'70 800A Green Machine

[Jack H]

Wooohoo, i'm so pumped right now. Just reached a milestone for myself and this truck. I pulled the dizzy and pre-oiled the engine, hooked up the battery and crossed my finger, and it turns over! I know this seems pretty minuscule, but after a complete re-wire, new harness, MAD electrical kit installed, I'm stoked it appears to be all working. I checked the turn signals/brake lights/headlights/hazards/etc. It even appears that all the gauges are functioning properly I ran the starter a few times for a few seconds, just to make sure everything was turning. Anyways, I know I have a bit more to do, but this is a major goal for me. I have a new set of plugs, dist cap and rotor to install, then I'll put some fuel in it and see what happens. Keeping my fingers crossed.
-Jack

 

[jacobe]

Great work! Everything looks top notch. Envious of your filler door and much of the progress you've been able to make!

 

[Brad Kennedy]

What springs are you using? CPT? They look like a 4" lift?

 

[Jack H]

What springs are you using? CPT? They look like a 4" lift?

Brad, to be honest I don't really know what the springs are, they were on the vehicle when I bought it. I did replace the stock shackles with the CPT ones though.
-Jack

 

[Jack H]

Well, installed new NGK plugs, new dist cap and rotor, just need some gas and fire her up! Also, I wonder why someone would paint some beautiful chrome headlight bezels with this ugly white....some people. Anyways, got them all cleaned up and back to the way they SHOULD be.
Before.

After.

 

[Jack H]

Also, does anyone know of a good carb rebuilder in the Los Angeles area. I'm looking for someone to rebuild my 2300 and put it back on. I think I need to get rid of my 1406 that's currently on there.
Thanks,
Jack

 

[j_burton]

Looking good Jack! Keep up the good work.

 

[jiman23]

The headlight bezels look much better in the black and chrome.

 

[Jack H]

Thanks guys. Always good to hear the compliments.

 

[Jack H]

Well, here's a quick video of the engine running. I'd have to say, once I was able to get gas to the carb, it started right up. Unfortunately I wasn't able to check timing or much else because the fuel pump was leaking pretty bad and I didn't feel like starting a fire at that time. A couple of things I noticed, leaking fuel pump, so now I need to look out for another one or a rebuild kit. I'm considering the electric fuel pump, not sure yet? Anyone experience and pro's and con's of each?
Second, my rear main seal is leaking again, which I just replaced. It's just a couple of drips, but that is a pain in the a$$, and I really don't want to do that job again....pretty bummed about that one.
Anyways, see vid, other than that I'm pretty stoked, it ran pretty smooth!

linky:

 

[Jack H]

Well, I got the "new to me" fuel pump installed, and everything is working properly now. I also installed a II Much fuel tank vent. It seems to work decent so far, but I only have a few gallons of gas in the tank, but at least my garage doesn't smell like gas. Here's a pic of the install.

I also tried setting the base timing, but it appears as I might have stabbed the distributer a tooth off or something. I quickly checked the timing with my light and the line wasn't even on the scale.... I need to go back and look at this. It's a little confusing to me, because the engine sounds like it is running pretty well. Does anyone know a quick way to tell if it's off a tooth, am I missing something?
-Jack

 

[Packerrailway]

A question which will lead to a simple check. Is your timing light adjustable? If so there is your easy, simple check. Simply turn the adjustment until the timing marks line up and the read the amount of additional timing that you have, or don't have. If you try a restab of the dizzy, try to tape the adjustment knob to keep accuracy. Or put a small rubber band or two under the knob, or 1 wide rubber band to keep knob from turning as you move the light.

 

[Jack H]

Thanks Packer, I will try this soon, and yes I do have an adjustable timing light. When I pulled my dist. I made sure to line everything up (I put a ton of marks) to make sure I put it back in correctly, and I thought that I had since it started right up, and seems to be running pretty well. I would think that if the timing was THAT far off, it either wouldn't start, or would run like sh*t. Anyways, I'll try your recommendation.

