Spring Break for old guys

[lloyd3]

We had a "spring break" event here to help my son celebrate his "junior" year at college (the end is near...I can almost taste it). Since I've no interest in even partially funding trips to Florida or even Mexico for him, we settled on a fly fishing trip down to "New" Mexico in pursuit of trout.  My brother flew out last weekend and my son brought a buddy down from school. Before our departure on Monday, my reprobate brother and I dragged my old car out for a "toot" (after a mildly-boozy lunch!) and we talked about old times and people (some now long-gone) while I rowed through the gears and made lots of noise. I became fully aware of just how dingy and dusty the car was about then, even noticing all the dead bugs on the windows and mirrors from last summer (my brother is a bonafide fanatic about keeping his personal vehicles clean, I swear it's his version of an aerobic exercise).  Anyway...long story short, we made it back from Navajo Dam on Thursday (good trip, safe and fun) and everybody departed on Friday.



After church yesterday, I set about cleaning up my old vehicle. I don't tend to use much water unless it's seriously dirty (because it has a few leaks...wiper seals, door seals, etc.). Not bad mind you but...a "pain" just the same. A bucket of warm water and a towel usually does the job more than adequately. If I'm feeling really ambitious, I'll drag out a bottle of Turtle Wax "Spray and Wax" to add to the finishing touches.

After wiping away at things for a while, I realized just how big these cars really are. Compared to "modern" vehicles they're simply huge.  I could wipe down my wife's Volvo or our now-departed Civic in just a few minutes.  With this '68...you better pack a lunch.



Maybe I'm getting old(?) but this used to be alot easier. I'm clearly adapting to "low-effort" vehicles here in my declining years (& I am a little stiff and sore from 3-days of wading in a big and still very-cold river).  Anyway, the finished product here (somebody used up all of my "Spray & Wax" darn-it). I guess that means I'll have to uncover it again and then clean it up it properly later?

[Kern Dog]

It is great to see SOMEONE here doing something like we all used to do.   

[tan top]

  good time    charger looks awesome too   
  nice rainbow trout by  the looks of it   i  love or rather loved all kinds of fishing well use to go all the time when i was younger , could never get into fly or lure fishing though , there was a massive reservoir 40 minutes drive from my relations dads side of the family , use to go  up there in my teens  & float fish for them with a water filled float for casting weight ,  then cram a bunch of live  worms on the hook & inject / inflate one with air so the whole bunch floated &  wriggled   

[lloyd3]

Thanks Folks! Went and bought some "Spray & Wax" yesterday so...I'll be back at it here soon.

[lloyd3]

A recent "challenge" has arisen here. The car acts like it has dirty battery terminals and just "clicks" instead of starting (occasionally) now. I've done a preliminary cleaning of both the posts and the cable ends, but it's still "hit or miss", it seems. The battery is a cheap one, sourced from O'Brian's here and is now 3-years old(?). When I get a finally get a connection it seems strong enough, what gives here? Anyone?

[will]

Maybe check the starter relay and the starter connections for tightness. Perhaps the ground connection on the block and body also. I would also look at the charging system.

[70 sublime]

How old is the main cable from the battery to the starter ?

Mine was doing weird things and I ran out of things to change
Turned out the copper in the cable was going green inside the conector that bolted to the starter

[b5blue]

  I had the same issue and it was a crappy connection between the wire and inside battery connector. Trying to do things right I'd bought a new repop positive battery wire and a month later paid hell in parking lots trying to find the darn problem. In my case the wire was fairly new as was the starter so new parts new problem had me tapping starter and wiggling wires while a helper held the key in crank position under failure. Shove and twist on the terminals wire connections.

[John_Kunkel]

Jumper the BAT and SOL terminals to eliminate the starter relay.

[tan top]

A recent "challenge" has arisen here. The car acts like it has dirty battery terminals and just "clicks" instead of starting (occasionally) now. I've done a preliminary cleaning of both the posts and the cable ends, but it's still "hit or miss", it seems. The battery is a cheap one, sourced from O'Brian's here and is now 3-years old(?). When I get a finally get a connection it seems strong enough, what gives here? Anyone?

Bummer , all the  other guys say , 

check starter relay & wire connections / terminals to it , also have a good look at yellow wire ( it yellow on a 69 think 68 same ) & terminal not loose ?

battery cables to starter motor etc

all grounds just for the sake of it 

battery voltage  when cranking ? turn head lights on do they go dull or go  off  when cranking ?

fire wall block connector

sounds to me like starter solenoid or fault in side  starter motor its self ! its iffy giving random fault , if all the cables check out & battery & all above, next time it dont start give the starter body  a wack with a hammer & or lighty tap solenoid ,then try & start it ?

should of really numbered what order to try    but if it cranking & running perfect for 1000s of miles & not battery or loose connections , then random click click its the starter , even if its something simple to fix like whats  mentioned above , would still put a  quality reman starter on ( unless you dont like the original mopar starter sound  ) , easy 5  minute job unless you have headers   peace of mind then 

hope you get it sorted 

[lloyd3]

Thanks folks, so-much! I did a more full cleaning of both the battery posts and the clamping terminal ends yesterday and even put a trickle-charger on the battery in "deep-cycle". After about a half an hour, I went back to check on things (it was starting to rain, so I needed to get the car back in the garage). The charger indicated a "full" charge and a good connection. Turned the key and "click"! In desperation (it was really starting to rain now) I quickly went up and turned the connections about a quarter inch (this took alot of effort as I'd just cleaned and tightened them) and tied it again. This time it took right off...go figure? Pulled it into the garage partially (to get it under cover and wipe it off yet again).  After all that, it then started again (with no hesitation) to pull in completely so I could close the garage door. I will now go through each connection in the starting system and look for corrosion. I had someone (who is not a Mopar guy) even suggest the ballast resistor on the firewall(?) but that doesn't add up for me. I'm thinking that much of the wiring in this car is original and that I've got a simple corrosion problem somewhere. The positive battery cable on this unit is quite old (maybe not original, but at least 30-years old). I'll likely start there. If I have to replace the starter, I will but...parts lately haven't been all that good (at least for everything else I own). Hopefully the remanufactured starters at NAPA aren't junk as well?

When you can't trust a car to start, it really affects your use of it.  Inconvenient (& maybe a little embarrassing?) and in our now-crazy traffic out here, even a little risky. I need to solve this one.

[b5blue]

The wire to terminal connection is loose not corroded. Remove and smash the lead with a hammer to tighten connection. 

[lloyd3]

b5:  Actually...I was going to start there first. Insightful!  I had replaced the "terminal" ends a few years ago (with these new and slightly "cheesy" aftermarket "red and black" ones) because the originals were about done.  I'd be more suspicious of them than the original wiring here.