Early A-Body "Over-Engineering"?

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dibbons

dibbons

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Maybe you guys can contribute other similar "finds" of excessive factory complexity for a simple part or system.

Someone went a little too far over-thinking the 1965 radiator bracket set-up for the fan shroud. My observations.

1) The bracket themselves have all kinds of twists and turns and include a male "locating tab".

2) The nuts for the little bolts are not square but rectangular. They have two tiny grooves machined into opposite sides on one surface. One surface is square, and the opposite surface is curved like the brushes for an electric motor (difficult to see in the photo, but obvious to the naked eye). Good Grief!

3) The tiny brackets that hold the nut in place are very complex little spring steel things. The locating tabs are not centered, but off to one side. They conform to the irregular rectangular shape of the nuts and the two grooves in the nuts. Good Grief Again!


4) The fastener is a conventional bolt with captive washer. Thank God for small favors.

Rad bracket 1.JPG


rad bracket 2.JPG


shroud bracket 3.JPG
 
Sometimes all that nonsense makes it adaptable to another model easily. Cheaper than designing a whole new radiator mounting. It probably facilitated putting in easier on the line. Just remember that anything they did saved them money somehow.
 
I always thought that the factory A/C under hood setup was overly complicated IMO. So many brackets and braces along with idler pulley and different crank pulley.
 
Don't think of it being "over engineering", think of it as finding a way to make it cheaper on newer models.
 
I'd like to talk to the guy who thought that was the best way to do it in 1960 or whenever it was introduced...Mr. R. Goldburg? A 24" cable is about a buck.
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Imagine a manual trans with no kickdown!
 
Sometimes it's hard to change old ways. Throttle rods worked for years so why change. I vaguely remember a snow and ice problem on accelerator linkage and maybe that was the reason they went to a cable. With all those rods and u shaped brackets its easy to see how they can be jammed up.
 
cudamark said:
I always thought that the factory A/C under hood setup was overly complicated IMO. So many brackets and braces along with idler pulley and different crank pulley.
Click to expand...

I think "part" of that is that back in the day Chrysler actually made refrigeration/ AC systems (stationary, not vehicles) So maybe they "knew" what it took to make stuff truly heavy duty. I can remember through the late 60's--later seeing LOTS of GM pumps WITH THE BELT REMOVED because the clutch or compressor had failed.
 
cudamark said:
... factory A/C under hood setup was overly complicated IMO. ...
Click to expand...
AC was a rare option in 1965, especially in a low-end A-body. My 1965 Newport C-body didn't have factory AC, rather an after-market York compressor. I think the radiator shroud was only on AC cars. So, the setup was likely a quickie kludge rather than a careful design. My after-market system also has an idler pulley, which seems over-complicated. Might have been needed to get the wrap angle on the pulley and/or clear other components. It does make adjusting belt tension easy. My 1965 Dart also had an after-market system w/ Tecumseh compressor - York footprint but heavy cast-iron beast, and also an idler pulley.
 
tonysrt said:
... I vaguely remember a snow and ice problem on accelerator linkage and maybe that was the reason they went to a cable. ...
Click to expand...
I would expect a cable to jam easier as the wire gets gunk. That would happen in my 1969 Dart slant six if I floored it. I would kick the pedal to release it. If it didn't release, I would have just turned off the engine, not talk to 911 for 2 minutes like the Sheriff Dept employee in San Diego did about 10 years ago in a Toyota before crashing and killing the family. There was a plastic protector at the end of the cable which had gotten old and cracked to expose the cable. I cleaned, lubed, and covered with tape to form a dust shield. My 1985 M-B 300D has a rotating rod going to the diesel injection pump. It is even more complicated than Mopar's throttle rod.
 
those are bog standard off the shelf cage nuts by the look of it. they are used on server racks fairly often these days. they allow for a bit of weeble wobble if parts are not perfectly to spec and make repair easier by having the nut still replaceable, but you dont need to hold it or get a wrench to it when tightening or loosening.

as for cables, stainless cables are fairly new. plain steel will get moisture inside, rust and stick. even stainless can freeze up in the winter. not much more excitement to be had than a stuck open throttle in winter driving conditions with no ABS or traction control and old bias plys
 
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