Hedwig’s restoration has begun!

Well, it’s begun. I needed to move my 2800cs into the garage to clear the driveway for the upcoming carport install and it’s time to start the restoration.

The front carb had a sticking float due to an improperly sized gasket I put in when I rebuilt it, so I removed the carb and corrected the issue. I also lubed up the L bracket in the throttle linkage since it had become stiff during the year-long sit in the driveway. I charged the battery and cleared out the garage. All set.

I knew there was no gas in the lines and so used starter fluid to keep from having to crank for so long to get fuel pulled up to the engine. What I didn’t realize until I looked at the video was the connection for the ground strap at the head was dirty and there was quite a bit of resistance resulting in some smoke. I also didn’t see that once the fuel started flowing, the pump itself started to leak. Eeek. Fortunately, the smoke and fuel didn’t coincide in time and space so there were no flames.

I was going to disconnect the pump and just use the fuel in the carbs to get the car into the garage, but testing it the next day, there was no fuel leak. I suspect that the membrane had shrunk during the long sit with no fuel and it resumed its normal thickness after absorbing some fuel. Either way, I’ll be looking into a new pump. I’ve read that replacement pumps are not satisfactory. Any suggestions on the best option? I didn’t find a conclusive answer in the forum’s posts.
* Now that I’ve thought about it, a more likely source of the leak is the hose on the pressure side of the pump. I looked but didn’t see any leak there when I first shut off the engine, but I will be replacing the hoses as a matter of course so I’ll test for leaks and pump pressure when I begin work on the engine.

Here’s a youtube video of the startup.

https://youtu.be/NERpH4Sqstc

All’s well that ends well. I got it moved into the garage with no issues other than a squealing power steering belt.

The issue with the Pertronix lead being too short was something I only found out when I got the car off the transport truck on its arrival in Austin. The engine mounts are soft and spongey so that might be part of the problem. I’ve only driven the car a few miles in the time I’ve been here as I’ve been on the cusp of starting the restoration for the last 3 years. It would be a simpler failure mode if the wire came off and the car simply wouldn’t run, but in this case, the other wire keeps it at rest on the terminal for the resistor and it will start and then immediately shut down as the torque pulls the wire away from the terminal. So it starts, but won’t run. It’s been 3 years since I faced that failure mode so it took a few more starts than it should for me to remember what was going on.

Yes, I know the valves need to be adjusted. I literally haven’t done anything to this engine except for getting it to run after purchase by adding the Pertronix, cleaning the carbs and changing the fluids. The entire car will come apart now to be cleaned and made better.

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