Dateline - May 23 - Of course, I had to dig right in as soon as the car got there. Since the car had sat for awhile, I decided to pull the plugs and spray WD-40 into the cyclinders, just to free up any rust that may have accumulated.
The prior owner had problems with water in the left gas tank because of a plugged drain in the filler cap (typical British over engineering). I pulled the plug on the bottom of the tank and drained out the gas. Unfortunately, the tank was just about full (12 gallons), with about 2 gallons of water in the bottom. Filled up a few jerry cans but got all the gas out.
The car also had a short that needed taking care of. Started troubleshooting by removing all wiring connections, pulling fuses, etc., and discovered that there was one bad interior circuit (map lights, interior lights, Fuse #2) and that the alternator was bad. $47 later, I had a new alternator on the car.
I drained the oil and put in a new filter, put the plugs back in, put fresh gas in the tank and pored a little down the card. The moment of truth was at hand. I turned the key. The motor cranked about six times and fired right up. But at high RPM, I started getting a really bad squeal. I thought it was the power steering pump, which was light on oil. I filled it back up and started the car, but still had the squeal. It was the new Alternator! The shaft of the alternator was burning hot! I took the alternator off and took it back to the store. They tested it, but said it was good. They gave me another one anyway. I installed it and sure enough, same thing. The only thing I could think was that there as a straight short to ground pulling down the alternator.
By this time I had spend about 7 hours on the car and was done for the night, well almost. I pulled the hubcaps and polished them that night while I watched a movie! It's an illness, I know!
