terrapin

Just picked up a mint condition 74 Delta 88 Coupe. The car is in great shape overall with only 34k on it

I look forward to learning more about these cars and enjoying weekend cruises etc.

How difficult is it to get replace the drivers side exhaust manifold? I have a slight exhaust leak

jaunty75

Cool car. Please post photos.

You'll find that engine and drivetrain parts should be pretty easy to find for your car, but body and trim parts not at all. Nothing like that is reproduced for the large cars, so anything you might need would have to come from donor cars.

But, with only 34,000 miles, yours sounds like it likely wouldn't need much, anyway.

zippy

hey now... goin down the road feelin bad?
Your exhaust leak may only be the gasket. Sometimes removing the mainfold completeley can get tricky with old rusty bolts. I suggest start with a penetrating spray on the bolts and let it sit. If u are lucky, they will break free easily. Usually on original engines there are tabs that hold the bolts from turning, they will have to be bent back to let the bolt spin/get socket on it. You might not even have to take it off the exhaust pipe side, just let it fall back enough to get clearance to remove the old one and to slide the new gasket in. (use a sheetrock putty knife). ideally completely remove and clean both mating surfaces... Now if you have a cracked exhaust manifold and thats your leak, start looking for a replacement manifold. Enough 455's are getting rebuilt for A bodies, someone has that manifild in the "nobody wants this" pile and shouldnt bee too much $.
OR... the doughnut thing that seals the maifold to the exhaust pipe is comprimised...
but typically just a little blown out chunk of gasket between bolt holes is the culprit. tic-tic-tic. not too hard of a job either way.
Love the old deltas!!!

terrapin

Overall the car is in fantastic shape body and mechanical. 100% stock and has never even had the carb off the engine. I am in the process of getting historic plates here in NJ, but will get some photos up once I have her on the road hopefully next week.

The only cosmetic issue is that the plastic trim on the rear quarter windows is shot. The car was also repainted in 2006 due to flaking on the original paint.

The exhaust leak is annoying, but watching my wife accidentally lay down a strip of rubber in the prior owners street was great. I believe the factory dual exhaust may also be original to the car as well

Allan R

Accidentally? I don't think so. I think she wanted to see what it had. Who wouldn't? Is the leak at the manifold or at the drop off? Could be just a loose connection there. Easy fix at a muffler shop.

Where the heck did you find a 74 with on 34K on it? Pics please and thank you.

terrapin

Here is one shot of the drivers side. Found the car locally on Craigslist

Allan R

OMG! I love it. One of buddy's at work had one exactly the same - even to the color - back in the day. It was sooo nice to drive and ride in.

BTW, you'll have to take off the factory caps on the carb to adjust anything with the mixture, but the timing is done by loosening the distributor and moving it to match the timing requirements set out on the engine decal under the hood. If it was my car, I would leave the EGR alone. It doesn't hurt the car and only functions when the car starts and runs at high idle, or when you pound it at hiway speeds.

Something you should check and replace on general principle is all the vacuum lines under the hood. After 38 years they are bound to be brittle and may cause slight vacuum leaks; which can affect the way the engine idles or runs at times.

terrapin

Thanks Allan,

The car runs ok with the carbs adjusted the way they are now. Some folks say adjust, others say leave stock and don't touch the air mixture. Do you think it is worthwhile to mess with the mixture? I plan to replace all the vac lines tomorrow afternoon as well

Ed

Allan R

If the car runs fine (starts well, idles well, performs well) I'd say leave it alone. The only thing I'd suggest changing or checking at this time would be spark plugs and spark plug wires. You obviously will look after the other small details like oil/filter/grease /belts/coolant flush/exhaust/brakes etc. Even if it's only got 34K, I'd look to see if sitting for a long time might have affected some of them?

I envy your great find. I don't mind saying again that is a fabulous car that just doesn't show up a lot nowadays. I saw one of those recently on the web with the factory wire wheel covers. It looked incredibly elegant, and sporty at the same time.

Rickman48

Great find - x2 on a exhaust shop, as it could be something real minor.