There should be a twelve step program for this.. I have a problem.

[71ChargerRT]

Today I learned that a slant six will run and drive at.. Ready for this?

FORTY EIGHT DEGREES INTIAL TIMING.

I put ten miles on it or so since I've had it, and thought the engine was on its last legs.. Smoke coming out of the breather, ran like shit. Put it to TDC because I didn't believe the timing light, sure enough.. Distributor clocked in several teeth off. Retimed everything, put it all back together and it does peg leg burnouts on wet pavement and even spins a tire on the one-two shift. On wet pavement.. Let's bring it back down to earth here. This little 225 runs like a raped ape (for a 225, again.. reality). Now I guess I have to get it registered or something.

Between Doc talking up the slanty in his Valiant and this post I'm convinced I should keep the 225 in my Valiant, at least for now, and work on getting the other 400 back into my wagon.

Besides, I have a Challenger on the hook and if the cars I have now aren't running and driving my wife is going to be more than a little peeved at me. I'm sure the fender bender I just had in her van isn't helping either :toot:

On a side note, I may have a '98 Grand Cherokee for her, it's a 2WD, 4X's are harder to come by down here, it needs a cam and crank sensor, but it's lift-able and that's really all she wants.

 

[Not A Duster]

FORTY EIGHT DEGREES INTIAL TIMING.

Fella. I love that you are here.

More please. [smilie=::

 

[69.5CUDA]

ifn i hadnt swapped my 58 ford over to granada discs up front id have to try out your drilled drums....but that car was down right TERIFYING at any speed ....take valiant drums..make em taller but SKINIER and stick em on a land yacht ......i adore the drums on my 67 fish big small bolts up front the BIG 11's out back...even on the 1/4 mile its not even the slightest bit spooky

 

[Dr.Jass]

Today I learned that a slant six will run and drive at.. Ready for this?

FORTY EIGHT DEGREES INTIAL TIMING.

:dance:

If you dig back far enough, I posted years ago about my '81 LeBaron in as-purchased condition, also a Slant Six. It had over 300,000 miles on it, and the guy had written "Timing 38°BTDC " in paint marker under the hood. It was actually snappy off the line, but I never really got on it since I was driving it illegally. I went to pass one day and it sounded like someone dropping 5lbs of steel shot into a coffee can.

I'd just figured the dude had been reading magazines and set it to 38° total. Checked it with the timing light, and sure enough, it was at 38° initial. The only reason I can figure it didn't run as badly as yours was that it was a lower-compression, hydraulic-lifter engine in the first place, with over 1/4 million miles on it and I'm sure a very tired oil pump. There probably wasn't much happening as far as getting mixture to the chambers to create pressure, combined with a whole bunch of naturally-occurring EGR. :doh:

It didn't smoke, though. It ran like a Swiss timepiece.

 

[TheIronSausage]

Huh, just realized reading all of the responses that I misspelled "initial". Worse yet, I did it in all caps.. I take pride in not doing either of these things..

What's weird is that I know the starting sounds of a motor with way too much timing. After a couple of cranks, it bogs down on each revolution of the starter. Like starting a manual with a half dead battery and putting your foot on the clutch.. I got the car with "fresh" plugs, cap, rotor, and wires. The P.O. said he hadn't changed the points, I put new ones in and gapped them. As soon as I did, it started making that noise and I either ignored it or dismissed it.. The car had no hose to the advance to the distributor when I got it, both ports were open. I put one on, and it made little difference at idle of course, but what had to be 70 plus degrees of total timing at speed sounded like holy hell, and left a smokescreen that engulfed four lanes. Looking back on it, he probably installed the dizzy wrong, and the dwell was perfectly terrible to boot. And he just did anything he could to improve the problem besides starting over.

On on a lower note, the exhaust I got for free off of a 106" wheelbase car (the dart's a 110") was apparently installed by some rube (me) that spliced in too short of a section of pipe to make up for the difference.. So this happened.

Worse yet, before I could stop, it all went under the rear wheel.. It separated at the down pipe. I'll have to round part of the pipe back out, and weld the cracks back together. Oh well, I'd rather push my junk (or have it deafen puppies and children) than drive a Camry.

 

[TheIronSausage]

69, are you saying that you have 10" drums up front, and 11" in the back, and you don't lock those things up by looking at the brake pedal? I had 9" in the front, and 10" in the back of the Valiant during the loooong period of time I was swapping suspensions. That tail wagged the dog anytime I got near the brakes.

 

[TheIronSausage]

Besides, I have a Challenger on the hook and if the cars I have now aren't running and driving my wife is going to be more than a little peeved at me.

