Can custom front end alignments be had?

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Duggie said:
So let me guess. Do it again , huh? :poke:
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nice job getting through the cretaceous but it looks like most of the cenozoic is left. looks like a drip of coolant, hope that was you
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with the trans out, before you pull the head, you might want to pull all the freeze plugs and chisel out any crud in the water passages
 
Your grease reference helps explain the archeology student that wanted to do a paper on the underside of this car!

Yeah, the radiator is leaking at what looks like one of the auto transmission line fittings at the base of the radiator.

I read somewhere on here about people flushing out the block at the freeze plugs. I was planning on running a system back flush before pulling the head. Would the same back flush be part of the process with the freeze plugs out?
 
Duggie said:
I read somewhere on here about people flushing out the block at the freeze plugs. I was planning on running a system back flush before pulling the head. Would the same back flush be part of the process with the freeze plugs out?
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my opinion,don't even mess with a back flush. your going to have the trans and radiator out anyway. knock all the freeze plugs out and get in there with screw drivers, engine brushes and anything else you can to loosen the crud with, and keep washing it out until the water is clear.
 
I'll knock out the freeze plugs. The car only has 100K miles on it, but now's the time between now and a future bottom end rebuild. Thanks for planting the seed.:poke:

I found crud in the heater core pipes when I pulled the hoses to adjust the valves, If crud is keeping the heater core from leaking, I'd rather have the heater leak after today's flush, instead of when I need the defroster next winter.

This hobby reminds me of turning the crank on a toy jack-in-the-box. What pops up should be expected on a '64 vintage car, but it's still a surprise when it happens.:eek:
 
Duggie said:
This hobby reminds me of turning the crank on a toy jack-in-the-box. What pops up should be expected on a '64 vintage car, but it's still a surprise when it happens.:eek:
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:lol: you know it's coming, you just don't know from where.
i'm at the point, when i get a "new" one: the motor and trans come out the bottom, change all the wear items i can. freeze plugs and easy to get to seals, new timing chain, oil pump, water pump and mounts, U-joints and hoses. pull the intake to knock the crap out of the crossover (v8), and clean up as much as i can.
i got lucky with the current car, Darter6 did all the crap work for me :thumbsup:
 
kursplat said:
:lol: you know it's coming, you just don't know from where.
i'm at the point, when i get a "new" one: the motor and trans come out the bottom, change all the wear items i can. freeze plugs and easy to get to seals, new timing chain, oil pump, water pump and mounts, U-joints and hoses. pull the intake to knock the crap out of the crossover (v8), and clean up as much as i can.
i got lucky with the current car, Darter6 did all the crap work for me :thumbsup:
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Yeah, this is a whole new world to me. I worked on this stuff when it was 8 - 10 years old. Now at 54 years old, it's a different animal. The corroded fasteners remind me of what I learned in Geology class about why rocks are round (The edges wear off first). Taking off the head, I soaked the exhaust manifold nuts every day for a week +. All the studs came out of the head except one that snapped. No sign of penetrating oil on the head stud threads... Some of the nut / bolt heads are so corroded, I'm using the closest size metric wrench to get a good bite on what's left of the hex head. I didn't even try to separate the intake form the exhaust manifold. The machine shop was happy with that. And I've been soaking the exhaust heat control valve in penetrating oil for a week and it has yet to budge at all.

Good news is after pulling one freeze plug, the water jacket looked real good, and I can't catch a fingernail on the top of the cylinder wall.

And from your comments, it sounds like I'd better knock out the other two freeze plugs because they are out in the open with the manifolds off.

The little woman keeps commenting about the goofy grin on my face every time i come in from the garage. Wouldn't be so without you guys. This forum is a HUGE asset for a bone head like me.
:lol:
 
autoxcuda said:
That is a 73-76 type conversion.

The calipers are called “slider type”

The disk rotors, bearings, seals, dust cap, calipers, caliper kit, and upper ball joint are:
73-76 A-body, 73-74 E-body, all F/M/J bodies 76-89 (Diplomat, Aspen, Volare, Mirada...)

That rotor is a stock type with just holes drilled in it.

Not sure which rubber flex line was used.

The upper control arm look like Firm Feel. But look for a sticker or marking. Could be a PST upper.

The lower ball joint is 73-76 A-body and other cars.

That picture is the Idler Arm in the passenger side. And looks new.

The Pitman Arm is attached to the steering gear.

Wipe the grim off those shocks with some Simple Green and look to see what they are.

The T-bars looked changed and might be 1”. But you need to measure. THAT with low profile tires will give you a much rougher ride that a stock Valiant.
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Agree with everything except the “rougher ride” bit. With the right shocks and alignment settings, that’s not necessarily true at all. I’ve had rougher riding cars with fully stock components because of all the bottoming out the suspension does.

