1973 Series III SWB (Austin, Tx) project update

[gambrinus]

Congrats! Time to hit the road.

RW

[amcordo]

I think if I found that scorpion anywhere in mine I'd throw a match in the gas tank and walk away.

[PavementEnds]

At least the scorpion was dead! I think I'll embed it in plastic and hang it from the rearview mirror with the fuzzy dice. When I opened the charcoal canister to clean the filter I discovered that a colony of large red ants had moved in! Also found the remains of several wasp nests in the fender wheels. But, then, this is Texas, and there are a lot of small critters here about. Thankfully, no sign of fire ants...yet!

[txffjim]

Yea, if the fire ants take over --- abandon ship! I was lucky to just have carpenter ants in the drivers seat.
Great looking engine bay. Haven't seen a "evaporative control system" stock on one before (can next to air filter) Everything looks real good.

(PS anyone that hasn't experienced fire ants- I'll gladly ship you a box of them- or 2)

[PavementEnds]

I'm waiting for the first report of a nest of killer bees in an abandonded LR!

The evap system seems to work (but it was hooked up bass akwards when I got it). I removed the tank located up in the rear left wheel well and cleaned that up and it is sound. All of the elbows on these lines were cracked so I replaced them with some originals that I found on the web. It was only after they had arrived that I realized that fuel hose would handle the tight 90 degree bends just fine and for a fraction of the price. Oh well! There is a metal line that goes from near the intake manifold to the exhaust but it is sealed off near the dipstick. For the life of me, I have not been able to figure out what that used to do and have not found any reference to it anywhere. Anybody know?

Looked at your blog txffjim, and your work looks great! You are aiming for a work of art! Love the fact that the PO had to mow before you could look it over, ha ha! That is so Texas!

[PavementEnds]

Just a quick update: I put a separate thread out there for advice on whether to stay with my 15" wheels or go to 16". Thanks to the many replies including TriedStone, Yorker, and J!m for advice. In the end I decided to clean up the original set of 6" x 15" wheels. I had them sand blasted and powder coated by Abilene Powder Coating. Kim was great and had them done in a week and for $40/wheel. I ordered a set of tires from Tread Wright, 235/75R15 ATG (C), with the build and ship date a couple of weeks out. Figured to go ahead and give them a try and will update once the rubber meets the road, er, ah, trail, that is...

[txffjim]

great looking wheels, is that original limestone color or close?

[Les Parker]

Great to see an engine bay that has retained the charcoal canister and all the associated early emision equipment, a rare sight !

[PavementEnds]

txffjim: learned a lesson here: the LR body colors don't translate exactly code-wise to the powder coat colors. The inside of the wheels was still rust-free enough that we could make a close match between the original limestone and the color Oyster White, from the company Spraylat. It was creamier/more off-white than their pure white. It might be just a tad whiter than limestone but it is pretty close and I don't think any difference will be apparent once it starts to get dirty. There are lots of powder coat color suppliers out there and there does not seem to be much standardization (at least as far as I could tell) with their codes. I'm sure someone else has better info on this than I could find and it would be a useful post.

Thanks, Les, and since you are guru, here is comment I posted earlier but didn't get any takers on: "There is a metal line that goes from near the intake manifold to the exhaust but it is sealed off near the dipstick. For the life of me, I have not been able to figure out what that used to do and have not found any reference to it anywhere." Even the canister system is referenced but not this!

[artpeck]

Quick question on your wheels. Being in the middle of a restoration as well (actually maybe less than the middle) I am curious why you chose to powder coat them versus a good durable paint. I ask because I powder coated some parts on my defender a year or so ago and haven't found it to be very durable. And I live in the benign climate of northern California. Just curious if you care to share. Thanks.