"Something in the Orange"

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Interesting that my first post on A-Bodies was related to getting the hood lined up. The body panels up front will be a recuring theme that plagued me for some time to come....
the second set of threads that i initiated were asking what first $1000 would you spend for best results at the track. That seems to sum up where my head was at then !!! It looks like I was pretty skimpy on the use of the like and thank you buttons too. I'll try to rectify that going forward.
By July 2011 I was looking to cool the engine bay down at idle. ??? The only reason I could think of why that was a problem so soon was because....

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I actually was trying to race it and I remember that it didn't like idling after making a few runs.
 
Outstanding in every way. Don't apologize for any of your decisions here! I love the color, stance, everything...congratulations!
 
Attempted to straighten the front bumper
installed a battery hold down
painted over the orange radiator support
procured new parking/turn signal light lenses and attempted to repair some fins on the headlight bezels\
repaired one of the headlight adjusters. (note says the light was held in place with some of that VibStop stuff)
removed a bunch of stickers
procured a service manual and a 1968 Plymouth Chilton's manual from Ebay around this time.

Halibut season opens in May-June out there so I bet that explains the hole in my notes...I spent a lot of time making sure my single outboard was in tip top shape. I could call a tow truck if something went sideways with the car but one could meet Davy Jones if I lost headway 30 miles out i figured. Seems like the boat took 2x the time and $$$ resources when I lived near the ocean.
 
I took my girlfriends family to Olympic National Park in it and had some trouble with the tires rubbing on the rear quarters. The sidewalls didn't fail but were cut up pretty badly. The responses to my "best $1000 for results at the track" led me to replace the tires with a used pair of M/T street/strip radials.
Much experimentation adjusting timing and race fuel between the street and the track. Finished clearing out and fixing up my small garage so I could keep the car and work on it in there.

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Notice a small gas leak from the top of the tank and somehow the No. 2 spark plug gap would mysteriously close on occasions of "spirited acceleration". Looks like it had to be spaced twice in August
A B&M transmission cooler and Dynamic 9" torque converter also show up in August (another recommendation from the racer's forum)
 
like_A_pike said:
I pick'd this 68 cuda with a 76 360 up last April. You all are starting to know that I'm learning as I go. (thanks for your patients) About a month into it I take it down the road and decide to give it some gas, OK all it would take! and I thought it jumped time. Limped home and found a little carbon on the rotor and the No. 2 spark plug gap was closed. ?? Yesterday I finish putting in a new distributor and ECU. Took it out to time it up (by ear) tonight. It's starting to run good right. Put the vac line it's going well. Then I decide to let it go to 5000 and then it runs like crap !!!!?? turn it off back the vacume down 180 and no change. Bring it home and guess what that No. 2 plug gap is closed up again. I notice it's got a tiiny little nick on the tab at the bend on the side really. It's only the one plug.

what the h&!! is smacking that spark plug?? thanks in advance!

lap
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puzzler for ya

Attached a link to the old thread and went back to "thank" responses, (some posthumously :().
 
  • replaced a brake line and adjusted the rear drums
  • replace header gaskets
  • adjusted fuel and transmission cooling lines (away from headers)
  • much experimentation with vacuum advance, fuel, and timing
  • first time sanding/planing the thermostat housing
  • several attempts to shorten the spark plugs on the inside (see post 31)
  • went with shorter oil filter (easier to remove and reduce heat from headers)
  • Fram PH43, STP S16, NAPA 1068, Bosch 72157ws, WIX 51521, AC Delco PF 1093, Mopar 090, and CFI 85068 work
  • introduced a clutch type fan
  • exchanged the Petronix ignition/distributor with the Mopar Performance one with advance curve and orange ECU
  • looks like there was a need for touch up paint

I found a long paved section of woods road, behind a locked gate, to practice launching and stopping to see what would come apart (in private). My bucket of bolts held together ok although it took a painfully long time to get that first 60 feet.
 
West End Thunder brought people from quite a ways to Forks, but half of the cars were built and driven by local timber industry folks that I worked with in those hills. I wasn’t very fast but we had a hell of a good time!

