Rapom's Rocket - just another Duster build thread

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Black was the way I was leaning and the ONE vote I got put me over the top. Black it is.

Not updating much lately because I have been working on the car and not surfing the car sites. Last Saturday I tore the 4 speed OD down for new bearings, syncros, gaskets and seals. After I pivoted the tail housing to expose the counter shaft for removal I had one of those AWWW S~~t!!!!! moments. There was a lot of slop, where there should be none, in the case bore where the counter shaft's end is supported. I proceeded to tear the main case apart and this is what I found:
As the end of the counter shaft came out of the case the galling on the end forebode what was to come.
 

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Counter shaft bore in main case ate out by wobbly shaft. Case is ruined.
 

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What needle bearings should look like on the left, what they shouldn't look like on the right.
 

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One of the washers that hold the needle bearings in place, or, held would be a better term.
 

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And the best for last. Counter shaft gear cluster. I don't think a trip to the dentist will ever fix these teeth.
 

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This little volcano of destruction is made up of powdered case metal, oil, and needle bearing remnants. It sits directly below the counter shaft bore in the main case.
 

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My initial thought was this tranny was headed to the smelters but some online research found that all the parts I needed were available. I talked it over with Wayne at Brewers Performance and completed a thorough inspection of the remains. Amazingly there is no evidence of damage anywhere else... None. Luckily Wayne has all the parts on hand to rebuild this mess into a serviceable transmission again. Already had a rebuild kit on hand so a new main case, counter shaft and counter gear cluster were ordered up at 11:30 last night. The original syncros and bearings show barely any wear at all so this trans was rebuilt not to long ago in operational terms but has been sitting for years waiting on me to get to installing it. Glad I decided to freshen it up instead of just popping it in the car when the time came.
 
Foiled by the trans from putting the motor/trans/k member back in the car I decided to reinstall the rear suspension and axle for some rim/tire research. You are up to speed on the Rocket.
 

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WOW! very sorry Ron. had no idea it was in that kind of shape. guess I will be buying the beer for a long time to come :( if I need to do something to make this right please let me know!
 
We're good Marty. You already pay for the beer most of the time so I'm way ahead on that count. I can't believe this thing didn't lock up and grenade at some point with all the loose chunks of metal floating around inside the case. I was going to go to a trans shop to have the bearings pressed off and on the shafts but for the price I can buy a bearing puller and a good strong set of snap ring pliers and do it myself. That way I'll have them on hand for the next rebuild.

I heard you had an unused fan cluttering up your shop..... Hint, Hint!
 
already set aside for you :) I believe the Everett show is the 7th of june or there abouts. you coming up for it?
 
Could~~you guys actually considering taking a day off and going? Goodguys is 24-26 July and Sunbust is 15-16 Aug which I'm up for. Seeing none of us are going to have drivable cars this year, again, we might as well go pick apart and/or drool on somebody elses.

Since you expressed an opinion. Hood hinges black too or body color?

Just got back from picking up a bearing puller set and some better snap ring pliers so got to get out to the shop and get at it or this pig will never get out of the pen.

Does that fan have the relays and controller with it too?
 
yep we will be going lol. chance's graduation is the night before so I don't think mike will be up for it but if you want to come up Saturday night we could do beer and nachos at the bar again :). the weekend before good guys I believe is woodburn . I think I will be in Spokane for night of fire visting my daughter during sunbust but mike will be going to it i'm sure. and I can drive the purple car I bought for the wife lol. hood hinges I would do in body color my ownself. you should of bought one of those bearing presses we walked by at the Portland swap meet lol.as to the fan it has a built in controller with adjustable temperature switch and one built in relay for air conditioning.
 
Y'all are welcome to come over here for the local (to me) Mopar show - [ame="http://media.wix.com/ugd/588d46_af874cccf3df4093a75f2cb9e6a4627c.pdf"]flyer[/ame] ;-)
 
rapom65 said:
Naahhh....Done the unassisted brakes and steering thing on all my previous cars. Those of us in the more "seasoned" age brackets appreciate the creature comforts of more modern vehicles the more "seasoned" we get. I'm more "seasoned" than I like.
Click to expand...

Oh, I completely understand that. I'm far more "seasoned" than I'd like and feeling it more and more.

Issue I have with the booster is that there is a point were the assist goes away and you are better without it. Don't remember the specifics, but it was something Ehrenberg printed once. Something about the ratios of the linkage and such, I think.

