An empty garage is seldom seen…but a welcome sight as it means that our Falcon project is coming to completion! Last night we got Falcon ready for his “first” drive! It felt really good to see the car go once again! Here’s what we did before taking him out…
Tested and filled the cooling system. It initially leaked at the water pump gasket, so that had to be taken apart and re-gasketed. Ethan has this great pressure testing and filling tool which works like a charm.
Attempted to fix the brake light issue. A changed brake switch didn’t solve our problem, and we’ve only gotten the brake lights to go on a couple times – the rear running lights were a little more consistent but by test drive time weren’t coming on at all.
Adjusted the brakes. I’ve seen this done a couple times, but never have done adjustments myself. Since I learn by doing the best, this was good for me – especially since I need to do this on my Studebaker also. One adjuster was flipped incorrectly within the drum – so I got to take that apart for the second day in a row…another great way to learn things…repetition! Afterwards, we were ready to put on the tires and put Falcon back on the ground!
Put the valve cover on and finished connecting the last couple of lines. That’s when we took him out for the test drive.
Everything sounded good, temp and oil pressure was good (remember…we’ve never run this engine before). We planned on taking it out this morning for an alignment, making a few small adjustments, and hitting the road. However…we woke today to rain, and lots of it. The cards seem to be stacked against us – as testing out a car in the rain, across the desert, doesn’t make for the best situation!
So, Falcon has prowled around our neighborhood – but his true maiden voyage is going to wait for another weekend. Ethan and I are off for now in a different car…going to spend the holiday with family. Happy New Years…may 2013 bring plenty of completed projects!
Sounds like you have a grounding problem with your lighting system. Maybe after painting, you’ve stopped a light assembly(s) wire from grounding onto the body. Some scraping off of some paint would fix it. Just an idea.
Have a great New Years ,you two.