Lookie what $5000 buys you....

[Kern Dog]

That is a good idea on the Anti-freeze. Thank you.

It is a mixed bag to report. The engine runs great, sounds great and performs great...But I have some valve cover leaks to attend to. For some reason, these blue Moroso gaskets don't seal well.
* The speedometer doesn't move. The cable spins, there is a 34 tooth speedo pinion in place and the cable is pressed to the back of the speedo.
* The tach is acting weird. It is dead most of the time but when it does come alive, it holds at idle but drops to zero when I rev the throttle.
* The gas gauge hasn't budged even with 5 gallons in the tank.
* The temp gauge is dead too. I grounded the purple wire to the temp sender and the gauge didn't move.
* The oil pressure gauge is dead.
The cluster is from the red car, Ginger. I pulled it because the temp and oil pressure gauges were not working consistently. The gas gauge worked though.
I have no front sway bar yet but I did take it out in the neighborhood. It feels remarkably stable. The steering is responsive, the brakes are great. I did 2 burnouts. It sounds great under throttle!

There isn't any pressure to fix all of these problems right now. I wanted to get it running and driving and I met that goal. I have a mechanical oil pressure gauge I can put in. I would rather have all the factory gauges working though. I have 2 other clusters that I can try but the faces of the gauges are badly faded. If they work, vinyl overlays could be used until I decide to upgrade.
I have to stop the valve cover leaks though. I can't stand to drive a car that leaves a stream of smoke like a crop duster!

 

[Kern Dog]

I drove both cars today. What a stark difference between the two.
Jigsaw has no carpet, several open holes in the firewall, a crappy shredded bench seat and a column shift.
It is Roadkill to the bone.
Ginger is so much more refined. It is quieter, much nicer inside, has bucket seats and a floor shifted manual trans.

 

[eldubb440]

congrats on the test drive

 

[Kern Dog]

I continue to be amazed at this car.
The suspension and steering are another chapter in that sentiment.
15+ year old tires. Rebuilt steering box, Fast Ratio arms, 11/16" C body tie rods and sleeves, bonehead alignment by me just by eye,
stock 383 torsion bars, NO front sway bar. Stock leaf springs, 3/4" sway bar. It rides decent and steering response is quite good. It could use a bit more caster but it isn't bad.
By the way....The car did have a front sway bar but I sold it to a FBBO member. I intend to use a bar bigger than the stock one.
I replaced the entire front structure (With encouragement and guidance) without the use of a frame jig.
The car doesn't pull to either side, it tracks straight ahead.
I've put together several A body cars that still feel tinny and cheap.
This car actually feels solid and stable. Ginger also felt like this when I first bought it. It was one of the standout features that I recalled during the first drive in 2000. Then it was an original 30 year old car that still felt better than Dusters or Darts that I had owned that had rebuilt front ends.
I don't know why that is the case. They all use similar components.

 

[moparedtn]

1. Congrats on the successful neighborhood drive! That's milestone #2....
2. Your comparison in feel between b-bodies and a-bodies is, of course, spot on.
Just the way it is with Mopars - and as much as I like a-bodies, I'd probably not
own one for that reason, among others.
3. All your gauges not working points to a common issue among them, such as
the voltage limiter for the cluster (assuming the amp gauge works).
4. Re: comparison between Jigsaw and Ginger: what's the "dollars invested" difference
between the two as they sit right now?
There ya go.

 

[Kern Dog]

Ha...
This Jigsaw project is still under $9000. At this same point in the game with Ginger, I was in the car about $4500 due to the CHEAP $1700 buy-in price!
Ginger is closing in on $40,000. I lost count awhile back but recall being in the low $30,000 range a few years ago. The Tremec swap added $7000 in the transmission kit and other supporting parts.
Hey...No kids here so I'm not expecting to give any money to anyone!

*****E D I T******
Just for grins, I added up just from memory. I am over $40K by a bit!

 

[moparedtn]

Ha...
This Jigsaw project is still under $9000. At this same point in the game with Ginger, I was in the car about $4500 due to the CHEAP $1700 buy-in price!
Ginger is closing in on $40,000. I lost count awhile back but recall being in the low $30,000 range a few years ago. The Tremec swap added $7000 in the transmission kit and other supporting parts.
Hey...No kids here so I'm not expecting to give any money to anyone!

