62 Belvedere 318 poly granny cruiser (one day i hope)

[icetech]

Went out after work and put in some pinion angle shims.. I was getting a bad vibration around 60mph and knew my angle wasn't great to start with.. hoping this fixes it, was something i needed to do anyway..

I ended up

Trans 1.3 degree down
Pinion 1 degree up...

Wanted the pinion at zero, according to Spicers calculator i have a working angle of 1.5* which i think is ok..

I have caltracs and no power so i don't see the axle rotating too much..

ALSO... when i was building the car to just drive i put on cheap monroes which i never used to have an issue with (20 years ago) and the rears are already shot.. can move the drivers on up and down bout 2-3 inches without any resistance, passenger is like 80/20 rebound/compression... after 100 miles.. WTF..

So i need to find some decent shocks that aren't stupid expensive (no bilstein)

 

[wedgie]

Quick and accurate way to check the interference angle is to have the car on jack stands, the back supported under the axle housing, measure the crank/trans angle by using a straight edge on the crank pulley and then using an angle finder or your phone to get the angle, then get the rear end pinion angle by dropping the driveshaft, turning the pinion so the ujoint cup retainers are vertical, get the pinion angle. Should be 1 1/2*-5* pinion angle down.
So simple and accurate that a Ford or Chevy guy can do it.

 

[icetech]

Need to get motivated... new shocks showed up today.. just need to install them then weld up the exhaust and test... just meh... maybe this weekend....

 

[icetech]

Rear shocks in... started to do the exhaust and got hungry.. should have it together tomorrow...

Sadly my 2018 Grand cherokee is sounding like it might be terminal has a knock going.. pretty quiet but it's there... increases with engine speed, took the belt off hoping it was the water pump or something.. nope

So.. paid my house off 2 weeks ago.. zero debt.. and i need to shop for a new car now.. think i'm done with new chryslers though, only 30k miles on this and i took great care of it.. kinda pissed. Might look at fords, not sure what i want...

Kinda want a genesis gv70 but i can't see putting a engine block in the back of that

 

[davek]

Rear shocks in... started to do the exhaust and got hungry.. should have it together tomorrow...

Sadly my 2018 Grand cherokee is sounding like it might be terminal has a knock going.. pretty quiet but it's there... increases with engine speed, took the belt off hoping it was the water pump or something.. nope

So.. paid my house off 2 weeks ago.. zero debt.. and i need to shop for a new car now.. think i'm done with new chryslers though, only 30k miles on this and i took great care of it.. kinda pissed. Might look at fords, not sure what i want...

Kinda want a genesis gv70 but i can't see putting a engine block in the back of that

Thats how life gos, thinking of saving money and next thing your spending it. Good luck on a truck.

 

[ckessel]

Can you drive a stick?

 

[RemCharger]

Rear shocks in... started to do the exhaust and got hungry.. should have it together tomorrow...

Sadly my 2018 Grand cherokee is sounding like it might be terminal has a knock going.. pretty quiet but it's there... increases with engine speed, took the belt off hoping it was the water pump or something.. nope

So.. paid my house off 2 weeks ago.. zero debt.. and i need to shop for a new car now.. think i'm done with new chryslers though, only 30k miles on this and i took great care of it.. kinda pissed. Might look at fords, not sure what i want...

Kinda want a genesis gv70 but i can't see putting a engine block in the back of that

3.6¿

 

[icetech]

3.6¿

Yeah.. my 2014 was great never gave me an issue. This one just annoys me.. shouldn't have issues already. The 3.6l has lifter/rocker issues also, mine doesn't have those though.. Not sure why chrysler can't make a valve train that doesn't self destruct

 

[icetech]

Can you drive a stick?

View attachment 1883317

Drove sticks most of my life til bout 15 years ago.. Looking at trucks and i wish they made a good small stuck still. The 98 dakota was my favorite car i owned.. thing was about perfect (other than the low power V6 and rust...) great size though..

Looking for someething not much bigger than the grand cherokee or i won't fit it in the garage.. Garage is like 20x30 but with the '62 and riding mower/tools/junk that room goes away fast I'm just glad it's deep.. would be horrible without some space to work

 

[ckessel]

Maybe latch onto a 73- D100. See more of those popping up

 

[icetech]

Maybe latch onto a 73- D100. See more of those popping up

Naw... i love old trucks but i wouldn't trust one anymore Plus my pampered butt got used to heated seats and wheel can't go back.. winter is cold here

 

[ckessel]

I understand that.

