Project Sandrail
Part 1.10
Almost Done!!!
After rolling the car into the street last week and taking
pictures, I got really motivated to finish and take it for a drive.
I still had the wiring to do, as well as mounting the battery,
fuse box, passenger seat, seatbelts, lights and console.
When all that was done, I put 2 gallons of oil in the engine,
filled the radiator with coolant, put 3 gallons of gas in the
tank and hooked up the battery. I pulled out the modified distributor
and put an old distributor shaft on a drill to prime the oil system.
Turning the ignition switch to "on", the fuel pump began
pumping - a good sign, and the gages all bumped to '0'.
WIth the drill running, the oil pressure gage still read zero
pressure, but oil was squirting out the camshaft lobes and all
over the floor because the oil filter was not tight enough. Ends
up that I had the oil pressure sender in the wrong hole.
SO, with just a minute of fiddling with the initial ignition
timing and three tries, the engine fired up!! IT LIVES!! I let
it run for a bout 30 minutes at different speeds while I gave
the carbs a baseline adjustment and messed with the cooling system.
Then changed the oil and took the car for a drive. I still
have to bring the car back to Tatum Motorsports to have them charge
the shocks with 200 psi of nitrogen, but after that, the car will
be ready for an off-road shakedown in preparation for the dunes.
 Here's a view of the battery
hold-down and the fuse box. I have just begun the wiring. |
 The complete fuse box showing
the wiring, relays and battery disconnect switch. The entire
box will be sealed against sand and moisture. |
 Here's what the box and battery
look like. They are both mounted behind the passenger seat. |
 I had to make a small console
to house the gages and switches. Sometime in the near future
I'll order a nice console that will run the lenght of the car
and hide the wiring, brake lines and shift rod. |
 Here's the console set in
place and some of the wiring. |
 This is what it looks like
when finished. |
 Here's a top view of the driver's
compartment. Both seats and seatbelts are mounted. |
 The rear of the car - the
header has been painted and the supertrapp muffler mounted to
the car. |
 The engine! To the left of
the picture is the radiator with an air deflector to keep the
hot air from blowing onto the fuel tank. Mike made the neat little
support bar in the middle of the shroud. Very nice job. |
 The back of the car - here
you get a good view of the adjustable camshaft pully, the carburetors
and linkage and the crank-fire ignition. |
 The carburetor side of the
engine. |
 A top view. It is amazing
that a tiny little 2.3 liter, inline 4 cylinder engine takes
up the ENTIRE rear cage. The widest damn motor ever seen. |