"Forge Crown Victor!" (metallicaman0258)
08/18/2016 at 10:36 • Filed to: None
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"Forge Crown Victor!" (metallicaman0258)
08/18/2016 at 10:36 • Filed to: None | 3
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Last time on “Save This Heap” you learned of the wizardry involved to get the Lude back to the land of the living. Continue our journey as we read about the adventure that awaited our author for the 30 mile journey back to the homestead.
So I get this thing running and go to move it. Clutch sinks to the floor and decides to stay there because of reasons. I check the clutch master cylinder and brake master cylinder for fluid and there is a negligible amount present. Top those off, vacuum bleed the clutch, off we go!
Or so I thought.
When I released the parking brake, I noticed there was little to no resistance to the handle. Sure enough the rear passenger tire was lagging, simply dragging, held up by a frozen caliper. Removal of the tire was required so I got cracking. After the wheel was off, a bit of prying and hammering got the caliper off, and screwdrivers were used to remove the pads. I turned the piston into the caliper 1/2 of a turn (screw in pistons because parking brake) and reassembled without delay.
Again with the starting, engaging, and attempting to move. Whadda ya know? It starts moving freely.
Driving on the dirt alleyway, I drug the brakes for a considerable distance until they started feeling better. This was followed by 10 mph emergency stops before trying the asphalt side road which had a 15% grade. Carefully I eased out onto the hill and sure enough the brakes held. I took the car around the block 10 times to verify it’s roadworthiness and called a friend to follow me.
My friend Justin showed up with Mr. Jenkins and the 3 of us headed on the perilous journey through back country hills and 2 lane roads onto a short stint on a 4 lane back to 2 lane mountain roads back down to the valley and into my driveway.
We set off heading out Dry Branch (I live in West Virginia not Texas) then to Smith Creek where we picked up Greenview and then onto Childress. This was all well and good in plan but things got interesting about the time we hit Smith Creek.
Earlier in the day when I got the car running, I saw smoke come from the instrument cluster. I also noticed my digital cluster let the smoke out. Without the proper machines necessary to re infuse electronic equipment with the magic smoke, I had no choice but to say “this will probably be expensive”
I digress.
About the time we hit Smith Creek, Justin Leans out of the S10w ss (he was driving my truck home and Mr. Jenkins was driving his car) and yells at me, at 40 mph (80ish KPH), “YOUR CAR IS ON FIRE!” Curiosity gets the best of me so I pull over at the next wide spot and then the smoke happens.
Luckily it was just the radiator and it was cracked. We filled it with drinking water and plugged along. Poor Mr. Jenkins couldn’t see a thing in front of him and he had to rely on my hand signals for when I was slowing down. Did I mention my brake lights didn’t work?
We made it to US 119 and the closest 7-11 to buy a gallon of water. We let the Lude cool off before setting out again.
We made the 3 miles down the main road without being seen by police and hit the back roads in South Hills, all of which I am unfamiliar with. Eventually we ended up on Bendview drive, down Porter Road, up Callie Road and finally to my car’s current resting place.
With no tags, sticker, insurance, brake lights, gages, or proper engine cooling, we managed to make a 30 mile journey in a dilapidated, flat spot tired, overheating, noisy old jalopy with virtually no problems. Didn’t even pop the head gasket.
.:swish:.
interstate366, now In The Industry
> Forge Crown Victor!
08/18/2016 at 10:55 |
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I don’t have a fuel/temp gauge after all, so I’ll try and get you one next time a 4th gen comes into the junkyard. Yours doesn’t have ABS, right? It’s more common to find fuel/temp gauges that have an ABS light, but putting that in a car without ABS would be less of a problem than putting one without the ABS light in a car that does have it.
If your speedo/tach cluster is acting up, I have a working spare from a ‘93 VTEC, but it shows 243k on the odometer.
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Forge Crown Victor!
> interstate366, now In The Industry
08/18/2016 at 11:12 |
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Speedo tacho cluster is good. It’s the digital one that I dont have. That’s cool if you can send me one I’ll reimburse you. There’s none of these locally and they are like $125 on eBay
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Forge Crown Victor!
> Forge Crown Victor!
08/18/2016 at 11:16 |
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Also I’m not so sure about ABS. I don’t think I have it but I can always pull a bulb if need be
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interstate366, now In The Industry
> Forge Crown Victor!
08/18/2016 at 11:52 |
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If you have it, there will be an indicator for it on the part under the fuel/temp gauge with all the other indicators. I want to say it’s under the check engine light on cars that have it. If not, it’s just another empty spot.
A replacement cluster will probably be around $50 after shipping and such. My local junkyard recently raised its prices on quite a few things. I’ll DM you on Instagram when one pops up.