For anyone still curious about my once-on-fire car, it's now up and running. Bill Robertson came over to Charlotte where I'm vacationing and brought his tools, hardware, and general knowhow; without his help I wouldn't be halfway done by now, but we started Wednesday morning and he was gone by Saturday afternoon. After installing a custom-made intake manifold and Volvo ignition distributor the car was running under its own power Wednesday afternoon. We capped off the injector ports with severed stainless steel bolts inserted into injector boots and clips I bought from John Hervey. I also bought my new water pump (with bolted-on pulley), cap, rotor, shock absorbers, and MSD plug wires from him. Everything but the shocks has been installed; they should arrive tomorrow. The water pump was swapped out in a couple of hours. We were very fortunate that we didn't snap off any bolts: Bill used the technique of dialing down an air-powered drill to "tap" the bolts until they turned. This worked on the water pump itself, and on the Y-pipe bolts we were nervous about. We replaced the Y-shaped coolant distribution pipe with one without sensor bungs I bought for $1 back at DCS Gettysburg. Along the way, we made minor adjustments to the engine compartment -- we tied back all unnecessary wiring, inserted a fuse into the ignition circuit, and added a second block ground. I made an interesting discovery: the water pipe that runs across the bottom of my car's intake valley (the one now available in stainless steel, or often replaced with a silicone hose) is 3/4" inches on both ends. Mine is the only car I've seen where this is the case. I was all ready with a 3/4" to 5/8" adaptor when I discovered it simply wasn't needed. So I used a 3/4" hose mender and gave Bill the adaptor; someone will need it eventually. I've now been driving back and forth to the hardware store buying stainless steel hardware and such. The car has yet to give me any problems. Hard to believe it sat for six months without being touched, after being subjected to flames and baking powder and weather. Many thanks to Bill, and to any owners in the Charlotte area: I'll be here until the end of the week if you want to say hello. After that, it's back to southeast Louisiana on Hervey's "easy rider" shocks! Farrar Hudkins #2613 ------------------------------------ To address comments privately to the moderating team, please address: moderators@xxxxxxxxxxx For more info on the list, tech articles, cars for sale see www.dmcnews.com To search the archives or view files, log in at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dmcnewsYahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dmcnews/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dmcnews/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:dmcnews-digest@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx mailto:dmcnews-fullfeatured@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: dmcnews-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/