Updating the Super Street Mopar

Donor unit is in. I got started on the trans pan but a friend came by so I stopped for the day. Get after it tomorrow.

Been plugging away on the hybrid project. Hooking up various lines, cleaning the exhaust ports on the heads for new gaskets, figured out a pair of radiator hoses[ had flex ones, yuck!]. Yesterday I busted the carb apart. Hit it with B12 until I ran out. Got more B12 today, finished squirting it down, blew out all of the passages. Started getting that together today. I need to chase down a secondary diaphragm for it, old one has some cracks. My main goal is to just get it running. After that, will see what else Steve wants to tackle. Like brakes, no dust caps on the rotors, tie rod and ball joint boots toast, driveshaft too short plus some other stuff.

While I'm waiting for more parts to show up, I used today's time to shorten up the excessively long plug wires. Since these units are JDM Speed ricer ones, the wires are 10mm in diameter. That made it a challenge to get the new terminals on and crimped. I ended up putting a terminal in the vise with a 3/8 to help reform them. 1st picture is a normal one on the left, reformed on the right That worked ok there, but putting the squeeze on the crimping tool, have a Pertronix one with different die sets, was a challenge and workout for the hands. Much nicer now.

No pics of the hybrid, but have been getting pieces back on. Plug wires done, spun up oil pressure, set the distributor in after getting the engine on TDC, started making battery cables, hooking up starter wires, alt belt on, fan on, new t-stat in, headers on with some longer bolts, fuel lines run from tank to carb, carb together. Started working on throttle cable, finish that tomorrow. May have an issue with the KD cable, but will compare on a friends ride. Oil pressure line started. Still lots more to do till I hit the go button. A future project came by today. A 64 Plymouth owned by a new Mopar friend named Ken. Stroker 440. Has some lighting issues, rattle/vibration in the dash, shifter is loose, feels like it has one dead hole, need to calibrate/mark engine dipstick. I'll work on that after the hybrid is done but after I work on my wagon. Will be updating the brakes, suspension, steering, adding SFC's in.

Have been hooking more stuff up for a week or so. Ended up having to add an MSD6 unit in the mix as it would not light without it. Supposedly it ran when he bought it. So...either the seller pulled a fast one on him when he wasn't looking, kept the unit, or it fell off during the transport home. Got it running today, pretty much lit right off. The new parts store fuel pump leaks fuel between the cast main body and the stamped steel lower section where they're crimped together. Gettin another unit. I have the floats run down but it seems they are not floating too well. Getting new brass ones. Oil pressure gauge, mechanical unknown make, is leaking at the gauge and engine. Tightened up the fittings a little more, no luck. Getting a new SW unit which will match the others. The owner is happy it runs, sent him a video. Now that it runs, I'll see what else he wants me to tackle.

Hey, when do you plan to get back to the Mopar stuff, man ? ? ?

Once the "hybrid" is done, the wagon goes on the lift for its upgrades. Brakes, suspension, steering, SFC's, K-frame swap. I might even be able to time it for the engine swap too. After it's done, this 64 comes in for some work. When I'm done on the wagon, I'll start gathering supplies up for the 65.

I was able to get the money project running, so the owner is happy. I'm on my 4th fuel pump. Between the inverted flare fittings on the pumps not being machined properly, lower steel half on one not being crimped very well to the cast upper, over pressuring, that area is good now. Picked up a new SW oil pressure gauge and some 1/8" copper line, co that leak is fixed. Fuel is dribbling past the boosters on the secondaries after its shut off. Float level is actually a little low. A gent mentioned I may have the main body gasket flipped, got some new ones and will check that out. Started working on the brakes yesterday. I pulled one rotor's worth off so I could get parts matched up. The car has a Heidt's stang 2 conversion. Brake and bearing stuff is GM. The car didn't have the grease/dust caps on the rotors so water and grit got in. Tatered bearings were the result. When I was removing the lug nuts up front, they seemed a little loose. I looked at the top of the studs and saw some marks on them. The nuts had corresponding marks. So when I got ready to clean the rust off the rotor's, I ran one nut down till it bottomed out. In the picture you can see there is a pretty substantial gap there, which tells me the wheels were loose. I took a flap wheel to the tip of one stud and knocked it down. Problem solved there, so I did all 10 studs that way. After cleaning the rotors with spray and air, I knocked the new bearing cups in. Hand packed all of them and slipped the rh one on the spindle. Went to set the bearings with preload, after cranking them down and rotating back and forth, I noticed that the castle nuts that are on there have no provision to set the bearings correctly. So I have the skinny nuts and stamped metal caps coming tomorrow, so that issue will be gone. Of course since the brakes are GM based, I was able to find grease/dust caps. I've got new boots coming, urethane as thats all you can get separately, for the ball joints and tie rod ends. Old ones are toast. I already have the rack mount bushings, so will be putting those in. The rear brakes look ok, just need a washing down and adjustment. Going to flush the system when I get the wheel stuff done, then do the old manual bleed. Once the car is safely drivable, he'll take it home. Then my wagon goes on the lift for its turn.

More photos

The spindle hardware showed up this afternoon. Prior to that I worked on the rr brakes. Took them apart, cleaned, scuffed up the shoes, cleaned the adjuster unit and lubed it, scuffed the drum up, all together. I went to put the front together now that I have the proper hardware and found that the chinesium cap didn't want to go on. Had a look at it and saw that the edge was flared out some. Took a single cut file to it and end of discussion. If you look at the pics, first one is as found, second after filing.

Heck yeah….forward progress!

For sure. Can't wait to get the wagon on the lift for the suspension/steering/brakes/SFC's updates. Get the wagon squared away since it's my DD, then gather stuff up for the 65. As I'm earning scratch, I'll be buying pieces for the wagon engine. When it's complete, switcho changeo. From there, get the seats redone. Not as spendy as I thought they would be. My spot needs help, can't imagine why since it's original. Replace the carpet, fix a hole in the floor while the carpet is out, put a 3 point belt setup in. I'll for sure have the underside stuff done before Fall Fling. Fingers crossed on the other. Be nice to have all of it done by December when I do the Power Tour West.