Okay, finally took delivery of my 62 Mk X on Saturday. Paid $180 to have it
flatbed towed 75 miles from Covina to my home in Simi Valley. 10 miles into
the trip the tow truck driver pulled over for some diesel and I noticed the
windshield chrome had come off. As I figured this was a piece of unobtainium,
I backtracked our route and found the piece on Interstate 210, where I
retrieved it “Frogger” style.
Spent the balance of the afternoon disinfecting the thing (it had been sitting
out in the elements, completely unattended for over 10 years). Rat droppings
between the tucks of the leather, dried seat cushion foam ripped out to make
nests and disintegrated (and soggy) carpet underfelts were all removed. I
also removed the remnants of the headliner with a windshield scraper. I then
vacuumed up all the debris created by all this as well as the numerous cobwebs
in and outside of the car.
What’s interesting is the conspicuous absence of rust. The carpet under felts
have been soaking for years, yet the floors show only surface rust, easily
sanded away. The fuel filler door on the drivers side is filled with stagnant
water and other debris. Cleaned that out, again, no rust, However if my fuel
gauge is correct, I probably have a 1/4 tank of water.
Now the good part:
Bought a new BorgWarner rotary fuel pump for $39 complete w/ hoses, clamps,
etc… Installed it in 30 minutes, hooked it up to a gas can placed in the
trunk, installed a fresh battery, turned the key, hit the starter and
VROOM!!!
It didn’t even crank. It fired the moment I touched the starter button.
And it ran perfectly smooth. I didn’t even check the plugs or points. This
car has 81,600 miles on it, the engine has received no internal work ever and
it’s 36 years old.
I took it for a drive for about three miles and the transmission started
groaning and clunked and grinded into top gear. Brought it home. It appears
to be LOW on tranny fluid.
I’ve never owned a slush pump equipped car. How many quarts of ATF does the
BW model eight require? Anything else that might be wrong?
Best Regards,
Eric Scott Williams