bhclark]

All I can say is WOW. I have lost the last 2 hours reading through all of your posts.

What an inspiration!

I am a young guy and you do more before noon than I do all day!

Keep up the work on keep posting. One of these days, I'll actually get motivated myself.

As far as your interior goes, if you're going to go with a driver for a while, then you might as well pick up a few cans of that vinyl paint and do some touch up to make her more presentable.....that way you can put off the vinyl replacement until the budget allows. BTW, that vinyl paint will work well on the carpet as well.

I would definitely recommend pulling that gas tank and flushing it out real well before running the risk of clogging anything else up with bad gas. It's cheap insurance to at least flush it good, don't necessarily have to etch and seal. The more good gas you put in that dirty tank, the more crud will work it's way loose. I'm not sure of the composition of the pickup unit, but chances are if it has a filter sock, that needs replaced as well?

Keep those updates coming and stay safe in that blizzard!

[unimogjohn]

It is Sunday, December 20th. The sun is out, the snow has finally stopped. The result, 24 inches on the flat, 3 to 4 feet drifts. Spent four hours this morning clearing and making paths to get to the barns, and then focused on clearing the driveway to the road. Did most of it with our little Kubota compact tractor. The back blade was useless, just too deep; so used the loader to push and then to scoop/dump into piles. The Avanti garage held up just fine. Here are some pics for your enjoyment. One of the pictures is the entrance to our farm from the road, the berm created by the plows is about five feet.

[unimogjohn]

It is still Sunday, well the snow is taken care of, all the animals are fed and in the barns, so it is time to get back to the fuel pump.

Put the little round flappers back in with the springs and rivets. After trying a couple of things I decided to just drive the rivets in with a large heavy hammer and a nail set tool. I just reversed the nail set to get a wider area to put on the rivet head; and it just took a couple of taps to start and then drive in the rivets. I was careful to make sure that I did not drive them in too deep, just enough to have them poke out the other side.

Everything else was straight forward and was basically just make sure the gaskets were positioned correctly and everything was screwed down tight. I did not use any sealant on the gaskets. So in about 30 minutes I was done.

Cost to rebuild - $35 for the complete kit.

I did try the pump, and it is working great; I can feel the air move in and out; and actually come out of the right hole. I usually have the habit of making things work in reverse so I am happy.

I just have to reinstall the fittings and put it back on the car, connect the fuel line, put in a new filter, and I am all ready for the distributor when it comes back. I do not expect the distributor to come back until after Christmas. Does not matter as I have lots of things to do, lots of engine bay cleaning and seeing how I am going to repair the hood bracket so I can mount the hood again.

Here are some pics of the fuel pump.

Edited December 20, 2009 by unimogjohn (see edit history)

[unimogjohn]

Maybe I am not upside down. The 63 R2 Avanti that I mentioned a few days ago sold on Ebay for $17,995. Other than not having to worry about paint, he or she is probably in the same position as me mechanically. Maybe they are following this effort?

[unimogjohn]

Still Sunday, sorry for the multiple posts. System would not let me add a picture to a previous post so I guess I will just have to add it here.

I had the fittings for the fuel pump in the Avanti garage, so ran across the snow covered field (as usual without a coat, no wonder I still have a cold) and got them. They are now on the fuel pump, and it is now complete. Here is the final product.

[unimogjohn]

It is Tuesday, December 22nd. The big snow storm has come and gone. Still lots of snow on the ground as it has not been above freezing. I have spent the last couple of days moving snow around so we have parking and can actually get into the farm. We took the Chev Trailblazer out yesterday, plowed our way down the road, but could not get back up to the house. Spent about four hours pushing and loading snow to make a better path to get up the hill. Success.

So back to the Avanti. Nice working in the Avanti garage, have electricity, better lights; and it is much better than working outside. Worked on installing the fuel pump, it took about an hour to get it in and make all the connections. Put in a new fuel filter. So it is ready to go. I have to remember to check for leaks after we get the distributor back and re-installed.

While I was outside Alice put up the Christmas tree that we cut before the big storm.

I would like to wish all of you a Merry Christmas and happy New Year. Best to all for 2010.

[ErnieR]

And a Merry Christmas to you John.

[John Byrd]

Hi, John, just catching up on your adventures. Did you consider putting a filter before the fuel pump also? We did on ours when we had more pump trouble after we had replaced it. It solved the problem. I believe you have an audience out here that is as anxious as you are to get it going. Keep up the good work and LOTS of good luck to you. Also, have happy holidays, John in Al.