Time for an update that is long overdue. I haven't been posting much on this project or anything else due to a thorough level of disgust with my lack of success and piss-poor mechanical ability. I've turned out the lights in the shop and walked away for a week or ten many a time in this saga. However, if nothing else I'm stubborn and I refuse to let this truck get the best of me. One way or another I'm going to come out the winner.
I started by spending a week cleaning up the disaster that is my shop. When you have to slither sideways past stuff to get around, it's time for a Come-To-Jesus moment. A truckload of crap went to the dump and sold some equipment I'll never use. I sorted out, boxed up, and shelved all the Dart parts, stacked up all the manual transmissions (does anyone really need seven of them, not counting the ones in vehicles??), inventoried and stored a bunch of free parts, and presto, I can get around now!
I've been chipping away at the engine over the last few weeks. I got it out using my snazzy new - or rather new-to-me - cherry picker. This thing has legs that extend about 3' more than normal and a boom that is 6' long. That gives me plenty of reach to get the engine and trans out as one, even while it's a foot off the ground on the lift. Score, halfafish one, truck zero.
I splurged on a new engine stand that has a gear-driven head to rotate the engine. I like this thing a LOT! It makes working so much easier.
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I stripped the sheet metal and got ready for my to-do list, as suggested in this thread:
Where is my compression and vacuum??
- Check the distributor for 180 out?
- Is the distributor’s mechanical advance working right? Have you checked timing marks with TDC??
- I'd start by verifying the balancer mark with a piston stop.
- Spark plug wire order
- Has the outer ring on the damper slipped
- Check the cam degree job.
The mechanical and vacuum advances are both working. Spark plug wires were correct. Damper has not slipped. Balancer was still dead on for TDC.
Ummm, that leaves only the 800 lb. gorilla in the room, was the cam set up wrong? Well yes, in fact it was. Somehow I put it in 180* out. I would have sworn the engine would not run at all like that, but for sure it did on the engine stand. Mystery solved for where is the compression and vacuum? When the exhaust valve is open as the plug fires, you get crap compression and crap vacuum. Score, halfafish one, truck one. And a self-portrait!
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Next up I'm going over the cam chain, as it has a TON of slop in it and it's new with only 700 miles on it. Yet I have 3/4" of play in it. As my buddy helps spin the engine over we notice the chain is only loose part of the time, it's plenty tight other times. How can that be, maybe the gear is made off-center, or ?? We pull the cam gear and chain since we'll need to rotate the crank to get the dots lined up and start degreeing it correctly, but...........OOPS! The cam gear bushing was maybe soft or perhaps something we just can't explain, but the locator pin on the front of the cam has eaten out the backside of the gear, letting the gear flop around pretty good. This could have been a disaster had it come completely unglued while running.
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As is, now I have to pull the cam because the pin is peened out in a mushroom shape and the cam gear is garbage. New Rollmaster to the rescue but with a juice head you can't pull the cam without pulling the head so basically the block is now completely stripped waiting on new parts. Score, halfafish one, truck two.
I dropped off the cam at OCG to see if they can pull the old pin and install a new one. If not I'll need a new cam.
As if I'm not having enough fun today, when we checked the leaky rear main seal we found out the aluminum hoop that holds the lower half of the seal is cracked. Maybe this was the cause of the leak, maybe not. However now I need a new one. My buddy thinks he has one, if not I'll be putting out an APB for a replacement. If that doesn't work I'll have to yank the rusted up dead slant out of the Barracuda and rob that part for the truck. If I need a new cam and can't find a core I'll have to use the Barracuda cam to regrind it for the truck. Score, halfafish one, truck three.
The fun never stops at Chez Halfafish! I'll be busy cleaning all the parts that need to go back together, while I wait on the gasket kit, main seal holder, and cam to sort themselves out.
Mebbe I should have stuck with truck driving instead of trying my hand at working on old cars. Just Sayin...
