41 Plymouth Hot Rod Build

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Little off topic, but is there a forum dedicated to Mopar hot rods in particular or what is the best general hot rod forum????
 
As soon as I get the color matched welting, I will finish up and post pics. I'm still fighting an oil leak that I want to resolve first.
 
Rock Able said:
As soon as I get the color matched welting, I will finish up and post pics. I'm still fighting an oil leak that I want to resolve first.
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I thought you took care of the oil leak? Is it back again?
 
dartfreak75 said:
I thought you took care of the oil leak? Is it back again?
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I put a one piece gasjet on it and its leaking between the snout of the timing cover and the seal. I think I'm going to have to loosen the water pump and timing cover and try to pull it down. Will I get water leaks if I dont remove and reseal those bolts?
 
Rock Able said:
I put a one piece gasjet on it and its leaking between the snout of the timing cover and the seal. I think I'm going to have to loosen the water pump and timing cover and try to pull it down. Will I get water leaks if I dont remove and reseal those bolts?
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If you're leaking oil from around the harmonic balancer seal then yes you need to loosen that cover up and Center it to the harmonic balancer. But you don't want to loosen the cover up and just shove it down because then you're going to have problems with your harmonic balancer seal.
 
barbee6043 said:
Little off topic, but is there a forum dedicated to Mopar hot rods in particular or what is the best general hot rod forum????
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If you're building it this is a good place. Mopar General would work as well.
 
Jadaharabi said:
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Is what common?
For the crankshaft harmonic balancer seal to leak, it happens.
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Rock Able said:
I put a one piece gasjet on it and its leaking between the snout of the timing cover and the seal. I think I'm going to have to loosen the water pump and timing cover and try to pull it down. Will I get water leaks if I dont remove and reseal those bolts?
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Was the balancer grooved where the seal rides? There are "Speedy Sleeve" repair sleeves for them. Here's a Fel Pro #16201 for a small block Mopar.
Fel-Pro-Harmonic-Balancer-Repair-Sleeve-Chevy-1955-94-Small.jpg
 
I built this engine about 2 years ago, so all I know is I did not use worn parts. It is not leaking at the balancer seal, it is leaking between the lower part of the timing chain cover and the from pan seal. That tells me there is not enough compression on that seal and the only way to get a few more thou is to loosen the cover and the water pump and see if will move slightly. Is it common to have a problem with compression of the seal here and if I do loosen it and let it pull down slightly, do people commonly have problems with the balancer seal leaking? I dont know what else to do.
 
Are you sure that's what's leaking?

It's not leaking up above that at the corners and leaking down around the seal to the lowest point and then dripping like it's leaking from that portion is it?
 
The balancer seal can leak if the balancer is grooved excessively or the timing cover was tightened down without the balancer in place to locate the cover. I would clean the pan seal and cover up and put a bead of black silicone on it. Install the cover correctly and let it set overnight before starting the engine.
 
I am not removing the pan again. It is a major operation. In this car.i may not have put the balancer in place before tightening the timing,cover. There are no grooves, it is a new balancer. I don't see that I have anything to,loose by loosening 8 bolts and seeing if the cover will move,into place. Btw, the bottom of the timing cover is flush with the block as best I can tell by eyeballing it and feeling it with my,finger. Thanks.
 
I guess I need to drain the coolant again and reseal those front bolts or I will be doing that later. Right?
 
Yes it would be best to drain the coolant. You might be lucky and be able to loosen, adjust, and retighten without creating a permanent coolant leak but you are taking your chances.
 
Done. Had to remove the AC compressor, alternator, electric fan and water pump to loosen timing chain cover. There is one bolt behind the water pump inlet that you cannot get a wrench on. It's probably for the best, anyway. Tapped it on the top with a rubber mallet a couple of times and torqued it back up. Reinstalled water pump and will let it set up overnight and try it again tomorrow. If it doesnt work, I may strike a match to it.
 
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Mopar built good engines but there's quite a few places for them to leak.
 
I believe I have learned every quirk and lesson for small block Mopars the hard way. I shouldn't forget them.
 
Rock Able said:
As soon as I get the color matched welting...
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Is your welting truly "color matched" or just as close as you can find?
I'd like to find some welting to use between the hood and scoop of my soon-to-be Viper Red painted Dart.
What's your welting source - if you don't mind sharing?
Thanks!
 
ocdart said:
Is your welting truly "color matched" or just as close as you can find?
I'd like to find some welting to use between the hood and scoop of my soon-to-be Viper Red painted Dart.
What's your welting source - if you don't mind sharing?
Thanks!
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My painter is "dyeing" the maroon welting I bought from Juliano's with the same pearl color that is on the car. He puts flex agent and stuff in it to make it work and it does. You can bend it, twist it, and it stays on it.
 
Rock Able said:
I hope this is ok here. I was encouraged by some guys in the small block forum to post here.

I grew up in a Mopar family. My Uncle Brad was the Chrysler Plymouth dealer in my hometown and my mom kept books for him. I spent a lot of time at the dealership when I was growing up. So, even though I haven't owned a Mopar for a while, I do have a soft spot for them.

About 8 years ago, I found this car and bought it because it was fairly solid and very complete. I did a frame off restoration/hot rod build and changed directions a couple of times but from the start it was to be an all Mopar build. I have done all the sheet metal work (including the custom firewall), mechanical work, assembly, wiring, etc. The only think I farmed out was paint and finish body work and, soon to be, interior.

The car now has a Fat Man Mustang II style front suspension, an 87 Dakota Rear, AX15 5 speed and a mildly modified 360 LA engine, complete with Mopar style alternator. It also has air conditioning and bluetooth stereo. I used an original 41 steering wheel, fitted AutoMeter gauges into the original instrument housing, put a motorized cowl vent in to allow space for the air conditioning and a custom paint scheme to tone down the ornate dash.

The car also has a 40 DeSoto front bumper with custom filler panels which blends better with the Plymouth front end. The original headlight housings will be installed and from the outside, it will appear mostly stock. The wheels will be painted body color when I'm done.

I should get the fenders and hood on it this week and get it off to the upholsterers as soon as he is ready. Hopefully, I have my engine oil leak fixed. I haven't completed tuning but it pulls hard and moves this car impressively. It should be a blast to drive when I'm done and I won't see many like it anywhere else!
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OH...... ,THAT'S SWEET!!!!!
 
very nice car. not my style but if i had it i would drive it everywhere. i can see the work put in so far. i love that you kept the steering wheel. modern ones look out of place to me just like those 20 inch+ rims on any classic.
 
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