Automotive Projects
I grew up surrounded by an extremely eclectic collection of antique microcars which really shaped my life and developed my passion for engineering. From a very young age, my dad encouraged me to be involved with the microcars and taught me so much about the research, purchase, maintenance, service and repair of these unusual vehicles. Throughout my life, I have continued to assist my dad in the museum garage, reviving long idled old cars and bringing life back into these dormant cars.
Suzuki LJ20 (Winter 2021)
1970 Suzuki LJ20 Sitting Idle in Matchbox Motors Museum
One of the most recent museum shop projects was resurrecting a fifty year old 1970 Suzuki LJ20 (pictured) after more than a decade of sitting idle. Since it had been sitting for so long, we had to start by inflating all four completely flat tires so that we could push the Suzuki forward to get better access to the passenger compartment in order to start the car. After inflating the tires, we found that the brakes were locked up from sitting which made pushing the car almost impossible. We decided to try to get the engine running first so that we would be able to use the power of the engine to assist in releasing the stuck brakes.
Prior to activating the electrical starter, I removed both spark plugs and carefully lubricated the cylinder bores and crankcase which was extremely dry from sitting idle for so long. This ensured that internal parts would be properly lubricated when the engine was rotated which would prevent damage to internal parts or to the delicate crankshaft seals. I then rotated the engine by hand to circulate the lubrication that I had sprayed into the engine, and to listen and feel for any obstructions or resistance from the internal rotating components. Once I was satisfied that the engine was rotating smoothly with no interference, I attached a 12V booster pack to the battery which was drained from being idle for so long. With the assistance of the booster pack, I was able to use the engine starter to rotate the engine faster to make sure that it was free to turn without obstruction.
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With the spark plugs still removed from their ports in the cylinder head, I tested for spark at each of the two spark plugs, and found no spark present, which was indicative of an electrical fault. My first thought was to check that the ignition contact points located in the distributor were clean, properly gapped and operating properly. I removed the cap on the distributor and observed no spark at the ignition points. I then used a fine emery paper to clean the surface of the ignition points which had oxidized from sitting idle for so long. I then tried spinning the engine again and saw consistent sparks at the ignition points in the distributer, so I reassembled the distributer and checked again for spark at both spark plugs. I observed that sparks were now present at both spark plugs and that the sparks were a bluish white color, which is indicative of a good strong spark (as opposed to a yellow/orange colored spark which indicates a weak spark). I replaced both spark plugs back in their ports and tried to start the engine.
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No Spark in Spark Plugs
Initial Spark Seen in Distributor Proves Points Need Cleaning
Spark Seen at Plugs After Point Cleaning
Since the car would still not start even though I had confirmed that the ignition system was now providing a strong spark in the combustion chambers, I moved on to test and diagnose the fuel system. I removed the fuel line from the fuel pump to the carburetor so that I could isolate the fault to the fuel pump or to the carburetor. I placed the end of the fuel line into a clear bottle so that I could observe whether the fuel pump was pumping fuel to the carburetor, or whether the fuel line was clogged. Although it took a bit of time, the fuel line did confirm that the pump was sending fuel to my observation bottle. I then reassembled the fuel line and removed the air intake manifold at the carburetor and sprayed some starting ether into the carburetor to prime the engine.
When I tried to start the engine again, it would slowly turn and sounded like it was close to catching and running, but would not quite get there. This was because the carburetor was not getting enough fuel. To help get fuel into the carburetor, I manually lifted the throttle linkage about 1/4" from inside the engine compartment to get the fuel flowing. When I did this, the engine would catch and start running erratically for a short period while the fuel pump filled the carburetor with fresh fuel, but would then stall again. Consequently, I had to "tickle" the throttle linkage by lifting and dropping the throttle linkage quickly to pump more fuel to the cylinders and to keep the engine running until I could tell by the engine sounds that it was running more evenly, which was indicative of a continuous supply of fresh fuel to the carburetor and then to the cylinders of the engine. This could also be done using the pedals within the passenger cabin; however, I could apply more control by doing it directly at the throttle linkage in the engine. Fortunately, this particular engine is a two stroke design which mixes oil with the fuel. This tends to keep the internal components more clean and lubricated than a more conventional four stroke design, and as a result, this particular engine did not require a carburetor rebuild.
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Engine Spinning Slowly and Almost Catching
Manually Applying Throttle 1/4" to Get Fuel into Carburetor
Manually "Tickling" Throttle to Fill Carburetor with Fresh Fuel
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Now that the engine was running, we were able to place the Suzuki transmission in first gear and the transfer case into low range, and carefully modulate the clutch in order to use the power of the engine to carefully force the wheels to turn slowly to free up the stuck brakes. This tactic worked beautifully, as all four brakes freed up and we were actually able to take this little truck that had sat idle for more than a decade for its maiden voyage!
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Front Wheel Brakes Stuck
Freeing Front Wheel Brakes
Maidan Voyage of the 1970 Suzuki LJ20
Suzuki LJ20 Outside in the Snow for the First Time in Over a Decade
I have repeated this resuscitation ritual countless times throughout my life long involvement with reviving this museum collection of unusual and interesting old vehicles. I have always enjoyed working with these vehicles and I continue to to indulge this passion in my free time outside of work and school.