69 Notch Barracuda - Rebirth
Had a pretty large oil leak that SEEMED to be coming from the dipstick tube... which really was weighing on me. And some leakage around the oil pan. But, turned out to be coming about 90% from the only valve cover that I’ve cracked into so far (drivers side obviously). So.. tidy’d up the distributor/coil/ballast wiring with some Alex Tech sheathing, retorqued oil pan, valve cover, and power steering lines... and also had a bit of coolant leakage... simple retorque of clamps.... and basically no more leaks (just running in the garage).
That was enough to give me the green light to pull her out and drive around the block A few times to see how things felt and reacted to input.
Wow. It went amazingly well. The clutch and transmission behaved like perfect litter mates, the power steering was smooth... the alignment, which I thought was going to be a complete disaster, was impeccable, even though the pass side strut rod is bent about an inch out of straight (someone obviously thought it would be a solid place for a jack or jack stand).
I still need to verify total timing, double check that all cyls are firing... then start looking at the Thermoquad. Seems to run a little rough. I do have a freshly rebuilt and dyno tested Holley 4150 HP HO 750 DP that I could bolt on as well, but just not sure I want to go that way yet. I’ve read that the TQ is no slouch when tuned properly.
Seat belts go back in next... then the replacement strut rod, maybe a couple of bushings, then alignment. I love that I can drive it around the block any time I want now :thumbsup:.
Had a pretty large oil leak that SEEMED to be coming from the dipstick tube... which really was weighing on me. And some leakage around the oil pan. But, turned out to be coming about 90% from the only valve cover that I’ve cracked into so far (drivers side obviously). So.. tidy’d up the distributor/coil/ballast wiring with some Alex Tech sheathing, retorqued oil pan, valve cover, and power steering lines... and also had a bit of coolant leakage... simple retorque of clamps.... and basically no more leaks (just running in the garage).
That was enough to give me the green light to pull her out and drive around the block A few times to see how things felt and reacted to input.
Wow. It went amazingly well. The clutch and transmission behaved like perfect litter mates, the power steering was smooth... the alignment, which I thought was going to be a complete disaster, was impeccable, even though the pass side strut rod is bent about an inch out of straight (someone obviously thought it would be a solid place for a jack or jack stand).
I still need to verify total timing, double check that all cyls are firing... then start looking at the Thermoquad. Seems to run a little rough. I do have a freshly rebuilt and dyno tested Holley 4150 HP HO 750 DP that I could bolt on as well, but just not sure I want to go that way yet. I’ve read that the TQ is no slouch when tuned properly.
Seat belts go back in next... then the replacement strut rod, maybe a couple of bushings, then alignment. I love that I can drive it around the block any time I want now :thumbsup:.
