MOPAR things I learned the hard way..

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Cope

Cope

Fusing with fire
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Building a race car is stupid expensive and takes 3 times as long as any other car.

Welding near factory glass=BAD.....
OOPS... Thank god I'm going lexan...

ALWAYS RELEASE the torsion bar BEFORE REMOVING THE A ARM!!!

Dam near lost a nut on that one.... OOPS..

Adjust the hood before shutting it for the first time... dammit now my cowl is fukered up...

I'm sure there's more, these are just the ones I've done recently....


What have you learned?

:)
 
According to the Chevy guys they are slow, until they get beat, then excuse a, b, c, d..........

Dakotas suck to work on

Some Ford wheels get ridiculously stuck on Mopar front and rear hubs

Most parts guys, even the dealers (back then) had no idea what a "6 barrel," a "six pack" or "three deuces" means

Most parts guys think a 23 spline is larger than an 18, HEY!! More splines!!

If your brake lights quit on a 70/ later, sometimes you can rewire the TS switch at the expense of no hazard flashers

Mopar single point distributors really suck

Pre-70 Mopars are the easiest cars in the world to hot wire

If you have trouble lining up the 833, you can put it in reverse and any forward gear it will go into. This locks the splines to the case, and you can "wiggle" it in

The 10.9/ 11" scalloped clutches on 70 440's really really really really really really really sucked

When you break the 3-4 shift fork at the start of a holiday weekend, you CAN drive in first and second gear but it SUCKS!!


Just like Redfish said (I think) you CAN get the dash frame out without removing the windshield

Never sell it you will regret it!!
 
there's no question e-bodies are really cool looking, hell, they are still cool looking almost 50 years later. They had all kinds of options, and would accept any engine Chrysler made. But, they were the poorest assembled cars. Fit and finish was terrible. The assembly line workers at Hamtramck were stoned most of the time.
I sold my 68 340 gts to order a 70 Cuda. My 68 was perfect, and the 70 was completely disappointing. I still have the 70, but I really regret selling the gts.
 
When you replace a valve guide for an exhaust valve, make sure you ream it out properly and don't just shove the valve down in their during assembly thinking it will "wear in" with time. If you don't, the first or second time you drive the vehicle you will find:
1) a cloud of white smoke (steam) billow from the rear as the engine dies
2) your crankcase full of coolant
3) a spark plug electrode crushed
4) the head of an exhaust valve broken off
5) combustion chamber beat up
6) cylinder cracked
7) connecting rod bent
8) hole in forged piston
That's when I replaced the 280 degree duration .480 lift camshaft with the 312 degree duration .580 lift camshaft and went to town.
1965 Valiant Effort.jpg
 
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1. If building an 11 second car, whatever you "think" you're going to spend, nearly double it. Because Mopar.

2. Don't expect your Chevy or Ford friends to understand what it takes to build a Mopar; they won't.

3. No matter how fast you get, it'll never be fast enough.

4. SBM mini starters aren't as easy to install when installing through headers as you would think... Be patient and shimmy that sumbitch into place. If too hard, stop and reposition yourself.

5. Speaking of headers, be prepared to have them completely in the way when dropping your motor in. Have the headers as close to the wheel wells as possible and have 1 or 2 extra sets of eyes and arms around to make everyone's lives easier.

6. Installing a B&M shifter cable sucks.

7. Be sure you have the right pulleys and belts. Super frustrating when you have a $9,000 motor being held up from break in due to $75 worth of wrong parts.

I know there are so many more, but I can't think of them right now. Tired.
 
1:Double (or triple,,) your budget, against a Chevy build.
2 : Mopar thinks a different way of engineering,be prepared to think outside of the box, while learning..
3 : Parts don't show up overnight, be patient.....
4 : Shop around, its amazing how pricing jumps around..on Mopar speed parts...
 
Retainer to guide clearance. About 25 umpteen years ago when I was 17. pre -internet and i didn't have a mentor. Trashed the cam and subsequently the engine. oops
 
Put a jack under the trans/transfer case assy before popping the linkages loose so it doesn't fall and break your hand....
 
1.LH thread studs exist
2. Most solid roller lifters don't drop in a sb w/o clearancing the block
3. Header bolts are into water jackets
4. Slant/sb/bb all have unique bell housings
5. Chrysler seemed to change something from one moder year to the next on every car they ever made.

