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- May 14, 2011
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Ed blog, chapter whatever....
Item #1 - Johnson Controls
One thing I was rudely reminded of recently is that the late-model type starters are wonderful - until they aren't, of course. I have the (in)famous "Dakota" style starter (Denso) on the GTX's 440 and it's been terrific for over a decade now.
Headers don't seem to bother it and it turns over the 440 with great ease, even when the Edelbrock has gone dry and extended cranking is needed after a week or so.
The part I just learned? That the starter has a very sharp minimum volt/amp demand in order to work - it either does or it doesn't, no in between. no gradual slowing over time to give you warning of impending doom.
One day the GTX started and sounded normal - the next, CLICK....
Jumped it off, did the usual diagnostics. Alternator good, regulator good, voltage to battery when running good. No shorts, no draws on the battery when shut down.
That left one thing....the vaunted 850CCA "GOLD" battery from the big box auto parts house in town - which wasn't yet even 4 years old.
(Yep, you guessed it - 3 year warranty on it).
In these days of kungflu, I figured I'd use the available discounts that joint offered constantly through spam emails and fetch another - only to find they don't offer that battery anymore. (If you order stuff online, it gets remarkably cheaper with them - like 25% in this case).
Given the financial situation around my unemployed arse these days, I got all the battery we could afford - but only AFTER my wife, rather forcefully, MADE me do it. I didn't want to spend anything on non-essential stuff; she made it quite clear the GTX, my baby, was essential.
I am a very lucky boy....
Ok, well, the 810CCA "SILVER" would have to do, along with new battery terminals (the pretty color-coded non-NOS looking ones) and matching anti-corrosion pads that go underneath.
Oh, lesson learned? Johnson Controls, that vaunted bastion of battery quality in years past, makes some pretty crappy batteries just like anyone else if it's done for a big box auto parts store.
Another reputation sullied...and a classic case of a battery having all the volts, but not the amps, to get the job done.
OK, on to #2.
Item #2 - Door hinges hate me
One of the items that's been on the shelf in the garage awaiting a spurt of courage was the new door hinges I bought from another FBBO member recently.
My driver's door has always had the dreaded droops, like any 50+ year old car does -
but mine had graduated to having the pin on the bottom hinge actually pull up upon
door opening, to the point where a couple times the door actually tried to come off the car a couple times in public, being held on desperately by the tiny top hinge.
Lots of threads on FBBO about rebuilding these hinges, of course - but I went the "buy new" route and had them at the ready, back when I had money for such things.
You know what there's not a lot of threads on FBBO about, though?
Actually replacing hinges on a fully assembled, finished car.
I figured "eh, I got a floor jack, I can do this whenever I'm up to it..."
The wife had always planned to help me do the task, but she actually still has a job, so
no worries, I got this.
Yeah, about that....
The first thing one should know when attempting such a thing is that there is a bolt on
the body side of the bottom hinge that is in front of the hinge itself, hiding behind a lip
of the hinge - and that no matter what percentage of "open" you have the door, it's an
exercise in some sort of elastic yoga, coupled hopefully with tiny tools (and tiny hands, which I ain't got) to get in there and get that thing out, never mind back in.
The rest of the bolts are pretty straight up, of course - (3) on the door, (2) more on the
body side, accessed from inside the car behind the kick panel.
I figured if I did the hinges one at a time, the other hinge would keep some control of
the heavy-as-fluck door and it'd be a simple R and R affair.
What I didn't anticipate was the other hinge, the supposed "good" one, also was in
eminent failure mode...and laid in wait!
Me, unsuspecting and fairly confident in my abilities, set everything up, perched the door
perfectly on the floor jack at the assumed point of balance and protected by a block of wood
covered in layers of microfiber - and set in, alone.
(That's going to be a key word here, folks...."alone"... as you'll soon see.)
Bolt after bolt came out, each followed by a quick check on door stabilization.
All was good - until I got the last bolt out of the door, which took a little wigglin' of the
door to release it fully.
The bolt popped out of the hinge and...
THE DOOR BECAME A BREATHING, LIVING ENTITY.
Suddenly, I found myself in a desperate wrestling match with the door, from a position of
weakness there on the floor of the garage. My right leg had long since fallen asleep from
the contortions required of my big ol' creaky arse, so I had sat down indian-style on the
concrete and finished from there.
This, as you might imagine, was NOT the prime position of leverage for when an entire
car door decides to LEAVE THE CAR. As in "I'm outta here" leave.
The door saw it's chance to escape and was taking full advantage....
Well, in typical "me" style, I let out a tourette-style string of expletives the likes of which
I didn't even know I had in me, all accompanied by my (petrified) cat-like reflexes as
I leapt to action.
When all the dust had settled, I found myself flat on my back, door perched atop me
defiantly, victoriously even - but no sheet metal had come in contact with any other
metal!!
As the door sat on my belly/chest, I had managed to keep it from banging into either the
car or the nearby garage wall; I took the brunt of the fall, following the prime directive
of not damaging the car above all else.
Knocked the dang wind out of me, but...
Yes, I laughed like a mad scientist once I realized nothing was damaged; I even mocked
the door a little bit (what, like that's not sane behavior? The hell you say!).
Yes, the new hinges on the driver's side were both replaced soon after and the door works
beautifully now and I have a fresh self-effacing car story to add to the repertoire.
Yes, I heartily recommend a helper when attempting this yourself, especially if you're
decrepit like me.
No - the passenger door hinges didn't get replaced.
