uk-maxie
Well-Known Member
Hi all
Just joined in the fun on here and posted a 'Hi' in the newbie area...
http://www.forbbodiesonly.com/moparforum/showthread.php?t=11475
so though my next duty was to get some pics & info on the cars here...
Where to start? At the beginning I suppose, but I'll try & keep it brief!
To save a bit of typing, check this link for a bit of background on how we found the car, and how it came to live on this side of the Atlantic.
http://www.1962to1965mopar.ornocar.org/ml-lane63.html
This is how the car was when we saw it in NC
more views of the previous owner's garages
The 'teething' troubles referred to in that article, turned out to need a full engine rebuild to cure, as when stripped, there were found to be too many problems to sort with just a tune-up
That took about a year and about 2/3 the cost of the car to complete, but we were able to retain the majority of the oringinal MW parts, just needing new pistons (Diamond, .030" over), cam (MP hydraulic) & lifters and a lot of head work, as the guides & seats were shot!
We tried to keep it a stock rebuild, except for the cam (didnt fancy doing the valve lash at regular intervals, cos of the need to remove the inlet & poss the exh manifold on one side, just to get the valve cover off! Cam is a Mopar Performance .509 lift item, so similar spec to the original mecahanical version.
Compression is down a bit too, at 10.2:1, just so we could run pump gas without worry.
We had the engine dyno'd and it gave 450hp & 500ft/lbs, so on the good side of the advertised 410hp!
As the engine builder said at the time, a step up with the cam & a bit more compression would really liven it up, but we wanted to see how it would perform as stock as possible first.
Fitted SSBC discs at the front while the engine was out, with a dual circuit master cylinder. Theyre still not idea but a bit better than they were. Chose the SSBC kit over the MP Brakes kit as you can still fit 14" wheels, whereas you can only use 15's with the MP calipers. That allows us to use our original wheels or swap the 15's we've also now got.
Trans needed a rebuild too, despite having a rebuild & a new converter before leaving the States
Oh, and one of the drive shaft flanges was bent too, (on the same side as the wheel arch has taken a knock, so that may be an old problem) so we fitted a new pair of Moser shafts.
Car was back up & running by around Sept '06, then spent most of the following winter & spring getting the push-button trans set up right. Thanks go out to the guys on the 62-65 mail list for this, without whom we'd prob still be struggling to get the gears selected!
Car was again out of commission for the autum/winter/spring of 07/08 while we tidied up the interior, which still had most of its original parts. The seat vinyl wasnt in bad shape for its age, but the foam crumbled everytime you sat on the front seats, leaving a pile of dust on the carpet. The stitching on the original vinyl looked a bit fragile, so we decided to go with new Legendary covers & foam, with matching door panels from SMS. Shame the old stuff had to go, but we're pleased with the results. Despite the seats having the wrong colour stitching (red instead or white) and being a bit tight in the front & loose in the back
Showing old & new door panels..
and fitted rear seat belts while we were at it...
We also got autoinstruments to spruce up a spare instrument cluster we bought off ebay. We had it sent direct to them from the seller, so we saved on one lot of trans-atlantic shipping, and we still have the original cluster.
After a couple of attempts they did a fantastic job! First time round they painted the areas our original cluster has as chrome, so we sent it back and they re-did it in chrome free of charge! Pain in the ***, but very nice of them to oblige! Apparently, some of these clusters were painted and some were plated? Still not sure about that... :shruggy:
Original cluster...
1st attempt...
Redone...
Also fitted a 3" MW TTI system around this time as the one that came with the car was starting to rust through. Not cheap but fitted quite well considering. Dynomax mufflers are noisier than the previous ones fitted but that may be cos theyre a few inches shorter :confused: Quite an annoying drone to be honest but we've learnt to live with it!
That's pretty much how it is now. We get to use it most of the year (when not replacing the engine or interior :grin, weather permitting.
Despite all the stories abiout the MW engine being impossible to drive in traffic, we manage ok in and around London. Even did a 'tunnel run' last March - a 2 hour drive round the centre of London taking in as many tunnels as possible.. and that was with about 1.5 hr journey before & after to get there & home. And she didnt miss a beat :cool:
I'll get some more pics up over the next day or so....