If I go anywhere from the manual brakes on my car, it will probably be a hydroboost of some sort. On the other hand, the manual steering will probably go away at some point. Can't see the manual trans leaving though, although it will need more gears soon.

Sorry about the problems you found in transmission.
 
You do realize the problem with beer and nachos don't you. Just like Lays potato chips. And then we'll never make it to the car show!

Dion, interesting point on the brakes. I'll have to see if I can dig up that article by EB. A stick shift and clutch is the whole reason this car is being built.

Completely disassembled the trans, cleaned, inspected and reassembled the main shaft and gear clusters with all new rebuild parts. Waiting on main case, counter cluster and shaft to show up so I can reassemble. Cost was right at $200 (not including shipping) so not near as bad as I had first imagined when I cracked the case open. I was thinking another OD 833, T56 or even Pasion 5 speed until I looked in my wallet.

Should be hearing from Firm Feel any day now to pick up the power steering chuck and torsion bars. Making progress: two steps forward and one back.
 
w2 stroker said:
you should of bought one of those bearing presses we walked by at the Portland swap meet lol.as to the fan it has a built in controller with adjustable temperature switch and one built in relay for air conditioning.
Click to expand...

Believe me I was mulling that over when we were looking at them... I knew I needed one for replacing the bearings. Shoulda ~ Woulda ~ Coulda, story of my life.

Fan = Awesome.
 
Actual headway has been made over the last couple of days:
Pic 1 Tail shaft bushing replaced, this is what the slip yoke on the drive shaft spins inside.
Pic 2 Slip yoke seal installed. That's the rebuilt main shaft and gear cluster in the bag and the input shaft and bearing retainer in the background waiting for the new main case to arrive. The copper tube is an arbor to hold the needle bearings in place inside the counter gear cluster while it is being installed. When the actual counter shaft is inserted it will push the arbor out the front of the case. I made mine out of 3/4" water pipe cut 8 7/8" long.
Pic 3 Dismantled, cleaned and painted power steering pump. Waiting on a seal kit to reassemble.
Pic 4 Finish on the repaint came out sweet thanks to a thorough stripping of the parts and then baking the primer and finish coats in MaMa Rapom's oven. Ssshhhhh!!!.... don't tell her! I can only get away with this stuff while she is away visiting relatives in Alabama.
Pic 5 Last time we're ever going to see this view of the hood again. Spent all afternoon prepping the hood and scoop for welding. This should be one solid piece by noon tomorrow.
 

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Scoop and hood are now one. Welds have been smoothed and tape applied along body lines to be used as guides for the application of filler to the seam.
 

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Need to come up with some kind of reinforcement for the flat of the scoop as the single layer sheet metal is unsupported by the filler panel underneath past the red dashed line. It is flexy enough it will vibrate when the harmonics are right. I still have to shorten it and then contour the corners. That will have to wait until the engine and trans is installed because I don't want to reinstall the front end sheet metal again until that work is completed.
 

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Leave the sheet metal "long" when you cut the end of the scoop and fold it under the rear edge. That will reinforce the edge and should reduce flex. If you really want to get crazy, use a length of 1/8" steel rod and contour that to the shape of the scoop at the end. Roll the sheetmetal at the rear edge over that, adding even more support.

When I get around to rolling the fenders on my Duster that's what I'll be doing. The rod will provide support, and once the edge is rolled over it I'll be able to push the edge of the fenders and quarters a little with the rod providing the support to hold the shape. Not exactly a flare, but it should buy me a little more space for tire clearance. Plus it leaves a nicer looking finished edge instead of just a flat fold.
 
Quick update. Power steering pump rebuild done and installed on motor. Rebuilding the pump was super simple to do. The rebuild on the A833 is also not near as challenging as I had made it out to be. If your debating taking on either project go for it. My parts came in from Brewers so today's goal is to reassemble the trans. Good outfit to work with if your needing 4 speed stuff.

Got base coat of filler and a couple skim coats of finishing putty on the hood. Tape helped a bunch to keep the lines clean and crisp. Needs finish sanding but it is really close as it is.

Gotta go, I have a trans to put together!

Not sure what I'm going to do on supporting the back of the scoop. Lots of ideas floating around in my head. Thanks for the suggestions Blu.
 

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