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My notes suggest that I tried pretty hard to get that transmission project wrapped up to make the August event but missed the mark. I was beginning to fight a worsening power steering leak later that summer. After that was chemical site prep, salmon, and deer season. All got screwed up by a very active forest fire year….I managed a small fleet of company fire tankers and spent alot of time ferrying water to clearcuts in September and October 2011.
 
Over the winter I brought the heater box and Federal power steering pump inside and rebuilt them next to a roaring fire on the living room floor.

replacing a discontected heater
I got the kit from Detroit Muscle Technologies, heater core, and a bag of miniature 8 balls to epoxy onto the control switches (no knobs). I cleaned up the blower fan and I think I had to replace the plumbing and the vents up in the dash too.

service reservoir O ring
I also had the local NAPA place to build a new hydraulic line. They do lots of them for loaders, processors, and cable yarders in that country. Whiteheads Auto Forks Wa.
 
Rebuild by the fire sounds alot better than a cold garage.
 
sireland67 said:
Rebuild by the fire sounds alot better than a cold garage.
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Not many opportunities like that unfortunately. Someday I'll spend some real money on this hobby....??? maybe someday... some folks in here have heated floors for cripes sakes!
 
like_A_pike said:
Not many opportunities like that unfortunately. Someday I'll spend some real money on this hobby....??? maybe someday... some folks in here have heated floors for cripes sakes!
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I do have heat in my garage, but no heated floors.

One guy I work with has heated sidewalks and driveway so he does not have to shovel snow.
 
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Fast forward today I was thinking about working on my exhaust outlets but the movers bugger’d up the wire feed on my welder. I modified it and it seems to be ok but I’m waiting to hear if or what they’re going to replace…. Then one of the old mufflers broke flush. I think I will just start over with 3” stuff (it’s 2.5” now and pretty spent -see post #24, same mufflers). I never liked how it was put together anyway.

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It doesn’t need that bend. I think it could sit more flush to the bottom without it.
 
April 22 2012; Getting ready for summer driving and excited for more shenanigans at West End Thunder. I bought a new Holley 650dp with a manual choke, installed that, my rebuilt power steering pump, and completed heater box restoration and was testing the car out behind the gate when I broke that 360. No. 2 and 3 Keith Black pistons disintegrated and the rod in cyl 2 popped through....
 
Without much research, I bought the first 340 I found. 1971 block with "Erskin .273 .480 racing cam, 030 KB slugs, 2.02 1.88 J heads mild ported new ss valves, Stock Cast '69 340 4bbl intake ported to match the heads". It was over the Cascades in Ellensburg.
That month I also flipped my pickup trying to avoid a couple that stopped to take pictures of elk. I beat the dent out of the quarter panel and replaced the rear window and went after that motor.
The intake and my new 650 was about all that was salvaged from the 360. I did the motor swap in a shop that used to be used to repair logging locomotives.

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I discovered that the 340 was missing an oil gallery plug in the back by dropping the dipstick down from the oil pressure orifice up top straight down past where the rear main cap would be. I got a lot of flack from Whiteheads cuz they had to order a whole box of plugs to get me one! I also broke one of the bolt holes for the oil pump on that rear cap and had a local fabricator add a stud in there instead. I had to get an oil pan for my application and added a windage tray while I was at it. I got the thing running pretty good by the end of June.
 
.....But it was making a terrible noise and started to leak more and more oil from the very back of the motor. I drove it about 300 miles to Clearwater and Sekiu before backing it into the the garage and pulling the oil pan to look around.
 
My A bodies only posts then were focused on figuring out how to use my old intake manifold

intake.jpeg

I had a mechanical temperature gauge sending unit so I made this to hook up the heater and get it in the water!!!

plumbing.jpeg

I also went with a manual choke some spacers for a 650 DP and introduced a Lokar throttle and kickdown at this point. I had Angeles Machine Works Inc in Port Angeles Wa. fix my broken end cap which is still in use to this day. One response to my thread, about doing a line hone, ended up being revolutionary (but it took awhile to sink in).

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They make spacers to go under the thermostat, for a temp gauge.
 
sireland67 said:
They make spacers to go under the thermostat, for a temp gauge.
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no kidding! that's a little more elegant than my jury rig and likely got better readings..... Jez, I ran that funny plumbing for nine years. I had to plane that housing just about every other year. I wonder how these hold up. ??
 
I have ran them for years, they are just aluminum, so they hold up fine.
 
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