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- May 14, 2011
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- Location
- On the Ridge, TN
I was reminded of this eventful day in Fred's resurrection (3 years ago now!) and thought I'd share it once again, since I re-enjoyed a good laugh at my own expense because of it.
Some of you might remember this one; apologies if so.
The story starts out with a picture, taken right after a Centerforce Dual Friction clutch (now long gone) had been installed in the car and I had been seeking FBBO advice about getting the adjustment correct on it:
And now, May 8, 2018 - an eventful day in Fred's resurrection....
"I finally got the chance today to try out the car with all the stuff done on it (including correcting all the stuff the mechanic did) and the clutch adjusted as advised by so many "experts" on my favorite Mopar website.
Well...
You know what happened today? Let me demonstrate (see pic).
Yep, that's Fred sitting at the bottom of my road at the base of the ridge.
No, I didn't just pause to take a fancy artsy-fartsy picture.
In fact, you'll notice a couple things in the pic:
1. The car isn't on the driving surface
2. I ain't in it, grinning and driving it
Suffice to say, the car had no functional clutch...which was discovered first time I tried
to go after coasting all the way down my road from the ridge.
My getting under there and adjusting it so that the pedal rose up within a few inches of where a clutch pedal normally rests, under advisement of so many "experts", had rendered the clutch so out of adjustment that it had maybe 1% grip when fully out.
I already knew what needed to be done but there was no way in hell the car was going to climb the hill back up to the shop, so I set out on foot back up the ridge, which not only was a 1/4 mile away but a LOT higher in elevation (according to topo maps I have, about a 300' elevation gain).
Ed found out in a hurry just how much the cancers had taken out of his arse today.
Oh well, it was a nice day to have a stroke and I was already approximately where I'll be buried anyways, so what the heck, forge ahead!
Walk some *pant pant* walk a little more *wheeze* stagger some more *wobble*...
Up at the house finally, got the truck, loaded up a jack and a stand, some cardboard and a 9/16" open end and back down I went.
Got the GTX up enough to get under it, even used a jack stand for safety (yeah, like THAT was gonna hold in the gravel should the jack fail) and proceeded to crank the clutch adjustment back to where I had it originally, before all the expert advice talked me out of it.
Jumped in Fred afterwards and took off down the road. Car was fine; I was about to heat stroke out.
Ok, drove the GTX back to where I left the truck. Took the truck back up the hill, unloaded the tools, put the truck away and started off back down the ridge on foot.
Got back to the newly mended GTX and reached in my pocket for the key, thinking the ordeal was over...
Nope.
No key.
Oh well, must have left it in the ignition....
Nope.
Sonofabeeech!!
Back up the hill on foot again....
Pant, wheeze, cough, stagger stagger crawl crawl, all that jazz.
Took the forgotten GTX key out of the flucking truck and set off back down the hill yet again, clutching said GTX key in a death grip in my right hand the whole way, looking at it often along the way just to make sure.
Back to Fred yet again, who I swear was snickering at me as I approached...
Fired him up and got ready to set out again....
Now, a smart fella would have decided just to get the car back up the ridge into the safe confines of the garage right about then, right?
Get in the a/c and let his geriatric old arse recover a bit...
Well, I would not be said smart fella - but you knew this already.
I had decided on that last trip down that this whole clutch/transmission story needed to end and end right the fluck now.
That's enough already.
Seriously.
It is.
So naturally, I took off for town instead.
I returned to the original scene of the crime - the 3-way intersection on the east end of town where, some months ago, I took off from a stop sign and got on the GTX hard, grabbing 2nd and snatching that clutch hard enough for her to lay rubber and tail wag a little - with it then proceeding to start making that deathly sound you all heard in the video I posted on my YT channel - the sound that started this whole adventure.
I had one thing on my mind today as I reached that same intersection....
Yep, you guessed it. Not a smart fella, remember?
I came away from that stop sign like someone was chasing me, car and tires screaming, going sideways.
Got it straight, dumped the clutch into 2nd, did it all again - just like last time.
Car roared, tires smoked, passersby cheered.
Suddenly came to my senses and reeled her back in, listening intently for anything that sounded hurt or damaged or wrong or....
...and...
heard nothing but a happy car driving along serenely to the store.
Thank you Lord.
It's been a day.
"
EPILOGUE: Little did I know then that the 23-spline then in the car was soon to be gone, as was the Centerforce - to be replaced by a rebuilt 18-spline and a rather unpleasant B&B Ram clutch.
These things are never "done" - next is the overhaul of all the drum brakes using only USA parts, now that I've sourced and bought them all.
