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The [Almost] Perfect Day

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SaxMan

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I've been working a fair amount of Saturdays and Sundays, so I figured Baby Blue could use some exercise, so I took her to work today. Yesterday, I came about as close to having the carbs perfectly set as I ever have. The motor was purring at idle, which was set nicely, and there were no hiccups throughout the entire speed range. It was in the low-60s when I drove off.

When I got to work, there was an open spot directly in front of my office, which is unusual at 10 AM. Two SUVs were both either on the line or slightly over, which discouraged other drivers. However, for the Sprite, it was no sweat and I parked between the two errant monsters with plenty of room on either side. Popping the hood, I noticed a very slight leak from where the heater core return line hits the lower radiator hose.

Work was work, but there is definitely something to be said about walking out of the office and dropping the top. It makes whatever happened during the day disappear and an even boring commute is infinitely more exciting in an LBC.

Back at home, we had dinner and then I took my daughter out for an after dinner ride, much to her excitement and delight. I started noticing some spattering on the windshield right in front of me, so I decided it was time to give the windshield washers a try -- they worked! When I stopped for gas, I checked under the hood. The return line leak had become a bit more serious and antifreeze was spattered about, some of which was ending up on the windshield. As usual, someone stopped to talk to me about the car while filling up for gas. Then it was off through a few more back roads before turning for home. The ride help my daughter wind down from the day and we watched BBC's Top Gear when we got home until she was ready to go to bed.

Overall, it was a great day for the Sprite, the return line leak notwithstanding. I'm thinking that the lower hose end of the heater core return line may be ovallized and that is what is causing the leak, as I've tried a variety of positions with the clamp, and I can never quite stop it from leaking. Tonight, I tried double clamping the return line. Generally, I don't like doing work-arounds, but I'm hoping that if this works to hold it for the rest of the season season and I can replace the return line during winter maintenance. If not, I'll just go ahead and knock it out.
 
Nice!

And yes.....someone *always* stops to talk when you're in one of these things! :friendly_wink:
 
Sounds like a lovely day. And yes, there is something about having a drop-top drive home to make the working day go easier. :smile:

As for the heater line, don't feel bad about the double clamp if it fixes the leak. We do what we can to keep these cars on the road -- nothing wrong with a temporary/permanent fix if you can keep driving. You can do proper sorting out later on when you have some down time.
 
Are you not tightening the hose clamps sufficiently? If the hose is in good shape your metal pipe may be heavily corroded where it fits into the hose, a common deterioration point. The metal hose should be considered a part that is replaced every two decades or so.

One of these days I hope to see you make a post where you say you have been driving for a week and nothing went wrong!
 
58Custom said:
Are you not tightening the hose clamps sufficiently? If the hose is in good shape your metal pipe may be heavily corroded where it fits into the hose, a common deterioration point. The metal hose should be considered a part that is replaced every two decades or so.

One of these days I hope to see you make a post where you say you have been driving for a week and nothing went wrong!
Click to expand...

Point taken. Seems like I do only post when something breaks, leaks or needs replacement. However, with each repair and adjustment the car is slowly but surely getting sorted out, and I do get quite a bit of enjoyment out of the fixing part as well. On the non-repair front, I'm hoping that I can have the car ready for its first show at the end of this month.

The hoses are brand new and I'm cranking down on the clamps, so I'm pretty sure it's the pipe.
 
Double clamping the return line seems to have done the trick. The leak has become extremely slight, and I think a little bit of adjustment on the clamps should take care of it.

Beautiful night to be out in the car. I took my daughter out for a quick ride after dinner and before sunset. We had a blast. Great way to end the week!
 
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