One down and one to go!  If you have to ask which one is done and which one is not then you are not looking closely enough.  The clean carburetor on the left took about 8 to 10 hours to rebuild.  I have never rebuilt a Zenith 35-40, multistage, twin port carburetor with a diaphragm, so it took a really long time.  The most frustrating discovery was that the engineers placed a short screw in the middle of the carburetor to keep it all together.  It only took me about 2 hours to figure out where that was and how to remove it.  When I get to the second carburetor it should take me about 3 hours.  I was very pleased to find that the first carburetor was not all gummed up inside and that it cleaned up very well.  The first carburetor had a torn diaphragm that was probably affecting performance the last time my brother drove it.  Otherwise it was in excellent condition.  The Germans really built precise, well manufactured equipment in the 60's.  When I get a free afternoon it will get done.

This is what the engine bay looked like recently.  The old battery that was on the right is out, the air filter holder and cover to the twin carburetors have been removed and I was trying to get the carburetors off.  There are four bolts that hold each carburetor onto the intake manifold.  The two on the outside of the engine were fairly easy to get off.  The two on the inside took so much longer.  There is absolutely no space to work so I actually resorted to taking off the valve cover.  That made the job much easier but it still took about 4 or 5 hours to remove both of them.  I am in the process of rebuilding them with new rebuild kits.

We are still working on the old car.  We have already taken out the gas tank.  It smelled horribly of old rotten gas.  It really is a repulsive smell.  We took the tank to an old fashioned radiator repair shop in La Habra, Ca, near where we live.  It is the kind of repair shop that reminds you that old radiators are not made out of plastic, unlike new ones.  It is the kind of place that reminds you that old radiators are very difficult to replace, so you repair them.  It is dirty, messy, a little disorganized and full of dangerous chemicals.  This shop is one of the few that remain in our area that will recondition an old gas tank.  

So, we made the trip. It was rather epic.  Since we had to be back for other reasons the trip was rather rushed.  We left Friday evening at 7:30pm and we walked back into our front door on the following Tuesday at 7:30pm.  The second day was the most difficult, we traveled 766 miles in one day.  The picture was taken of the car on the trailer that we used to transport it back to California.  I took the picture at our friend's house in Portland, Oregon on Sunday afternoon.  We left later to spend the night in southern Oregon.  The total miles were 2258.  All this was done in four days, which I would not recommend.  It was a shame to pass so many beautiful places in Oregon and not have much time to spend there.

The car does not run right now.  At the least we will need to drain the eleven and a half year old fuel and add in fresh fuel. We will need to change the radiator fluid, the oil and the air filter, and put in a new battery just to see if the engine will start.  The rear differential appears to be leaking fluid.  I will need to check the level of the fluid before we attempt to drive the old car.  I do not want to burn up the rear axle if there is no fluid in the differential.

I have all of the service record which begin in 1967!  Some from Spain, some from France, and one from New Jersey.  I don't quite know how the one from New Jersey fits in.  Later records have notes from different mechanics that the overhead cam and the timing chain and all its accessories need to be replaced.  There is even a note from one mechanic that the timing chain appears to have skipped.  I am not sure how difficult it will be to find these pieces.

No matter which way this turns out, I am thrilled.  I love old cars.  I love the smell of oil and the challenge of keeping them going.  This is not my first time with an old car, I've done this before, so I know what I am in for.