This. This right here is the secret to marital... Umm, not bliss.. Not happiness.. There should be a one word answer here that means "Stockholm Syndrome".. I keep all of my cars driving. Because no matter how broken they are, as soon as I park one in the back yard for a broken water pump, that's the start of the end. It'll sit there for months, because I'm busy. Busy at work, busy on customers' cars, busy drinking beer, and wishing I had a solid pot connection instead.. Whatever. It'll sit there. Gotta keep 'em moving. Especially because once they sit, more shit goes wrong with them.. The brakes go south, they rust, the fucking squirrels get in them.. I got tree rats like they're the only species that made it on the ark.

I did do something smart though.. I bought the Valiant for the wife. She likes it, which means she wants it to be nice. So she understands when it needs work. That then extends to the other rolling monuments of turd that I pass off as daily transportation. Add that to the secondary income of polishing other people's turds, and all she has a valid right to complain about anymore are my looks, flatulence, and personality. Win Win!

 

[Not A Duster]

Mmmm - I'm fortunate in that I married a farm girl. And that she had 3 older brothers, two of which were into various forms of automotive mayhem through the '70s and '80s. Now they took after their Dad and were Ford guys, so she grew up with her brother's '70 Torino GT 'vert, early '70s Ranchero, '68 Cougar, a Mach1 Mustang, various trucks and Broncos, and the early '50s Victorias her oldest brother still messes with to this day. Despite this all being blue oval stuff, the benefit of all this was that she knew what all those cars were, and what made them special, so when scrawny little me showed up in her life driving my '55 Chevvy truck it wasn't just a "stupid old truck" to her. And even tho my '71 Demon was seldom running due to repeated parts breakage, she never once suggested I should get rid of the thing. (That was a decision I would make all by myself....) :doh:

So in recent years, when I had the carcass of a Dart laying on it's floorpan in our driveway for over a year and junk belonging to me and friends rotting away in the back yard...... not a peep. Matter of fact - any neighbors who might have complained to her about it likely got an earful. Any of you who have actually met her, know how true - and likely - this is.

Fact is, I married the greatest, most special creature ever to walk the planet. Something for which I am eternally grateful. (Well that and the fact that she hasn't smothered me in my sleep with my own pillow.......)

 

[restoman]

Fact is, I married the greatest, most special creature ever to walk the planet. Something for which I am eternally grateful. (Well that and the fact that she hasn't smothered me in my sleep with my own pillow.......)

... And there he is - the real Nodda.
My own dear wife makes the pillow threat on a continual basis. I've trained myself to sleep with one eye open...

Mrs. resto is very much the same - a friggin' saint when it comes to not bitching about the junk I used to drive or have in the driveway/yard/shop ... Early on she decided for some reason to hang out with me and that meant sharing my time under the hood or deep in the panel replacement process or drifting thru the bondo-dust cloud of another Galaxy or Satellite debris.
She's far better than most bodymen when it comes to noticing panel gaps, or orange peel or off colours.
She still tells the story of when we finished her Beetle and shortly thereafter the alternator quit. I didn't have time to do it (that's my story) so I told her where the tools were and how to do it.
Goddammit if she didn't. Anyone who has ever worked on a Bug knows it isn't a fun job (that's why I was busy). I hear about it now and then and she loves telling the story to her girly-girl friends.
Truthfully, she's like that with everything - reno work, construction, yard work, etc. If it has to be done, she's all over it, no questions asked.
I ​married the greatest woman on the planet.

 

[69.5CUDA]

you got lucky like i did...apon seeing pics..my wife claimed no less than 3 (69 a-108, 75 celica, 58 alfa sprint basket case)but probably 4-5 of my toys..and when axing my 69 FB she promptly clamed the 400ex quad as well..being shes had nothing but old cars she loves em she knows enuf about cars to keep herself out of trouble but understands the sentimental value..and being an ex ice racer..icing on the cake....she even helped build the car shelf to stack 10


as for the brakes yeah 10(i thought the smalls were 8 and the bigs 9?) and 11x3? whatever the wide big mofos were..its been ages since i had to adjust em and been that way since the 90s on a STOCK prop valve and stock master

 

[Not A Duster]

... And there he is - the real Nodda.

I dunno. I think the statement you quoted comes from the same part of the nodda brain as my objection to certain things that were being said elsewhere do.

And that's all I'm going to say about it in this thread. Because this thread is fun. And I wanna keep it that way...

One thing I should clarify about wifey and olde cars tho: No way in hell would she accept a vintage auto being maintained by yours truly as a daily driver. Ever.

