73 Roadrunner 340 Auto
- Thread starter Builderguy
- Start date
If you are asking the overall length, it is just about 15". If you are asking inlet size I think it was 2 1/4" but I would have to double check that.
Bumper molding was in the trunk but it was hard as a rock and in the shape of a bow.
So I ran it through a trough of boiling water to soften it up a little.
Got it straight enough to put in a 2" tube. Filled that tube with more boiling water to let it soften more and then leave it to cool and take a "straighter" set before. Should be able to save it but time and heat will tell.
So I ran it through a trough of boiling water to soften it up a little.
Got it straight enough to put in a 2" tube. Filled that tube with more boiling water to let it soften more and then leave it to cool and take a "straighter" set before. Should be able to save it but time and heat will tell.
Now to dress her in stripes.
BARE NAKED:
Checking if things will fit:
Try it on and wear it home
Only thing left is the hood Jewelry, but that will have to wait as I can only ask so much of the wife before she starts to turn.
BARE NAKED:
Checking if things will fit:
Try it on and wear it home
Only thing left is the hood Jewelry, but that will have to wait as I can only ask so much of the wife before she starts to turn.
Hood stripes are on. Waiting for them to finish curing before putting the engine call outs on.
Found a slight, but important error on the carb linkage.
FOUND like this:
SHOULD BE like this:
Tang was on the wrong side of the slot.
Found a slight, but important error on the carb linkage.
FOUND like this:
SHOULD BE like this:
Tang was on the wrong side of the slot.
The spring action that held the filler strip to the bumper has long since given up the ghost. Wanting to keep the original, it had to be glued into place. Once cured and secure I will give it a couple coats of paint to bring it back to it's original color.
Finished painting the script for the rear bumper
Need to get this bumper done and installed as it goes for an alignment Friday afternoon and tail lights would be a plus.
Finished painting the script for the rear bumper
Need to get this bumper done and installed as it goes for an alignment Friday afternoon and tail lights would be a plus.
They look great once they get the stripe - totally changes the looks of the car!
More of the bumper filler shots (sorry some are not so good):
Took the car for an alignment today. It drives worse now than before I brought it in. They asked me to bring it back in a week or so to get it right. Probably after they figure out how to do an old Mopar. Claimed they could do it without a problem. Don't think I am taking it back. Took over two hours and still messed up.
Did get a chance to drive it down the freeway and it needs some tweaks. Shifts way too soon, so some kick down linkage adjustment is needed. Still not getting full potential from the 4 BBL so I will ask Tech about the finer adjustments. On the plus side, sure does get a lot of looks. Driving thru town people just stopped and stared, must have been looking at me in my new Carhartt shirt!
Took the car for an alignment today. It drives worse now than before I brought it in. They asked me to bring it back in a week or so to get it right. Probably after they figure out how to do an old Mopar. Claimed they could do it without a problem. Don't think I am taking it back. Took over two hours and still messed up.
Did get a chance to drive it down the freeway and it needs some tweaks. Shifts way too soon, so some kick down linkage adjustment is needed. Still not getting full potential from the 4 BBL so I will ask Tech about the finer adjustments. On the plus side, sure does get a lot of looks. Driving thru town people just stopped and stared, must have been looking at me in my new Carhartt shirt!
Things are looking up, at least a little. Scheduled another front end alignment at a shop about 20 miles away. Should have taken it there in the first place but I did not want to drive that far if the toe was messed up. Did some more digging on the "Electronic Assist Automatic Choke" and just how it is set up to work. At ambient temps above 68 degrees it uses a 40 watt heating element that heats a spring to allow a rapid choke come-off. Below 68 degrees that heating element will not come on and the choke will stay on until heat from the heated exhaust gas in the cross-over heats the spring to allow choke come-off. Here as some pics of that bi-metallic spring:
CHOKE OFF/SPRING RELAXED by heat which allows CHOKE Come-off
CHOKE ON/SPRING COLD pushing rod up and engaging the choke
On the carb it works like this:
CHOKE ON
CHOKE OFF
If the choke is ON, the linkage will not allow the secondaries to open, no matter what the throttle position. If the choke is OFF, then we can have some fun. My problem (I think and will test later in the week) is that the choke is not wired to a battery source as I figured I would just let the engine warm up and the choke would come off when the motor got warm. So the little heating element is never on and choke come-off is solely a function of the cross-over heating up the spring. PROBLEM: When I rebuilt the engine I switched to a larger intake gasket that covers the cross-over. Lightbulb moment, not much heat getting to that spring if the cross-over is blocked. No heat, no choke come-off, so NO secondaries. End result, no FUN.