I hear ya there. Fred was bought as a supposed "almost done" car 11 years ago for $17k.
If the seller had left the car on eBay instead of quick-selling it to me (he was in a serious bind
at the time), it would have fetched another $10k no doubt (and the new owner would have been
slightly miffed as he discovered all that actually needed attention).

I knew he wasn't "almost done", of course - but all I cared about was that the metal work was done,
there was no rust and he had a presentable paint job because those were all things I wasn't going to tackle.
I wound up replacing almost everything on him mechanical, electrical, plumbing, you name it over time
and by frugality, necessity, etc. I'm still way under $30k into the car.
Fred is nowhere near as nice as Ginger (or a lot of cars on here), but it all works and he drives as good
as any Mopar I've ever owned. Next up, sometime soon, are the brakes...

 

[Kern Dog]

Thank you!
You aren't interested in converting to front disc?

 

[moparedtn]

Thank you!
You aren't interested in converting to front disc?

Decision made to stick with drums. I'd consider discs if I also wanted to go the power brake
route - and money was a bit less of an issue.

 

[Kern Dog]

Yeah? I have non power disc/drum in this Jigsaw car. It stops well but I'll have to get it over 40 to know how well it hauls down from freeway speeds.

 

[moparedtn]

Yeah? I have non power disc/drum in this Jigsaw car. It stops well but I'll have to get it over 40 to know how well it hauls down from freeway speeds.

I've seen many report that their own disc non-power conversions went quite well - and just as many
had issues and struggles with same.
Lots of variables, of course - brands, installations, etc.
I never had issue with a properly functioning drum brake setup on these cars and since I'm not likely
to be road racing Fred in the near future, they'll be fine this time too once I get them right.

 

[Habib]

Love what you do, kern. Your threads are detailed to. My Dads 70 Swinger needs a front clip replacement just like what you did to the charger. You made it look possible to me so it is something I definitely have to do when the time comes

 

[Kern Dog]

I credit Eldub440 for nudging me along. I had planned on taking the car to a shop to be put on a frame rack. He kept suggesting that I just replace the bent stuff and let the body panels dictate where the structure ends up. On the road, there are no flex noises, no chassis groan sounds, it feels solid.

 

[eldubb440]

I credit Eldub440 for nudging me along. I had planned on taking the car to a shop to be put on a frame rack. He kept suggesting that I just replace the bent stuff and let the body panels dictate where the structure ends up. On the road, there are no flex noises, no chassis groan sounds, it feels solid.

Eldubb........ 2 B's

we don't need no stinking rack!

I call it a bench, tomato/tomoto...... the car was straight from the hinge pillars back. So in carpentry terms, you added on an addition to an existing square, level building; using the building as a "guide" (for lack of a better term).

 

[moparedtn]

Eldubb........ 2 B's

we don't need no stinking rack!

I call it a bench, tomato/tomoto...... the car was straight from the hinge pillars back. So in carpentry terms, you added on an addition to an existing square, level building; using the building as a "guide" (for lack of a better term).

I gotta know - what's the origins of your screen name, sir?

 

[eldubb440]

I gotta know - what's the origins of your screen name, sir?

the short version? geeez...... Eldubb is short for LW. About 30 years ago, I pumped a little iron and my buddy started calling me the "living well lady" after the woman's gym.....it then morphed into LW, and later "Eldubb" ...... that's the one that stuck (amongst a certain group of friends)

the longer version includes others..... "The "epilady" was one of the crew

 

[Kern Dog]

Finally....a video upload!

 

[moparedtn]

Finally....a video upload!

Several of them in fact! There ya go, glad you got going with some of those...
even with the closeups of the rust.

 

[Kern Dog]

I just uploaded the video of the day that I brought it home, Sept 5th 2019. As soon as it finishes downloading, I'll post a link.

Boom......

 

[hunt2elk]

Good Stuff KD, good job .