Match the shocks to the torsion bars and it’ll be fine.

kursplat said:
my opinion,don't even mess with a back flush. your going to have the trans and radiator out anyway. knock all the freeze plugs out and get in there with screw drivers, engine brushes and anything else you can to loosen the crud with, and keep washing it out until the water is clear.
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There is absolutely no way I’d pull the freeze plugs with the engine in the car unless they were leaking badly. It’s a pain in the *** to get them all back in and seated well with the engine in the car, even without the accessories.
 
72bluNblu said:
There is absolutely no way I’d pull the freeze plugs with the engine in the car unless they were leaking badly. It’s a pain in the *** to get them all back in and seated well with the engine in the car, even without the accessories.
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on a \6? well i do have a high tolerence for pain :lol:
 
72bluNblu said:
Whoops, never mind. I thought he was talking about a V8. That’s not a job worth doing in the car.
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i was stuck once when the one under the drivers side motor mount let go :mad:. managed to get one on those rubber expanding plugs in there, ok temp
 
kursplat said:
i was stuck once when the one under the drivers side motor mount let go :mad:. managed to get one on those rubber expanding plugs in there, ok temp
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Yeah that’s about the only way to do it, you can forget about tapping a brass one in. Physically possible maybe, but good luck.
 
The one I pried out looked like metal.

And do you coat them with anything when you tap them back in?
 
kursplat said:
rust removal
The power of white vinegar

DIY Rust removal solutions

Rust removal with Electrolysis(pics inside)
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Somewhere on this forum, I saw a YouTube link where a guy did a test on about every penetrating solution out there. Both over the counter and home made. Tested loosening with a torque wrench, looked at penetration depth on the threads. Pretty interesting video. Liquid Wrench out performed them all. I've been dipping this car in the stuff since it came of the transport truck. Limited to no success. :BangHead:
 
Duggie said:
Somewhere on this forum, I saw a YouTube link where a guy did a test on about every penetrating solution out there. Both over the counter and home made. Tested loosening with a torque wrench, looked at penetration depth on the threads. Pretty interesting video. Liquid Wrench out performed them all. I've been dipping this car in the stuff since it came of the transport truck. Limited to no success. :BangHead:
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50/50 mix acetone / trans fluid
 
kursplat said:
50/50 mix acetone / trans fluid
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That works real well. Another way I don't think I saw mentioned if it can be used in the situation. Use propane to heat the part enough to melt candle wax into the threads. Don't overheat, just enough to melt the wax. Really stubborn fasteners you may have to do it a couple times but almost always works. The heat helps of course but the wax melts down into the threads. Try it and you will probably like it.
 
autoxcuda said:
Like said, inventory what you have and get under the car and take pictures.

Need Torsion bar diameter
Close up picture of bushings
Brake setup - wheel off preferably.
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Torsion bars are pretty close to 7/8" depending on where I put the calipers.

This is a pic of the shock through the mirror. It's a Deluxe HD. What more could a boy want?

I did jump on each corner to check rebound and found all four corners firm.

shock2.JPG
 
Duggie said:
Torsion bars are pretty close to 7/8" depending on where I put the calipers.

This is a pic of the shock through the mirror. It's a Deluxe HD. What more could a boy want?

I did jump on each corner to check rebound and found all four corners firm.

View attachment 1715572397
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7/8" is closest to the .87" stock torsion bar, they came on 340 cars and 318 cars with A/C. They're from a later car, I don't think they would have been found on a '64 normally and definitely not with a /6, so they were probably added as an upgrade with the BBP front brakes, tubular UCA's etc. Wheel rate on those is 109 lb/in, which is better than stock for a '64 but still probably about half the rate they should be with a decent radial tire.

Ride height will need to be stock with those torsion bars to keep them from hammering the bump stops all the time. Even at the stock ride height you'll still be using the bump stops with those bars, they did right from the factory. Ride height adjustment is explained here for the factory specs, A-bodies fall under the "V&L" lines

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Just because the shocks are named "deluxe HD" doesn't mean a thing. Could be that they're just KYB knock offs, in which case they could be a big part of why your car rides like a truck.
 
Thanks for the info 72. This is great stuff! I'll definitely review this page again after I finish going through the drivetrain and redoing the rear springs. For now though, if I'm looking for a comfortable cruiser, I'd change out the torsion bars?

And sorry about the Deluxe HD comment. I was being sarcastic, and didn't use a 'smilie' to give anyone a clue I was being a smart ***. I almost used Official Red Rider instead.

Man, lots to learn in this new hobby and this forum is a gold mine! Thanks again.
 
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