Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From Arkansas
Posted: Fri Jul 20, 2007 1:44 pm
It has been a muggy rainy-then-sunny humid sticky buggy hot sweltering faltering couple of days since I left Indiana. Last night was an especially wonderful example of Southern Summer Hospitality extended by a swarm of mosquitoes at around 2:00AM. Just as I would almost drift off to sleep, one of the little kamakazi bombers would dive around my ear, bolting me awake. Then the whine would cease, and I had to guess where the next bite would make itself felt. Back of the leg! Then I would doze off a bit and whine would come whizzing back then stop. . . . Ankle! Doze off. . . Elbow! neck, neck! At around 4:00AM or so, it was sufficiently cool to lightly cover up with a tent of ankle again! terrycloth towel and I got to nap arm! until 7:00AM when solar radiation increased the temperature to You Better Wake Up or Die.
Found out why the mosquitoes were so sadistic, too. . . several thousand of their closest relatives were dead dead dead on the front of the bus.
Pulled the rocker arms off and re-torqued the cylinder head nuts along the bottoms of the cylinders, all were actually pretty good. Adjusted the valves to .007 exhaust and .0065 intakes, they WILL close as the sealing rings bed in. Underside of engine is dry dry dry, paint on exhaust system is nicely cured. Did we really tear this engine down and rebuild it two days ago?
Watched a gnarled old woman fight with the big magnet pole that changes the gas prices on the sign outside the Citgo Itinerant Air-Cooled Campground. Prices probably going up, I grumbled to myself, but nope, down 2 cents each grade. . . .
Hit the road with the access lid propped open so I could hear "stuff" and got tangled with a truck race on I-30. To get clear of these road cowboys I briefly brought the car up to 77 mph, sounds nicely glued together back there. What a pleasure it is to hear only mild reciprocating sounds and valve clatter at idle now. . . YES. . . shoulda woulda coulda done it long ago. I am a new adherent of tight endplay .003/.004 at most.
Somewhere in Texas, I am going to install the Febi centerpin kit. I hope it helps, because this steering is vague with the latest Meyle kit bobbing the center tie rods at less than 1,000 miles. I look forward to diminishing humidity as I head west, away from the Atlantic Moisture Machine.
ColinSticky
Found out why the mosquitoes were so sadistic, too. . . several thousand of their closest relatives were dead dead dead on the front of the bus.
Pulled the rocker arms off and re-torqued the cylinder head nuts along the bottoms of the cylinders, all were actually pretty good. Adjusted the valves to .007 exhaust and .0065 intakes, they WILL close as the sealing rings bed in. Underside of engine is dry dry dry, paint on exhaust system is nicely cured. Did we really tear this engine down and rebuild it two days ago?
Watched a gnarled old woman fight with the big magnet pole that changes the gas prices on the sign outside the Citgo Itinerant Air-Cooled Campground. Prices probably going up, I grumbled to myself, but nope, down 2 cents each grade. . . .
Hit the road with the access lid propped open so I could hear "stuff" and got tangled with a truck race on I-30. To get clear of these road cowboys I briefly brought the car up to 77 mph, sounds nicely glued together back there. What a pleasure it is to hear only mild reciprocating sounds and valve clatter at idle now. . . YES. . . shoulda woulda coulda done it long ago. I am a new adherent of tight endplay .003/.004 at most.
Somewhere in Texas, I am going to install the Febi centerpin kit. I hope it helps, because this steering is vague with the latest Meyle kit bobbing the center tie rods at less than 1,000 miles. I look forward to diminishing humidity as I head west, away from the Atlantic Moisture Machine.
ColinSticky