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    Yellow Optima battery question

    I've seen more than one optima burst into flames if it's given too much current. Jump starting them can often deliver excess current as the alternator maxes out once it's fired off. Might not happen at idle in a classic car, but once you give it some revs it might get dicey. Trickle charging to...
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    The “Ugly Torquer” intake

    Looks like it was stored next to the half-opened pool chemicals in a leaky shed next to a PG&E plant. Yikes.
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    Anyone know about International Scouts???

    There's probably few better vehicles to learn to drive stick with. Hard to blow up, durable parts, not enough power to hurt much LOL. The price won't matter much in a few months if it makes the wife happy.
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    Anyone know about International Scouts???

    Probably why they're still for sale, lol. Plenty of folks ask huge money for all kinds of cars, but actual sale price is another thing. It can be tough to find scouts, so it might be worth paying more just to avoid a protracted deal. That said, my scout buddy sold his with custom axles, a...
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    Anyone know about International Scouts???

    For 18k how many haven't been driven for years? Scouts have kind of blown up in recent years so values tend to be high now, but it's all relative. Online auctions have other fees and so the prices aren't perfectly relevant to a private sale. If you see some rust, there's lots more. Most years...
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    Shuebeck lifters?

    DLC is a diamond like coating. Most coatings are only .0002" or so thick. It's only as good as the material underneath. DLC on soft steel is like an m&m - hard on the outside, crap in the middle. DLC is good insurance on hardened steel but isn't a cure all unfortunately.
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    The mystery of the missing oil?

    I've had more than one car that would do just that, no tooth fairy involved. It would spill when turning left/right. No smoke, no drips, but half a quart each way to town (20 miles or so). Only found it when I got under it and saw a wet spot and trail under the car from after it would gush and...
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    I THINK I KILLED THE 340

    I'm running MLS gaskets on a used block with new heads and no issues. I don't know how they spec the bores though. Mine was advertised much smaller than the actual bore of the Gasket measured, so if that's a critical thing for you I'd call the Mfg for specs. If I had to guess, they spec the...
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    I THINK I KILLED THE 340

    Yup. You're only talking .075-.080 gaskets to hit your target, nothing crazy.
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    Have you ever had an engine you couldn't blow up ?

    In high school I had for a limited time a $250 brown on beige 82 or 83 sentra station wagon. It couldn't do 65, wouldn't climb any appreciable hill over 45. If you rolled the windows down more than 1/4 of the way it would slow down. But we couldn't kill it. I blew apart 2 different exhaust...
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    Poll: Do traction bars help out Mopar leaf springs or not

    That's good, when I happened to be looking nothing was in stock or was $150+. I paid well under $300 for my Assassin bars at the time and they were in stock (just looked at the price now, $395, ouch) . If I could have gotten slappers for under $100 I would have gone that route! $57 vs $400 is a...
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    Poll: Do traction bars help out Mopar leaf springs or not

    New 230 lb springs, 3.91 gears, spool, 1" inboard hangers, stock length shackles, stock ride height, New bushings (tried poly and rubber, kept the poly), new Viking shocks, fair tires (cooper 265x50x15) and I had wheel hop like a mother from the day I installed my stroker and 4spd. Would shake...
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    Adding Bronze Bushings to Ductile Iron Rockers

    40ksi is a min, but it can be specified as high as 90ksi. No clue what grade Chrysler used though.
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    who does rechroming

    There's a few of these replichrome systems out and they're basically silver plating systems. Looks good, not durable and will tarnish like silver if not clear coated, but clearing it also takes a bunch of the shine off.
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    Help with a new to me 408

    Those spring peices look like the retaining clips from several lifters? The cone could be a prod tip or a plunger from a lifter maybe? Makes me wonder if the flexible bits aren't check valves and discs from a lifter too. I'd be pulling that intake for a much closer look. Wouldn't hurt to go...
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    The man wants MORE caster. How about this idea?