Those are mine off the top of my head :)
 
Johnny Pace said:
1.LH thread studs exist
2. Most solid roller lifters don't drop in a sb w/o clearancing the block
3. Header bolts are into water jackets
4. Slant/sb/bb all have unique bell housings
5. Chrysler seemed to change something from one moder year to the next on every car they ever made.

Those are mine off the top of my head :)
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Agree with LH thread. Day one of my first Mopar (April 1969), changing rear wheels. First lug nut on left side comes off no sweat, the other 4 will not come off. Bent a cross-style lug wrench with no sucess. Neighbor comes home from work (a Mopar guy) and stops over to see my new rude (62 Valiant) and I tell him my problem. Looks at me and says "Son, those are LH threads. See the "L" on the end of the stud?" The first one was a replaced stud - replaced with a RH stud. What were the odds of starting with the RH nut. Getting the 4 LH nuts off after cranking them super tight just added insult to injury. I think my neighbor left giggling and probably mumbling "dumbass kid" under his breath.
 
I learned that Mopar should have cast their sb heads with push rod slots instead of holes so that there wouldn't be a pinch.

That lakewood bell housings really could use welded on nuts to attach the starter easier.
That factory Mopar clutch fork brackets are weak flimsy pieces of **** once go beyond a stock clutch, Hayes and McCleod will fold them, you have to make one out of 1/4 steel plate.
Pre 68, maybe even 69 there are fewer body welds on the a bodies and once a 562 hp motor goes in....every body spot weld cracks, doors sag, then crack as well.

741 pinion is stronger than credit given, it's still holding on Yukon gear 3.73

Bulkheads suck, better to wire straight through or use a universal plug harness and cut bulks off and wire it up.
Full groove bearings are great and are all I use nowadays.
Hv pumps are like buying chrome valve covers, of no real necessity.
Hyperutectic pistons get hot, they need oil ...so don't run them tight in anything running over 6- 6500 or if you do...slightly steeping the cross hatch when honing. And if you're running a stroker....do yourself a favor and steeping the cross hatch so it can get the oil film it needs and not scuff.
In the Mopar world going against what a guru says is 'like a crime' to the rest of the mopar community when it comes to chat forums ...lol... Mopar people are either oddly unique and bright... or just odd in a lot of cases.
 
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intake valves and exhaust valves use different retainers
(this is to weed out shops that dont know mopars, if you bring the heads in and they are surprised, you take your heads and go somewheres else before they do any damage)

whitepunkonnitro said:
That eight out of ten enthusiasts are experts
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ive been told the definition of an expert is "anyone more then 50 miles away"
 
Always make sure when going to your local parts store to have already researched the parts you want and give the parts clerk the part numbers you want because the kid ( I am in my fifties so that means anyone under 35 ) will not know what Duster is and if they do they will say "what engine...a 350?"
 
Lack of replacement body parts, different torque converter hub sizes, L/H lug nuts, the price differences in the same interchangeable electronic or mechanical part that's for a 66 Cuda - 74 Duster - 83 Dodge truck....., and every other issue that's throughout these forums.
Most of my ownership was without internet and I was the only guy in my crowd that was Mopar from the start.
It's been a love/hate relationship from day one....
 
A flex plate only bolts on one way to the torque converter...
 
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A few things I learned with Mopars...
To use just a plug socket and combination wrench to change 440 plugs. Stock heat shields suck, BTW.

How to drive a 4 spd. without functioning clutch linkage.

Make damn sure your torque converter is completely in the pump and clamped so it can't slide out when installing trans.

If you loose, misplace, or just can't find that last valve cover bolt, check the intake ports if you had the manifold off.

An old rod cap can help pull a harmonic balancer.

If it's impossible it just takes longer.
 
I can see I'm late to the left-hand thread lug nut business, but me too. Luckily, the LEFT side of the car has the LEFT hand threads, and vice-versa for the other side. You wouldn't think a youngster going a buck thirty-five could bust off a lug nut stud by hand, but yes indeed it can happen.

Oh, and pay close attention to interchangeability of parts. There is a bewildering number of things that are one-year-only items that you would never suspect till you go to line up the new part and all the bolt holes are gone.
 
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