I tested this on the running car by wiring the choke straight to the battery. Did what it was suppose to do. Heating element came on and in less than 2 minutes choke come-off was achieved. Might have to remove a little of the intake gasket blocking the cross-over as even when the engine was up to temp, there was not enough heat to relax the bi-metallic spring enough for choke come-off. Now that I know what the problem is a solution can be worked out.
CHOKE OFF/SPRING RELAXED by heat which allows CHOKE Come-off
CHOKE ON/SPRING COLD pushing rod up and engaging the choke
On the carb it works like this:
CHOKE ON
CHOKE OFF
If the choke is ON, the linkage will not allow the secondaries to open, no matter what the throttle position. If the choke is OFF, then we can have some fun. My problem (I think and will test later in the week) is that the choke is not wired to a battery source as I figured I would just let the engine warm up and the choke would come off when the motor got warm. So the little heating element is never on and choke come-off is solely a function of the cross-over heating up the spring. PROBLEM: When I rebuilt the engine I switched to a larger intake gasket that covers the cross-over. Lightbulb moment, not much heat getting to that spring if the cross-over is blocked. No heat, no choke come-off, so NO secondaries. End result, no FUN.
I tested this on the running car by wiring the choke straight to the battery. Did what it was suppose to do. Heating element came on and in less than 2 minutes choke come-off was achieved. Might have to remove a little of the intake gasket blocking the cross-over as even when the engine was up to temp, there was not enough heat to relax the bi-metallic spring enough for choke come-off. Now that I know what the problem is a solution can be worked out.
So why not wire it to a switched source of power (12 v when ignition is on) and let it operate like an electric choke all the time? I like the idea of leaving the crossover blocked.
Just me thinking out loud...
Hawk
Thanks Hawk, that idea is one of the solutions on the short list. Just not sure if the little 40 watt heating element can handle being on all the time. The normal operation is controlled by the Choke Control (go figure) anyway, it shuts off power after 2-3 minutes but is temperature controlled and only turns the element on when ambient is above 68 degrees. EPA crap back in the day to control hydrocarbons. Thought about using a timed relay and hide it under the dash (gut the controller and use a thru wire) so it would always come on but only for, say 3 minutes. Concern was that as the little heater cools off the choke would come on again as the motor doesn't generate enough heat. Another thought was to remove one coil off the bi-metallic spring so it would take less heat to maintain Choke-off. Still ideas at this point.
Wired in the electric choke control and the curb idle solenoid (not that it is needed with the cam I have) earlier and took it for a ride. With the choke heater working, the linkage drops out of the way and the secondaries are free to open. And open they did, now we are having fun.
Headed over to the alignment shop (take two). Maybe these guys/gals can get it right. Yup, half and hour later they were done. All green and everything was tightened up. Next stop is the transmission shop that re-built the trans. Have a small pan leak that they said they would take care of. Probably a new pan gasket. On the way I figured I would take it on the freeway to see just how well the alignment was done. Happy days, the car drives straight and runs well. Slight hesitation when you jump on it so I might need to put in a little more advance. Other than that, living the dream!
LOOK OUT....... LOOK OUT....... LOOK OUT
Then the dream turned into a nightmare. A couple of miles from the shop, still on the freeway running 75 ish, the drive shaft let loose. Coasted down the shoulder, down an off ramp, and into a park and ride. Checked underneath and the driveshaft was dragging on the ground. Three of the four bolts had been snapped off, one remained with part of the clamp underneath it, exhaust took a hit when it ripped off but no other damage. The driveshaft did not spin around wildly. Grabbed the shaft and it is locked up tighter than tight. Something in the trans grenaded and seized the output. Nothing really leaking out and the case is still in one piece. This is what TEARS look like:
First call was to a friend to bring a trailer and the second call was to the transmission shop to say WTF. The trans only had 89 miles on it when it all went to ****. They were cool and said bring it right over and they will get on it. Dropped it off at 8 AM this morning. We will see how well they warranty this. Now I have to grab a new U-joint and new strap kit so that they will be good parts (probably MOOG) instead of whatever the shop can get quick. Not that I don't trust them to use grade "A" parts, it is just that I am a bit **** about what goes on this car.