Robert
Just joined in the fun on here and posted a 'Hi' in the newbie area...
http://www.forbbodiesonly.com/moparforum/showthread.php?t=11475
so though my next duty was to get some pics & info on the cars here...
Where to start? At the beginning I suppose, but I'll try & keep it brief!
To save a bit of typing, check this link for a bit of background on how we found the car, and how it came to live on this side of the Atlantic.
http://www.1962to1965mopar.ornocar.org/ml-lane63.html
This is how the car was when we saw it in NC
more views of the previous owner's garages
The 'teething' troubles referred to in that article, turned out to need a full engine rebuild to cure, as when stripped, there were found to be too many problems to sort with just a tune-up
That took about a year and about 2/3 the cost of the car to complete, but we were able to retain the majority of the oringinal MW parts, just needing new pistons (Diamond, .030" over), cam (MP hydraulic) & lifters and a lot of head work, as the guides & seats were shot!
We tried to keep it a stock rebuild, except for the cam (didnt fancy doing the valve lash at regular intervals, cos of the need to remove the inlet & poss the exh manifold on one side, just to get the valve cover off! Cam is a Mopar Performance .509 lift item, so similar spec to the original mecahanical version.
Compression is down a bit too, at 10.2:1, just so we could run pump gas without worry.
We had the engine dyno'd and it gave 450hp & 500ft/lbs, so on the good side of the advertised 410hp!
As the engine builder said at the time, a step up with the cam & a bit more compression would really liven it up, but we wanted to see how it would perform as stock as possible first.
Fitted SSBC discs at the front while the engine was out, with a dual circuit master cylinder. Theyre still not idea but a bit better than they were. Chose the SSBC kit over the MP Brakes kit as you can still fit 14" wheels, whereas you can only use 15's with the MP calipers. That allows us to use our original wheels or swap the 15's we've also now got.
Trans needed a rebuild too, despite having a rebuild & a new converter before leaving the States
Oh, and one of the drive shaft flanges was bent too, (on the same side as the wheel arch has taken a knock, so that may be an old problem) so we fitted a new pair of Moser shafts.
Car was back up & running by around Sept '06, then spent most of the following winter & spring getting the push-button trans set up right. Thanks go out to the guys on the 62-65 mail list for this, without whom we'd prob still be struggling to get the gears selected!
Car was again out of commission for the autum/winter/spring of 07/08 while we tidied up the interior, which still had most of its original parts. The seat vinyl wasnt in bad shape for its age, but the foam crumbled everytime you sat on the front seats, leaving a pile of dust on the carpet. The stitching on the original vinyl looked a bit fragile, so we decided to go with new Legendary covers & foam, with matching door panels from SMS. Shame the old stuff had to go, but we're pleased with the results. Despite the seats having the wrong colour stitching (red instead or white) and being a bit tight in the front & loose in the back
Showing old & new door panels..
and fitted rear seat belts while we were at it...
We also got autoinstruments to spruce up a spare instrument cluster we bought off ebay. We had it sent direct to them from the seller, so we saved on one lot of trans-atlantic shipping, and we still have the original cluster.
After a couple of attempts they did a fantastic job! First time round they painted the areas our original cluster has as chrome, so we sent it back and they re-did it in chrome free of charge! Pain in the ***, but very nice of them to oblige! Apparently, some of these clusters were painted and some were plated? Still not sure about that... :shruggy:
Original cluster...
1st attempt...
Redone...
Also fitted a 3" MW TTI system around this time as the one that came with the car was starting to rust through. Not cheap but fitted quite well considering. Dynomax mufflers are noisier than the previous ones fitted but that may be cos theyre a few inches shorter :confused: Quite an annoying drone to be honest but we've learnt to live with it!
That's pretty much how it is now. We get to use it most of the year (when not replacing the engine or interior :grin
, weather permitting.Despite all the stories abiout the MW engine being impossible to drive in traffic, we manage ok in and around London. Even did a 'tunnel run' last March - a 2 hour drive round the centre of London taking in as many tunnels as possible.. and that was with about 1.5 hr journey before & after to get there & home. And she didnt miss a beat :cool:
I'll get some more pics up over the next day or so....
Robert
