What can I do that's cheap?

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doogievlg

doogievlg

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I have been in the mood to work on my car a lot lately and was wondering what I can do this week that's cheap and will make my car look better or run better. I am trying to stay under 100 bucks and was thinking along the lines of rebuilding the front drums or taking off the side trim.
Possibly running an electric pump also. The interior is literally perfect so nothing on the interior needs attention. But here are some pictures of the exterior.

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I know this is a really broad question but I am open to any and all ideas and I will post pictures of whatever I decide to do. I'm just looking for some ideas.
 
Have you recurved the distributor?
 
I would leave the trim on it, looks good.
Maybe buy some 3M double side adhesive and fix the trim on the front fender.

Honestly, I would save that $100 until you get some more cash and put disks on the the front.
 
RustyRatRod said:
Have you recurved the distributor?
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I have not recurred the distributor. It had the mopar electronic ignition and the only thing I have done is put a new rotor cap on it. I am not great with electronics but it would be cool to learn something new. Is there a website or a video that explains the process well?
 
70DartMike said:
X2 on leaving the trim alone, it breaks up the car and looks great with your combo.
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Sadly the trim on the fender fell off a few years ago while driving down the highway. At the moment I still have the sticky black adhesive stuck to the fender.
 
Which MP distributor is it? The old one or the new style? If it is the new style, it is a Mallory and is very easy to adjust.
 
there is lots on info on FABO on how to recurve the Dizzy. Just search the forum. MT. And yes leave the trim looks good. just fix the one that is off.
 
RustyRatRod said:
Which MP distributor is it? The old one or the new style? If it is the new style, it is a Mallory and is very easy to adjust.
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I put it in back around 2008. I'm not sure when the styles changed to the Mallory design but it was bought then.
 
DoogieLV ,sweet car. Leave the outside alone,my opinion. Curving the distributor is cheap ,you will notice a difference BIG TIME.
 
Abodybomber said:
DoogieLV ,sweet car. Leave the outside alone,my opinion. Curving the distributor is cheap ,you will notice a difference BIG TIME.
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Ill more then likely do that. Going to do a bit of reading tomorrow on my lunch break about it then get started after work. Heck maybe it will finally help me get passed the 12.99 mark.
 
AJ/FormS said:
The old-style had the flyweights under the "breaker"plate, exactly like the oem dizzy.
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Keep in mind at this time I know nothing about distributors besides the caps and rotor caps and how to use them to adjust timing. I read up on it tomorrow. I am thinking later in the week I may take out my heater core sinse it is rusted out. New ones seem pretty pricey though.
 
doogievlg said:
Keep in mind at this time I know nothing about distributors besides the caps and rotor caps and how to use them to adjust timing. I read up on it tomorrow. I am thinking later in the week I may take out my heater core sinse it is rusted out. New ones seem pretty pricey though.
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All you have to do is change the springs and put it back together, then put a timing light on it and map out how the curve has changed.

Then take it for a spin and see how it runs... :burnout:
 
I just looked over a old hot rod article about this and was curious if I could use the springs out of a msd distributor to put in my mopar distributor? We have a few old msd units sitting around from my dad's mustang so that would make it very simple.

Also right now I have my initial timing set at 15 and my advanced is 34. With the lighter springs will it want more advanced timing in theory?
 
doogievlg said:
I just looked over a old hot rod article about this and was curious if I could use the springs out of a msd distributor to put in my mopar distributor? We have a few old msd units sitting around from my dad's mustang so that would make it very simple.

Also right now I have my initial timing set at 15 and my advanced is 34. With the lighter springs will it want more advanced timing in theory?
Click to expand...

Doogie, this goes back to post 8,without a distributor machine,or a dial back timing light.
 
AJ/FormS said:
The old-style had the flyweights under the "breaker"plate, exactly like the oem dizzy.
Click to expand...

Can you post a picture of an example of a distributor that has weights above the breaker plate please?
 
By recurving you can get advance to come in at the optimal point. you can get more initial advance and still not get too much total advance.
 
Abodybomber said:
Doogie, this goes back to post 8,without a distributor machine,or a dial back timing light.
Click to expand...

I may not have said this by mistake but the distributor was bought new in 2008 so in not sure if it is a newer design or older. Ill pop the cap off tomorrow and take a look at it.
 
Mopar Tim said:
By recurving you can get advance to come in at the optimal point. you can get more initial advance and still not get too much total advance.
Click to expand...

I got to get some sleep fellas. I'll ask more questions tomorrow. Thanks.
 
doogievlg said:
I just looked over a old hot rod article about this and was curious if I could use the springs out of a msd distributor to put in my mopar distributor? We have a few old msd units sitting around from my dad's mustang so that would make it very simple.

Also right now I have my initial timing set at 15 and my advanced is 34. With the lighter springs will it want more advanced timing in theory?
Click to expand...

You need to be able to limit total timing somehow. This is where the Mallory distributor comes in. You will want somewhere around 20 initial and 34-36 total. My Ford truck, for example. It has a 351M engine. They have notoriously low compression. I have it at 24 initial and 34 total. It's actually very snappy for a 351M. They are usually dogs.
 
Take the front bumper brackets off and lighten them. Strip and repainted them. Open up the doors and take out the crash bars. Install solid bushings in leaf spring front eye.
 
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