Glamour Shots.. '62 Valiant Wagon
6-26-24:
It has been a bit since I updated.
I have been driving the car and breaking in the rings etc. I have the 500 miles done and I have changed the oil. All looks good.
We went the the bike trail a week ago and We got there, rode bikes a bit, then when we got back to the car it would not start due to a discharged battery.
Luckily we parked in a paved lot and we got the wagon setup for a catch in gear start. Another helpful trail user stopped by to give us some more oomph.
We got the car fired and drove it home. I found that the negative diodes on the alternator that I detailed and rebuilt last winter wiggled loose, so I bought new ones, pressed them in and soldered them. Because I have essentially no current passing through the dashboard ammeter any more, it is difficult to tell when there are charging problems like this compared to a stock Mopar.
Then earlier this week I took the wagon to a local car show / retirement party for a friend at the local Stellantis dealer.
I had a engine clanging noise on the way home. It was the outer ring on the Harmonic balancer coming loose and it moved forward into the fan. fortunately there was no fan or radiator damage as i was only a mile or so form home when the clanging began.
It might not look all that different in these pictures, but the ring moved up about 1/4"!
I tried to press it back by hand a bit to drive it 4 more miles to the shop for replacement.
Next I wanted to experiment / try to solve the highway sustined speed overheating issue.
I had the radiator out already for the dampener replacement, so I put a wire in the bottom hose to try to prevent any possible or perceived lower hose collapsing.
I also fabbed' up a pair of proper front license plate mounting brackets based on the originals from my other '62 "Kansas car"
This (the blue wagon) to the best of my knowledge was sold as a PA car in 1962 so no front plate brackets were present. But there were screw holes.
Maybe the way I had the plate mounted before blocked enough of the bottom of the radiator's airflow at high speeds to cause my problem? We will find out.
Probably Not Ideal for Lower Rad airflow?
Front Plate Brackets Fabbed:
I seem to not have any pictures of the front License plate in it's new lower position, But I will get one soon.
Up next: reverting back to an oe style accelerator pedal and other fiddly bits.
6-26-24:
It has been a bit since I updated.
I have been driving the car and breaking in the rings etc. I have the 500 miles done and I have changed the oil. All looks good.
We went the the bike trail a week ago and We got there, rode bikes a bit, then when we got back to the car it would not start due to a discharged battery.
Luckily we parked in a paved lot and we got the wagon setup for a catch in gear start. Another helpful trail user stopped by to give us some more oomph.
We got the car fired and drove it home. I found that the negative diodes on the alternator that I detailed and rebuilt last winter wiggled loose, so I bought new ones, pressed them in and soldered them. Because I have essentially no current passing through the dashboard ammeter any more, it is difficult to tell when there are charging problems like this compared to a stock Mopar.
Then earlier this week I took the wagon to a local car show / retirement party for a friend at the local Stellantis dealer.
I had a engine clanging noise on the way home. It was the outer ring on the Harmonic balancer coming loose and it moved forward into the fan. fortunately there was no fan or radiator damage as i was only a mile or so form home when the clanging began.
It might not look all that different in these pictures, but the ring moved up about 1/4"!
I tried to press it back by hand a bit to drive it 4 more miles to the shop for replacement.
Next I wanted to experiment / try to solve the highway sustined speed overheating issue.
I had the radiator out already for the dampener replacement, so I put a wire in the bottom hose to try to prevent any possible or perceived lower hose collapsing.
I also fabbed' up a pair of proper front license plate mounting brackets based on the originals from my other '62 "Kansas car"
This (the blue wagon) to the best of my knowledge was sold as a PA car in 1962 so no front plate brackets were present. But there were screw holes.
Maybe the way I had the plate mounted before blocked enough of the bottom of the radiator's airflow at high speeds to cause my problem? We will find out.
Probably Not Ideal for Lower Rad airflow?
Front Plate Brackets Fabbed:
I seem to not have any pictures of the front License plate in it's new lower position, But I will get one soon.
Up next: reverting back to an oe style accelerator pedal and other fiddly bits.