 

[Jack H]

Well, I got my scout all timed for now, set it at about 5BTDC, I'll keep it there until I can drive it and tune it a little better. Right now, I'm just rewiring my gauge cluster, I'm not happy at how I wired it the first time, and for some reason my combo TACH/SPEEDO is bouncing all over the place. It's like my speedo needle is moving the same as my tachometer....really weird. It's an electronic speedo/tach combo from auto meter. Maybe calibration? Anyways, I'm going to remove the tach/speedo from the dash and try jumper wires to see if I can sort it out.
-Jack

 

[Detroitable]

Did you clean that frame with the body on? looks good. What did you use on there?

 

[Jack H]

Did you clean that frame with the body on? looks good. What did you use on there?

Thanks Detroit. Yes, I left the body on the frame. I used 2x4 wood blocks to pick it up a little. Since I did all the work in my 2 car garage, I didn't have the space to remove the body, so I did the best I could. I'm not going to lie, it was a pain in the a$$. Lots of wire wheeling, grinding, vacuuming, washing, etc. After it was all clean and washed I prepped it with acetone and painted with rusty metal primer then painted it with good ol rustoleum. I figured the paint was cheap, and should be really easy to touch up when needed.
The axles and suspension parts are painted with POR 15.
-Jack

 

[Detroitable]

I forsee having to do this in my future. Did you have to unhook anything besides the body bolts? I just picked up this from out west and it's on its way to me so I'm making plans for projects. I already ordered the shop manual and a Block and tackle to lift the top off in my garage. The underbody will probably be a winter project and I'll start on getting the brakes sorted.

 

[Brad Kennedy]

I forsee having to do this in my future. Did you have to unhook anything besides the body bolts? I just picked up this from out west and it's on its way to me so I'm making plans for projects. I already ordered the shop manual and a Block and tackle to lift the top off in my garage. The underbody will probably be a winter project and I'll start on getting the brakes sorted.

That's a nice rig. I looked at it on eBay a couple times.

 

[Jack H]

I forsee having to do this in my future. Did you have to unhook anything besides the body bolts? I just picked up this from out west and it's on its way to me so I'm making plans for projects. I already ordered the shop manual and a Block and tackle to lift the top off in my garage. The underbody will probably be a winter project and I'll start on getting the brakes sorted.

I removed the body bolts and also had to remove the radiator shroud and some of the brake lines. I also rewired the whole truck, so I tore all the wires out too. It wasn't too bad, I just made sure to keep the doors closed as mush as possible as to not tweak the body too much. I removed all the floors, 1 at a time to maintain the structure (passenger, then driver) I also removed the bed, but haven't put in a new one yet....It's a lot easier to work on brake lines, wiring, suspension, gas tank, pretty much everything if the bed is out.

Cleaning the frame isn't too bad, just messy, but it sure looks a lit nicer once it's done. Go for it man, it'll turn out great. One thing I would recommend is to use better paint. The rustoleum is cheap which is nice, but it's also pretty soft and takes quite a while to dry. If I were to do it again, I would use something like this
http://www.magnetpaints.com/underbody.asp .
-Jack

 

[Jack H]

Well, I've decided that the remainder of the items will be addressed here at a local shop. After having our baby about 6 months ago, the time on the scout has dwindled to almost nothing, and I want to get this thing on the road. The shop will be finishing the hydroboost/power steering setup, bleeding brakes, replacing the rear main seal.....again, installing electronic ignition (pertronix or the like), new carburetor to replace the edelbrock 1406 (probably holley 2300 0-7448), fixing a few rusted body spots, repairing the radiator, fitting up my front drive shaft to the D44 and bodywork/paint. I also bought all new window and door seals all around for the body shop. So, probably the next time I post pics, it will be nearly finished.
The only things left will be a new bed (may have the shop do this as well, depending on $$) bedline the interior, install my roll bar with 3 point seat belts, and figure out what I want for a front bumper.
What do you guys think of winches?? I know a lot of people have them, and I think they're great, but they add significant weight and for a weekend trail runner, I'm thinking it may just be a boat anchor....thoughts? Anyways, I'm really excited to see some real progress on this scout.
-Jack