at last, back on the road !
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completed the vehicle identity check, got the historic rego inspection done and now with plates on she made the 130km drive to and from Mt Gambier to pick up the new exhaust. I had done a trial drive of around 20 minutes last weekend with no significant problems, noticed the radiator expansion tank overflowed on getting home, so cleaned the expansion cap thoroughly and topped up. Filled her up with 25 litres of premium and set off this morning for the drive.
No issues at all except the temp gauge is intermittent (very worrying) but the engine pulled smoothly and usual rattles and clatters. Expansion bottle did its trick again on arrival at the exhaust place, but only dropped about 50ml I reckon. Once up on the hoist it was evident that there was a significant oil leak above the starter motor, probably the rocker cover gasket area but otherwise excellent.
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so, with a new exhaust and full of confidence I took her home, thinking naively that the 25 litres she was carrying would be ample for the whole journey (260km). A few nervous moments when the fuel empty light came on and stayed on, but I got back to Lucindale very relieved and filled her up. Now I can hear the engine, it sounds very different to my first sprint, this one growls and throbs a bit, rather than the smooth free revving of the other. I think forgetting the insulation over the tunnel might have something to do with the noise.
The other difference is how much smoother and less radical this one is to drive. The other sprint bounces all over the road and takes corners in several chunks, this one is point and drive with no skipping or alarming changes of direction. I'll have to look into that.
The sad news is that the other 2 dolomites (1850) aka Red and Green have been sold to a guy from Geelong who want to strip them (he'll cart one home on a trailer and strip the other), for the princely sum of $1 each. I'll make sure nothing useful gets crushed or wasted and Green is terminal anyway, but a sad end to the big shed. I've just bought a place in Adelaide (well, the offer has been accepted) and I'm down to a twin sized garage. I will have a decent sized back yard that is completely bare though, so room for another shed, but the house requires a lot of work so priority will be the house.
Oh yes, the stag sold as well, $3500, so I dropped $500 over 4 years for a helluva' lot of fun and good times.
stu