New guy, new hobby

-
All I have left to do before I can hoist out the engine is pull the exhaust (What is the easiest way to reach those bolts? They are so frustrating, my knuckles have been bloodier from those 4 little bolts than anything else so far!), drain the trans, disconnect the engine from the trans, pull the mounts and she is free... then in goes the 318!
 
First, welcome to FABO!! Second, you picked a pretty decent date to come to the party with!!! Now, a couple of long extensions should reach you up in there to get that exhaust loose. Be sure you have removed items like the shift linkage, speedometer cable and the like from underneath. It seems that no matter how many motors I've pulled in my life, I always forget to remove one item from under the car that hangs up the pulling and makes me get under there in the mud, the blood and the beer and remove it. You probably heard me all the way out there a couple times, I know my neighbors sure did!!!

Again, wlecome to FABO and the fabulous world of A bodies!!! Geof
 
Got the engine on the stand! This thing looks like someone pulled the covers and threw in some charcoal and cooked steaks over it. Time to buy something that breaks down carbon. Any suggestions?
 
Welcome to the site and to the hobby. This hobby can be frustrating at times but also very rewarding when you look at what you started with and what you have accomplished. Being a newbie to the hobby I would start bt acquiring a factory service manual of your car. That can be found on Ebay as well as a few other retailers that specialize in manuals. I would recommend a subscription to Hemmings Motor News out of Bennington Vt. And also Mopar Collectors Guide out of Louisiana. Both of these publications contain valuable information on products and services and are also great reading. There are also many other Mopar related mags that give info on different how to's and also give an idea of what others are doing and are full of great ideas. In my opinion I wouldn't bother with Car Craft or Hot Rod because they are mostly geared toward Chevy's. This site is also a valuable resource for information and a great way to communicate with like minded individuals. If I had seen your post earlier I would have encouraged you to find out why your 273 would not run before pulling it. Although your car is very simple it is often helpful to know exactly why it didn't run so that when you put in the new motor you can rule things out. It aids in troubleshooting. It may not have run because of a broken wire to the coil. When you put in the 318 it won't run either because the wire is still broke. You get the idea. I assume you have an automatic. When you put the new motor in make sure the torque converter is all the way back in the transmission. Or you will have a huge fight on your hands trying to make the motor fit. Experience talking there. Anyway welcome and have fun. Bu the way if you want to stay clean use rubber gloves and lava soap. Both work miracles. Last thing remember to work safe. This hobby can be dangerous and tragedies are not supposed to happen during play time. Gregg
 
welcome to fabo and great to hear someone saved another fish from being sent to scrap yard. i 2 have been doing some wrench time on my fish but with economy tanking and fear of losing my job due to greedy political idiots, i have had to put it on back burner for now
 
Sadly I'll have to put her on hold. My Shepherd/Husky, Addelaide, got hit by a car today. 3 severe lacerations, and a completely dislocated hip. She's gonna spend some time in a sling on three legs, but she'll be ok. The visit to the doc set me back about $2,000. No more tools, no more parts, no more unnecessary expenditures. Just have to work with what I got.




During better days.

 
65 Valiant Barracuda said:
Sadly I'll have to put her on hold. My Shepherd/Husky, Addelaide, got hit by a car today. 3 severe lacerations, and a completely dislocated hip. She's gonna spend some time in a sling on three legs, but she'll be ok. The visit to the doc set me back about $2,000. No more tools, no more parts, no more unnecessary expenditures. Just have to work with what I got.




During better days.

Click to expand...

Sorry to hear about Addelaide, But I am glad she is going to be ok. Check the classifieds here there is always good deals on parts.
 
Ok, back in the game. Addy is doing ok. She had surgery to remove the top of her femur, and is recovering nicely. Took her to the beach about a week ago and she played for a good 30 minutes before her good leg got tired and she began using and exercising the bad one. In fact the other day she was actually playing tug of war with my pure German shepherd, relying solely on her hind legs. :) So in the time that I have been poor from paying for the surgery I have been sanding stripping and priming. My new fenders came in (from before I knew I was going to be scrounging for money.) Pulled the old ones off and there is some major damage to the fender mount on the driver's side. Deeply seated rust is a bit of a problem, but naval jelly seems to be doing wonders to the lesser pockets. Stripping paint when you can't afford to rent a sand blaster is quite the undertaking. I've been using a drill with a brush bit and going inch by inch, but it is SO MUCH more rewarding laying primer down on that shiny metal that I REALLY had to work for! Trying to figure out how the heck I'm going to strip the interior, just seems like it's going to be REALLY rough sailing for a little while, but it is always worth it after standing up and shining light down her sides and seeing that first smooth coat of primer.
 
Some more pics for anyone who wants 'em.
New fender "in place," not attached. Just for stiffy purposes.

New next to old... I don't suppose that I have to tell ya which one is which.

Passenger side sans fender.

Driver's side sans fender.

From the front.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
-

Back
Top