OK, I'm in disbelief. I was going to wait to post future findings, but I wanted to get some opinions. I have been driving the wagon every day, working out the kinks making sure she's road worthy/ Well today, I filled the fuel tank. I had 233.6 miles on the trip meter, and it only took 8.541 gallons of gas. I shook the car and topped it off until I could see fuel in the filler neck. I thought "There's no way she's full!!" Mathematically, that's 27.35 mpg!?! So, on the way home, I"m puzzled. Racking my brain. There's for to be an air bubble in tank or something, but then I noticed on the dash cluster. I"m driving 60 mph and turning 1600 pm. I ran up to 74 mph and she's turning 1900 rpm. Is that correct?? I mean the speed and RPM are accurate, but I'm talking about getting that kind of mileage from a stock V8. I'm going to Georgia this weekend, so I"ll keep pictures and records of my mileage for the trip. -Josh
So, I've driven over 500 miles so far today. Went from Brandon, fl (work) to home (Zephyrhills)and all the way to Cordele, ga (exit 101) on a single tank of gas. That was 347 miles and filled up with 18.34 gallons. That mileage comes to 18.91 mpg. If you add the previous mileage and fuel together to account for error, that's 580.7 miles and 23.686 gallons whic makes 24.51 mpg. I also started taking pictures of the dash to show the trip meter and fuel gauge every 100 miles to show that it moves backwards from e to f and that I'm not cheating. -Josh
I made it home safely from my road trip. Without posting more boring pictures of my dash and fuel pumps, i can say I've tallied the data. I started paying attention to my mileage and the mile markers on the highway. At mm 470, my trip meter was 145.2. At mm 370, my trip meter was 252.9. That's 7.7 miles difference. Removing the additional 0.07%, I'm still getting a average of 20.4 mpg. I'm extremely pleased with the data, the power and the overall performance of the wagon. With no Workingradio in the car, i was able to listen for any issues that may have come up due to my negligence or any unforseen circumstances. -Josh
I installed some white LED strips in between the header bows in the ceiling for dome lights today. The original plan was the first two strips would be dome lights and the rear strips would be on the cargo light circuit. The dome lights only work on the adjuster wheel on the headlight switch because i don't have the door pin switches hooked up yet. So for now, they're all wired to the cargo light switch. -Josh
I swapped the clear front turn signals from the wagon onto my 68 c10. I wet sanded the Amber lenses with 400 grit, then tinted them with rustoleum lens tint. Initially they're too dark. I wet sanded them again until they looked "dirty" enough but allowed the lights to be easily visible. -Josh
I bought an aluminum transmission pan because the stock steel one was leaking. Well, now the new pan leaks, AND I don't have overdrive anymore. I replaced the POS spectre intake filter with a K&N because the spectre filter kept falling off. On my last test drive for the transmission, I made sure the posi traction still works. IT does!! -Josh
Dad and I tackled the tailgate today. The passenger side didn't latch and the pull rod from the release handle was broken. Also, the power window switch in the tailgate didn't work. In order to replace the latches, you have to remove the window tracks. The felt in the tracks was matted and kinda sticky. We decided to remove the felt and replaced it with material from an old sweat shirt. We found the power wire to the window switch was corroded in two. So i repaired the wire replaced the latches and rods, reinstalled the window tracks. If you don't know, there's a finger switch on the tailgate that prevents you from rolling the window up or down if the gate isn't closed. I put a tiny crescent wrench on thethe switch so i could roll the glass out to work inside the gate. Well, I forgot to remove the wrench before closing the gate and broke the finger switch off flush. The switch breaks the ground circuit for the window motor. So i cut the terminal end off, spliced an eyelet on the end and screwed it to the tailgate where the switch mounted. The glass moves up and down atleast twice as fast as before and the tailgate latches securely on both sides now. -Josh
I sanded down the tint on the side turn signals, and got a little carried away. So, seeing as how I wanted to sand off the lettering on the lenses, I did just that. I then put a lighter coat of tint this time. They're a lot more visible in the daytime now. I also replaced the turn signal flasher relay with a relay designed for LED lights. Now, it doesn't look like a strobe light when I"m turning. -Josh
Drove up to Atlanta to spend the weekend with my girlfriend and look at houses, and i lost overdrive. Engine rpms started bouncing from 2000-3000, and the "message center" display started flashing "trans fluid hot". So i continued the trip in third gear. So, I'll definitely need to replace the transmission. Good news is I'm still getting over 16 mpg. -Josh
Hi Josh, This is uncanny, I had exactly the same on my 64 Wagon. The passenger side latch didn't work, and I don't have a key for the tailgate to undo the window from the outside. I got the guys in the workshop to fix the latch, but as a result the window now struggles to raise or lower - I think somehow when the tailgate closes the latch is compressing the window tracks. Guess I'm going to have to do what you did and take out the window tracks and have a look inside. Once again you thread is useful for me! Ashley
In order to get to the latch on the tailgate,you have to un bolt the regulator assembly and slide it over. Then you can pop the latch off and replace the key switch. I made it home safely, running third gear the whole trip. I averaged 17.3 mpg. At least it's still getting decent mileage, so i won't be in such a hurry to replace it yet. -Josh
I figured out the overdrive issue. The bracket that attaches to the gear selector shaft on the transmission was mounted backwards. I flipped out around, adjusted the cable to compensate, and took her for a test drive. The lug of overdrive never sounded so sweet. I'm guessing the improper adjustment wasn't allowing me to fully select fourth gear, which allowed slippage. Oh well, at least i figured it out. -Josh
Way back in March, i sent my right tail light assembly to Lambert enterprises in Tennessee to custom make an LED board to replace the diffuser panel behind the tail light lens. I call atleast once a month for a progress report. I called this morning and he said he'd call me back. He calls back and says he finally made a board to get the job done, that each board will have 68-72 LEDs In in, and the total will be about $400.00! I told him to send back my taillight, please. So, I'll be looking up other options, but to have my light for 8 months, and then throw out a ridiculous number like that. I guess he added in storage costs to the final bill. Oh well. -Josh
The projector low beams looked cool, but the light output is more like a night light than a head light. So, I ordered another pair of H4 conversion housings and H4 LED head light bulbs. -Josh
I've been collecting different LED lights to convert my tail lights to LED. MY intention was to run a strip LED up top and 8 to 10 "projector" LEDs to fill in the bottom. My dad was helping me with the design and spacing when he suggested two strips in the center. I didn't think they'd fit, but it looks better than what I was trying to do. I put a strip of "side shine" LEDs around the edge of the tail light lens as a running light and the strip LEDs for brake lights. I bought a clear license plate cover to replace the diffuser panel, centered and mounted the two strips with 3M double stick tape, drilled holes to run the wiring and mounted the lens. In my opinion, it's not very impressive in the daylight. Hopefully it'll look better at night. The LEDs are fairly cheap, so going a different route isn't out of the question. -Josh
The running light is bright enough at night to be safe. The brake light just blurs in pictures, but it's very bright. -Josh
Well, after a 5 week hiatus, I'm back at it. I moved to Georgia, but left the wagon in Florida. I finally got my tail light back from lambert enterprises after almost a year. I made my own LED backing plates, and finished the set. I'll bring the wagon to Georgia so I can resume my progress. -Josh
Wow I just saw this thread I LOVE WHAT YOU ARE DOING to the wagon your idea to make your own LED setup I did the same on my Impala and also on my 67 Skylark! I am in the process of acquiring another wagon and I will be posting up my mods as well! Great job on the wagon!!!
Thank you, Drake. I look forward to seeing your build thread whenever you acquire a wagon of your own. - Josh
