Well I got some bad news,
After all the hard work to get this car ready for Conclave somebody came
along and poured vanilla milk shake into my oil. The engine is a fresh
rebuild that has set in my garage for about a year waiting to go into the
car after body work. We ran it in for 20 minutes and took it for a drive
that same day and all was fine. The next evening my wife and I went for a
drive but I checked fluid levels prior and noticed the antifreeze was down
to the rods so I added a little thinking that air had been purged and it was
normal. The car ran a little rough but the temp gauge went up to about 200
and the thermostat opened and the temp went down to 195 and stayed there the
whole 5 mile drive. The next day I wanted to take it out for a little
longer drive and I noticed vapor coming out of the exhaust and the temp
gauge went very rapidly to 220+. I checked the radiator and it was down
about 1/2 gal. I filled it up and went on my way thinking that air was
beneath the sensor thus making the temp so high. My wife followed me over
to a friend's house to a party and she said that vapor came out the entire 6
mile trip. The temp remained 195 steady and I checked the oil fill cap and
it was white as well as the dip stick. The radiator smells of exhaust gas.
Needless to say we will not be at Conclave with this car--we'll have to
suffer with our Solstice for that drive-maybe next time.
I guess I'll pull the head when we get back to see what things look like
(not to mention having a word with the engine rebuilder). Maybe it's just a
bad gasket--we'll see.
Thanks to everyone who pitched in to expedite this rebuild and answered so
many of my questions and offered pictures, parts, labor, and advice on this
project. It is going to be a nice car, just not going to make it to Vermont
this year. We also had a trip planned to take the car back to the original
owner who is now in her 80's and widowed. This is their mooning car and we
wanted her to see it as it was when new. We are the second owners and the
car had not left the garage since 1974 until we bought it in Sept., 2005.
We'll just wait till Sept. this year and take a drive to Long Island to show
her.
Take care and we'll see you in Vermont. We'll be the ones in the red
Solstice with big grins on our faces.
George and Sherry Haywood
sick '65 bj8
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