Car Fix Season 7 Episode 2

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Rustyfish

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Aired today, Lou does a disc brake conversion on a '65 Barracuda. Nice episode showing how they did it.

No link on their website yet that I can see, but nice to see a show work on an early A!
 
I saw it to. I backed it up to the start and recorded it.
 
Watched again and cringed when Lou used vise grips on the torsion bars, I could see the marks left in it.
 
I didn't see the vise grips. Indeed, Lou said he did use vise grips and hammer in the old days, but got smarter. Instead, he spent much time fussing with getting the T-bar out, installing a C-clamp press to push on the end of the pivot bolt. I have removed the LCA several times on my A and C bodies, and was always simple. After removing the rear wire retainer (hope Lou did!), I just crowbar the LCA back from the K-frame, which pushes the T-bar end out of the hex base. I then beat the LCA forward with a hammer and the T-bar slides out of the front hex. Probably the T-bar has rotated so that the hex flats no longer line up, so the rear hex holds it. BTW, the grease in the rear is simply to avoid corrosion, not to allow metal-metal sliding. The earliest models didn't have the grease and rubber umbrella, and many in the salty north soon corroded (T-bar let loose). A polyurethane umbrella from Energy Suspension lasts longer, though a little tricky to install.

A couple things on the Car Fix show - they started by saying the owner looked far and wide and couldn't find parts for his 10" drum brakes. Either he never heard of rockauto and ebay, or he was talking about his spindle being bad (inner race spun). Spindles have never been at auto parts and were probably special order from dealers. It appears that Lou installed the front cupped washer on the strut rod bushing incorrectly. The washer should curve out away from the bushing, which seems counter-intuitive, but some are even stamped. One should always read the FSM. It appears they did use the Moog improved design strut bushings, which are much easier to install and should last longer. They didn't know about the Moog offset UCA bushings, which can help give more caster (needed for radial tires). They didn't clean rust and paint the suspension parts, not even the new parts. The factory didn't paint much either, but fairly simple while you have everything out. I didn't see him change the upper ball joint. The Fantomworks show did that and didn't know about the special socket, so kind of made a mess using a torch and pipe wrench. Torching out the rubber in the bushings works but seems easier and more elegant to push them out w/ a simple bolt and sockets rig. I am surprised that Lou pulled the LCA w/ the strut rod still attached. That doesn't work for me since the two holes you pull the parts thru aren't parallel. Also, easier to loosen the strut rod nut at the LCA while the front bushings is tight and keeps the rod from spinning. Don't use vise grips. The strut rod is hollow and easily damaged. Too many have been bent by hooking tow cables to them.

They changed to a power brake booster. Many here are OK w/ a manual MC w/ front disks, using the smallest bore MC available (7/8 or 15/16"D). Their booster has a cast-iron MC and sheet-metal top. Many prefer aluminum w/ plastic reservoir since lighter and seals better.
 
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Just watched it you'd think Lou would have atleast cleaned and painted those greasy and rusted front end parts instead of putting them back together all shitty looking..and good luck to the owner trying to change the number 5 and 7 plugs with that brake booster right in the way now..
 
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