Opie goes to work

Some of you might remember that in mid-July I lost all my senses, decided 
that it wasn't enough work to keep the '73 Campmobile maintained and 
purchased Opie, a '68 crew cab pickup.  Opie had been abandoned by his owner 
under an open barn for over three years.  According to the PO, the rear 
crossmember/engine bolts had backed out, causing the engine to drop onto the 
cross member, cutting the fan belt and overheating the engine.  "I was 
almost to work, and thought I could make it" he said.  He planned on repair, 
but never had the time.

I brought Opie home on a trailer. Kinda rusty, dirty, and sad looking.  
First thing I did was remove the engine.  The PO had left the spark plugs 
out for the last three years and I wanted to see what had crawled or been 
put in the cylinders.  Tore it down and removed the heads.  They looked 
pretty clean, and while there was some cylinder wear, I've seen lots worse 
in engines I've rebuilt.  I decided to replace the pushrod tube seals, put 
it back together, clean the carb and see if it would run.  Also installed 
new wires, plugs, dist cap and rotor.  Had to remove two pieces of bolts 
from the rear engine mount holes.  The bolts hadn't just backed out, they 
had backed out and broken off.  Easy Out's aren't so easy.  Long story, but 
I won!  Clutch looked ok, so I installed the cleaned up product, hooked up 
the new battery and tried it.  It started right up.  Adjusted the choke 
(sorry, John Muir), and it idled out really nice.  I had installed a new 
muffler so it was really quiet.  The brakes still worked well, although one 
of the cylinders on left front leaks some (to be fixed this week).  Ok, it 
goes and stops.  

Next phase was to get insurance, transfer title and get it inspected.  The 
first two were easy.  The last one wasn't really bad even.  Most of the 
lights worked - rt. headlight needed fuse, signal relay needed a light tap.  
The left headlight bucket needed a little shimming to bring the light up 
where it needed to be, instead of the ground directly in front - bent down 
by the PO due to a slight altercation with a trailer.  A week ago last 
Saturday I went looking for an inspection.  The first garage I went to 
didn't do them, his recommendation was out of stickers and another 
recommendation was closed.  I went again this last Saturday and this time he 
had stickers - it passed with no problem.

Two of the CV joint boots were torn, so I pulled the shafts and checked 
them, expecting the worse.  I guess they were just really old, and when we 
pushed it on the trailer, they let go.  The grease was clean, and there was 
plenty of it.  I just replaced the boots, added more grease and reinstalled 
them.  Also checked the transmission oil, which was maybe 1/2 pint low.  
Whatever else he did, it appears the PO did keep it all lubricated.

This weekend as I pondered driving Opie to work, I realized that none of the 
door looks functioned.  Wanting to at least lock what I had in the cab, I 
decided to remove each door panel, lube the locks, latches and window 
mechanisms.  All went well, except that it seems the right front door isn't 
keyed to the rest of the locks.  The gas gauge didn't work, so I put a 2 
gallon can in the bed, just in case.  Last night I loaded up my work stuff, 
cell phone (just in case), tools, The Idiot Guide, jumper cables, jacks, 
etc., and this morning I drove it to work. 

Not A Problem.  Ran great.  Could use a wheel balance but is reasonably 
quiet considering no insulation in the doors or floor.  One thing that does 
take getting used to was the "bungee cord shift".  I guess even that will 
become habit with time.....

Anyway, at least I can drive it and enjoy while I continue to work on it - 
and I have quite a list.  Full clean up of inside and out, primer of rusty 
areas, lube speedometer (installed cable and odometer works fine, but needle 
jumps all over - disconnected it to save it), full lube (front end is nice - 
not loose, but smooth), pack wheel bearings, and on and on.  Lots of stuff I 
just want to do for my peace of mind.  And to keep me from breaking down.

Oh, and at lunch the gas gauge started working.  I guess he likes me.

Dean Aukes
'68 crew cab pickup - Opie
'73 Campmobile

BTW - I've formulated three rules to help keep old cars going:
1)Lubricate it - do everything the manual says - hinges, locks, bearings, 
engine, rubber, etc. when or before it says to.
2)If it's rusty, clean it, prime it, and paint it.  Stop that cancer!
3)If it's painted, wax it.