Realm412
Well-Known Member
Ok, so I was gathering parts for some upgrades to do to my '63 valiant, and grabbed some clifford headers and a super six setup for my /6. After reading and looking at the parts it became apparent that I would be unable to do the work myself due to time constraints and lack of tools. So I call around find a shop that I had been to before the owner has a 340 demon, and 1970 dart and a duster that had a /6 in it at one time. I'm thinking cool, he should know the breed.
I bring the car in explain what I need done and he quotes me 3 hours labor this includes welding and fabrication of missing parts. He quickly ran into a snag and called me to figure out a work around. Since I didn't have factory kickdown linkage we opted for a Lokar kickdown cable and a newer accelerator pedal/throttle cable. Next he says the exhaust bending is beyond his ability and would have to send it to an exhaust shop. I ask him how I'm supposed to get the vehicle across town with no exhaust, he tells me he has a car trailer and will tow it for no charge.
He gets the lokar cable, instals it, and then tells me that he forgot his trailer was out of town so I'd have to wait another week. Keep in mind at this time my valiant is my daily driver (which he knows). At this point i'm still in a decent mood over it all because I'm giddy with excitement of the upgrades.
The week rolls by and he takes it the the exhaust shop that he recommended. They were overpriced and did half assed work. He calls me tells me my car's ready. YAY!! I go to get it drive it, In 30 seconds i notice, no kickdown, a huge exhaust leak, and the carb is out of adjustment. The exhaust shop didn't even tighten the bolts on the header flange they were hand tightened at best, and when I went to tighten them the flanged began to warp. So I take it back again, now I'm upset. He says he fixed it, which he didn't the exhaust still leaked, the neutral safety switch wouldn't engage, still no kickdown (which he tried to convince me was ok) and it was close to over heating because the radiator was half empty.
I've now been out of a drivable vehicle for a little over a month. I asked some questions on here and got some advice on how to fix the kickdown issue. Right when I go out to check it I do a routine inspection, check the fluids, fiddle with the carb a little bit and when I check the transmission oil what do I see in my horror? Dark silverish grey transmission fluid. I had to drive the car roughly 150 miles (HAD TOO) total since the work. Now it doesn't shift among other things. The transmission was a new rebuild. I'm incredibly angry and I can't do anything until the morning. This happened friday night.
end rant
I bring the car in explain what I need done and he quotes me 3 hours labor this includes welding and fabrication of missing parts. He quickly ran into a snag and called me to figure out a work around. Since I didn't have factory kickdown linkage we opted for a Lokar kickdown cable and a newer accelerator pedal/throttle cable. Next he says the exhaust bending is beyond his ability and would have to send it to an exhaust shop. I ask him how I'm supposed to get the vehicle across town with no exhaust, he tells me he has a car trailer and will tow it for no charge.
He gets the lokar cable, instals it, and then tells me that he forgot his trailer was out of town so I'd have to wait another week. Keep in mind at this time my valiant is my daily driver (which he knows). At this point i'm still in a decent mood over it all because I'm giddy with excitement of the upgrades.
The week rolls by and he takes it the the exhaust shop that he recommended. They were overpriced and did half assed work. He calls me tells me my car's ready. YAY!! I go to get it drive it, In 30 seconds i notice, no kickdown, a huge exhaust leak, and the carb is out of adjustment. The exhaust shop didn't even tighten the bolts on the header flange they were hand tightened at best, and when I went to tighten them the flanged began to warp. So I take it back again, now I'm upset. He says he fixed it, which he didn't the exhaust still leaked, the neutral safety switch wouldn't engage, still no kickdown (which he tried to convince me was ok) and it was close to over heating because the radiator was half empty.
I've now been out of a drivable vehicle for a little over a month. I asked some questions on here and got some advice on how to fix the kickdown issue. Right when I go out to check it I do a routine inspection, check the fluids, fiddle with the carb a little bit and when I check the transmission oil what do I see in my horror? Dark silverish grey transmission fluid. I had to drive the car roughly 150 miles (HAD TOO) total since the work. Now it doesn't shift among other things. The transmission was a new rebuild. I'm incredibly angry and I can't do anything until the morning. This happened friday night.
end rant
