When did you last: Pull an engine-replace a clutch-rebuild a Holley?

[Kern Dog]

I love learning new things.
I've been working on setting the alignment in my red car. There is a lot to learn. I've done bonehead work for years for the various ratty cars that I've owned but now with actual gauges, tools, string lines and lasers, I can get them all properly aligned here at home without having to take anything to a shop.

[John_Kunkel]

There's a standing argument whether the new laser alignment racks are "better" or if they just allow people with little or no knowledge of suspension to align a vehicle accurately.

My "go to" guy for many years who worked at a long-established and well-respected shop for a gazillion years told me the laser racks were a vast improvement and allowed better four-wheel alignment. Older cars with non-adjustable rear ends are notorious for having the rear out of alignment and this affects front end alignment. Even with a front adjustment that's right on spec the car might not track right because the rear end is skewed. Kinda hard to check that with basic alignment tools.

[Kern Dog]

I agree. I'm confused though as to what can be done to correct for an out of square rear axle? At first thought I'm guessing one could shim one side at the front of the leaf spring. A car could crab walk and still drive straight with no drift or pull. There was a NASCAR racer that had set up his car to crab walk a few years back. He claimed it made the car more stable at speed. It was banned in short order.
I have a DeWalt laser level that can be used to check the chassis, much like string lines and jack stands can do. Sometimes the old style methods are still effective. Think of the simplicity of a basic bubble in a builders level. That is some tech that goes back hundreds of years yet it still works and requires no batteries.

[John_Kunkel]

I agree. I'm confused though as to what can be done to correct for an out of square rear axle? At first thought I'm guessing one could shim one side at the front of the leaf spring.

Yes, typically done with a shim plate between the body and the front spring mounting bracket.

"Cross caster" in modern alignment specs is intended to compensate for the crown in the road i.e. in the U.S. you want the car to climb left toward the crown. So, it could be argued that a rear end skewed in the right direction could aid tracking.

[Kern Dog]

I'd really like to encourage you guys to get out and tinker with your car and report on it. Sometimes all it takes is a few minutes around the car to spark some motivation to do things.
Hey, I have times when I'd rather just sit and relax but to ignore our cars and let them slowly degrade is a sad thing. We all have seen those people that have a car in their side yard slowly turning into junk, all the while the owners refuse to sell it to someone that would appreciate it. Don't be that guy!

[HANDM]

Yeah, I've done all of those things, I basically "restored" the now sold Charger and was too poor then to farm anything out. I still dick around with the Challenger every now and again. Just a couple weeks ago I lowered the front end a bit in hopes of eliminating the right front tire rubbing. Of course after I did that it just went back to it's hole with no test drive.  I have it listed on marketplace and if the right offer comes along it's out of here.
Plus as Kern said, I don't have any Mopar buddies anymore and the one that is close doesn't dick with his stuff either as he an old man too   

[Kern Dog]

Well, define "old"....
If you're still above ground, you can still do something, right?

[HANDM]

Well, define "old"....
If you're still above ground, you can still do something, right?

Well, I'm technically not "old" quite yet just a mere 53 and while I still do everything including general contracting where we do all our own work, I just don't really feel like working on the Challenger much anymore. Also adding that it's hard to find the motivation to do so as I have no Mopar buddies close enough to hang out with and work on it..

[Kern Dog]

I understand the lack of motivation.
Not having a buddy around can cut down the desire. I had a friend (Let's call him Mr Z) that used to be fun to do car stuff with but he devolved into a real loser.
He was always bad with women, making poor choices and being led by his sad need to be loved.
The most recent turned out as bad as the others.
He fell in love with some married woman that knew how to manipulate him. He left his third wife and sold his car. (71 Challenger) The woman and her husband bought a chunk of property and this guy chipped in money to buy and then build 2 houses on it. He lived in a tee pee for 2 years while construction was underway.
This woman bitched about her husband to the point that Mr Z thought she'd divorce him and then he could slide right into his place.
No. It didn't work out that way. The couple's kids moved out and now the house was bigger than they wanted so they are selling.
Mr Z never had his name on any deed and had no claim to any of the property. He sold his car, "donated" all of his savings, lived in a tee pee and worked for 2 years to build 2 houses that they sold and gave him some pittance and an eviction.
He is old, broken down, broke and merely a shell of who he used to be. He now lives in a small room at his son's place.

[HANDM]

Man, that's rough! Poor guy. It is sad that some folks never find the "one". I'm super lucky to have found mine over 30 years ago right outta high school.
We can still go on vacation together and get along the whole time.
As a matter of fact we're at John Wayne in Irvine heading home to Washington.

[Kern Dog]

John Wayne airport?
Holy crap...that was the last airport we were at before deciding to skip flights and drive to Arizona for Christmas instead of flying.
2014 we were flying in from Sky Harbor with the switch plane deal in SoCal at John Wayne airport. We boarded the plane at 9:45 and they rushed like hell to get us going. Their curfew is 10:00. NO flights leave or arrive after 10:00. We didn't make it.
Now what? Rent a room? Screw that....I decided to Kowalski from there to Northern CA so we rented a car and ram-rodded to home.

