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I have been making short cruises since I got my 60 bird back on the road just to build trust and dependability. I ventured to Indianapolis last Thursday to show it off to some retirement friends during lunch at a busy restaurant. I had not been that far (about 50 miles one way) since getting it back on the road. All seemed well and had a lot of lookers during the 3 hour stay. When I got ready to leave it would not start. It turned over real slow and just wouldn't crank. Real embarrasing. New alternator, new battery, new rebuilt starter, new wiring and such. It wouldn't jump either. I decided the rebuilt starter had failed after about 50 starts at most. Pep Boys not reliable I guess. Since my bird is a stick, it was no problem to start, just pushed it about 20 feet and dumped the clutch and it fired right up. I drove it home and went straight into the garage.
When I took the old starter off last fall it took me a couple hours to get it out from underneath. There is not room for it to clear the power steering rods and tie rods. I decided to remove it from the top this time which means removing the exhaust manifold. To my surprise all the bolts came out without any problems. Anti seize compound does work. I took the starter out and checked it. The front bearing was out big time. That was definately the problem. About 30 minutes labor so far.
I took that starter and the old one (bad brush plate) I had replaced last summer to a local rebuilding shop last friday and told them to make me one good one from the two. They said Monday so today I went to pick up my rebuilt starter. I got there and the mechanic was just finishing up. To my surprise they had rebuilt both of the starters. I was expecting a large bill but when they said $89.88 with tax total for both. I had checked online and that seemed cheap. Needless to say I gladly got both of them.
I now have two rebuilt starters with a guarantee. I have bought new exhaust gaskets and am ready to put it back together. It's about 90 degrees and raining so I will wait till it cools off tonight to put it back together. It should only take about 45 min or less since I have everything cleaned up and ready.
Hopefully this will let me go cruising again without worrying about a breakdown. The recored radiator, fan shroud and 6 bladed fan worked fine in 90 degree heat. The temp guage never got above 190 on the trip even when idling for 10 to 15 minutes. That's a good thing. I put a voltmeter, temp guage and oil pressure guage setup to monitor the engine. I rebuilt the engine myself in 1980-82 time frame and it had set for about 19 years before I decided to get it back on the road. The engine carries 60 psi down the road and around 40 psi idling at operating temp of 180-190 degrees. Not bad at all.
My journey continues, Gary
When I took the old starter off last fall it took me a couple hours to get it out from underneath. There is not room for it to clear the power steering rods and tie rods. I decided to remove it from the top this time which means removing the exhaust manifold. To my surprise all the bolts came out without any problems. Anti seize compound does work. I took the starter out and checked it. The front bearing was out big time. That was definately the problem. About 30 minutes labor so far.
I took that starter and the old one (bad brush plate) I had replaced last summer to a local rebuilding shop last friday and told them to make me one good one from the two. They said Monday so today I went to pick up my rebuilt starter. I got there and the mechanic was just finishing up. To my surprise they had rebuilt both of the starters. I was expecting a large bill but when they said $89.88 with tax total for both. I had checked online and that seemed cheap. Needless to say I gladly got both of them.
I now have two rebuilt starters with a guarantee. I have bought new exhaust gaskets and am ready to put it back together. It's about 90 degrees and raining so I will wait till it cools off tonight to put it back together. It should only take about 45 min or less since I have everything cleaned up and ready.
Hopefully this will let me go cruising again without worrying about a breakdown. The recored radiator, fan shroud and 6 bladed fan worked fine in 90 degree heat. The temp guage never got above 190 on the trip even when idling for 10 to 15 minutes. That's a good thing. I put a voltmeter, temp guage and oil pressure guage setup to monitor the engine. I rebuilt the engine myself in 1980-82 time frame and it had set for about 19 years before I decided to get it back on the road. The engine carries 60 psi down the road and around 40 psi idling at operating temp of 180-190 degrees. Not bad at all.
My journey continues, Gary
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