db's 66 Belvedere ***FOR SALE***

[db]

Having driven it a bit further today Dave yes you're right- my arms were aching with the effort of wrestling it around roundabouts

My car turned lots of heads though and it got lots of fuss.
I'm dead chuffed with how it feels on the road- rock solid stable, even from a tyre-spinning start it doesn't get twitchy. This is why I thought it was the clutch not the tyres spinning yesterday!! I was assured by John following me in his VERY expensive hot rod that the debris peppering his pristine paintwork proved otherwise

Occasionally the AFR would read VERY lean- 19-20 for a few seconds as I started it. Is this just due to having no choke? I've never noticed it before but I do have early-onset alzheimers so it may well have been like this all along...

Other than that, it showed up that I need a slight jetting change- slightly lean midrange and slightly rich top end.

Oh yeah...I've been home 4 hours and I'm still grinning

[db]

It's now Monday and I'm still grinning

Popped all the side trims on yesterday.

I've re-jetted the primaries up 1 and secondaries down 1, not had chance to try this out yet though.

I've bought another shifter from the US- the mech will be a handy spare and it has a much longer stick with a bigger bend so I'll be able to do away with my not-very-pretty adaptor plate and hopefully not punch the dash again...

I remounted my battery tray- I had sat it on Mini exh bobbins but I realised in a crash they would shear and let the battery loose, so I've bolted the tray through the floor now with some thick rubber washers under it.

[Dave-R]

Don't worry about the air/fuel ratios when the engine is not at full operating temp.

Sounds like you are really getting on top of the car now. Time to start enjoying it.

[db]

More like- time to drop the geabox out again

Todays task to tackle the oil leak that's soaking the clutch and all over that general area.
I'm fairly sure it's the play in the input shaft due to movement between the new bearing and the front housing.
If I'm right, it's either a sleeving job, a making a new housing from billet, or buy a billet one from Brewers at $125.

The engine sump is seeping a bit too from the front and rear seals.
And the bloody axle is leaking from one end again

[Dave-R]

Mopars eh?

[db]

I have it all out now.
A LOT easier the 2nd time round!! Largely thanks to a tip last time from Mick I think it was- 'why did you take the bellhousing off?'
This time I left it on and just removed the box. It meant I had to tilt the motor less, didn't have to battle with the top housing bolts, etc etc.

Boy my memory's crap
The bearing actually sits in the main case not the front housing, that just clamps the spiral retaining ring thingy. The oil seal sits in the front housing though and due to the side movement of the input shaft oil is flowing liberally past this.
The bearing is new (about 100 miles since the rebuild) but there's enough play in it that the shaft can rock from side to side by maybe 1 or 2 degrees. Either the new bearing is Bananarama! or there's excessive clearance where the input shaft locates with the main shaft. More investigation required...

Also I found a great bit of info as to why it occasionally jams in 2nd. It looks like it's due to side play in the shifter linkage allowing the lever to cross from 1-2 to 3-4 without disengaging 2. The safety lockout prevents me from engaging 3 but the lever is now effectively in neutral until I get under the car and free the linkages.

http://www.allpar.com/forums/topic/4325 ... -high-rpm/

[db]

Axle's leaking both ends.
Green bearing time I guess.
It never rains but it pours

[Mossy68]

Keep going mate.
Great thread. Great car.
A good inspiration for us yet to do some proper "fiddling"

[sidewaysjas]

At least you're getting quick at it, you'll know the 4spd intimately. I had a manual once that the pilot bush in the crank had broken up and spat itself out which was allowing the input shaft to float and eat the seal. I rplaced three new seals before I realized.

Good luck, enjoying the thread

[db]

Thanks Jas I'll check that out. I did re-use the old pilot bearing

Yeah it's almost a pleasure to drop the box out now!! Just things like where to put the axle stands so they're not in the way, knowing which tools to grab BEFORE crawling under the car.
I'll have it down to an hour next time

[db]

Pilot bearing checks out ok.
New seal ordered.

[db]

A long-overdue update...

Mas kindly sent me a new front seal which is a much tighter fit on the shaft, so it looks like my old one was a dud.
My rebuilt shifter mech feels 10 times better- see my other thread for the rebuild story.
I've also had to cut'n'weld my new shifter lever. I've just driven it out of the garage and played around with the gears and the improvement from these two things is amazing

I've also Gibbsed a few little spots of surface rust, touched up a few bits of underseal I grazed getting the gearbox in and out and in and out and....

Ok I'm exaggerating but I did fit it on Friday night, went to bed feeling smug, next morning I went to slot the clutch fork into place and there was no release bearing to slot it into- there it was on the floor look!
That little issue sorted, it all went back together yesterday with no major issues. so today the sun's shining and the car's all set for some hooning

[sinny]

Nice one Paul, enjoy some crusing mate.

[sinny]

Nice one Paul, enjoy some crusing mate.

[db]

Well, my 1st trip out today was to take the whole family to B&Q to buy 40 litres of paint so that was a good test of it's road manners which are pretty good really... til I ran out of fuel anyway... dumbass!!

Went out again for a quick blast up the dual carriageway just me and a mate who'd not been in it before so a good excuse to nail it

Shifts really nicely now, and the best bit... NO OIL LEAKS!!!