So I finally got my van back to running okay tonight. I think I have fixed the overheating problem (2 leaky hoses and bad rad cap) and I know I have fixed the non-charging battery problem (loose terminal on the alternator).

In an effort to get good gas mileage out of this pig I have swapped back to the factory lean burn and one barrel computer controlled carb. I rebuilt the Holley 6145 and repaired the vacuum module on the lean burn computer and it runs pretty dang good. It burns oil all the time now, but I can't do anything about that.

The engine idles and drives pretty good, especially considering the fact that the engine is pretty tired. Every time I rev the motor I get a big cloud of blue smoke and I have a little stream of blue smoke as the engine idles or drives. Oh well.

Intertestingly the engine pings now because I have disconnected the EGR valve. I may reinstall the amplifier and vacuum hoses to see if the pinging goes away. I am fairly certain that the computer counts on the EGR valve to be functioning to prevent pinging.

Hopefully this will get my MPG into the double digits.

Yes, getting the EGR to work will reduce/eliminate the pinging.....

_________________
Ed
64 Valiant 225 / 904 / 42:1 manual steering / 9" drum brakes

Well, it not more fun to compute, at least with a worn out motor.

I give up the engine in this van is just beat. It burns oil all the time, runs okay but stalls at stoplights if I have the AC on. The gas mileage still seems to be around ten MPG, but at this point i am going to chock that up to a worn out engine.

Anybody wanna buy a nice 86 shorty van with a worn slant six for cheap?

Anybody want to buy an old gas station with a four car garage cheap? no seriously (and Ill throw in my 85 shorty van to sweeten the deal)

Hey! Are you making fun of my bad choice in vehicles?

no just decided to sell my place today and your offer to sell your van just sounded similar to what i was thinking tonight so I threw it in. but Im dead serious (about the house and it going for cheap) If I do sell my place I probably will sell the van and get another slant, who knows and yes its an 85 shorty as well

I think you should hang onto your place and start selling ethonal and/or biodiesel.

that would be against the law (because its better for us but not for the economy) so is working on a house without a permit (because a desk jockey likes to tell you which way to swing a hammer) double whammy

I've been a "builder" of my own stuff forever.
Even built a couple of houses for friends - including a 45' diameter, 8 sided, cordwood, 1.5 story house up in WA.
If it wasn't for the permit guys - those people would have killed themselves or somone before long the way they were building it!

What I hate - is buying a permit - knowing that it was gonna take me a year + to finish the work - and they knew it too. Then, 6 months later when the "permit" runs out, having to go and buy another one, because no one told me that I had to - or that I could have just "renewed" the old one for free!!
AND - I never called for any inspections because I wasn't done! So basically, I spent like $285 per permit - to let them know I was working on my place.

Permit for the well, permit for the septic, permit for the house, inspect the house, inspect the driveway, inspect the "fire" safeness of the property, inspect the deck, inspect the power pole, inspect the septic, inspect the well - holly crap batman talk about bending over to get inspected!
OH YEAH - in this state, I also had to pay school tax - to the tune of around $2600.00 BEFORE I could even think about getting any permits!

I guess, considering the things I've seen others do, the permit is a good thing overall. The problem is - that they overdo the whole process and usually the inspector is a moron! The very last inspector they sent out here tried to tell me that I couldn't do something a certain way. I said, well, since you are a new guy you don't really know what you are talking about. He says, indignantly I might add, "I am not new" - I said " I've been dealing with the building department for over a year and a half and I have been watching the newspaper adds for a new inspector - quit lying to me!" He left without another word - oh, I passed too.

Okay, - I'll bite - How much for the business and where is it?

Rant off.
D

_________________
"I may be slow, but at least I'm not very fast!"
'69 A108 - 225, 727, 3.55, MSD6AL, a.k.a.-the brick

It USED to be a gas station way back but is the house with attached 4 car garage type. I bought it initially for the garage itself and now have to sell it because of it! This is why Im peeved at the permit process, originally I was going to do it by the book but before I bought the house, nobody at the county office could tell me anything about it was there ever a fire, where the septic tank was how old was the house etc. Im not going to make up drawings, make estimates and all just for some guy to "glance' over it and file it to the trash can. I found out later afew surprizes later that they should have had a record of. How can you not have records of fires or septic systems in the county going back at least 20 years? I figure they dont help me, I dont help them and they can go to- you know where.They caused me enough sweat and grief because they couldn't lift a paper clip. PS the place is in Ontario, Canada

Have you forgot all about Miracle Juicelene, organically grown in the New Zealand Outfront?

Hey, I forgot I bought one of those JC Whitney Engine rebuild in a bottle things awhile back. Maybe I will give that a shot!

Reed, are you a closet Kraftwerk fan?

D/W

_________________

If it ain't broke, fix it!

"Fun fun fun on the Autobahn!"

Sure! Kraftwerk is a pretty fun little group. I spent much of my pre-teen years reading Mad magazine while listening to things like Kraftwerk, Weird Al, French Medieval and Renaissance music, P.D.Q. Bach, Switched on Bach, as well as more average classic rock and classical music.

I think it had a lasting affect on me...

http://www.kraftwerk.com/

D/W

_________________

If it ain't broke, fix it!