As a result...
The possibilities for new adventures are endless, aren't they?
Some of you might remember this one; apologies if so.
The story starts out with a picture, taken right after a Centerforce Dual Friction clutch (now long gone) had been installed in the car and I had been seeking FBBO advice about getting the adjustment correct on it:
And now, May 8, 2018 - an eventful day in Fred's resurrection....
"I finally got the chance today to try out the car with all the stuff done on it (including correcting all the stuff the mechanic did) and the clutch adjusted as advised by so many "experts" on my favorite Mopar website.
Well...
You know what happened today? Let me demonstrate (see pic).
Yep, that's Fred sitting at the bottom of my road at the base of the ridge.
No, I didn't just pause to take a fancy artsy-fartsy picture.
In fact, you'll notice a couple things in the pic:
1. The car isn't on the driving surface
2. I ain't in it, grinning and driving it
Suffice to say, the car had no functional clutch...which was discovered first time I tried
to go after coasting all the way down my road from the ridge.
My getting under there and adjusting it so that the pedal rose up within a few inches of where a clutch pedal normally rests, under advisement of so many "experts", had rendered the clutch so out of adjustment that it had maybe 1% grip when fully out.
I already knew what needed to be done but there was no way in hell the car was going to climb the hill back up to the shop, so I set out on foot back up the ridge, which not only was a 1/4 mile away but a LOT higher in elevation (according to topo maps I have, about a 300' elevation gain).
Ed found out in a hurry just how much the cancers had taken out of his arse today.
Oh well, it was a nice day to have a stroke and I was already approximately where I'll be buried anyways, so what the heck, forge ahead!
Walk some *pant pant* walk a little more *wheeze* stagger some more *wobble*...
Up at the house finally, got the truck, loaded up a jack and a stand, some cardboard and a 9/16" open end and back down I went.
Got the GTX up enough to get under it, even used a jack stand for safety (yeah, like THAT was gonna hold in the gravel should the jack fail) and proceeded to crank the clutch adjustment back to where I had it originally, before all the expert advice talked me out of it.
Jumped in Fred afterwards and took off down the road. Car was fine; I was about to heat stroke out.
Ok, drove the GTX back to where I left the truck. Took the truck back up the hill, unloaded the tools, put the truck away and started off back down the ridge on foot.
Got back to the newly mended GTX and reached in my pocket for the key, thinking the ordeal was over...
Nope.
No key.
Oh well, must have left it in the ignition....
Nope.
Sonofabeeech!!
Back up the hill on foot again....
Pant, wheeze, cough, stagger stagger crawl crawl, all that jazz.
Took the forgotten GTX key out of the flucking truck and set off back down the hill yet again, clutching said GTX key in a death grip in my right hand the whole way, looking at it often along the way just to make sure.
Back to Fred yet again, who I swear was snickering at me as I approached...
Fired him up and got ready to set out again....
Now, a smart fella would have decided just to get the car back up the ridge into the safe confines of the garage right about then, right?
Get in the a/c and let his geriatric old arse recover a bit...
Well, I would not be said smart fella - but you knew this already.
I had decided on that last trip down that this whole clutch/transmission story needed to end and end right the fluck now.
That's enough already.
Seriously.
It is.
So naturally, I took off for town instead.
I returned to the original scene of the crime - the 3-way intersection on the east end of town where, some months ago, I took off from a stop sign and got on the GTX hard, grabbing 2nd and snatching that clutch hard enough for her to lay rubber and tail wag a little - with it then proceeding to start making that deathly sound you all heard in the video I posted on my YT channel - the sound that started this whole adventure.
I had one thing on my mind today as I reached that same intersection....
Yep, you guessed it. Not a smart fella, remember?
I came away from that stop sign like someone was chasing me, car and tires screaming, going sideways.
Got it straight, dumped the clutch into 2nd, did it all again - just like last time.
Car roared, tires smoked, passersby cheered.
Suddenly came to my senses and reeled her back in, listening intently for anything that sounded hurt or damaged or wrong or....
...and...
heard nothing but a happy car driving along serenely to the store.
Thank you Lord.
It's been a day.
EPILOGUE: Little did I know then that the 23-spline then in the car was soon to be gone, as was the Centerforce - to be replaced by a rebuilt 18-spline and a rather unpleasant B&B Ram clutch.
These things are never "done" - next is the overhaul of all the drum brakes using only USA parts, now that I've sourced and bought them all.
As a result...
The possibilities for new adventures are endless, aren't they?
