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Alright, needless to say as destructive as it was its a good thing it happened. Finally went out this morning to tear into the DS and noticed the shoes were the same size. Went ahead and pulled the PS off (as well as pulled something in my back due to the awkward positioning) and realized the shoes were put on incorrectly (A) and the hardware that went on did not match the hardware I just received and that matched the "how to" I was referencing (B). So had the wife come out and utilizer her higher attention to detail to put everything back together, only having to "modify" one spring for the shoe tensioner bar thing (kit did not come with springs and I lost one of them)
Car is back down on the ground with lug nuts torqued via torque wrench. I also stuck the wrench in the car and the next time I pull it out of the garage, I'll recheck them. Now, onto the rest of the list...after a heating pad..ha!
I did a lot of these brake jobs when these cars were near new. i am assuming that the photo of the very clean brake area is when you were done with the rebuild. looks good except we can't see if the spring is above the adjuster. The later photo i would guess to be from a different car. The rear shoe has been changed, it looks to be a used front of wheel shoe. The springs look like they have a lot of miles on them and were never crimped after being stretched on. Your comment about the shoes being the same is something you should fix.
Did some work last night with the throttle linkage, and when I got done I figured since I had a few minutes before dinner was ready I'd check to make sure the brakes weren't dragging. So I fired it up and went in and out of the garage a half dozen times. Brakes are good (at least better than they were when everything was wrong/broken) and the throttle seems a bit better as well. I will say though, the takeaway was just how easy it was to fire up and go in and out. Coupled with how it sounds (even with the terrible exhaust on it now) just kinda made me smile as I thought about the process it has been getting to this point. I am anxiously awaiting spring, and have a renewed push to get the laundry list of offseason things done so its ready to go by then.
Wasn't feeling great all weekend, yet somehow managed to talk the wife into taking it out for a drive. She hadn't even ridden in it yet, so it was kind of a big deal in the household.
Gonna try to get a few little things done over the next couple of weeks (like try to figure out why it's so dang high in the nose) while trying to figure out if I want to mess with the intake or just have a shop do it that can cut it if need be. (See engine thread [school me on the 400] for that debacle)
Took it out Saturday to run to the local sandwich shop for lunch. Got about a half a block from the house and noticed the steering wheel was loose. Not loose as in the steering had play, loose as in the wheel was able to be rocked back and forth away from the column. Once I got it home, I took it apart and tightened everything down..but now my horn button doesn't line back up.
Dodged a bullet there for sure, but I don't understand why I've had such an issue with loose bolts on this car.
I'm hoping probably at the end of the month I can get the car in for the bodywork, then maybe once it gets back it'll be warm enough to tackle the intake/gasket swap in hopes I find my vacuum issues.
Drove it in to work this morning and had a couple of breakthroughs...
First, the tachometer is indeed off. The amount it is off varies, but it was reading I was cruising at 4500 RPM which I know was not correct.
Second, I got desperate enough to try the defroster. Its not very powerful (though remember I'm used to new stuff) and only works on the passengers side, but that's the first time I'd messed with the climate controls.
I'm going to see if Pops can swing by and pick it up today, to take it in to the shop for a quote on body/paint repair.
Been a minute since I updated this one evidently...
Got to the point with the vacuum debacle that I decided to go ahead and pull the manifold in hopes the issue is its leaking underneath. As moving the car around to face the heater, I noticed it developed a transmission fluid leak coming from the transmission modulator. Now that the engine is back together (that was a process I don't want to do again) I'm going to time it, tune the new carburetor I picked up after finding out the Holley was leaking fuel, and then try to figure out why its leaking.
From there, its going off to the body shop in hopes it gets done in a reasonable time so that I can finish the rest of my offseason list.
Since the initial leak, then the overflowing out of the top of the dipstick, I have not had any leaks. I was going to go ahead and change the modulator out, but I think I'll probably just add trans fluid and monitor it. I don't want to blame it on the cold, but I hadn't had any issues prior to and none since.