 

[icetech]

Maybe latch onto a 73- D100. See more of those popping up

BTW... i just looked at the weather were you are and man... it's perfect... i want to be there Here is just misery.. it's either insane heat/humidity or ice... sometimes both in the same day

 

[ckessel]

We love it here. No need for a/c, no snow or ice. But there is the chance of wildfires[ think we'll be fine since there's no fuel against the house] or earthquakes. My wife and I are both Socal natives. Snow was something you went out of your way for so you could play. This area isn't densely populated, still fairly rural.

 

[icetech]

We love it here. No need for a/c, no snow or ice. But there is the chance of wildfires[ think we'll be fine since there's no fuel against the house] or earthquakes. My wife and I are both Socal natives. Snow was something you went out of your way for so you could play. This area isn't densely populated, still fairly rural.

I'm jealous.. that is literal paradise... Here you get like 1 month where you can actually do stuff without being miserable while doing it.. usually late may to late june is about it. This year we have had like 10 good days of nice weather and that's it.. today at 8am it was only 75 but 90% humidity, you go outside and you feel like you are breathing water...

For some reason i always think you are in florida, i was bout to ask how you deal with the heat there.. then noticed i was wrong..

I don't mind winter TOO much except.. around late october you basically have to shut down or work in heavy coats and with heaters going. In michigan you get like 1/3 of the life you can have in a place like yours. And winter goes on til april.. so pretty much half a year of life is just gone

 

[ckessel]

Before we were able to move back here, we lived in NE San Diego county. Hot and humid plus big area for wildfires. We got hit with one in 07. The first summer we were back here, 7/18, it was 117* where we used to live. Plus 90+% humidity. It was high 60's and clear here. Many days in the summer it's foggy, like now, which means its way toasty to the east over the coastal mountain range. 90+*. God is good!

 

[icetech]

k.. exhaust back on.. took 3 hours had to cut and weld a bunch.. fit it a little nicer though. And i remember why i took off these original mufflers now.. they are crazy loud.. it's 3" out the back and it sounds like open headers.. which doesn't bug me much but neighbors gonna hate it at 6am

 

[icetech]

K.. went out this morning at 9am and it's already crappy out.. threw the tires on and took it for a ride..

This is embarrassing as hell.. as i had never had it happen before and no one else had suggested it... BUT... my issue about not reving and thinking the converter was locking too early... Bad mufflers...

Just before winter i changed from the gibson mwa's which are insanely loud.. to the biggest 3" summit normal mufflers i could get wanting to get quiet.. They sounded fine, had no reason to suspect them. Transgo in a email mentioned it sounds like a exhuast restricting which made me remember that i had changed the mufflers just before winter and parked it after 1 ride..

If he hadn't mentioned that i would have never found the problem.. I spent bout 2k and 3 months of stress over it

So.. i put the MWA's back on and the motor is happy as can be, my timing changes act normally again also.. no more 40+ timing..

BUT.. they are sooo stupidly loud, i have dual 3" out the back and it sounds like open headers.. so yeah i can't live like that, was just doing some research and am trying to decide between hooker max flow or hooker Aerochamber.. both are very very quiet and supposedly good flow..

There is no way i would have through dual 3" exhaust on a 318 could ever be restrictive enough to cause issues...

SOO.... while i did that i changed my pinion angle and the car seems happy with that, not really feeling any vibration anymore. And due to this i found my rear shocks were already bad after 100 miles. I could move them up and down with no resistance like 2-3".. insane. So i swapped those out..

Am pissed bout the money wasted and time.. but it is what it is.. learning experience. When i decide on the new mufflers it should only take a few hours to swap them out this time...

I had even pulled the front of the motor apart to double check cam timing.. such a weird issue. Cars been down bout a month now

 

[icetech]

Ordered the max flows.. should be able to put them on next weekend.. They are supposedly the quietest at idle/cruise then come alive at WOT.. Will see how it goes.. i probably should have gone with 2.5" exhaust.. but i always overdo ****.. bad habit

 

[wedgie]

New car shopping is a PITA. Ford has major issues with their water pumps because of location, GM has transmission issues, Stellantis has problems with everything. Hate to say it but Toyota seems to have the best vehicles right now. I'm in Oakland county and it's damn hot and humid.
Waiting for temps to drop below 70* and humidity below 50% so I can finish painting my '63.