The Great Gremlin Challenge!

["fredrick_bc_westerncanada" <fburns@xxxx>]

well for me it was anyways! This novice spent the last two days 
trying to figure out why my recently acquired Grem was stalling out. 
Starts just fine, idles well and runs like a top until it gets warm. 
Then she sputters, backfires and stalls but only when I press on the 
accelerator. I have been diggin' through my manuals and things seem 
to be pointing towards the accelerator pump. The carb is an orginal 
Carter 1-YF and I am thinking I should bite the bullet and get a new 
one. That way I can rule it out and start looking at vacuum etc. It 
would be a new experience for me changing the carb but from what I 
have read I should be able to put the new one in.

So, I will get her running properly and get back on the road! 
yeahhhhh! not so fast pilgrim! I had the car up on a hoist at a 
muffler shop and got a good look at the rusting frame :-( I started 
poking at places I couldn't really get at when I got the car. 
Considering I only paid $300 US for it the parts are worth a whole 
lot more than that, so I couldn't lose. 

Now the dilemna. Seeing that my local car buff/restoration autobody 
guy said it would likely take about $ 3,000 US to repair and renew 
the body I got to thinking....hey! there is a really great body at 
Pick-a-Part!...most of the parts are gone now but the shell is still 
there! hehe...I got to figuring that I could maybe buy it off them 
and eventually build a new Grem out of the two cars! Nope. Turns out 
that in this province once a car goes to the wrecker's for parts it 
is deregistered and can only be picked apart. Once the parts are gone 
the shell goes to the crusher! whaaaaaaaaaaa! but but but...the shell 
is a car part tooo isn't it?

Oh! but I say wait! James Johnson has that purple body in decent 
condition, the one I am in the process of buying the fenders and 
wheel well moldings from, and maybe future cut out quarter 
panels....but why not buy the whole thing (what's left of it) and 
find a way to have it sent up here? maybe a flat deck heading this 
way empty or something...I would hate to see that shell end up in the 
crusher too!

Good plan I say...but! darned gov't might get in the way! I have to 
find out from them what the rules are for importing a pick apart 
parts car that is still in the hands of a private individual.

I know! take a few months off...camp out in James' town and rebuild 
the purple gremlin from parts off mine! *L*...right, I would need 
more than a few months I would think! and then which car is it? the 
one with the tag on the purple car? or would I swap tags? *L*

It's crazy I tell ya! *L* why one can't just build a car from 
whatever is available and as long as it passes a safety inspection 
and emissions test is a $64,000 burocratic red tape question!

Given the fuel system troubles I have had the past 2 days I am 
thinking that when I get to Mildred's to pick up the Levi, I just 
might find the nearest secure mini-storage...and then arrange to have 
it transported later.

Anyways back to the fuel system problem. Sure would appreciate some 
input on that. The carb is on order and won't get it until tomrrow 
afternoon. So I am looking at the following day before I tackle that 
project. Gonna enjoy it though! Under the hood tinkering away, 
learning as I go...wouldn't have felt that good working on another 
make of car tho...just something about the AMC!

Just noticing here how long this post is! Gosh, not only am I 
catching up to Jerry in the Gremlins owned department, I may have 
surpassed him as a rambler (pardon the pun!)

Freddie

a fleet of Gremmies