Another round of updates to the car. On a whim, I decided to investigate why the washer fluid didn’t spray. The bottle was intact, the hoses were fine, the switch worked and there was power at the harness… turned out the motor had rusted into a solid block. A new motor fixed the issue, and I boiled out the mold in the washer fluid bottle while I was at it.
I also installed a new alternator – updating the original 80 amp with a Special-T 120 amp model. The difference in the car’s behavior was immediate – the idle is smoother, the A/C doesn’t impact other accessories, the starter turns over faster, and the battery is actually charging again. The only negative to that job is that I must have jostled something in the heater system when i was adjusting the wiring harness, as I now have a slow and localized coolant leak at the back of the engine. The most likely culprits are the hot water valve and the bleeder T assembly, which are of course virtually inaccessible. I’ll figure it out eventually…
Also, today I spent a full 10 hours replacing the radiator fans. This completes my overhaul of the electrical system – replaced the original Smiths fans (which drew a whopping 60 amps – with an 80 amp alternator? sure, that makes sense) with a set of Special-T custom ones. These only draw 20 amps at inrush, and only 11 while running. Between the updated wiring, relays, fuses, alternator and grounds, it makes for a very happy and smooth-running car.
As always, pictures are in the log. stay tuned for more!