Build Thread 1978 Fairmont. I bet somebody back home’s thinkin’…I wonder why he don’t write..?

Now that it gets nice and cool in the interior, I’m wondering what if any “ emergency tools” people would throw in a bag before the trip. One things for sure, I’m not taking a full on “ what-if” contingency worth of tools. half the sht on this car isn’t at a local Auto-zone anyway.

Maybe a screw driver, flashlight, Allen wrench set, screw jack, breaker bar with lug sockets, tire plug kit, cutting pliers crescent wrench...???

I take a 3/8 , 1/4 set . Electrical tape . 2 adjustable wrenches. A few extensions. Crimpers/ cutters . Some mix butt connectors and terminals. Wrenches needed to do my blower belt just Incase . Multimeter as well. Keep fuses in the console
Good pair of pliers , small vice grips. Spark plug socket . Zip ties
 
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I take a 3/8 , 1/4 set . Electrical tape . 2 adjustable wrenches. A few extensions. Crimpers/ cutters . Some mix butt connectors and terminals. Wrenches needed to do my blower belt just Incase . Multimeter as well. Keep fuses in the console
Good pair of pliers , small vice grips. Spark plug socket . Zip ties
I forgot electrical tape! :doh:
 
My long trip kit is:

My cordless impact and an impact socket for my lug nuts
Tire plug kit
Pocket scan tool (I know, doesn't apply to The Monster)
12v compressor (Bell Air 2000)
79-piece socket set
Assorted pliers
#2 Phillips and 1/4" flat blade screwdriver
Zip ties
Gorilla tape
Lithium-Ion jump starter
Jumper cables
Old serpentine belt

If it involves more than what's on that list, I'm just waiting on a tow truck at that point.
I’ve changed fuel pumps, starters, electrical parts, and water pumps in parking lots. But that’s not very likely to happen with newer cars and an older me.

Edit: I have one of those thermal blankets (blue tarp on one side, foil on the other) I did not put down since you are probably not going to see cold. But a small tarp folded to keep stuff from rattling in the tool box would be better than sliding on the ground to inspect or repair something.
 
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I’ve changed fuel pumps, starters, electrical parts, and water pumps in parking lots. But that’s not very likely to happen with newer cars and an older me.
In my younger and dumber days I did the timing chain on a 3/4-ton Suburban with a 350 in a parking lot (a dirt lot at that) to avoid a tow home, but that was twenty years ago and if I can't get back on the road within an hour at this point and have cell service, I'm just not going to screw with it, that's what my towing coverage on my car insurance is for! :rlaugh:
 
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Ok,...I see the cheering section is in attendance tonight.

Welcome all.....

Its finally here again...My “road warrior” day is tomorrow.

I still need to pack some clothes, and the requisite essentials, and of course whatever pointless tool i throw in some bag.
My umbrella chair ( always a hit at these things), my tuning computer, maybe this Ipad,...and i’m good.

I ain’t packing a thing tonight though, cause I ain’t leaving till 9am tomorrow anyway...plenty of time to do that sht tomorrow. That should put me in PC around 2, and I can’t get into the room till 4 anyways.

i figure get into town, find a car wash, get rid of the bugs, and make my way to the venue. Get registered, and then make my way towards the beach house we’re staying in..( a “Kate endorsed”, sleeps 6, 3 bathroom extravaganza priced at the bargain basement rate of......1300.00 for 3 nights.
To think I coulda stayed right across the road in a 1 br condo..that to get to the beach only required you walk across the road for 100.00 a night...right up until last Sunday night..

Whatya gonna do when a car guy marries a non car girl?

You Overcome,....you adapt,...you improvise......You SPEND MORE MONEY TO KEEP HER HAPPY.

( I blame myself for this oversight....we booked this place after I got paid for December’s Commissions....back then,...i was considering taking up smoking cigars, just so that I could use up all of the extra 100 dollar bills that were falling out of my pockets...I needed something to light the cigars, and since there was so....many...freakin...100 dollar bills....
i figured that they made good matches.)