    Wouldn't the ball joint have to be relocated, not just the angle changed? With the proper fixtures though, your proposed process would be relatively easy and have minimal knock-on effects. Fewer risks too since the integrity of the arms is retained.
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    The man wants MORE caster. How about this idea?

    Best way to do it is to just do it. Put a doubler plate over the joint and make some half decent welds and it'll be fine. The stamped arms aren't exactly some exotic high strength tempered steel or anything. If you're really worried about the welds, get a gas torch and reheat them after welding...
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    Manifold Vacuum Experiment

    I'm running a gm points style "billet" dist in an FE motor. Looks like they offer a point style can, but it's listed as a replacement part for what I have which only adds 5-7 Deg according to the manual. Set full tight I seek to remember getting 10 and the all in wasn't quite low enough to get...
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    Manifold Vacuum Experiment

    Anyone got any good sources for low vac canisters that add ~20deg or so? I bought an accel one because the manual showed a graph with a low all-in vacuum, but when I tested it with a hand pump, the all in is like 16" and I'm looking for 7-10". The low vac corvette one everyone used to use on...
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    Is this good or bad?

    I bought the cheap conversion kit and had to run around and spend more money on ball joint sleeves (different ball joint stud size) and also find hardware to bolt the lower ball joint on. Anything I "saved" by going with the cheapest was wiped out by those purchases. If I had to do it over...
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    45 bucks for wiper blades?

    I was working in auto parts still when they took the refills out of our stores. They were the #1 most returned item by a long long way. People would try to guess and not match them to the car. Then, the wiper assemblies take up a ton of room compared to their value and no one, and I mean NO ONE...
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    Popping and stuttering after Efi install and rebuid

    I had a minor exhaust leak and it did cause exactly what you're experiencing. Fitech efi with timing control. Also, a bad o2 sensor can do it. I've had them go bad over that winter. They can be bad and still read too, but they get slow and confuse the ecu.
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    Lumber question for those in the building trades

    Shrinkage and regionality. East coast lumber tended to be even skimpier because it often needed to be transported farther. With today's more connected markets and out if touch retailers and customers (here's looking st you, tiktok and pinterest), stuff intended for the east coast might get sold...
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    Making power out of the 318

    I would avoid replacing the rings. It would be good to check a few main bearing but if they're good then leave them. A mistake while doing an at home hone, especially if you're inexperienced, and you're right back to needing machine shop services and possibly pistons. Magnums were efi and rarely...
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    Making power out of the 318

    It would be wise to build the 318, if it was a complete running motor but it's a basket case that is missing parts and will likely need some machine work. Since it's likely to be cheaper for him to buy a known OK motor than even assemble what he's got, it just makes sense. The kid is still...
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    Making power out of the 318

    Go check them out, you'll figure it out. I yanked my first engine in a junkyard with nothing but hand tools and a wheel barrow when I was your age. It sucked, took all day, but I learned a ton. They often have lifts and stuff available to rent, and you may find some folks hanging out who will...
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    Making power out of the 318

    Exactly! I posted 2 in the So Cal area under $600 ea - complete engines WITH accessories. Both look like 5.2L. Patience and scrounging may uncover a 5.9L. There's no way to even hone and get pistons into that 318 block and assemble it for $600 (rod/main bearings, cam bearings, oil pump, cam...
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    Making power out of the 318

    Some places like pick a part won't take a car w/o an engine/trans, but some places will - call around first to know your options. Recyclers will take scrap metal though. Sometimes they'll pay you for it, sometimes not - just depends. Best to call around and have options. When I was in college...
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    Making power out of the 318

    Get creative. I've bought cars, pulled them onto a rented/borrowed trailer and then stripped the engine/trans/driveline into the bed of my truck before hitting the metal recycler to dispose of the carcass all in one day. Some places want a car cut into peices first - couple buddies with sawzalls...
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    Making power out of the 318

    What you're saying is: you're starting from scratch. A set of stock replacement pistons is $250-300. Hoping for a re-hone to get the job done is wishful thinking IMO. The cost difference between "just a hone" and "bore and hone" is about the same as a set of pistons. The alternative is to get...
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