And another major thread

And it was a stupid thing.

The ground strap was there and tucked up away with the battery. It was not hooked up when I got the car but it is now.

It fired right up.

 

So I finally drove the car yesterday for the first time. Because the belt had 11 years on it since the last belt change, I only drove the car gingerly around my neighborhood when it first arrived. I noted all the items that didn’t work at that point. The fuel gauge wasn’t working, the gas door didn’t pop open, the CELs blinked, and the stock rear wheel was bent. All of those items are resolved now.

So after months and months and being patient, I got to really drive yesterday. It was an absolute blast to drive and was also surprisingly very easy to drive. There are still more things to fix and clean and take care of, but mechanically, I think it might be good for a little while.

There are a couple lessons learned, but all little things that I’ll remember in 3-5 years when I do this again. The biggest thing was to always pull the battery cable when touching anything. I ended up frying an ECU when I reconnected the ground strap.

I cannot thank this forum and its member enough. Ernie, FBB, and pnicholasen on here, and then Dave Helms over at SRI were all a big help.

Here it is right before taking it out yesterday:
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