Not a Restoration but definitely a project.

[condor74]

Success! I ran my home made tap into the torque converter threads. I then attempted to install my longer than stock torque converter bolts. They went in further but were not able to pull flat against the flex plate. I then cut about 1/8 inch off the end of the bolts. Beveled the tip and ran a thread dye over the bolt. I then trial fit the bolt and it goes all the way in and tightens up. I removed it and put blue lock tight on the bolt and retorqued it. Repeated for the other 3 and now all are torqued with locktite Time now to finish installing all the other bits and hopefully will have it ready to start soon.

 

[condor74]

Here is a pic with a few more parts bolted up.

 

[condor74]

Started the car this weekend. Have a few hiccups though. Started easy and sounded healthy. Attempted to set timing by setting total timing. Unfortunately my timing light was not flashing consistently at 2000 rpm. So for now set by ear. Fuel is currently supplied from an external gas can as the tank needs to be cleaned out. Next hiccup came about 10 minutes into the break in when the radiator cracked and started leaking. So it is on hold while I repair a few items. Oil pressure is good idling at 50 and up to 80 when rpm is up. Sounds healthy.

 

[condor74]

Slowly but surely getting the car dialed in. I wound up replacing my incorrect pulley set up with a correct style set up I purchased from a member here. (Thank you 70 RT). I am in the market for a good aftermarket aluminum or quality stock radiator but for now I bought some quick steel epoxy and patched the cracks. After letting it sit over night I pressure tested it and it holds pressure. I also had a problem with my auto meter / Mopar temp gauge. Reading 250 plus if the car was even ran for 30 seconds. I found the old ground loose and car is idling at 170 after 10 minutes. Accelerator pump started leaking on the 750 double pumper. I have a spare so I will swap that tonight or tomorrow. Overall a much better day working on the car.

 

[condor74]

I didn’t update last week or 2. I will start from there. 2 weeks ago I attempted to drain the old gas from the fuel tank by pumping it strait out of the fuel line. This worked ok. I got to where I couldn’t pump gas out any more. I put a new fuel filter on and added 5 gallons of fresh gas. This was a mistake as there was still a bit of gas in the tank and while the vehicle ran, it stunk like old gas bad. I drove the car around the block a couple of times but it had hesitations on acceleration. I decided to take a break so I parked the car and went camping last week. I should have removed the tank for cleaning.
This weak I decided to put the 750 DP back on the race car. Guess what ,it runs crappy now too. I removed and cleaned it. Put 2 new accel pumps on it and new needle and seats. Still runs crappy. Power valve is sticking too. Replaced the power valve and race car is back in business.

Back to the Plymouth. My small town has a cruise night first Friday of every month. I decided to see if I could actually drive the Plymouth. I didn’t want to take the carb of the race car again so I blew off an old edelbrock 600 cfm carb I had and bolted it on. Had no idea internal condition other than it ran good 9 years ago. Car started idled with a nice lope. Fine tuned the mixture screws and idle speed. Car sounds really smooth. Starts on first crank. Still hesitant about taking it out though. Radiator has more patches than a quilt. We wind up going down town in my Jeep Wrangler to eat, listen to music, and watch the cruise.
I come across my neighbor who is an awesome guy, hot rodder, and had a stroke a year ago. He is now disabled but still loves watching cars do burnouts. He says I should have driven the Plymouth. I tell him I might just go get it. My wife and I run home jump in the Plymouth and cross our fingers. Car starts right up. We go add about 5 gallons of pump premium and head for the little down town area. Car is actually driving pretty well. I roll up and my neighbor sees me waves and I did a nice long Smokey burnout. We go down to the end of the street turn around and come back. They were loving it. Car was still asking for more. People with there kids asking for another burnout so there kids can see. I don’t disappoint and decided at that point not to push my luck. Temp was up about 210 so we headed home and pulled back into the driveway. That was the first time the new motor was ever leaned on. Very good night.

Sorry about the long post