Clean sparkers

Marge has been limping along this spring. She has been running rough, but I have not taken the time to figure out why. This afternoon I needed to use the truck for a while, and once I got home, I decided to tackle the problem.

First, I let the engine cool down for a few hours. Yes, in a 68 Chevy C-10 there is plenty of room to work under the hood, but I have learned, the hard way, that if I am not stuck on the side of the road, then it is best to work on this old engine after it cools down.

After I checked the timing and dwell (yep, Marge still has a points based ignition), then I pulled the spark plugs and gave them a good cleaning. I checked the gap before reinstalling and after I lowered the idle (that I had raised to try to smooth out the engine) to a decent level, we hit the road for a while.

First time in a while I have had a big grin on my face, just cruising the 68 through the neighborhood. Yes, the brakes still suck, so I stayed close to home. Otherwise, it was a great cruise in a smoooooooooth running ride.

Been a long time since I stopped here

Marge is still alive and kicking. She just does not make many trips out of the garage over the winter.

A couple of weeks ago I went for a short cruise and to haul some yard work tools across the neighborhood. The brakes were crapped out.

I should have checked the obvious before that drive. Brake fluid was way low. As loon as I topped it off, the brakes are ok. Not great, but not death-trap scary, either. Of course, that means I have a leak in the system. And I have to get the fixed ASAP. But it is nice to know that the problem was not a lot larger for now.