Regarding the intake..its' gotta come off again. Either I just didn't get enough of the Ultra Black on there, or it got bumped during install..but either way theres a gap big enough to fit a quarter through. I was up in the air as to waiting until I could use my buddys shop (and his help) for it, or getting the bodywork done and on a whim called the guy that was going to do the bodywork. He is going to do both (intake and bodywork) starting next week and is estimating 2 weeks to get everything done. As long as that holds true, I'll have the exhaust done hopefully the following week and this saga will finally be pretty well finished. All that'll be left will be detail/minute things that can be done whenever.
I'm definitely looking forward to getting it out and enjoying it as much as possible.
Finally an update..I picked the car up this morning. I need to get a spring for the lower radiator hose still, in addition to an exhaust and final tune, but at least it's home.
At some point, the drums came apart again..so I'm not really sure what's going on with that. I was also reminded that the seals are terrible as when I picked it up he'd just got done spraying it off and the interior was soaked.
I'm hoping to change the oil and do a couple little things as I'll be needing to drive it to/from work this week, but maybe next week I can get the exhaust done and start working on finish work.
Been driving it as much as I can since picking it up Friday, making sure we've got the reliability down. Took it to work today and the only issue was some water coming from the overflow tube when I backed in the garage. It was nice seeing the thumbs up as I went by, and the people hollering compliments. A much welcome change for the car considering it'd been tucked away for the last 17 years.
Every drive is an adventure. I always have people giving thumbs up, honking, hollering, and even making offers to buy at stop lights. Enjoy it and show that you appreciate peoples enthusiasm towards you and your car!
Every drive is an adventure. I always have people giving thumbs up, honking, hollering, and even making offers to buy at stop lights. Enjoy it and show that you appreciate peoples enthusiasm towards you and your car!
Huh. I need to go for a cruise in your neighborhood, I think. Around here I'm just some old guy tooling around in his funny old convertible.
Alright, after a couple of more days going back and forth, I've had a few things pop up.
First, this sucker runs wicked hot. By the time I get home, I've got a pretty solid stream coming out of the overflow tube. I'm going to look into an overflow setup to contain that, however at what point do I lose too much coolant?
Second, it will need to go back in for another intake gasket replacement. I noticed Monday night while checking fluids that the cork gasket they put on the rails has pushed out. It is leaking a bit of coolant there as well, so I'm going to order a new set of gaskets and take it back in for them to fix it..and request they do not use the cork. I believe this issue is due to the fact that the block was decked, but the intake was not.
I'm curious once the exhaust is finally fixed, intake is sealed properly and so on...how this thing will run with a proper tune/new plugs/etc. I think I need to adjust the trans modulator (assuming with it being aftermarket its adjustable) as it doesnt seem to kick down, nor does it seem to have the torque it should.
All in all though, I'm pretty happy with where its at. I need to get it in the air and figure out which wheel(s) still sound like they've got things rattling around in them when I drive, still need to reroute the trans cooler lines as I'm not comfortable with where they are, and a few other things before detail..but thats what road tests are all about.
I think I need to adjust the trans modulator (assuming with it being aftermarket its adjustable) as it doesnt seem to kick down, nor does it seem to have the torque it should.
The TH400 uses an electric switch for the kickdown.
Just read through your thread. Quite a journey! You are to be commended for never losing the faith! Great work. I’m looking forward to getting mine back on the road too! You mentioned the engine runs wicked hot. How hot? How’s your radiator? Is it original? Might need it flushed or re-cored. Last thing you want after all your engine work is an overheating problem.
Just read through your thread. Quite a journey! You are to be commended for never losing the faith! Great work. I’m looking forward to getting mine back on the road too! You mentioned the engine runs wicked hot. How hot? How’s your radiator? Is it original? Might need it flushed or re-cored. Last thing you want after all your engine work is an overheating problem.
Jim
Thanks, not sure if its dedication or stupidity at times, ha!
