engine and drivetrain New owner, longtime fan

[fenstermaker]

Hello all! I've been a 2002 fan for ages and the opportunity arose in the past month for me to pick one up. Well, almost. I snagged a local '68 1600 to restore and now I've got a running (mostly) project to bide what little time I have.

The car is far from being pretty, has light body rust in places, and needs a complete overhaul on the interior. A new paint job, trim and a few other odds and ends wouldn't be bad either. I'm just hoping to get it into a condition where I can enjoy it the final few months of summer before sticking it in the garage to begin restoration.

Note that I know very little about cars, but have always wanted a project car to work on. Very excited to begin my first! I'll be documenting the successes and failures on my blog http://onthefense.com (hopefully more of the former and only a few of the latter). Looks like this will be a great place to gather information as well.

The engine runs fine now that I've thrown in some new spark plugs (was running on 3 cylinders, now back to 4). Got some Sea Foam and Techron to clean things up a bit as all four plugs I pulled were black.

After putting in the new plugs yesterday, I fired her up and let her sit for a few minutes and warm up. She idles a bit low so used the manual choke; not sure if there's a big issue there or not yet.

The real issue I'm having right now is with the clutch. I threw it in reverse and the clutch stayed on the floor. When I first acquired it, I noticed the clutch sticking and jerking a bit as I let it out. I'm hoping it just needs to be bled and have new brake fluid put in. Any other troubleshooting tips for this problem?

As it's my first post, here are a few pics. The first two are from my iPhone. Please don't cringe too much... (I still think it's a beautiful ride.)

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[fenstermaker]

Oops... forgot to leave my name. Hello, I'm Andy.

[SCRATCH]

Welcome to the fray! I love the car too. I've spent many a month daily-ing a rusty 2002 proudly. They are too fun to keep cooped up in the garage.

Lots of DIY mechanics with out much experience here on the boards, so you're in good company. Just dig around and you can find nearly endless amounts of helpful info.

Great pics! That green tinted one is my fav.

Cheers!

r

[THE1ST3]

Cool car! Early cars get a lotta love around here. Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy!

[SamAdams]

Looks like a sister to my Manila '68 1600. Currently undergoing an engine rebuild. But these early cars are fun to drive. Enjoy and good luck.

[Jim_75Sahara]

I heard about the sudden need for an engine rebuild, Sam. I talked to Joseph about that. I'm very glad my engine has been redone. Now I need a new key made.... (broke the only ignition key!) Good luck -- you two will have matching 1600-2's before long.

[Chamonix72]

Welcome to the group of owners here in WA. Looking forward to seeing you and your car out and about.

[Izak73]

When i got my 73 I was having clutch issues to, or thought i was. The car just wouldn't go anywhere and turned out the splines in the transmission were completely worn away. Might be a completely different problem though, the best of luck to ya!

[fenstermaker]

Thanks all for the welcoming responses! Good to see some WA representation!

I'm hoping the clutch issue is something fairly simple as I want to drive it around town a few times before I stick it in the garage until at least next spring.

I'm torn as to whether to keep it more of a rat rod/rolling project or to strip it bare and go all out. I'd love to keep it a rolling project but the interior is pretty appalling.

[ray_]

Early cars may have mechanical clutch linkage. Have a look there first.

1600's are fun! Welcome!

GL,

Ray

[Mike Self]

clutch--no hydraulics. There are all sorts of funky joints and pins and links and stuff connecting the clutch pedal with the throwout bearing arm; chances are good that there is crud or rust that's slowing down or preventing linkage movement.

First place (easiest) to look is in the pedal bucket--pull back the carpet and check the linkage. On the side of the clutch pedal there's a pin holding a horseshoe-shaped bracket. Both bracket and pin wear, to the point where one wears through. Also check that big ole return spring that makes the pedal come back up when you press it. That may be broken or pulled loose from its mount and one end or the other. If the spring is broken you might be able to find a replacement at the hardware store. Be advised it's VERY stiff, and not easy to install (ask me how I know!)

If all is well in the pedal bucket, crawl under the car and trace the linkage to the throwout bearing fork, lubricating every joint. If you're lucky all you'll need is some lubrication and working the linkage back and forth to free it up.

And welcome to '02 ownership. Great group of folks on the board, and in the 02 fraternity/sorority in general.

cheers

mike

[fenstermaker]

Mike,

Thanks for the tips! Given time, I'll check these when I get home tonight. My guess is that it just needs lube, but I'll follow your steps.

When I first took possession, it wasn't a smooth glide in and out and when it sat a few days that's when it stuck to the floor. It would come back, but does so in a jerky manner.

Will keep y'all posted with the outcome. Thanks for the tips!

Andy

[fenstermaker]

So I pulled back the carpet as instructed and boy is there a lot of crap and crud down there. I vacuumed out a bit so I could get a better look and the springs look OK (as far as I can tell).

Probably wouldn't hurt to pull the carpet ALL the way off the pedals, but that's for another day (I didn't want to un-duct-tape the lower dash from the carpet).

It does look a bit dry down there, so I'm hoping I can just pull out the rest of the crud and lube it up and it'll be all good for a while.

From the looks of it, I picked up an original car. By that, I mean that the only non-original items are:

1) the manila color (painted over a nice bright white original coat in 3 to 4 different shades)

2) pristine shock towers as a previous owner did some light suspension work -- totally rust free!

3) The last owner found a pair of original 1950s old-lady bifocals lodged somewhere deep in the car. Made me promise to keep them with the car if I sold it.

Carpet, seats, dust, rust... it's all from the late 60s, 70s and 80s.

Looking forward to getting my Haynes in the mail on Monday so I can have a slightly better idea of what I'm doing down there!