Nominal

Quite a lot? I've sometimes had leaks mentioned but never a fail point.

Seems like a good idea to me!

Talking to some of my hot rod mates in Levin today, and the factory there that made dixbro brushes closed down last year, so it may be that they are re-labelled imports now. Scuse Herald link. https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11919651

Dislike Chrysler wiring diagrams btw. Hard to follow!

Yes, you shouldn't have the main feed between alt and batt going through your ignition switch. Had a squizz at a factory diagram and it looks similar to my ford system. Main charge cable goes through ammeter, with feed for lights, ignition, fused live, etc teed off between the alt and ammeter.

Have you got a wiring diagram for how it is currently wired - assuming it's mostly factory still? On mine the full current from the alternator to (or from) the battery goes through the ammeter (in and out of cabin) with the ignition switch feed teed off on the alternator side of the ammeter. The ammeter could be bypassed in this case by directly connecting the alternator feed to the battery. I think this is the situation you have - if the alternator output is connected directly to the battery then the ignition switch will only be handling current from anything connected to that, not full alternator current. What is still live in the dash with the ignition off, and how is it getting power?

Ignition timing correct? Fan looks right BTW.

How cheap?

Been MIG and TIG welding on a 10A plug for ever. Even some quite high currents. 20Amp breaker on the circuit.

Best look:

I'm pretty much where Cletus is. I find the mig easier in rust repair as it is easier to fill in gaps and deals better with less than perfect prep.

The rack mounts on the spare are pretty ugly too, so have some Whiteline ones on order from BNT. New correct boots are coming from Palmside. Cleaned up my special borgeson steering universal that connects the Nissan column to the Escort rack. Cleaned up one hub and spindle, need to take the other side apart, but it's cold out there. My father made the new hubs so I could get 5 stud Ford/Toyota pattern at both front and rear. Got the arms sandblasted at Steam and Sand in Porirua. Nice and clean for the NDT man.

Apparently sitting around for (mumble) years is bad for ball joint covers... My little press, and the local garages bigger one wouldn't shift these, so took them back to Graham Berry Race Cars where they were built. Came out OK with maybe 30 tons? They told me they are BJ55 Holden parts. I couldn't immediately recall what the calipers were from. Some forum stalking indicates Subaru Liberty. I'll need to go through these as at present they are wrecking yard take-offs from 10 years ago or so. The Escort rack supplied with the chassis (at rear) was invoiced as rebuilt. Probably was, but one boot had disentegrated and the other was ugly. The mounting bushes (some sort of blue plastic) had crumbled as well. The other one is a spare from Trademe that I hadn't even taken out of it's box for years. Looks to be usable but boots were also had it. Tack welding the rack end parts together should keep them in place. This is on the rebuilt rack.

You pump well.

It can sit at our place in Kapiti if you can find a driver to get it here.

without breaking. Loal.

So you now have 2 tractors?

shit... yes.

"Coffee"

Some of this stuff has been together so long it's crapped out. This lower ball joint has to come out. I'm not even sure what it's from - hopefully a Mk4 Cortina like the suspension upright. It's in the 12t press now but hasn't moved. I'll have to look up a bigger press. Had to do some research on where these calipers came from - apparently I got them off a Subaru Liberty (flaky memory) Have lined up the NDT man so need to get the suspension arms off and power coating removed.

I've got a factory service manual here if you need anything from that. My experience in getting computer alignment setups to work on the Mercury was a bit similar - clamps don't fit inside arches, can't roll it forwards and back enough, etc etc. The printer did work OK though. Bring back string/tape measure/spirit levels!

/better wagon stories

Yeah, why fix it now when you can break down in the middle of nowhere in the winter on the way to Hanmer.