1974 Valiant

Quarter panels

Started on fixing up the quarter panels. Well, when I say fixing, I mean preventing further rust. I don't have the equipment to completely fix it, I'll have to hire a garage to redo the skirts of the quarter panels. But for the moment, this'll prevent further rust. I used a combination of an angle grinder with a steel wire brush, a drill with the same and a hand brush to remove the rust. De-greased, sprayed with Rust-Oleum rust reformer and topped with a primer. That should last for about a year hopefully.

Pre-winter fixings, part 2

Alas, the primer on the first patch that I did yesterday was too thin, so I had to paint more primer on it. No basecoating yet. Also got started on a few other spots.

Pre-winter fixings

Since buying a new Mini Cooper, the Valiant has seen much less road, and thus has needed less fixing. With winter coming in relatively soon, I decided it's time to fight some of that rust that's formed on the body. I purchased 2 oz bottles of primer, base coat and clear coat for brushing on.  Automotive Touchup happened to have the Valiant's Frosty Green color in their catalog, which made it a lot easier.

Spark Plug go Bye-Bye

After one thing gets fixed, it's time for another to break.I was driving around merrily, when suddenly I noticed that the idle got poor, and the car didn't accelerate very well. Instead, it stuttered, usually the sign of a cylinder not firing.The car still idled and ran okay on light gas, so I was able to drive it home without incident. After stopping the car, I proceeded to use the ignition timing light to check if all the cylinders are firing. And whadya know, #1 wasn't firing at all. Removal of the spark plug told the same tale.

Carburetor overhaul, part 2

Today, the rebuilt carburetor found its way back onto the intake manifold. Overall, the process was very easy in comparison to V8 engine 4-barrel carbs. Having only rebuilt those before, this was a refreshingly simple task. In addition to the rebuilt carburetor, I also replaced the fuel filter. Instead of getting a standard replacement, I bought one made out of metal and glass with a replaceable filter element. This has a few distinct advantages:

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