'58 DJ-3A "Chromo" - Episode 2: I've got some ideas... Engine Bay Refresh On A Budget.

Welcome back to Hacking Patina.

We dragged "Chromo"—our 1958 DJ-3A—out of the mountains, and we got her running. But now what? A fella says, "I got some ideas."

In Episode 2, we aren't doing a frame-off restoration. We are putting a little lipstick and a pretty skirt on this pig. We are tackling the "horse barn" (the engine bay) on a budget, tidying up the 68-year-old mess, and seeing if we can make her purr.

Here is the "grocery list" for the engine bay refresh:

The Tune-Up: We swapped the rusty Autolite spark plugs for some fresh Champions, gaped using a hand-me-down tool from my dad that I've had since I was a "whippersnapper". We also did a "quick and dirty" workbench rebuild on the carburetor, wiring, and such.

The Hacker Gaskets: The gaskets that come with these oil filter kits always seem to leak, so I made my own]. I also had to get creative and cut my own gasket for the fuel filter bowl, complete with custom slits for the fuel flow.

The Rookie Mistake: Almost forgetting to pre-fill the oil canister (priming) before firing it up. You guys would have roasted me in the comments for that one.

The Generator Revival: I have a one-wire alternator sitting on the shelf, but I decided to give the old generator a chance. After some rewiring and cleaning up the "mucked up" connections, we got it charging at ~14 volts.

The "Factory Headlights" Test Drive: It was dark, I still have no lights, and I still have no brakes. But we took her for a spin anyway. She's running smooth, shifting through the gears, and cruising—just don't ask me to stop quickly.

We are eating this elephant one bite at a time. Next up, we have to tackle the drivetrain and the gas tank and fuel lines.

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