1974 Plymouth Valiant Scamp - Restoration is a strong word
Saturday, I dropped the trans pan so I could change the gasket, which I suspected was the source of my leak. After catching most of the fluid in my drain pan, and spending an hour with a wire brush cleaning the pan, bolts and trans surface, I put it all back together with a new filter. I decided to go for a short drive around the neighborhood, and before leaving, I checked under the car, no trans fluid!
I stayed close to home, but figured putting some more miles on before my Friday DOT inspection was a good idea. About a half mile out, I passed a '67 Mustang with its hood up and flashers on. There was a truck there too, and it looked like he was getting whatever help he needed, so I carried on. But on my way back, the car was still there and the truck was gone, so I stopped to see if he needed tools or anything else I might be able to grab from home. The car would run for a short time, then die out. He suspected his ignition system. I ran home, grabbed some tools, came back and popped the distributor cap to find a Pertronix module inside. Not a whole lot either of us could do with that if the module, or the coil was going, so he was going to try to limp it home. I got a chuckle thinking to myself I was on a shakedown run with my car that hasn't been on the road in well over a decade and my car became his rescue vehicle.
After a short break, I went back to the garage to find a massive puddle of trans fluid under the car. The new gasket split. Great. Luckily, I had a second one available. I had ordered it first, then the next day I decided I should just get a kit at Autozone and change the filter too. The Autozone gasket split. It seemed a little dry when I installed. Anyway, I dropped the pan again, cleaned everything again, and put the new gasket on, this time staying under the torque spec of 150 inch pounds.
I also bought new lug nuts. Twice, since I didn't realize at first that my 5x4.5 wheels on the rear use 1/2"-20 lug nuts, and my 5x4 wheels on the front use 7/16"-20.
Sunday, I tore open the box to the new-to-me stock sway bar I bought from a member on this forum. I crawled underneath and scraped and brushed dirt and grime for 30 minutes before figuring out the orientation of the brackets and bar and got them installed. My LCA's do not have the sway bar tab from the factory, so I'll be working that out soon. I took the end links out for now and wired the sway bar up so it can't drag down while I sort out completing the install.
Saturday, I dropped the trans pan so I could change the gasket, which I suspected was the source of my leak. After catching most of the fluid in my drain pan, and spending an hour with a wire brush cleaning the pan, bolts and trans surface, I put it all back together with a new filter. I decided to go for a short drive around the neighborhood, and before leaving, I checked under the car, no trans fluid!
I stayed close to home, but figured putting some more miles on before my Friday DOT inspection was a good idea. About a half mile out, I passed a '67 Mustang with its hood up and flashers on. There was a truck there too, and it looked like he was getting whatever help he needed, so I carried on. But on my way back, the car was still there and the truck was gone, so I stopped to see if he needed tools or anything else I might be able to grab from home. The car would run for a short time, then die out. He suspected his ignition system. I ran home, grabbed some tools, came back and popped the distributor cap to find a Pertronix module inside. Not a whole lot either of us could do with that if the module, or the coil was going, so he was going to try to limp it home. I got a chuckle thinking to myself I was on a shakedown run with my car that hasn't been on the road in well over a decade and my car became his rescue vehicle.
After a short break, I went back to the garage to find a massive puddle of trans fluid under the car. The new gasket split. Great. Luckily, I had a second one available. I had ordered it first, then the next day I decided I should just get a kit at Autozone and change the filter too. The Autozone gasket split. It seemed a little dry when I installed. Anyway, I dropped the pan again, cleaned everything again, and put the new gasket on, this time staying under the torque spec of 150 inch pounds.
I also bought new lug nuts. Twice, since I didn't realize at first that my 5x4.5 wheels on the rear use 1/2"-20 lug nuts, and my 5x4 wheels on the front use 7/16"-20.
Sunday, I tore open the box to the new-to-me stock sway bar I bought from a member on this forum. I crawled underneath and scraped and brushed dirt and grime for 30 minutes before figuring out the orientation of the brackets and bar and got them installed. My LCA's do not have the sway bar tab from the factory, so I'll be working that out soon. I took the end links out for now and wired the sway bar up so it can't drag down while I sort out completing the install.