No water pump rebuild kit yet! I had a couple of hours to work with, so I went out and did a little work on the gas tank fitting. I took out the filler neck flange(?) and seat. I tried to figure out where the welt goes – did the best I could, but I still don’t think it’s in there right. The tank drain hole in the body wasn’t in the right place (SURPRISE!), so I had to lengthen the hole. I couldn’t get the plasma cutter to work right, so I got out the sawzall and the demo blade – that went pretty good. I took a rat tail file and cleaned it up.
I tried the fitment again – it fit OK for an MD Yuan repro, but still not close enough! I tried the tank strap and it was 1/2″ short (to reach across the tank), so I had to straighten and re-bend it. I put the welt under it and it came about 2″ from the florboard! I figured I could live with that, si I found a 2″ long bolt and bolted her down. The strap also ran straight across the sending unit flange, so I had to offset the strap mounting hole. It also runs straight over the top of the tab I welded on for the fuel line – I’ll have to remove it and weld another one on before I paint the tank.
After the tank was strapped down I tried the seat to see how it would fit. The hole in the door opening and on the wheelwell were perfect, the hole between the seats was about 3/8″ off, and the back mount (foot) was about 3/8″ off the floor (because the tank is taller than it should be and it holds the seat up). I decided to bend the leg between the seats and put a piece of welt under it, and put 2 pieces of welt under the rear foot. Everything seems to work well like that.
It still sounded like it was missing or skipping – just not running smooth. I pulled the plugs to check and clean then. All of them were sooty black, but not wet. I cleaned them best as I could and sanded the electrodes with emery cloth. I put them back in and check how she ran – a little smoother, but still not right. I’m not really going to worry much about it until I can get the water pump rebuilt so I can run her long enough to warm her up and adjust the carb and timing while warm. I’m still not ruling out a vacuum leak either, as I haven’t finished the vacuum and PCV tubing yet. Can’t finish that stuff until I buy a fuel pump.
I took it for a ride around the driveway and tested the 4wd and low range by climbing the hill to the parking area. I stopped at such an angle it was hard to get out of and back into. It pulled on up that hill better than the pickup does in 4wd.
Rebirth of an M38A1 