With the engine running and the transmission adjusted it was time to drive the car!
The first step, of course, was to back it out of the workshop – for the first time in 3 years! And then back and fill several times to make sure things were working – engine, transmission, steering, brakes, suspension.
The results were a bit mixed. The engine was running rough, the brakes needed further bleeding and adjustment, and the ride height needed adjustment. The steering felt fine, and the front end was much tighter with all new parts.
After bleeding and adjusting the brakes I had a high, firm pedal – but no power boost. The brakes seem to be working, but require excessive pedal pressure. This is obviously not acceptable for any real driving. Need to check the vacuum to the power brake booster and see if there are any other problems.
I decided that it was running well enough to drive it around the block. I made it around the block, but the engine wasn’t running right.
Over the next few days I made a series of adjustments and several more trips around the block. It is better, but still not good. The frustrating thing is that the engine starts instantly when you turn the key, but is running rough. Need to do more tuning of both carburetor and ignition.
The front suspension needs work. I set the front ride height using the torsion bar adjusters. After driving around the block the front end had settled significantly and was now resting on the bump stops. I did several more cycles of adjust and drive, getting the adjustments better but still not where they need to be.
Hopefully this is just the torsion bars settling. If not, it could be the threads in the torsion bar adjuster stripping out. Hopefully this isn’t the case, as these adjusters are no longer available! I had cleaned and checked the threads when I had the front end apart and they seemed fine. More work is needed here.
It is a huge step forward to have the Imperial running and driving, but more work is needed before it is roadworthy.