So at that time......$1300.00 for 3 nights in a really nice beachfront private house seemed reasonable.

Maybe it still is? :shrug:

Kates already down there on business...She calls me and tells me that the place is mobbed with spring breakers...and that going anywhere is one big freakin traffic jam....And i’m coming in hot in the monster after driving 250 miles.

( Really starting to reconsider @Noobz347 constant badgering to install .030 cal machine guns at this instant)

Maybe next year..

in other news,..I’m working through ( literally) what I think might be a mild case of food poisoning...I could be a poster child for a Pepto-Bismal commercial. Just the thing to balance out a solo drive in a finicky jap engined hybrid...
Wondering how clean the bathrooms at this particular gas station are before I stop, and dreading how clean they won’t be after I leave.:runaway:

Did I mention that I’m really looking forward to my “me and my machine” time tomorrow?
 
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Ok....so add to the carry kit a Chopped down 5 gallon bucket ( 3 gallon works ) some pool noodle type pipe insulation and some non leaking grocery bags.....don't forget the TP.

Oh...and a big black contractor trash bag. Put your head through it and let it drape over your knees. No one on the highway will know wut you're doin' under there.
 
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Ok....so add to the carry kit a Chopped down 5 gallon bucket ( 3 gallon works ) some pool noodle type pipe insulation and some non leaking grocery bags.....don't forget the TP.

Oh...and a big black contractor trash bag. Put your head through it and let it drape over your knees. No one on the highway will know wut you're doin' under there.
That there sounds like experience talking.
 
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Did someone say .30 cal
 

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It lost a lot of oil between here and there. By my guess, at least 2 qts.

Yet, the freakin thing ran beautifully the entire way. The only sign that there was something wrong occurred about 50 miles out, where the oil pressure lost about 10psi at cruisin RPM.

When I got here, I went straight to a car wash to get rid of the bugs,..I checked the oil there to find it barely touching the dipstick.
2qts low.

To lose that much oil from a leak alone, you’d think that the bottom of the car would be a dripping mess, but after looking underneath as best I could found only a film on the front edges of the stuff that make up the undercarriage.
Conversely, if the engine “ate” that much oil, you’d think plugs would be fouled, you’d think it woulda smoked.

Maybe it did smoke,..I was usually looking forward, and not behind me.

The rear of the car was covered in an oil mist...the rear spoiler creates a vortex back there, and the exhaust usually leaves tiny traces of carbon. Whether or not that came out of the tailpipe, or was just sucked up off the air flowing under the car...I don’t know.

It didn’t eat oil like this in november when I came down here last time, so I have to think about what is different this time around....

The turbo is different, more importantly so is the turbo oil drain. The last drain line was a lazy s shape, but mostly dropped straight down after coming out of the turbo. This new drain has 2 hard 90’s in it before it drops vertically.

There is probably a good chance that that is my problem,....the turbo is eating the oil, and shtting it straight out the down pipe,...more seriously though if that’s what’s happening,.....oil could be getting into the compressor and being fed to the engine.

I can’t do a single damn thing about any of this down here, But you already know that the freakin 3AMD didn’t care about any of that...I think I laid awake from about 1:30 to at least 4:30 trying to think it through.

It never fails it seems...last time it felt like the front end was coming loose, this time I gotta worry about running the engine out of oil.
 
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can you pull a coupler and see if there's oil on the intake side?
Probably..I just drove it here from the condo, it runs great..I can't imagine oil is fouling the engine.

I pulled the air filter, the impeller is clean.

I would think the thing is eating oil under boost..I put it into boost alot on the way down here.
 
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So,..I called them. The oil consumption comes directly from the oil drain line having 2 90's in it. He wants it straight which i cant make happen down here.
( i can't make it straight at home)
But I can "straighten" it a little, but it will require that I weld that together.
What I can do here is restrict the oil feed line, so I changed the -4 line to a -3 line.
Hopefully that'll add enough restriction so the oil can get drained back until I get home.
Day 1 is in the bag..its drinkin time.
 
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