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4-speed conversion 67 Coronet

Evapo-rust. But I'm picking up some black strap molasses on the way home to try on some other parts.

9/01 UPDATE: The molasses rust removal is a slower process. After 24h the surface rust was still present, whereas the chelation process had done the job.
 
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Pedal assembly is ready to go back in.

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Based on the runout calculation the original bellhousing alignment dowels pins had to come out. Even with the engine on a stand this can be a pain. So I researched different methods of removal, including heat, welding or impact. Not wanting to apply heat, and lacking the talent to weld a nut (or anything else for that matter) onto the dowel it basically left me with brute force.

Dowel pins are typically hard, at least case hardened. When I drove a center punch into the end to get the drill bit started, it made a nice indent. I had a sharp carbide-tipped 3/16" masonry bit on standby, but it was not required. After drilling a 1/8" pilot hole I was able to graduate up to a TiN coated 13/64" bit, then successfully tap 1/4-20 in. threads. Sprayed PB blaster through the new hole, inserted screw and started smacking it with my homemade slide hammer.
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After about a dozen good hits (using two 5 lb plates) it popped right out! Note I had drilled at an upward angle so the 1/40-20 screw looks skewed but it held on for dear life, and unscrewed easily afterwards.

Here's the dowel pin on the table. Homemade slide hammer on the floor. The threaded adjuster in the vice grip handle was replaced with 12" of 7/16" all-thread. Even though not directly in line with the jaws it did the job. Total cost minus vice grips and weights - $12.
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Access to the upper left dowel pin was obscured by the firewall. For the purists in the crowd I will spare them the picture of how we removed it, but it involved drilling a 1/4" hole just beside the gas pedal pivot and attacking from inside the vehicle. The hole is easy enough to patch - it was like minimally invasive surgery.

We tightened 2 nuts on the end of a 12" piece of 1/4-20 all-thread, which proved strong enough to yank out that dowel.
 
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After all that, the offset dowel pins did not behave nicely when trying to install them in the block. They measure 0.4990", only one thou less than the nominal hole size. Even if I could hammer the RHS pin in, there isn't a straight shot at the LHS pin to do the same.
So I ordered the set screw style Lakewood brand from Brewer's and turned my attention to cleaning up the floor pan and cutting the hole for the shifter hump. Tomorrow I will start to get the steering column put together and the U-joints installed. And most importantly, paint the bellhousing blue...
 
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Paint, paint and more paint. Floor pan, steering column and bellhousing look like new. Kind of funny that I'm painting all the stuff that will be well hidden.
 
All I suggested was paint the bellhousing too match the engine, not everything else......
You created a monster.:lol:
Seriously though the poorly fitting offset dowels messed up my timeline so I had to do something while waiting for replacements. All that stuff will be protected from the elements now, so it was worth it.
 
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So after what was probably too much consideration I decided to rebuild the steering coupler. My biggest concern was the cap popping off without proper crimping. The factory crimp of the tabs works well but the replacement cap requires careful installation to keep it in place.
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The spring above is circled for no particular reason but it just happens to be the only thing visibly worn out. All the old grease was pretty nasty as you might expect.

Maybe over-thinking it but I purchased a spring retainer off ebay just for good measure (on the far right in this picture).
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Pretty straightforward but critical - it's just one of those things I don't need to worry about while running down the road.
 
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This is the best I can get it. The cap feels secure but the retainer clamp will give me even more confidence.
 
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The steering column mounting bracket changed from 1967 to 68/9. Most notably the 3 break-away washers are aluminum for 67 and later years are nylon. This looks like the last major difference between the late 60's B-Body steering columns.
 
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Now the bore runout is in the ballpark. L to R is within 1 thou, and Top to Bottom is 4.5 thou. It can be tuned in a bit more but we finally have the green light to finish off this project...
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Drilling the firewall holes for the clutch pedal bracket - so that's what those dimples are for. Compliments of Ma Mopar, 50 yrs ago. Thank you very much.

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The pedal assembly looks all innocent here, but it put up quite a fight. It would help to be a contortionist to get this in place as it bolts to the firewall, under the dash pad and behind the instrument panel.

Finally we have the third pedal.
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I left out the overcenter spring since the clutch is a diaphragm type.
 
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Flipping through the pages of the service manual, Section 21 (4 SPEED) there is a reference to "short fibre wheel bearing lubricant" in the Installation section. In Group 6 (Clutch) page 6-5 there is a similar reference, only this time with more detail. It calls for one-half teaspoon of "special long-life chassis grease or Multi-Mileage Lubricant, Part Number 2525035".
What followed was some interesting reading up on just exactly this is/was. In a nutshell it is a soda soap grease. The fibres refer to the consistency. Its' debatable whether fibres were actually added, but the real issue now is, where do I find this stuff? What is a modern equivalent?
Searching this site for short fibre grease or 2525035 leads me right back to this exact post... time to ask a question on the forum!

http://www.forbbodiesonly.com/mopar...e-wheel-bearing-lubricant-p-n-2525035.117728/
 
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Thanks to many replies regarding my forum question about short fiber grease I ordered a can of Sta-Lube SL3131, which fits the description.

Back to the Service Manual, we're supposed to check the bellhousing face runout in addition to bore runout, so again off with the bellhousing. Tolerance for the face is 6 thou. I will also tweak the offset dowels one last time to dial in the bore runout.
 
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