68 valiant signet

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moparmat2000 said:
Whoops, I'm a little late. Looks like you got it covered.
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cable wise i would've gone that route if mine were seized. they moved ok so i ran oil through them overnight and they're really smooth now. once the explorer ends were welded onto the A body end nipples they fit great, that was a tip from here on fabo.
i think i'll go hydraulic for function and leave the cable setup in case i ever need an inspection here. it wouldn't matter if i'd left the car auto but i wanted that 3rd pedal so.....
neil.
 
oh, i ordered some h/d 2" velcro to day, a mate suggested it for the dash cap/skin. it's worth a try, if it doesn't work i'll use adhesive, if the adhesive didn't work it'd be a mess to clean off then use velcro anyway so i'll try the clean way first.
neil.
 
looks like my last post/s got lost like a lot on here recently.

so, 9/2/2021
the velcro arrived today. so i first cleaned inside the new cap/skin and the old cracked dash with brake cleaner, then stuck the 2" velcro along the top and bottom edges and the 3/4" along the leading edge. that last bit was a mistake as the extra thickness hasn't allowed it to go on as far so there's a 3/16" edge of the old dash showing on the front when you look through the screen. it looks fine inside but i will take it off and remove that narrow strip as i'm confident it'll go on just enough to fully cover the old part as it did when first offered up. the good thing is i 'can' take it back off as it's held with velcro
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all in all i'm very happy with it as it (for now) finishes the interior to a respectable standard for a driver.
neil.

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next 9/4/2021
ashley called me this afternoon to ask if i'd started to swap out the shifter in his zephyr. daz' cruise night is tonight he says and do i want to take the valiant and he'll take the zephyr. hell yeah! it's about 15-18 miles each way so just right for a first run out and close enough to home if there's any issues. it all went well, the brakes are crap (but i knew that), the carbs want at least a strip and clean and the propshaft needs balancing. other than that it's just great and those issues won't stop me using it, i'll just work at/live with them until i pull it apart for the straight tube axle install this winter.
oh, and ashleys zephyr runs nice and cool now with the griffin ally rad' i fitted yesterday so he's happy too.
neil.

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9/6/2021
been out in the garage tinkering today before a test drive again. first job, the carbs. i started the car and warmed it up so it'd idle then checked the float levels first. the secondaries on the front carb and both on the rear one were way low, that and fact that the accelerator pump arm had a ton of play on the rear carb would explain the popping back through that carb when coming out of a corner. i altered the throttle return spring bracket as it wouldn't quite return to idle unless you blipped the throttle and lastly set the idle mixture as all 4 screws were all over the place. i thought i'd have a twiddle of the dizzy to see if there was any benefit to be had there too, i've advanced it a good 10 degrees and it's much more responsive now (had to turn the idle down some more) but even at almost idle in 4th gear it pulls cleanly with no pinking/rattling so we're good. i'm running it on our super unleaded E5 which is 99 octane so that helps. overall it's much more driveable and i didn't have to buy kits for the carbs so that's good. who said tunnel rams aren't streetable?
next i wound the driver's side torsion bar up a full turn as it sat down much lower that side, the ss springs at the back don't help but it's almost level now. i may have to set the coilovers at different heights too when i fit the tube axle, we'll see.
i gave it a nut and bolt check too, all good there and i tightened the new fanbelt now as it's settled into the pulleys.
all in all a productive day
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neil.
 
9/14/2021
well i've gone and done it, the valiant's going to bristol to live with a mate who seems very happy to have it. i'm taking his 41 chevy truck hiboy project with a hemi (but not as you know it) as a px to do and sell. i've always been more a builder than a driver so.....
neil.
 
today.
the valiant's going wednesday but i couldn't leave the front alone. i'd wound the driver's side torsion bar up a turn to level the front where the ss leaves at the back make them sit wonky. it wasn't enough so another turn and presto it's level. not content another 2 turns each side gave the stance i wanted and coincidentaly so does mark the new owner so it's happy faces all round. at least it will be when he sees it, he asked for pics but it's a secret 'til he arrives to collect it lol. he says he'll radius the rear arches and fit wider 10'' slot mags and tyres but doesn't want the tube axle up front. he wants a driver not a project and with just a few little 'snagging' jobs to do it'll be just right.
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neil.
 
well this thread was a fun ride. no A-body doesn't mean you need to stay away :thumbsup:
 
mygasser said:
i couldn't see a blasphemers section on here to do a build thread and wasn't sure if anyone would be interested?
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well, it might need to be in the blue forum, but it has 4 wheels and a motor, so the problem isn't insurmountable :steering:
 
i have got a ford 32 roadster coming in to have some recommissioning/upgrade work done in november. it was built as a rod in about 1978 and had a 390 ford fe motor then. that's gone over the years and it now has a small block mopar which is good.
 
Gearhed73 said:
Did you ever get any performance numbers from it? How did it run?
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the valiant? no. my mate who's bought it races an austin healey frog eye sprite gasser called 'frite' so no doubt he'll take it to santa pod raceway to see what it'll do. here's the frite. it has a tunnel rammed 383 stroker chevy.
neil.

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mygasser said:
yesterday and today i've been altering seats to tilt forward and making my own hurst shifter to inland shift lever adapter. i've decided to use the mercedes seats instead of the scorpio ones as they're just more 'recaro' than 'chesterfield sofa' if you get my drift. also the runners are nice and flat side to side unlike the scorpio ones which had very 'uneven' brackets. getting them to tilt was similar to the scorpio ones though, there are 4 bolts holding the backrest rigid so simply remove the rear 2 and loosen the front 2 and they tilt. the front 2 are loctited in their new position so they don't loosen and the seat base is a metal tray so the backrest bracket just sits in the tray. to suit the valiant floor i needed to make 1 2" tall spacer for the inner front bolt and drill 3 holes (the outer front bench seat hole is reused). i'll add (weld in) some 2mm plate under the inner holes as there's no strengthening there where it was a bench seat car. i've altered the second seat ready to fit hopefully tomorrow along with the new carpet. oh, i guess i should see what needs 'adapting' to fit the mercedes rear seat too.
next once the drivers seat was bolted down i made an adapter to mount my inland shift lever/stick to the hurst shifter. pretty easy, just a plate to bolt to the shifter with the top cut at the correct angle for a second plate to weld to it which is threaded to suit the inland lever bolt pattern. i removed the reverse lockout cable, button etc and grount the 'triggers' smooth before painting the lever with some silver and clear lacquer as the chrome was fubarred.
neil.

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Great build! What mercedes are these out of?
 
My AH Bugeye is one of my bucket list cars. I am pretty close to finishing it. Engine builder and friend keeps saying we are gong to crank it!
So small that I put it between two engine stands and was able to rotate it. Even in the States we love our British Cars as well.
The Green Frogeye is a famous car for anyone that loves a AH Bugeye.

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