Got about 2-2.5 weeks of DD use on the HEI module & coil with no issues. Then a manifold stud started pulling and I heard and smelled an exhaust leak. Been fighting a vacuum leak, wants to die at the end of the off-ramp, so suspecting that the pulling stud may be the culprit. Somewhere around here I ran across a mcmaster p/n for some similar studs with hex drive sockets and given that some of mine are wonky I decided to replace all of them. They got here last night and I was more than a little surprised to see "ARP" stamped in the end next to the hex drive socket!

Am thinking when I pull the manifolds to first tighten all of the nuts as a way of seeing which other studs are about to pull so that I can just helicoil all of those about to be a problem.

Am also debating going to brass nuts. I've had very good success with this in the past on exhaust only. Each of the joints in this car's exhaust system is held together with brass nuts. They never seize on the bolts and they never work loose. No need for lock washers, flats only.

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Thom

Cross-threaded is tighter than Lock-tite

I've ventured into the realm of GM HEI's. I'm not fond of them, but using one seems like the easiest way to give the TBI system the RPM signal it needs. I expect to eventually give the ECU timing control as well. My first module (a JY sourced 8 pin) suddenly died after giving excellent service. It overheated, no surprise. What was a surprise was that I expected an aluminum plate of roughly 3" x 4.25" to be a better thermal isolator than it turned out to be. Next iteration has the module mounted to the chassis rather than cantilevered off the engine.

So far, so good but I've left the Mopar EI system in place just in case. Don't notice much difference between the two systems except for cold starts. The GM module seems to do this better than does the Mopar EI. I've yet to take advantage of the GM module and open up the plug gap. Not sure what to expect of that change, but change it will I'm sure.

Pulled the dizzy out, had been hearing light rattling at some part-throttle cruise situations. Turns out that the heavy spring was doing nothing at all. So too much mech advance possible combined with not enough spring. Replaced the heavy spring with a light one out of a \ points dizzy and then welded & filed one slot to .380" Don't hear the rattling any more and the idle seems smoother though it's still not right.

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Thom



Cross-threaded is tighter than Lock-tite

Note the plate on the exhaust manifold under the intake.

It appears to be leaking. Wondering if anyone else has dealt with this and what they did?
I know it's not stock and is a result of the intake's mating boss being shaved off. Just pondering how to deal with it. I don't see headers happening. I do have some exhaust manifold flanges, but building a weld-elbow pipe exhaust manifold will take too much time that I don't have at the moment.

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Thom



Cross-threaded is tighter than Lock-tite

If you have room the Remflex gasket that goes there on stock motors would probably be worth a try. They are thicker and softer than anything else made for there. Find someone that installed the Remflex with Intake/Exhaust gasket with headers. It comes in the package and they won't be using it!

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2 Mopars come with Spark plug tubes. One is a world class, racing machine. The other is a 426 CI. boat anchor!

12.70 @ 104.6

Thank you Rick!

Not many slants local, so I'll probably not be able to find one locally. Sucks that I just replaced the manifold gasket (not a Remflex) chasing what I thought was a temperature-dependent vacuum leak. So I do have what Fel-Pro provides for the manifold to manifold junction. Am thinking to weld some 'strong-backs' onto the plate or go to a thicker plate.

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Thom



Cross-threaded is tighter than Lock-tite

I have one of those stock exhaust to intake Remflex gaskets sitting on my desk. Pm if interested.

Bill

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67' Dart GT Convertible; the old Chrysler Corp.
82' LeBaron Convertible; the new Chrysler Corp
07' 300 C AWD; Now by Fiat, the old new Chrysler LLC

For my solution, I stuck a sheet of thin copper on top of the stock metal gasket, and cut it to the same shape and drilled the same three holes in it, then let it take up the air space left over and help crush the other metal gasket down. Works fine.

PM'd wjajr, but a copper crush gasket may also work. Not a fan of stacking gaskets. I'll definitely take the long board to the gasket surface to make sure that it's reasonably flat.
Looked at it in good light and there isn't enough clearance to add ribs of any sort, or go much thicker than the current 1/4" plate. Just in case it's a loosening bolt issue I will drill & wire them.

