A Proper Intro

[nuteguy]

After I parked today I noticed a steam of drops leading to under the car. The radiator overflow (I have it routed to the ground like back in the day) is dripping a decent amount. It is 75 degrees out with a real feel temperature of 82. The car was running at 200 degrees. I don't have a radiator fan shroud. Would installing one help keep the engine running a little cooler?

 

[drobertson]

I noticed a difference on my car when I installed a fan shroud. It cools the engine better in town but didn't make a difference on the highway.

 

[nuteguy]

Well then I'll give it a shot. Most of the time I'm around town unless if I'm out cruising to a show.

 

[mmissile]

Looking good.

 

[moparedtn]

Everyone I spoke with said that 3.23s are the perfect gear. Personally, I would like to go to a 3.50 something gear but only if I get a gear vendors overdrive as well.

I went from 3.23 to 3.55 in mine, but only because I was told it had 2.73's in it when I bought it - I didn't know it had the original 3.23's in it.
I shoulda looked first, eh?
Oh well, the car needed the SureGrip installed in it anyways...

3.55's with this 440 and the 4 speed are not exactly comfortable highway cruising gears, turns out - the rascal turns 3000RPM @ 70MPH. That's a tad much.
They're a little better for acceleration, of course, but nobody is going to put 3.55's in their car to go racing, obviously.
In the meantime, I have an original 3.23 ring and pinion if anyone needs them...

 

[moparedtn]

After I parked today I noticed a steam of drops leading to under the car. The radiator overflow (I have it routed to the ground like back in the day) is dripping a decent amount. It is 75 degrees out with a real feel temperature of 82. The car was running at 200 degrees. I don't have a radiator fan shroud. Would installing one help keep the engine running a little cooler?

Shrouds always help, sure, but make sure the rest of the cooling system is up to snuff as well. Lots of our Mopars came from the factory with no shroud at all and did just fine.
Do you know what thermostat you have? What radiator is it?

 

[nuteguy]

Shrouds always help, sure, but make sure the rest of the cooling system is up to snuff as well. Lots of our Mopars came from the factory with no shroud at all and did just fine.
Do you know what thermostat you have? What radiator is it?

I believe I have a 190 degree thermostat. The radiator is a 26 inch that came with the car when I bought it. The fins are in good shape. All I did was cleaned it up and hit it with light paint to make it look nice.

 

[moparedtn]

I believe I have a 190 degree thermostat. The radiator is a 26 inch that came with the car when I bought it. The fins are in good shape. All I did was cleaned it up and hit it with light paint to make it look nice.

I'll assume it's a 180 thermostat - at least I hope it is.
(They are also available in 195)
Do you know anything about the internal condition of the radiator? Do you know any part numbers or specs on it?

 

[nuteguy]

I'll assume it's a 180 thermostat - at least I hope it is.
(They are also available in 195)
Do you know anything about the internal condition of the radiator? Do you know any part numbers or specs on it?

I'm not sure. Where would I look for any part numbers? When I had the engine out I flushed out the radiator with water until only clear water came out.

I never had any problems with overheating before.

 

[moparedtn]

I'm not sure. Where would I look for any part numbers? When I had the engine out I flushed out the radiator with water until only clear water came out.

I never had any problems with overheating before.

The thermostat should have its' temperature rating stamped right on it.
Do you know anything about your radiator? Is there a part number stamped on it anywhere? How many rows?

 

[nuteguy]

The drips from the radiator don't worry me anymore. But I do have a story.

I went cruising with a friend today. I had just pulled off the highway and was going up a hill and i feel the car sputter and die. I pulled over to the side of the road just past a driveway and turned on my hazards. My first thought is that I'm out of fuel because I don't have a functioning fuel gauge. I had topped off before I left though so that couldn't be it.... The fuel filter I have just before my carb was empty. Regardless, I called another friend who came with 5 gallons which topped off the car to the point of gas overflowing.

While I was waiting for the gas, I rolled the car into the driveway, back on level ground. So.... the tank gets filled up and the car starts right up after some cranking. While filling the car up i noticed that my passenger side exhaust tip is free. The muffler disconnected from the exhaust. So basically the right hand side of the car was straight piped. Man was it loud. It was amazing. I tried to push it back in to the best of my ability but as I was on the way home it fell out again. The exhaust itself scraped on some bumps but the damage was not bad at all.

Keep in mind that this was all happening at 10 at night. There was nobody around but I felt like a bit of a jerk driving around with such a loud car but it was wonderful. I need cut outs.

Anyways, sorry if this is all a little out of order but it just happened and I still feel the adrenaline in me. Anyone have any ideas on why the car died? Fuel pump progressively going bad??

 

[72RoadrunnerTyler]

Hey man,

Great job! Loved reading your thread. We almost have identical stories... I picked up my RR when I was 16 by even-trading a 92' Camaro RS (no license and no permit) and restored it top to bottom. Granted that was 10 years ago...but she's still with me and running tip top.