There are a few reasons for that:

* When I was on the road, I was gone sometimes months at a time. She needed something reliable, and preferably under warranty, because there was no way she could rely on me to keep old stuff running.

* Screwing around with old cars is a hobby for me. Not something I want to be faced with having to take care of after a 17 - 18 hour day.

* I'm not really good enough at diagnosing and fixing stuff. Especially newer-ish stuff. She would have had to go without her car sometimes for days while I figure out the problem and fix it.

* These days, between age, the head injury, and the crushed disc in my back she doesn't even ask me to do oil changes anymore.

She did, however help me tear down the Demon and re-assemble it in our garage. And being that when we did stuff around the house was the only time we had to spend together, she's always been eager to help with that stuff too.

 

[68R/T]

She did, however help me tear down the Demon and re-assemble it in our garage. And being that when we did stuff around the house was the only time we had to spend together, she's always been eager to help with that stuff too.

And THAT, my children, is the trick to a happy union. :clap:

 

[Jester]

Slants are my favourite. The 225 in my Swinger sits for months at a time and starts without issue on the 2nd crank. Pretty sure the first crank just brings fuel to the carb.

Sounds like you guys have some awesome wives. My fiance does all the traditional female chores, while I get the repair jobs, vehicle maintenance and a tiny bit of time to enjoy the car hobby. She likes it this way. My magical rice krispie squares keep her happy.

 

[69.5CUDA]

And THAT, my children, is the trick to a happy union. :clap:

indeed..me and my wife havnt been apart more than a couple hours at a time in a year..and were very happy about that....its actualy hard on both of us to be apart..with the exception of her trip to see family for xmas..after the first day she was dieng to get home to me..and it was the worst on both of us

 

[Not A Duster]

I've only ever owned two slanty sixes. Both in trucks. One was an automatic and the other twee onna tree.

I think it would be very cool to have a '71 Dart with a 225 six. Period correct down to the bubble wrap style clear plastic seat covers.

 

[69.5CUDA]

the slanty i had in the 68 fish was lively but id tuned it long before taking ownership..and the 4spd od helped it considerably......i further cammed it and 4brl'd it and it was fun ..the poly suspension , console shift, manual big drums..it was a fun car...but the 273 was entirely more fun stone stock

 

[TheIronSausage]

Okay, so I was gifted a manual steering box for an A body.. I'll likely put in the Dart when the v8 goes in, provided I won't rip it out of the car trying to turn under the weight.

It it was totally seized up, so I pulled the cross shaft cover off and found the oil was contaminated by water.. I took a MAP torch to it and boiled out all the schmoo. Then it went into the parts washer for a thorough flushing. It's all clean in there now, and moving super freely. The mechanism isn't rusty, but the ball bearings are making noise. I've never had one out of the car, let alone a manual box in any of my Mopars. Is this thing pooched? I could rebuild it, but don't have the gland nut wrench, or the special press. I could make those tools, but I could also do forty thousand other things. Nor do I have the hardware to put back in it. Should I save up for a known good unit?

 

[Not A Duster]

Those things are worth their weight in gold around here. You could probably sell it "as is" for decent coin if you don't want to jump through the hoops to rebuild it.

I know that Mopar Performance used to have a rebuild kit for them.... not sure if such a thing exists anymore.

 

[Dr.Jass]

I think it looks pretty decent inside, actually. Make the wrench, because once you do you've also got a side-bearing adjuster for an 8.75" center section. I got lucky about 15 years back and got an OE Miller tool off eBay ridiculously cheap. I've never even used it on a manual box yet but I've adjusted countless axle dropouts with it.

Take it apart further if you can, and flush out the bearings as good as possible. Removing the worm/ball nut assembly would really help access the shaft bearings, hence my suggestion to make the wrench. On the worm/ball nut assembly you'll want to keep working the worm shaft back and forth while rinsing through the worm shaft's grooves. If you can get the crud out of the ball bearings, I'd say run it. The bearings aren't something that will fail catastrophically without warning, and let's be honest: they're not pinion or turbocharger bearings. They live a pretty easy life in terms of rotational speed.

Don't forget: you need a longer column for manual steering. You can make a manual column into a power one pretty easily, but I'm pretty sure you can't do the opposite. Adapter extensions are available,but they're expensive. If appearance isn't a huge factor, you could always cut, sleeve, and re-weld the column shaft to the appropriate length necessary. Ugly but effective (and what will likely be done on my Imperial).

 

[Not A Duster]

Adapter extensions are available,but they're expensive.

I believe the firm feel adapter is copied from a factory piece that came in early '70's B vans with manual steering. Maybe a little research and boneyard searching makes this cheaper and easier?

...Can't remember where I read this, but..... :huh: