List your hardest mechanical challenge and the final Fix for it!

[munger77]

B Body Mechanical, electrical gremlins; impossible to reach bolts; what stumped you and what was the solution?

 

[beanhead]

Since my car sat mostly disassembled for almost 15 years, figuring out how all the various nuts and bolts went back to their proper places(stuff sat in containers so long that the labeling faded!) Wiring routing and dash stuff too....how I got it was a lot of car show pictures, internet info, and help from this site

 

[68gtxman]

When I bought my car, it had a non-original 440 engine in it that didn’t run. It was an AC car but the wrong compressor brackets and everything else missing. How do I even know what to buy, even if I could buy it?

I visited a local man who just finished building a 1969 convertible Roadrunner to see if he had any advice. After he showed me his car (it was gorgeous!), he sold me a dealer’s parts book for 1968 models and then showed me how to use it. He had dealer 1-800 phone numbers to use for parts searches and he showed me how to use them to find old stock on dealers shelves (in the late 1990s). He even sold me NOS parts that he had that were correct only for 1968 (he bought them when he found anything close to the 1969 parts he needed). For example, he sold me the locking latch for my glove box door for $1.77 (his cost from the dealer he bought it from IIRC).

Now with the part numbers, I eBayed them and found other NOS parts there for cheap (in the 1990s). I bought parts that were very close if I thought they would work for me - for example I bought a NOS 3 speed wiper motor for $99 because it had the part number for a C body instead of a B body (the wire harness was a few inches longer). I had great fun finding the puzzle parts one at a time until I had everything to put the engine compartment back to factory original.

Though I haven’t installed a couple of AC parts, I have them in storage.

 

[funknut]

When I bought my '68 Charger in 2015, the most complex stuff I had ever done was oil changes and brake pad swaps, so pretty much every time I've turned a wrench on my Charger it's been my hardest (and most rewarding) automotive challenge.

The single most challenging thing I've chased so far has been a top end rattle, which appears to be caused by defective rocker adjusters. Second to that was getting the hydroboost mounted to the firewall with the dash in place.

Except for alignments and welding, I'm committed to doing everything myself, so I expect to have several more 'most challenging moments' in the future. ;)

 

[POMONAMISSEL]

just getting clean air , and presto . lol .

 

[munger77]

68GTXman, I went through the same thing with AC and alternator brackets on my car (which were home-made pieces of iron welded together). I have an NOS compressor in place now. Your engine compartment is incredible now - my '68 looks to be the exact same color as yours. But my engine compartment is so hideous I usually keep the hood down at cruise ins... You've inspired me.

 

[Street fighter]

B Body Mechanical, electrical gremlins; impossible to reach bolts; what stumped you and what was the solution?

This is not a mopar problem but it's a problem that I had to solve.My daughter have a 2011 chevy cruze that kept running hot and I tried everything that I could think of.took it to the dealer and they had it 7 days and they couldn't find the problem.during the time her car was down she used my wife's car to go to school which was a large car and she is small.I spent money on everything I thought could be wrong with it after the dealer could not fix it.the car would start up and it would start blowing water back to the coolant jug and run up to 230 in less than2
minutes. something kept telling me to replace the water pump but I had checked it for leaks and play in the shaft. there was none . I went on and pulled the pump and it had a plastic shield inside the pump that sent water in two different ways, now it was only going to one which left the other side of the engine not getting water. which let it run hot.My daughter was so glad to get her car back she KISSED me,

 

[drobertson]

Not exactly a mechanical issue, but I often have a hard time finding motivation to work on the Charger.

Aside from that, the clutch linkage on my truck broke and needed replaced. Most the old stuff was junk so I surfed the web for a few hours just trying to find the right z-bar and ball-studs. On top of that; the old ballstud in the bellhousing was stuck!

 

[Thunderlugs]

Throwout bearings eaten as fast as I could put them in, in my Hemi Coronet. Turns out the dowell pins in the back of the block , and an aftermarket bellhousing were cocking over the whole combo by almost forty thousandths! Some offset dowells and a dial indicator and a new bellhousing, I got her down to .003. Not a problem, or a peep out of her since. All you 4 speed guys out there..... take nothing for granted, and do the check! It will save you time , money, and headaches wrestling that Heavy Iron 4 speed in and out countless times!

 

[RT6PK]

I had the rear Holley carb on my Six Pack set up keep gurgling gas... like the needle and seat were stuck. I took the carb apart, cleaned it it real good, put it back together. No good. Took it apart again, replaced the needle and seat. No good. Took it apart again and replaced the little float spring. No good. Finally, I took the carb off, removed the sight plug and noticed that the float was not moving; but when I removed the bowl, the float moved just fine. It was a neoprene float, there was a parting line from the mold when they made it. The parting line was rubbing against the metering plate, seizing the float up. I sanded the parting line off and end of problem. This whole process cost me some of the few remaining hairs that I have left. I was so pissed off at Holley that i was ready to put a Carter 4 barrel on it. I had even bought a four barrel intake.

 

[Randra]

Probably one of the weirdest things I had to deal with was not knowing you had to adjust the power steering spool valve. Freaked me out when I first started the car and the steering wheel flew to the left all on its own. Lol

 

[mopar 3 B]

Been working on B bodies for 45 years when I find the solution I will let everone know.

 

[khryslerkid]

I remember a mid 60's Chevy Impala that came in the shop for its annual state inspection. The down pipe was bad and needed replaced. First thing, one of the flange bolts broke off. Couldn't get to it to drill it out so had to remove the exhaust manifold. Next thing that happened, one of the rear studs broke off in the head. Couldn't get to that one to drill it out so had to remove the head. Removed the intake and removing the head bolts, one of them broke off in the block. Only good thing was that I backed that broken one out with my fingers. All of that work just to replace a down pipe.

 

[SublimeSixpack]

The following wasn't a tough job but did stump me for a while. It happened with my '69 Super Bee. Every once in a while the engine would start running poorly, the tach would go crazy, same with some of the other gauges. I'd pull over and check things out, then restart and all was well until the next time.
I tried a different ECU among other things. Still had the problem occasionally. One time when it acted up I happened to feel the dash and noticed the area near the ammeter was quite warm! Reached up behind the dash to find the ammeter hot and a loose lead.
Disconnected the battery, tightened the loose nut and no issues since. It was rather annoying at the time but I had to laugh once I found the issue and thought how easy it was to actually fix.

 

[Fran Blacker]

Probably one of the weirdest things I had to deal with was not knowing you had to adjust the power steering spool valve. Freaked me out when I first started the car and the steering wheel flew to the left all on its own. Lol

Lucky it didn't catch a thumb or finger. Saw a guy it happened to thumb was twice its normal size.

 

[Kern Dog]

The engine in my Charger was my first high compression, stroked big block. I had built a few small block Chevy engines, a few Datsun inline 4s, a few 318s and 360s...Also two 440s that were barely hotter than stock. This 440 based 493 was a step up for me. I bought the rods/pistons and crank from a shop that told me that with the Edelbrock heads I had, I should have a 10.8 to 1 compression and that it will be okay for pump gasoline.
It was not.
From 2005 until 2015 I messed with a variety of things to eliminate the detonation. Different camshafts, thicker head gaskets,Ported heads, higher octane race gas, distributor modifications, spark ECUs....Finally the combination of thicker head gaskets and carburetor tuning ended the knocking. Over the years I had periods of frustration where I could only accelerate at 1/2 to 3/4 throttle because full throttle action resulted in knocking. I would work on it and think the problem was solved, then get pissed off and park it for months when the problems came back.Until 2012, I had to rely on word of mouth for advice. Web forums were around but I was slow to join up. The amount of information and online help is staggering. Today, there is no reason to deal with "Not Knowing" how to correct a problem. Somewhere, someone else has probably encountered a similar problem and may have discovered a fix for it. The information is often just out there for the asking.

 

[khryslerkid]

1968 AMC Rebel station wagons

Had one come in the shop for a flywheel ring gear. Removed driveshaft, torque converter bolts, transmission, flywheel. Heated the gear ring to remove from flywheel, heated new ring and dropped it on the flywheel. Replaced everything including a new starter bendix gear. Good to go.

Exactly one week later, (I thought it was the same car), pulls into the shop with the same problem, stripped flywheel ring. Well it was identical to the one I did the week before, even the color. The boss quotes the customer the same cost as the one before and gets the go-ahead.

Get the car up on stands, craw under it, and I couldn't believe what I was seeing. It had coil springs instead of leaves. The driveshaft was an enclosed one bolted to the rear and to the trans. The whole rear end/driveshaft assembly had to be dropped out from under the car and rolled out of the way in order to get at the trans. Go to drop the trans and the flywheel is welded to the torque converter. The ring gear is even welded to the flywheel. Had to order the whole tc/ring gear/flywheel assembly. Over $400 just for that. (This was mid 70's)

The boss took a big hit on that job and learned that when dealing with AMCs to check what you have before giving a quote. Some jobs you'll never forget.

 

[mopar 3 B]

1968 AMC Rebel station wagons
View attachment 552290

Had one come in the shop for a flywheel ring gear. Removed driveshaft, torque converter bolts, transmission, flywheel. Heated the gear ring to remove from flywheel, heated new ring and dropped it on the flywheel. Replaced everything including a new starter bendix gear. Good to go.

Exactly one week later, (I thought it was the same car), pulls into the shop with the same problem, stripped flywheel ring. Well it was identical to the one I did the week before, even the color. The boss quotes the customer the same cost as the one before and gets the go-ahead.

Get the car up on stands, craw under it, and I couldn't believe what I was seeing. It had coil springs instead of leaves. The driveshaft was an enclosed one bolted to the rear and to the trans. The whole rear end/driveshaft assembly had to be dropped out from under the car and rolled out of the way in order to get at the trans. Go to drop the trans and the flywheel is welded to the torque converter. The ring gear is even welded to the flywheel. Had to order the whole tc/ring gear/flywheel assembly. Over $400 just for that. (This was mid 70's)

The boss took a big hit on that job and learned that when dealing with AMCs to check what you have before giving a quote. Some jobs you'll never forget.

The difference a year will make on a body style that never changed.

 

[khryslerkid]

The difference a year will make on a body style that never changed.

They were both the same year! Same color, same interior, same wheel covers, same engines, automatics. Really bazaar in the way that it all took place.

 

[dvw]

Had a issue with a 904 behind my sons 12.0 second 340 Duster. It would kill the high gear clutch frictions when it was raced. On the street there was no issue. Took it apart 5-6 times never saw anything. Asked around, A&A, Cope, Pro-Trans, Turbo Action, Mancini. We were all stumped after the usual fluid /seal/clearance questions. Turns out it was modified for a 5 plate front drum. The rear clutch hub splines that the front frictions set on were about .050" short. Under heavy load the last friction in the front clutch assy would jump the splines on the rear clutch hub causing that friction to slip. Then it would get hot and the other frictions would fail in succession front to rear. Finally spotted the inner splined edge of the front friction rounded off. Swapped the input shaft/hub assy and never had another failure.
Doug