74 Snakeskin Gold Dustbag

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quapman

Damn Yankee
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Apr 17, 2008
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Central NC
I recently bought a low mile 74 Duter from a friend, thinking it would be an easy fixer-upper and either have a nice cruiser or if someone offered the right money, let her go to a better home....

This was the car in the Summer of 2006...nice shiny paint, beautiful original top...

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Yes, I knew the 360 had been cobbed into the slant six K-frame and didn't sit quite right...

but I later found out that Schumacher conversion mounts had been used, the installer just didn't do the left saddle modification. This was probably because he re-used the center dump exhaust that came on the 360 and had he leveled the motor properly, would not have had room for the exhaust against the power steering box.
The correct left side manifold had been purchased and will hopefully arrive soon.

(Don't you love the Accell Super-Coil, heater hoses too short and zip-ties everywhere???)

enginebay1.jpg
 
Here's the left side motor mount. When this side is done RIGHT, the mounting saddle (or perch) needs to be trimmed and new holes drilled for the through bolt. The right side is OK. Once I get my exhaust right, I'll post new pics.

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Here's how little room there is with the motor up so high on the left. The right exhaust manifold is almost touching the inner fender.

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...and I knew that the homemade shifter wasn't quite up to snuff...
(How about that matching snakeskin steering wheel cover!!!)

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Yes, it's a 4-speed handle cut in the middle and extended with a piece of electrical conduit attached to the tranny case with several brackets and screws.

I have a swap-meet B&M Z-Gate, but there's no room for the cable with the motor being crooked and all. I was hoping to do one small project at a time, but now it looks like Exhaust, Motor Mount and shifter all have to be done at once. ugh.

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:shock: wow thats a ummm interesting shifter lol Any chanse of getting pics of what the linkage looks like on the underside before you take it out?
Cool project keep us posted!
 
I decided to attack an easy project next...getting rid of the surface rust in the trunk and giving it a quick rehab. I figured pop the plugs, scuff off the rust and I'm on my way....

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The rear plug was easy....came right out, but the fromt one gave a little more resistance. That's easy, get a bigger hammer and screwdriver!

Right. That's how I punctured my gas tank and created another project I didn't need.

I have no "action shots" on this one, just a "tank ready for repair" pic.

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Againt the advice of most folks here, I decided to repair my tank. First I cleaned the area with a die grinder, then applied a J.B. weld patch with a small piece of sheet-metal on top of that. Sort of a J.B. Weld sandwich.

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So while that was curing, I went back to the trunk rust project.

I scuffed off the rust with a red scotch-brite, then cleaned it all really well with lacquer thinner.

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...then I sprayed it with Permatex Rust-Converter. It comes in a spray can and I've had good luck with it in the past. The rusty areas turn black and then can be painted over.

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I went for brakes and the crooked motor situation next. I don't have all the brake pics yet, so I'll do the motor series first.

I loosened the left side motor mount bolt and slid a 1X6 under the oil pan rail. I find this is easier to control and a bigass cherry picker isn't getting in the way. Off came the nut and up went the motor, just about 1/4". This leaves the bolt loose, but doesn't jam the big washer under the safety saddle. I tapped the bolt through and out with a hammer and a round punch. Another bolt will work if you don't have a punch.

I had no instructions, so I went with advice from rumblefish360 and a little common sense. Using a level and some basic math, I determined that the new hole in the K-frame saddle should be about 1-1/2" below the existing center of where the slant-6 bolt used to be. I CAREFULLY drilled a 1/2" hole through the FRONT ear only.

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I re-attached the mount and carefully dropped the motor back down to see if the hole lined up. I couldn't get it all the way dow, so the mount came back off so I could trim the saddle a bit.

I took off about 3/8" from the inside corner of the front ear and 1/4" from the rear ear. I also notched out the bottom front corner of the opening between the ears.

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I then re-attached the mount loosely AGAIN and lowered it into the saddle. I lined-up the hole with the mount with the big bolt and tightened the mount to the block. I CAREFULLY drilled through the mount until I made a little dimple in the back ear of the saddle. I probably could have drilled right through, but I didn't want to damage the inside of the tube that goes through the mount.

Once I got my dimple, I lifted the motor again (This is why I use a jack instead of a picker...up/down/up/down/up, etc.), and finished my rear ear hole. (Say THAT to your buddies!). Dropped 'er back down again and slid the bolt in from the back. The holes weren't quite perfect, so I had to open up the front one a smidgen. This is why I start out with a 1/2" hole instead of the 9/16 that Schumacher recommends. A short while later, the bolt slid right through and I put the nut on.

Unfortunately, because the front of the K-frame saddle is on an angle, the captive washer came apart from the nut, so......

I modified a brake drum retainer to make a tapered washer. It was a little crude, but effective. I used it and a regular flat washer, than a regular 1/2-13 nut.

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DemonDave said:
Does Schumacher provide instructions for the mods needed with the mount kits?
Click to expand...

As far as I know, YES. I had to wing it because the 360 got installed in my car two owners back and it was done incorrectly without the saddle mods.

Steve
 
quapman said:
Againt the advice of most folks here, I decided to repair my tank. First I cleaned the area with a die grinder,
Click to expand...
:sign7:
Congratulations on getting through that alive. There was a reason most advised against fixing this....you should have been charcoal after grinding on a fuel tank.

Angels :angel5: must have been with you
 
Trust me, if I'm in the area, there isn't an angel for miles! LOL

I couldn't tell you how hot a spark is from a 1-1/2" grinding disk, but I do know that a lit cigarette isn't hot enough to ignite gasoline, so I wasn't really all that concerned about the *poof* factor. ;)
 
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