Vegas was a blast and my mate did really well in the WSOP H.O.R.S.E poker tournament he entered. He made it to the second day and finished in the top 20%, given that there were nearly 900 entrants I'll leave you to do the math as to roughly where he finished. Unfortunately he was 60 or so places short of cashing in.
However I'm poor now and so I've just started my first batch of "Turbo Cider". 3 gallons of supermarket brand apple juice and a sachet of champagne yeast all thrown together in a large plastic bucket and left to ferment. Should be ready to prime in the bottle in a week or 2.
Saturday, June 23, 2012
Thursday, June 7, 2012
Fuel line madness
Not had a chance to drive the Dart since I fitted the new tank last weekend as Tropical Storm Beryl paid a visit and it rained most of the weekend and into this week. In fact I've not even gotten round to putting any gas in it. However on the plus side I've managed to obtain the parts I need to do the fuel line mod.
Basically with the factory set up the fuel pump is on the passenger side of the engine and the metal fuel line to the carb passes towards the front of the car then turns across the front of the engine block, up and over the exhaust manifold and finally ends at the carb. What tends to happen is that when you turn off the car having driven it for a while, the heat from the engine and exhaust causes the fuel to boil and evaporate. This means that the car can be a b1tch to start when it's hot as there's no fuel where it needs to be.
With this fix you ditch the metal fuel line, fit a 90 deg° fitting (Dorman part number 492-024) to the fuel pump, and using fuel injection hose, come straight up the side of the block, over the rocker cover and direct lyinto the carb, using another fitting (Dorman part number 492-023). Trouble is that part 492-024 is only available in packs of 5 for like $25 + shipping and I only needed one. Someone on Slantsix.org had bought a set and was selling off what he didn't need @ $4 each, I jumped on the chance.
Off to Vegas next week...
Basically with the factory set up the fuel pump is on the passenger side of the engine and the metal fuel line to the carb passes towards the front of the car then turns across the front of the engine block, up and over the exhaust manifold and finally ends at the carb. What tends to happen is that when you turn off the car having driven it for a while, the heat from the engine and exhaust causes the fuel to boil and evaporate. This means that the car can be a b1tch to start when it's hot as there's no fuel where it needs to be.
With this fix you ditch the metal fuel line, fit a 90 deg° fitting (Dorman part number 492-024) to the fuel pump, and using fuel injection hose, come straight up the side of the block, over the rocker cover and direct lyinto the carb, using another fitting (Dorman part number 492-023). Trouble is that part 492-024 is only available in packs of 5 for like $25 + shipping and I only needed one. Someone on Slantsix.org had bought a set and was selling off what he didn't need @ $4 each, I jumped on the chance.
Off to Vegas next week...
Monday, May 28, 2012
Today's lesson
Took the Dart to the local car show last weekend, I didn't "enter" as I couldn't make it for the morning and didn't fancy spending $20 to register, when I can park in the car park for for free. Got down there no problem, but then realised I hadn't got my phone, the battery on the camera was dead and the car smelled of gas. Spent about an hour walking round the cars then left. 20 mins after getting home I noticed a small puddle under the gas tank.
Further investigation was immediate and it turned out it was leaking from the repair I'd effected back in November. After much messing about with syphons (tip: cheap ones don't work) and electric fuel pumps I managed to drain the tank below the leak. Ordered a new one from RockAuto. CR11B is the one needed and they had one in stock for $170.
New tank arrived Friday and fitted it Monday. Nothing too difficult but the lesson of the day is fix it right first time then you won't have to fix it again.
Further investigation was immediate and it turned out it was leaking from the repair I'd effected back in November. After much messing about with syphons (tip: cheap ones don't work) and electric fuel pumps I managed to drain the tank below the leak. Ordered a new one from RockAuto. CR11B is the one needed and they had one in stock for $170.
New tank arrived Friday and fitted it Monday. Nothing too difficult but the lesson of the day is fix it right first time then you won't have to fix it again.
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Texas Style
Spent the latter part of last week (including the weekend) visiting the "outlaws" in Texas as Mrs P's cousin was getting married. We spent some time with her Uncle on his ranch doing man stuff and playing with his "toys" including his semi automatic rifle.
We then stayed at Mrs P's other cousin's lake house (the one not getting married) where we played around with his "toys" comprising a powerboat and jetski.
In between all of this we managed to get to the wedding too.
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| Call of Duty? |
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| Peppered that S.O.A.B |
Took the dirt bike round the ranch too. It had been sitting unused for a while and wouldn't stay running without plenty of throttle but after a 20 minute or so ride the fresh gas must have cleaned out the carb cos it started running like a top.
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| I know what you're thinking, me and Steve McQueen could have been separated at birth |
In between all of this we managed to get to the wedding too.
Monday, April 30, 2012
Running on Empty
The Dart is back on the road again! After a long warm up and short test ride the motor quit and wouldn't restart. This necessitated a push back into the garage for diagnosis. I was kinda hoping that the ignition system or some part of it had failed so that I could justify an electronic ignition upgrade to Mrs P. However it turns out that it had just run out of gas and a quick trip to the gas station soon put this right.