Radiator was recored last year while waiting on the engine. I can't tell the temp, however I'm basing it solely on water coming out of the overflow. Not sure if there's any correlation, but the lower hose is collapsing under load. The spring came in the mail today, so I'll get it put in there hopefully this weekend. I also noticed I'm back to leaking transmission fluid (I did add half a quart Monday night) and I'm not sure where it's coming from..but again, that's why you road test.
I’d make sure you don’t have an obstruction in your radiator which can cause your lower hose to collapse from negative pressure. Also, make sure your radiator cap is working properly. A spring makes it more difficult to collapse which is a good thing but poor circulation can still lead to an overheating condition. Keep up the good work!
So, last night I got up underneath the car to address the transmission fluid leak. The pan bolts were all slightly loose, so I tightened them up and pulled the modulator out to make sure the Oring was seated as it should be..which it was to the best of my knowledge. I went to fire it up to move it so I could clean and put a clean piece of towel down to monitor for leaks, and I had one heck of a time trying to start it. It finally fired up and I was able to go in and out of the garage..albeit somewhat confused as to why it was running the way it was.
Fast forward to this morning, I went to fire it up and ran into the same problems as last night. Once I finally got it fired up, I ran to the gas station to fill it up, at which point I noticed the brakes seemed to be terrible at best. Once I got home I let it cool off and in the meantime did some digging on how to reset the choke. This is a new carb (Jet 32002) and I'm not certain anything is set where it should be, to be honest (and quite frankly their customer service kinda sucked). I reset everything where I gathered it should be (including Idle air screws as they were not set either) and it still was a royal PITA to start. I noticed that while it seemed like the choke was opening too quickly, if you tried to adjust it to close/open slower it would be more difficult to start/stay running.
When it finally fired up and stayed running, I pulled it out of the garage and hooked the vacuum gauge to it. The best I was able to obtain was 6hg of vacuum, so we're back to 'that' headache again. Now, my hope is that with the cork being blown out of the front, that my low vacuum is due solely to that.
I was hoping I could finally be done tuning on this thing, especially since I paid extra money to not have to touch anything with it, yet here I am. The only bright spot seemed to be not only the amount of comments at the gas station, but I did manage to get the rear view mirror changed (though the light still doesn't work) and the dash painted/touched up.
My list of "to-do's" is definitely short, but it sure would be nice if I could knock out the big stuff once and for all rather than the little "detail" stuff that takes more time to prep than to actually fix.
It was sent to the assembly shop with everything else as the initial plan was to have them rebuild it and tune it to the engine on the dyno. They didn't even touch it.
The short list of things left is just that..short. Exhaust, paint touch up/correction, detail in and out, adjust the front springs to seat them correctly, replace an AC line & recharge, and I believe that's it. Hopefully I get it back from the intake leak in the next day or two, as it's first show is slated for the 20th. That, and my goodness I'd love to get some miles on it.
Well done. The "before" and "after" definitely show a big improvement.
Thanks. I didn't realize how much it'd changed knowing how seemingly little I'd done to the exterior until putting the comparison picture together. Can't wait to actually see how it looks with the paint correction/detail being done.
Originally Posted by 08-141 K43727
Congrats on the journey Brian; it is a wonderful automobile! I hope you get help on the carb issues! Keep at it, you have come so far!!
Thanks. Hopefully its not too much longer and I can get back to turn the key and go. I've got ice cream trips to make!
Are you going to Nationals, since it is just down the road?... I bet they have ice cream!
Thats the plan, however I'm about a block and a half from our local DQ. I've said since this started I cannot wait to load up as a family and drive over to pick up ice cream and take it out to the local park and just watch the ducks. I realize how old that makes me sound, but sometimes its the simple things that hit the hardest.
Thats the plan, however I'm about a block and a half from our local DQ. I've said since this started I cannot wait to load up as a family and drive over to pick up ice cream and take it out to the local park and just watch the ducks. I realize how old that makes me sound, but sometimes its the simple things that hit the hardest.
Don't let the kids drip Fudge Ripple on that new carpet!
December 31st, 2022, 11:45 AM