[69wannabe]

I work on forklifts for a living so I am doing mechanic work daily. That really disrupts my projects at home now that I am older. I do still get into some mechanic work at home tho just keeping my older stuff running. Recently had to replace the fuel pump and filter on my 2000 grand cherokee,  replaced a clutch for a friend in a Ford ranger,  had to do an a/c overhaul on my old 85 F350, replaced the driver side motor mount on the charger and freshened up the holley 850 on it as well. Put some new shocks on my old 93 jeep ZJ and done a transmission service on it too. Always something to do on these old vehicles

[NHCharger]

May/June 2024. Removed a tired but running 318 from my 88 Ramcharger. Then removed the 318 and tranny from my 72 Charger (only 34k on motor). Changed a few things on the Charger motor and dropped it into the Ramcharger. 88 RC's have that TBI fuel injection and a crappy ass computer system that once malfunctions will never work right. I ripped out the computer and all the wiring and having a friend wire it back old school.
A friend of mine has a 22 y.o. nephew who is trying to restore his grandpa's old Polara. Engine and tranny were missing. I gave him the engine out of the RC (probably has another 30k mile in it), the good tranny from my 72 Charger and a bunch of misc. parts. told him the only cost would be to pay it forward when he has a chance.
 

[Kern Dog]

It must be nice to NOT be burdened by emission laws. I would have been into the Aspens and Volares if this state didn't require emission testing every 2 years.

[Kern Dog]

How about a front end rebuild?

https://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/threads/front-end-rebuild-1972-duster.567669/

[Old Moparz]

I replaced a window.

Oh wait, that was not a window on the car, it was on my house. 

Can't wait to get this section of the house finished, it's been eating up all my time that could be better spent on my cars. 

[Kern Dog]

Who here is familiar with the 2004-2006 Dodge Ram SRT-10 trucks?









In 2007, my 2006 Ram 1500 was totaled when I was broadsided. I needed another truck. A local dealer had an Inferno Red 2006 SRT-10 like the one in the first picture above. It had 4500 miles on it. While the idea of a 500 HP truck was interesting, the truck would be used for work in construction and commuting sometimes 1000 miles a week. The fuel economy of a V-10 was around 12-13 freeway so I skipped on it and bought an Inferno Red 5.7 truck instead:



I like the styling of the SRT-10 though. I bought reproduction 22" x 10" wheels 11 years ago but just last year, I bought a set of the body cladding that these special trucks came with. A local junkyard had three of these trucks in their yard so I got the panels to add to mine to make it look like the high performance model.

[b5blue]

Did it go faster? 

[timmycharger]

How about a front end rebuild?

https://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/threads/front-end-rebuild-1972-duster.567669/

Nice work and write up. Love that car man, A bodies don't get the love they deserve.  I went to "Mopar university" in the mid to late 1990's learning the ropes on my first tear down and rebuild of a Mopar.  My brother bought a slant 6 71 Dart that he made a 1970 Swinger 340 replica out of.  I learned so much on that car, gave me the confidence to tear into my Charger when I got it in 1997.

If I didnt have my Charger, I would be rocking a Duster or Demon for sure. 

[Kern Dog]

Did it go faster? 

The SRT-10 models needed the cladding to help achieve the fastest top speed of a pickup truck to date, 154 mph.
Besides...do you think a bumblebee stripe makes the Charger go faster? How about the door scoops on a 1970 R/T?
Some things are done for style. not speed.
My truck won't be any faster but to me, it will look better.
What have you done lately? Tell us what you have done to your car or what projects that you have worked on.
You don't spend all day on the couch, do you?

[b5blue]

Disco dog! 

[Kern Dog]

Disco dog! 

I speak, read and write English but that response made no sense.
I guess you have nothing to report as to what car projects that you're busy doing?

[will]

   I am in the midst of replacing the carpet in my car. The carpet I got originally was too short in the back. I don't remember if it was acc or trim parts, but that always bothered me how terrible it looked opening the door and seeing the footwell. I got the expensive stuff from Rock auto, and it fits. Not the easiest stuff to work with because of the rubber backing, but it is laying out nicely. I was hoping to only replace the back carpet, but the fading was off. Plus, the dogs decided to mark it, so it went to the trash incinerator today. Nice long weekend coming up, should be able to finish it.

[Kern Dog]

I thought that I read that while there used to be multiple carpet manufacturers, now there is only one or two.
In the 2000s, I installed new carpet. The front section was too short and that left the firewall visible where the carpet ended. It wasn't limited to just me, that was a problem that a LOT of people had. The complaints actually resonated because they are no longer too short. In some cases, they are longer than they need to be and have to be trimmed. I bought new carpet 3 years ago when I swapped in a 5 speed manual. Mine extends above the steering column. From the back seat, the carpet rides up high enough to not see the firewall at all. That is how I like it.

[will]

I thought that I read that while there used to be multiple carpet manufacturers, now there is only one or two.
In the 2000s, I installed new carpet. The front section was too short and that left the firewall visible where the carpet ended. It wasn't limited to just me, that was a problem that a LOT of people had. The complaints actually resonated because they are no longer too short. In some cases, they are longer than they need to be and have to be trimmed. I bought new carpet 3 years ago when I swapped in a 5 speed manual. Mine extends above the steering column. From the back seat, the carpet rides up high enough to not see the firewall at all. That is how I like it.

    I got it installed today. I also had to trim, but I expected that when I got the old carpet out. I'm much happier how this turned out, although I would probably not get that rubberized backing. It is a little bit tough to cut through, but the forming of the carpet was almost dead on. The sides that fit under the scuff plates were almost perfect. The kick panels are tricky, but I used to do furniture repair a long time ago. Those skills came in handy with this project.

     Now I have to get the horn to work. I got an aftermarket wood grain wheel from PG Classics. The screws to mount the horn button weren't in the right place. The trim ring was offset enough for me to notice, so I had to drill and tap new holes. Got it in, the horn didn't work before. Just another troubleshooting expedition in the garage.