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Thom



Cross-threaded is tighter than Lock-tite

Suddenly I have a massive oil leak on the right side of the engine. Everything that I can easily get a hand or wrench on is tight. Oil filter has only one gasket, made more of a mess & checked.

Suggestions?

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Thom



Cross-threaded is tighter than Lock-tite

'Sudden' and 'massive' equals a pressure leak to me. Oil pressure sender, or perhaps oil pump gasket?



Following to see what mileage you get out of Scooter. My 65 sedan is also a 170, used-to-be-5-now-4-speed-OD, 3.55 gear, and will hopefully be returning decent numbers given the terrain around here.

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O==\=/==O

"A mechanic is Somebody."
- Jim Preston

Sender has been moved remote so that an oil pressure kill switch for the fuel pump could be included w/o having a bunch of things hanging in space off the oil pump. That connection was checked.

The oil pump gasket and possibly the large o-ring under dist. (recently new) are my two current leading guesses. Any idea if I can get the oil pump out of the engine while in the car?

EDIT: Mileage is indeterminate as the speedo/odo is out of calibration. Based on est. miles driven (known miles to work & back + lunch & errands) it's hovering around high teens to 20. The AFR gauge does not show any change within 3 jet sizes, so clearly the meter is worthless. TBI is still in the works, but life (other vehicles) keeps having other plans.

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Thom



Cross-threaded is tighter than Lock-tite

I have pulled them on a 65 Valiant and 72 Dart. You have to unbolt the motor mounts and probably your exhaust (but maybe not) upper radiator hose and anything else that will hinder upward and drivers side movement. Put a small scissor jack between the frame and the engine somewhere below the alternator and start shoving it up and over. Pull the distributor and unbolt the oil pump. It will come out.

Truth be told if you have a car like mine it is almost as easy to just pull the motor out as it is to wrestle down over the fender,

Rick

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2 Mopars come with Spark plug tubes. One is a world class, racing machine. The other is a 426 CI. boat anchor!

12.70 @ 104.6

Minor update:
The dying at the end of an off-ramp after a reasonable distance on the fwy is the valve lash getting too tight & killing compression. Have run the lash hot & running, which cures it for a month or more, but eventually it comes back. This tells me that the valves are receding in the head - no hard seats.

So I'm about to take the spare long block to my friendly local engine machine shop. Car has been parked since the oil leak got too large. I shudder to think of what the underside of the car looks like or is going to require to get it decently clean again.

I'd decided to add several small fasteners to the exhaust block-off plate to seal the long runs between the inner bolt and the outer bolts. Figured to drill & tap right into the top of the exhaust manifold. With the car down for other reasons now would be a good time, but I wonder if I shouldn't just move on and build the Sched 10 pipe exhaust manifold instead. Too many other projects going at the moment, so it's going to be a while before anything happens on that front.

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Thom



Cross-threaded is tighter than Lock-tite

Seeking some clarification here, I'm under the impression that this '65 flywheel is smaller OD than most. Not the pilot diameter, but the OD. I'm reading about clutches used here and talk of a 10" clutch. Unless a diaphragm PP allows the disc to get a lot closer to the PP mounting bolts there's no way I'm going to get that big of a clutch on this flywheel.

What I have now is an (OEM?) B&B PP with a '94 S-10 disc to match the T-5's input splines (9.125 OD, 1.125 X 26 spline). What I would like to do is move to a diaphragm PP on this flywheel. Given the small size I had pondered going with a Centerforce II or Dual-Friction to get enough torque capacity.

EDIT: Ordered the S-10's pressure plate from Rock Auto and held it up to the flywheel. A direct bolt-on. Both engines are rated about the same output so I don't see this being much of an upgrade by itself. What it does mean is that I can use any of the Centerforce clutch kits for that application once I sort out spacing the T/O bearing correctly. Am thinking that a Dual-Friction might be just the ticket.

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Thom



Cross-threaded is tighter than Lock-tite

No ideas?

I've since found that the S-10's PP bolt pattern is ever so closely different than the B&B PP's bolt pattern. Radially the holes are in the same place, but the bolt circle differs by about .04"-.05" Oh joy! Now I'll have to make a tool to center the S-10 PP and drill, tap, & counter-bore the flywheel once I get the engine back.

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Thom



Cross-threaded is tighter than Lock-tite