68 valiant signet

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today i finished all the fuel lines in the engine compartment, just the short bit at the sender unit to do now. next i got out the haynes manual and sorted what wires do what, it wasn't a case of laying it around the engine as it was a slant six and now it's a small block v8 so i had to go through the wiring diagram to sort wire colours and unpick the loom to route wires where they needed to go. the oil pressure warning light didn't work, even when shorted to the block so i checked the wiring back to the bulkhead connector and that was all good. to check the bulb i first had to remove the a/c vent/duct 'box' from under the dash to gain access. sure enough it was just a blown bulb, but what a pain to get to it. once my coil arrives i can fit that too, i have the wires all ready to cut to length and connect up.
lastly some 'mechanical' jobs, i made up copper vacuum pipes for the vacuum secondary 'cans' on both carbs and sorted the throttle linkage, just a return spring bracket to make and that's all done.
so a fairly productive day i think
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neil.
ps as i'm getting all tarty with carpet and suchlike i've ordered a new interior dome light lens as mine has a large chunk missing.
 
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dang but i'm jealous how much time you're able to spend on this. :thumbsup:
 
Looking good. Waiting for parts is always the worst. I am still waiting on the place I get most of my parts from to finalize my list and get back to me so I can get it ordered. Way its going now, I'll have the car painted and just be sitting waiting for parts to arrive to go one step further. I thought I was being proactive by contacting them over a month ago with my list (mind you it was pretty long and I added a few things here and there). You'd think they'd be trying a little harder to get my business. Much longer and I'll just go elsewhere. It might cost a little more but at least I'll have it when I need it. Looking forward to hearing it run
 
kursplat said:
dang but i'm jealous how much time you're able to spend on this. :thumbsup:
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it's good and bad, good to get the car done but bad it's because of my back i'm not at work still. so i can only do a few hours (at most) in one go before my back calls time for the day :(
but because my glass is half full i like to focus on the 'good' :thumbsup:
neil.
 
Mineallmine said:
Looking good. Waiting for parts is always the worst. I am still waiting on the place I get most of my parts from to finalize my list and get back to me so I can get it ordered. Way its going now, I'll have the car painted and just be sitting waiting for parts to arrive to go one step further. I thought I was being proactive by contacting them over a month ago with my list (mind you it was pretty long and I added a few things here and there). You'd think they'd be trying a little harder to get my business. Much longer and I'll just go elsewhere. It might cost a little more but at least I'll have it when I need it. Looking forward to hearing it run
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yep, waiting for parts seems to be part of doing what we do, just worse now as suppliers use covid as an excuse not to expedite orders like they used to.
neil.
 
only had an hour this evening, but i made brackets for the throttle return springs and mounted and wired the new coil along with fitting a bypass wire to the ballast resistor with piggy back connectors so the original wiring is unchanged there. oh and i fitted the air filters as they'd arrived, after all they are shiny so it'd be rude not to :lol:
neil.

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mygasser said:
it's good and bad, good to get the car done but bad it's because of my back i'm not at work still. so i can only do a few hours (at most) in one go before my back calls time for the day :(
but because my glass is half full i like to focus on the 'good' :thumbsup:
neil.
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i understand the back thing :mad: leaning over a fender never helps
 
i keep saying i'm buying rather than making some parts that will speed up this build, on that basis i just ordered a summit header back full exhaust system. i have a pair of almost new (swapmeet buy) flowmaster mufflers and may use them instead of the ones in the kit, i'll see how they'll work. i usually make my own using pipe and mandrel bends but this will save a lot of time so.....
the copper sheet arrived today so if it cools down later i'll get my plasma cutter out and have a go at making the header gaskets, how hard can it be? :lol:
neil.
 
well actually it was pretty easy and all it cost me was the copper sheet :thumbsup:.
i did the first one this morning while it was cool in the garage (i wasn't allowed to be noisy last night :rolleyes:) and it came out just fine. not cnc accurate but offered against the head it covers all of the sealing area tight to the port shapes so that's all it needs to do. i first offered the supplied gasket up and drew on a pad where the 'alterations' needed to be so when i traced round the gasket i could draw them onto the copper. once the other one's done i can finally bolt the headers up tight.
neil.

