After cleaning it, I fired up the car and went for a little drive. I need to get some more miles before I can get a feel for it's reliability. I ended up taking two of my neighbors as well as TK for some short trips around the neighborhood. It's funny how I was so nervous the first few times I drove it. Now I'm feeling pretty comfortable with it.
While the car is now drivable, I can't really call it "done" as a project is really never truly done. So far, I've got a short list of things that bug me. Some things can be handled pretty easily -- others, not so much. First, I need to get a front end alignment. The car tracks really well, but the steering wheel is not centered. Since the steering wheel shaft is keyed and not splined, I can't just pull the wheel off and put it in a different place. In it's wonky state, the steering wheel spoke blocks the speedometer and I can't see how fast I'm going. Also, the turn signal cancel mechanism is messed up because of the misalignment. The right signal doesn't always cancel and I end up looking like one of those idiots who forgot to turn off the blinker and it taking right turns around the word. 2nd gear is basically unusable for downshifting so I need to work around it. Lastly is the tuning. While I did a basic job of tuning, I think I need to take it to someone who knows what they're doing. When it's running, it seems to be ok but I've got this hot start problem that's pretty annoying. When I turn the car off and let it sit for about 30 minutes, it's a bear to get restarted. If it just sits for a few minutes, it's not so bad. Time to seek some professional help!
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