Just wanted to give the group an update on the 4 cyl 1978 Gremlin I
brought home a couple of months ago. Its been a little while since I
posted. The car hadn't been operated since 2000, but within a couple
of weeks of bring it home we had it running. Replaced the water pump
and smog pump, had the gas tank cleaned and it was ready to hit the
road...almost. We drove it around the neighborhood, and it did
pretty well, but we left a trail of transmission fluid everywhere we
went. Since I couldn't drive it across town for its VIN inspection
like that, I used a tow dolly, with the plan to take it to the
transmission shop right after the inspection. Made the 35 mile drive
across town, passed inspection, and went to the transmission shop.
Tranny was in such bad shape it wouldn't even back off the tow
dolly. It needed a full rebuild, but it's running great now. I have
had to deal with some of the oddities of the 4 cyl engine (coolant
hoses and temp sending units that are no longer available) but so far
have managed to piece together everything I've needed. As soon as it
passes inspection I'll be willing to do some of the other work
needed, like new carpet, fix fender, etc.
It's actually a pretty nice car with power steering and power brakes,
but has no power going uphill. Bart's equating it with a sewing
machine when I first got it was pretty accurate! But its one more
Gremlin on the road!
Dave
1972 Gremlin X 304
1978 Gremlin 121 4
cyl
1981 Kammback 258 - will be running soon!
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