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the second gasket was much easier/neater to cut out once i'd fitted new tips to the plasma cutter. nice thin, neat cuts which required a lot less clean up. both sides are now bolted on with just one tweek needed, although they match the outer shape of the supplied gaskets they sit slightly higher than the header where the spark plug access areas are so i can't get a socket on the plugs :BangHead:. i'll have to put some tissue in the plug holes so i can shave them down with my die grinder for clearance, not a bad job. next header area job was clearance on one tube to the steering coupler, which meant removing (cutting off) the metal part that holds the rubber dust cover in place and chamfering the top corners of the coupler. then i trimmed the rubber so it would just push into the coupler and made a split top hat type part that goes against the rubber holding it in place. these halves are secured with a jubbly clip which i then painted black to 'lose' it.
lastly as it was getting late i got out the grant hub and horn push i'd bought and fitted my old superior wood rim steering wheel which polished up nice. nothing like losing power steering then fitting a smaller wheel to make it even heavier :rolleyes:.
next...... errrr, will be plug wires i guess then some fluids.
neil.

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not much done today. i 'nibbed' the copper gaskets back with my die grinder and a tungsten bit but still had to reduce the diameter of the plug socket on my lathe. the plugs are all in and tight now ready for making the plug wires.
next i ran the battery cables to the starter, changing the activator wire connector for a spade to suit the new mini starter. then i made a bracket from under the chassis with a rubber sleeve on it to zip tie them to so they can't touch the header tubes either side of them.
as i said not much but it all needs doing so.....
oh, and i filled the engine/rad' with an antifreeze mix and there are currently no drips anywhere. result!
neil.
 
another slow day as i had some honey do's in front of me first. i've been holding off putting down the new flooring in our living room so i pulled up the old today and cleaned the tile floor underneath. once it's nice and dry i'll lay the new floor.
so anyway, the car..... i swapped out the last bit of old rubber fuel line at the tank sender for new ethanol safe hose. then i cut a piece of 1/2" plywood to sit in the battery tray as the battery i have is too long so it sat on the lip at the front where the corner of the tray is at an angle. then i made up 2 'j' bolts and fitted them with an alternator bracket across the top of the battery (it's what i had but i did paint it). last job was to check it turned over on the key, i expected to have to bypass some kind of inhibitor wiring from where my car was auto but all i came up against was a dead starter relay. i fitted a new 40 amp relay and the car now spins over just fine, the mini starter not sounding very 'mopar' at all though.
neil.
 
last night i fitted the new speedo cable, the car didn't have one at all when i bought it. also i ordered all the oils, lsd additive and oil filter. it should all be with me by the weekend.
neil.
 
the exhaust from summit arrived today along with the oils from ebay, both were due next week. bonus!
the box of exhaust goodies was split open one end but after laying it all out and checking the fittings against the parts list it's all there, phew.
the worst thing now is i don't have time 'til next week, as i've sorted other stuff to do at home over the weekend due to not expecting parts 'til next week :BangHead:
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neil.

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it seems to be early week as my oil filter also came 2 days before it was due so it'd be rude not to fill it with oil and spin it onto the engine surely?
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and whilst out there i thought why not make up the plug wires too? i shamelessly copied the layout from a member here as it looked very neat and i tend to be anal about neat plug wires
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. 2 hours later i'm happy with the look. i found a set of moroso heat shrink wire numbers (2 of each, for both ends) so used them too along with a set of heat shield boots at the plug end of each.
not long before the fire up now
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neil.

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forgot to say, i pulled a valve cover to confirm where number 1 was on the dizzy cap and the adjustable rockers that were thought to be 273 items have locknuts and screws. i thought the 273's were the 'friction' type where they're tight on the threads so have no locknuts? the heads are 3418915H 360 castings.
neil.
 
so after nearly an hour i've found out how not to load a video :BangHead:
on the plus side the car runs :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:
i filled the float bowls and it fired immediately, sounds nice and crisp too but you can't hear it as i'm an idiot with gadgets :lol:
i'll try to get some help and load a video asap.
neil.
 
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No locknuts om my factory adjustable. Did you do a full break-in cycle for the cam? Or just a test fire
 
well that's the exhaust fitted, just got to trim the tailpipes to length as they're poking out too far as they are. i had to shorten the over axle pipes where they go into the mufflers but that was expected as valiant's are shorter wheelbase than other A bodies. i'll probably also tack weld all the joints after i've driven the car and it's settled to confirm there's nowhere touching. it's much quieter now
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i've also fitted the screen washer bag/motor to the pass' side inner fender at the front and plumbed it. i couldn't bring myself to fit the red push button that came with it so it's now painted black and ready to fit.
neil.
 
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