Cuda Capers: 6-15-08

-
F

FASTBACK340

Legandary Member
Legendary Member
Joined
Jun 2, 2004
Messages
5,034
Reaction score
39
Another day in paradise.... until reality hit me like a baseball bat in the teeth.


#1) Is this normal for swivel fittings to rock back & forth like this in the video, or do I have a new headache?

http://media.putfile.com/FuelFittingLoose

#2) This is what I get for letting someone "help" me whom is too nice to say "no thanks..." to. I was breaking my ball-joints pulling the dressed six pack set-up off of the motor and a friend was visiting. He said "let me help you" and lift the manifold up, and proceeded to DRAG IT across my sheet metal valve cover! I now have 3 nice big scrapes across the passenger side valve cover.
SANY0006-vi.jpg


I think I'm going to throw-up....
SANY0007-vi.jpg


Excuse me while I hyperventilate into a paper bag....
SANY0008-vi.jpg


OK... I feel better now.


I don't know if I should:
a) Try & polish it out, which leads to polishing out BOTH valve covers completely so they "look right".
b) Send them to Leanne to blast & powder coat in an aluminum finish....
c) Buy a second set, install them, and flip the set with the scratched one for a loss on e-Bay.
d) Kick my friends *** for being a nice guy.

<sigh....> At least I found (I hope...) a competent shop to rebuild my radiator. I get that back by the weekend, just in time for me to hop on a plane to go to Florida for a few days. THEN when I come home I *might* be able to start this heap. That is, after I swap the front carbs base plate assembly, which has a loose throttle shaft that is going to be one big vacuum leak once it's running. How I didn't notice this while I was modifying the other 2 carbs is beyond me.... And not to mention my clutch pedal is sticking to the floor every 3rd. - 4th. push. And that headliner....


I've had it for today. I'm going to take a shower, grab the Wife, and go get some Veal Parmesan. =P~
 
I would start with d, then c. Polishing is a pain in the *** and very time consuming (for me anyway).

mike
 
Here's the finished fuel lines.
SANY0003-vi.jpg

SANY0004-vi.jpg

SANY0001-vi.jpg

SANY0002-vi.jpg


THIS went smooothly.... Except for those damn swivel fittings back at the pump. It rocks back & forth enough to make me think it's going to leak.
 
The fitting looks normal, there is supposed to be some movement to allow it to swivel. But of course if it leaks, then that's different. I think there is a o-ring inside there so quit yankin on it.
sterb117.gif


As far a the valve covers go how deep are the scratches? are they clear coated? If they are clear coated you might have to remove the clear and just a little polish.

Sorry to see your havin a crap/stressful day. The best thing to do is clean up, and take a break. Come back to it another day and worry about one thing at a time or you'll drive yourself nuts.
 
64dartwagon said:
Come back to it another day and worry about one thing at a time or you'll drive yourself nuts.
Click to expand...

I've been doing just that. For the past 9 1/2 yrs...... :angry7:

The valve covers are a natural satin-finish. The scratches are deep enough to warrant a few steps of sanding to level the metal down to the bottom of the scratches. Then the entire valve cover has to be polished, then the other so it matches.


GRRRRR!!!!
 
Soooo... did your bud say anything after trashing your valve cover?
 
I couldn't bring myself to say anything. He's one of those type of friends that would run out and buy me a set of valve covers just so he wouldn't up-set me. And because he's such a good friend I couldn't do that to him. And he has no knowledge of it happening. I noticed it a few minutes after we pulled the manifold off. I remember seeing it go across the cover, but I held my breath and didn't do or say anything at the time until I looked at it. I held my breath again when I saw the scratches....

**** happens....
avatar_1497.gif
 
You sound like a good and genuine friend Fastback.........We'd all be proud to have you as one.

Bummer on the covers.........But you're a friend anyone should be proud of.

:wav:
 
Did you get a set of pre-bent lines, or did you roll your own? Aaron might need to replace his fuel line on the Duster, where did you get everything and what diameter are you running?

By the way, you can't go wrong sending the covers to Leanna, her work seems to be flawless.
Jerry
 
john, have you checked to make sure the line is tight? only way to know if it will leak is to run the pump.
looks good otherwise. i think sending the valve covers to leanne is a good idea. have them sanded down real good and then...........what color? clear?
 
The lines are tight Steve. They are swivel ends... just not sure they're suppose to "wiggle" that much. I'll find out soon. :toothy10:

As for the fuel line, I bent that up myself. I used 3/8" aluminum line I bought from JEGS. I used an inexpensive pair of tubing pliers to make the bends. The key is to go SLOWLY and move the tool a little bit as you go along.
DON'T just pull it around all at once, you'll kink it. :read2:

As for polishing the V/C's, I decided against it. Too much up-keep. I'm going with Alien Silver for the covers. It's a light, reflective silver color that looks good in a picture. Plus I trust Leanne's judgement. When I spoke with her she gave me some ideas and I basically told her "do what looks best..."

Gotta trust a professionals opinion.:cheers:
 
Thank you John!! I look forward to having you as my newest happy customer. It's really durable too, so you won't have to worry much about that next little scratch.

I'll let you know when they get here. Thanks again for the vote of confidence and kind words John, Jerry and Red!!

Leanna
 
John, you'll be happy to know your valve covers arrived here today at noon. They don't look nearly as bad as I expected. I'll have them fixed up and on their way back home to you shortly.

The attached photo is a close-up of the color I'll be using, Alien Silver. Keep in mind it's on old nasty cast iron in that photo (my shop doorbell LOL), so your covers will have a much smoother, shinier result.

Thanks again John!!! Don't hesitate to give me a call if you have any questions in the meantime.
 
FASTBACK340 said:
The lines are tight Steve. They are swivel ends... just not sure they're suppose to "wiggle" that much. I'll find out soon. :toothy10:

didn't mean to imply you're incapable of tightening a fitting.:-D just that sometimes they can go a bit tighter. might be a bad one.. are they earls? russell? xrp? i personally like earls the best.
Click to expand...
 
John, your valve covers and hardware are done and are ready to be shipped back home. I sent you a PM a few minutes ago.

Guys and gals, if John wants to see the "after" pictures before he gets to see the finished job in person, look for them here in this post. Otherwise, you'll all have to wait and check them out on my website next week. Hee hee heeeeeeeeeeeee

:love7:
 
Post away!!!!!!!!!! ​

I don't mind sharing the first viewing with a few friends..... :cheers:​
 
Come on Leanna, show'em off. Let's see the pair together.
 
so as soon as the valve covers are back, you're firing it up RIGHT!!!????? please say yes........

ps, you need another swivel seal fitting? i got some.
 
As for the pictures, thanks for asking... I'd LOVE to see them NOW! I'm sure they look killer! Thanks also for the additional clear coat!
Since John wants to see them NOW, here they are!!! First, a "before" picture with all those lovely draggin-the-manifold scratches ... and AFTER. (Also blasted and coated the heads of the Allen head bolts so they'd match.)

John, thanks once again for the business!!! I hope you're thrilled with the final product. Just be sure to keep your friend away from 'em. LOL
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
those are SICK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! send them to me not john!!!!
 
Theres a great punny joke in there somewhere.......

I just don't wanna get shot for a bad one.

OK, Since her Valve covers are, specail units... No no no

If Leanna doesn't mind her bra (Valve covers) posted on the net .... No no no

Can we get a close up of the valve covers being modeled while, er , hum... no no no no

If the fish sticks his foot in his mouth one more time, he might have athlets tounge soon.....
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
-

Back
Top