Damn thing works just fine....
Item #1 - Johnson Controls
One thing I was rudely reminded of recently is that the late-model type starters are wonderful - until they aren't, of course. I have the (in)famous "Dakota" style starter (Denso) on the GTX's 440 and it's been terrific for over a decade now.
Headers don't seem to bother it and it turns over the 440 with great ease, even when the Edelbrock has gone dry and extended cranking is needed after a week or so.
The part I just learned? That the starter has a very sharp minimum volt/amp demand in order to work - it either does or it doesn't, no in between. no gradual slowing over time to give you warning of impending doom.
One day the GTX started and sounded normal - the next, CLICK....
Jumped it off, did the usual diagnostics. Alternator good, regulator good, voltage to battery when running good. No shorts, no draws on the battery when shut down.
That left one thing....the vaunted 850CCA "GOLD" battery from the big box auto parts house in town - which wasn't yet even 4 years old.
(Yep, you guessed it - 3 year warranty on it).
In these days of kungflu, I figured I'd use the available discounts that joint offered constantly through spam emails and fetch another - only to find they don't offer that battery anymore. (If you order stuff online, it gets remarkably cheaper with them - like 25% in this case).
Given the financial situation around my unemployed arse these days, I got all the battery we could afford - but only AFTER my wife, rather forcefully, MADE me do it. I didn't want to spend anything on non-essential stuff; she made it quite clear the GTX, my baby, was essential.
I am a very lucky boy....
Ok, well, the 810CCA "SILVER" would have to do, along with new battery terminals (the pretty color-coded non-NOS looking ones) and matching anti-corrosion pads that go underneath.
Oh, lesson learned? Johnson Controls, that vaunted bastion of battery quality in years past, makes some pretty crappy batteries just like anyone else if it's done for a big box auto parts store.
Another reputation sullied...and a classic case of a battery having all the volts, but not the amps, to get the job done.
OK, on to #2.
Item #2 - Door hinges hate me
One of the items that's been on the shelf in the garage awaiting a spurt of courage was the new door hinges I bought from another FBBO member recently.
My driver's door has always had the dreaded droops, like any 50+ year old car does -
but mine had graduated to having the pin on the bottom hinge actually pull up upon
door opening, to the point where a couple times the door actually tried to come off the car a couple times in public, being held on desperately by the tiny top hinge.
Lots of threads on FBBO about rebuilding these hinges, of course - but I went the "buy new" route and had them at the ready, back when I had money for such things.
You know what there's not a lot of threads on FBBO about, though?
Actually replacing hinges on a fully assembled, finished car.
I figured "eh, I got a floor jack, I can do this whenever I'm up to it..."
The wife had always planned to help me do the task, but she actually still has a job, so
no worries, I got this.
Yeah, about that....
The first thing one should know when attempting such a thing is that there is a bolt on
the body side of the bottom hinge that is in front of the hinge itself, hiding behind a lip
of the hinge - and that no matter what percentage of "open" you have the door, it's an
exercise in some sort of elastic yoga, coupled hopefully with tiny tools (and tiny hands, which I ain't got) to get in there and get that thing out, never mind back in.
The rest of the bolts are pretty straight up, of course - (3) on the door, (2) more on the
body side, accessed from inside the car behind the kick panel.
I figured if I did the hinges one at a time, the other hinge would keep some control of
the heavy-as-fluck door and it'd be a simple R and R affair.
What I didn't anticipate was the other hinge, the supposed "good" one, also was in
eminent failure mode...and laid in wait!
Me, unsuspecting and fairly confident in my abilities, set everything up, perched the door
perfectly on the floor jack at the assumed point of balance and protected by a block of wood
covered in layers of microfiber - and set in, alone.
(That's going to be a key word here, folks...."alone"... as you'll soon see.)
Bolt after bolt came out, each followed by a quick check on door stabilization.
All was good - until I got the last bolt out of the door, which took a little wigglin' of the
door to release it fully.
The bolt popped out of the hinge and...
THE DOOR BECAME A BREATHING, LIVING ENTITY.
Suddenly, I found myself in a desperate wrestling match with the door, from a position of
weakness there on the floor of the garage. My right leg had long since fallen asleep from
the contortions required of my big ol' creaky arse, so I had sat down indian-style on the
concrete and finished from there.
This, as you might imagine, was NOT the prime position of leverage for when an entire
car door decides to LEAVE THE CAR. As in "I'm outta here" leave.
The door saw it's chance to escape and was taking full advantage....
Well, in typical "me" style, I let out a tourette-style string of expletives the likes of which
I didn't even know I had in me, all accompanied by my (petrified) cat-like reflexes as
I leapt to action.
When all the dust had settled, I found myself flat on my back, door perched atop me
defiantly, victoriously even - but no sheet metal had come in contact with any other
metal!!
As the door sat on my belly/chest, I had managed to keep it from banging into either the
car or the nearby garage wall; I took the brunt of the fall, following the prime directive
of not damaging the car above all else.
Knocked the dang wind out of me, but...
Yes, I laughed like a mad scientist once I realized nothing was damaged; I even mocked
the door a little bit (what, like that's not sane behavior? The hell you say!).
Yes, the new hinges on the driver's side were both replaced soon after and the door works
beautifully now and I have a fresh self-effacing car story to add to the repertoire.
Yes, I heartily recommend a helper when attempting this yourself, especially if you're
decrepit like me.
No - the passenger door hinges didn't get replaced.
Damn thing works just fine....