I have a question about the 9.25 you swapped for the 8-1/4. I too have an 8-1/4 2.73 and for 5 years I've been looking on ebay and CL for a 71-74 8-3/4 but have had no luck. Now I'm looking into 9.25's... What year/make did you get the 9.25 from? Did you have to move the perch mounts? And how did the flange to flange width compare to the 8.25? I want to try and find the best candidate, one that bolts right in (don't mind if I need to move the perch mounts)

Thnaks! Tyler

 

[72RoadrunnerTyler]

If your not on the road runner nest forum, you should be. Sign up and chat with us RR owners

http://www.roadrunnernest.com/forum/

 

[nuteguy]

Hey man,

Great job! Loved reading your thread. We almost have identical stories... I picked up my RR when I was 16 by even-trading a 92' Camaro RS (no license and no permit) and restored it top to bottom. Granted that was 10 years ago...but she's still with me and running tip top.

I have a question about the 9.25 you swapped for the 8-1/4. I too have an 8-1/4 2.73 and for 5 years I've been looking on ebay and CL for a 71-74 8-3/4 but have had no luck. Now I'm looking into 9.25's... What year/make did you get the 9.25 from? Did you have to move the perch mounts? And how did the flange to flange width compare to the 8.25? I want to try and find the best candidate, one that bolts right in (don't mind if I need to move the perch mounts)

Thnaks! Tyler

Hey, sorry I haven't been back on the site since I went to college despite continuing my project during breaks.

I got the 9.25 from a friend who picked it up at Carslile under the impression that it was a Dana. So I have no clue what it came out of.

I did not have to move the perch mounts or do anything different. It was a direct swap aside from a new U joint if I remember correctly.

It should bolt right in but I'd measure to double check anyways!!

 

[nuteguy]

Like I said in the post above, since I went to college I haven't visited the site. I have still been doing stuff here and there while I'm home. I'll try to update the best I can with everything I've done since my last post to the best of my memory.

I went to Carlisle in 2016 and picked up a wing and some other stuff. Sway bars were installed at some point in time. Those were a real pain because of the messed up K frame I mentioned in one of my other posts.

Speedometer was replaced and is now fully functional (3rd try) along with the fuel gauge (2nd try). Hopefully I won't have to pull my dash again, I've had enough of that!

Whoever redid the interior put the headliner right over the top of my dome light but left the wiring up there so I reinstalled that. Its so nice to have light when I get in the car at night.

I'll dump a bunch of pics now and maybe a video since I replaced my mufflers.

I know that's not the right badge for the car but I don't care because I love how it looks. Carlisle also brought new tail light lenses and a header panel emblem that I painted to look new.

I went drag racing too. That was a blast, few hour drive to the track, made 8 passes I think and then drove back home. I have the slips somewhere at home. I don't think I was too happy with my result but still a fun experience.

Then I went to college. On one of my breaks I replaced my mufflers I think with flowmasters but I can't remember right now. Also went to a bunch of car shows over the summer after freshman year. Below are some pics of the 65 Belvedere Super Stock car that Devin finished up. With cut outs open that thing is LOUD.

All of this stuff is a bit out of order but here are the last marks I left before heading to college!

And finally some videos:

This one is before the muffler swap.



After the muffler swap (you can compare this to two videos earlier in the thread before my motor build and after):



And then just having some fun, crank up the volume for theses:






The plan going forwards this summer is to pull the motor again to swap in a new, unmolested k frame. While the motor is out, new floor pans, maybe maybe maybe a reupholstered interior, at the minimum I'll get it professionally cleaned since the blue is pretty dirty. Then I'll begin body work. I don't think I'll be able to do it all this summer but once that is completed I want to paint the car myself B5 blue and throw on a black reflective strobe. We'll see how that all goes and I'll try to remember to update here since there is plenty of body work to do!

 

[72RoadrunnerTyler]

I did not have to move the perch mounts or do anything different. It was a direct swap aside from a new U joint if I remember correctly.

Sweet, thanks for the info. I've still been hunting for an 8.75 but will look into 9.25's again and see if I can find a direct bolt in.

If your interested in meeting up for a cruise come springtime I'm 10mins from Thompson, CT in MA. Good luck at college

 

[nuteguy]

I stumbled back across this thread and thought I would provide a little bit of closure. The summer after high school I worked at an auto shop that raced Miatas on the side. I got hooked on the idea of having my own little go kart from the street. It was quite the dramatic shift for me, and high school me would have never thought it would happen. I've since sold the Satellite and purchased (and modified) a Miata. I'm counting down the days until I have my own house with room for another Satellite. Hopefully I can find the same one, I still have the VIN memorized.

If you're interested in the Miata thread, find it here: https://forum.miata.net/vb/showthread.php?t=693542

I know Japanese cars aren't typically of interest to the mopar crowd, but I'm not one to slam a car on the ground with absurd amounts of camber. I've shown the Miata the same love I showed my Satellite.

Anyways, I hope to return to this forum in a few years to update this thread or start another one for a new restoration!

 

[ckessel]

You are doing fantastic work! Keep it up!