Headed over to the alignment shop (take two). Maybe these guys/gals can get it right. Yup, half and hour later they were done. All green and everything was tightened up. Next stop is the transmission shop that re-built the trans. Have a small pan leak that they said they would take care of. Probably a new pan gasket. On the way I figured I would take it on the freeway to see just how well the alignment was done. Happy days, the car drives straight and runs well. Slight hesitation when you jump on it so I might need to put in a little more advance. Other than that, living the dream!
LOOK OUT....... LOOK OUT....... LOOK OUT
Then the dream turned into a nightmare. A couple of miles from the shop, still on the freeway running 75 ish, the drive shaft let loose. Coasted down the shoulder, down an off ramp, and into a park and ride. Checked underneath and the driveshaft was dragging on the ground. Three of the four bolts had been snapped off, one remained with part of the clamp underneath it, exhaust took a hit when it ripped off but no other damage. The driveshaft did not spin around wildly. Grabbed the shaft and it is locked up tighter than tight. Something in the trans grenaded and seized the output. Nothing really leaking out and the case is still in one piece. This is what TEARS look like:
First call was to a friend to bring a trailer and the second call was to the transmission shop to say WTF. The trans only had 89 miles on it when it all went to ****. They were cool and said bring it right over and they will get on it. Dropped it off at 8 AM this morning. We will see how well they warranty this. Now I have to grab a new U-joint and new strap kit so that they will be good parts (probably MOOG) instead of whatever the shop can get quick. Not that I don't trust them to use grade "A" parts, it is just that I am a bit **** about what goes on this car.
Oh my, that sucks. Sorry to see this. 
Now, forgive the dumb question, but just to be sure: You did have the transmission in neutral when you tried spinning the shaft? I can't tell you how many times I have slapped the car in park out of habit and then be unable to turn the wheels/ shaft...
Hopefully your driveshaft is OK and not bent or too beat up.
Now, forgive the dumb question, but just to be sure: You did have the transmission in neutral when you tried spinning the shaft? I can't tell you how many times I have slapped the car in park out of habit and then be unable to turn the wheels/ shaft...
Hopefully your driveshaft is OK and not bent or too beat up.
Hawk,
Yup, had it in "N" as I put there when all hell broke loose and I thought the shaft would be flopping around underneath. Didn't know at the time that the trans was locked up. After rolling it off the trailer at the trans shop, I had to shift it to "P" to get the key out. A lot of things went thru my mind in the silence of coasting (silence if you don't count the dragging of the shaft on the pavement). For now I will go with "complete internal transmission failure" as that takes my work out the equation. We will see when they finish the autopsy. For now I will just finish getting small dents out and polishing the wheel arch moldings. Gives me something to do while in the waiting room.
Yup, had it in "N" as I put there when all hell broke loose and I thought the shaft would be flopping around underneath. Didn't know at the time that the trans was locked up. After rolling it off the trailer at the trans shop, I had to shift it to "P" to get the key out. A lot of things went thru my mind in the silence of coasting (silence if you don't count the dragging of the shaft on the pavement). For now I will go with "complete internal transmission failure" as that takes my work out the equation. We will see when they finish the autopsy. For now I will just finish getting small dents out and polishing the wheel arch moldings. Gives me something to do while in the waiting room.
Wow, dropped it of on Friday and here it is Thursday but it finally went inside to be worked on, or at least it is inside, I did not stop to check what they found.
Had some time so I tried to weld up a hole in my aluminum wheel arch opening molding. I can MIG and get the desired results but my work with aluminum tends to suck a little ***. But, I am not afraid to fail so I tried. We'll have to see how well it polishes up.
Had some time so I tried to weld up a hole in my aluminum wheel arch opening molding. I can MIG and get the desired results but my work with aluminum tends to suck a little ***. But, I am not afraid to fail so I tried. We'll have to see how well it polishes up.
Basket case
Well-Known Member
Dang that sucks about the trans. Hope the shop makes it right. That car is beautiful! My first mopar was a '73 340 4 speed road runner.
I think that is mostly what is needed in order to restore these cars! Nice work!
I am starting to try my hand at some metal working and bodywork. Do I suck at it? You bet your life I do. But I am trying and learning, and hopefully eventually this old dog will be able to do some at least respectable work.
One step at a time!
P.S. So sorry about the transmission. That sucks but hopefully the shop will make things right.
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