Tried to then take it out for a spin but hadn't realized just how much fluid had leaked out of the transmission. I got maybe 400 yards out of the neighborhood on the main highway when the trans started to slip and then not shift into top gear. Limped home and stuck a quart of trans oil in and then another and another and it's still not on the full mark. It does however drive now and shift fine but I'll top it off soon enough. Now that the exhaust is quiet I can hear that it needs the tappets done except no-one here has a clue what I'm talking about when I say that so I'll call it a valve adjustment. Likewise they've never heard of a rocker cover and rockers are in fact the sills. So not only am I trying to find long obsolete parts but they don't even speak the right language.
I still have a hankering for an XR4Ti and they are dirt cheap too
Tried to then take it out for a spin but hadn't realized just how much fluid had leaked out of the transmission. I got maybe 400 yards out of the neighborhood on the main highway when the trans started to slip and then not shift into top gear. Limped home and stuck a quart of trans oil in and then another and another and it's still not on the full mark. It does however drive now and shift fine but I'll top it off soon enough. Now that the exhaust is quiet I can hear that it needs the tappets done except no-one here has a clue what I'm talking about when I say that so I'll call it a valve adjustment. Likewise they've never heard of a rocker cover and rockers are in fact the sills. So not only am I trying to find long obsolete parts but they don't even speak the right language.
I still have a hankering for an XR4Ti and they are dirt cheap too
Monday, April 16, 2012
Deepwater Horizon
The garage floor is awash with transmission fluid! I managed to crack one of the transmission cooler lines while trying to "persuade" it to line up with the new (thicker) radiator. I didn't realise this until I started the car and reversed it out of the garage. I've bought a short 20" length of 5/16" OD steel line and some brass fittings so hopefully I can bend and shape it replace the busted section. Ideally I'd replace the entire line but at $75 for the preformed set I'll have to pass on that for the time being.
As you may have infered from the above the engine is back together and the car is now running. It took a while as the fuel had drained back into the tank and before the mechanical pump could draw it through to the carb the battery had gone flat. An overnight recharge and a turkey baster full of gas to prime the carb bowl and we were good to go. Not sure I've got the electric choke set up correctly but it idled well once it was good and warm.
I flushed the block thoroughly by removing the thermostat and reinstalling the housing then I disconected the upper hose from the radiator and stuffed a hose pipe into the rad opening. Turn on the water and start the car and use the upper hose to direct the "waste" water away from the fan. After a few minutes the water should start to run clear and the old antifreeze and old accumulated crud is flushed out.
In other news we've just returned from 11 days in the "old country" and I've developed a fascination with 80's Turbo cars including the Mitsubishi Starion/Chrysler Conquest, XR4Ti and Dodge Charger. I want turbo lag and I want it...............now!
As you may have infered from the above the engine is back together and the car is now running. It took a while as the fuel had drained back into the tank and before the mechanical pump could draw it through to the carb the battery had gone flat. An overnight recharge and a turkey baster full of gas to prime the carb bowl and we were good to go. Not sure I've got the electric choke set up correctly but it idled well once it was good and warm.
I flushed the block thoroughly by removing the thermostat and reinstalling the housing then I disconected the upper hose from the radiator and stuffed a hose pipe into the rad opening. Turn on the water and start the car and use the upper hose to direct the "waste" water away from the fan. After a few minutes the water should start to run clear and the old antifreeze and old accumulated crud is flushed out.
In other news we've just returned from 11 days in the "old country" and I've developed a fascination with 80's Turbo cars including the Mitsubishi Starion/Chrysler Conquest, XR4Ti and Dodge Charger. I want turbo lag and I want it...............now!
Monday, March 26, 2012
You nod and I'll hit it
New radiator arrived and brought with it more troubles. Because it's a bigger radiator the inlet and outlets aren't in the same place as the original 19" one so I've been trying to find the correct hoses. Further research shows that the radiator is in fact designed for the 70-73 Dart and the 68-73 Valiant so I've ordered an upper and lower hose that look like they may fit. Rockauto show 15 different upper and 7 different lower hoses so it's anyones guess what will work.
With work on the car at a halt I took the opportunity to install a new cat door in the garage. The easiest option would be to put it in the (fiberglass) garage doors but this also looks the worst. Best option is through the concrete block wall to the side and nicely out of sight. The wall is 8" thick, however the blocks are hollow center and look like the ones below so I figure it'd be pretty easy to drill all around the perimeter of the hole and then smash it out with a club hammer and chisel.
With work on the car at a halt I took the opportunity to install a new cat door in the garage. The easiest option would be to put it in the (fiberglass) garage doors but this also looks the worst. Best option is through the concrete block wall to the side and nicely out of sight. The wall is 8" thick, however the blocks are hollow center and look like the ones below so I figure it'd be pretty easy to drill all around the perimeter of the hole and then smash it out with a club hammer and chisel.
What I didn't bargain on was the hollow centers being backfilled with concrete, and this stuff is even harder than the block. Took me a full day to drill and hammer out a hole 9 inches square and it cost me 2 blisters and purple thumb where I missed the chisel and whacked it. Another half day to line the hole with plywood and repair the mortar and the job is all but complete. Those cats better appreciate it.
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