OK got the gas tank squared away for now. Of course the drain plug was leaking just like it was before I had it sealed...Nothing a good tighteing couldn't fix! I took it for a run around the block and it was running like poo..a result of being way out of time! I threw the timing light on and gave the distributor a little twist and it appears to be good to go! While I was out the car died on me once. When I went to restart it I noticed that fuel pump was not running! I got out and tapped it with a hammer and no dice! I traced the wire back to the fire wall and found that it was hooked to the ignition switch and out the fire wall where it was connected with a wire nut...then it ran directly behind the head pinched between the head and the firewall I pulled it out and away from the fire wall then it started right up. I'm assuming the wire was shorting out and was probably a little hot for sure. I hope there is nothing wrong with the Holley pump (its a red pump). Has anyone ever had a problem with the pump shutting of like that? I hoping the repaired wiring fixes the problem! Looks like I'll have to tackle that re-wiring job a little sooner than planned its a complete mess! Thats not the only wire nut in the bundle...
OK last week I hit the big swap meet in springfield and picked up a few goodies. I started stabbing my new distributor (a small diameter HEI with a remote coil) this week. Then mocking up a new set of universal Accell plug wires which is proving to be a task due to the lack of clearance behind the motor where I want to run the wires. But I got a nice circle track air cleaner with a 5" K&N element...nice 5 dollar score! I'm still in the marker for a genie, or lokar shifter and I've been struggling to find a decent set of used 15" tires to fit my smoothies with white letters or white walls. I was planning on trying to skim the side walls and make a set of fat whites but I don't want to trash a good set. I've still got some fuel pump issues but I decided to move on to something a little less frustrating for a few days!
Had a productive couple of days got the new ignition installed and it started on the first crank! This was my first experience with universal plug wires but I ran up to Jegs and picked up a 10 dollar crimping tool and it made short work of the job. It did take some serious routing of the plug wires to stay clear of the exhaust manifolds, carb linkage, and what not. I did some re-wirring in the engine compartment. Looks alot more sanitary now. I also discovered that when my gas pedal is all the way down its so far out of adjustment that it will not open the back 2 barrells on the carb. I'll need to go to town under the dash on the birds nest in there next. I guess its time to get back on the fuel pump issue as well! The last picture shows the previous set up when I was test fitting my 5 dollar air cleaner!
think he said few days might not be long try a week you will be more cool headed engine looks snug and cozy looking great nate
Well I put in a long night in the garage last night with a couple buddies and some Budweiser, and managed to get the Holley pump back in (after a tear down and cleaning) with fresh power lead and ground, got the HEI timed, and replaced the fuel filter. I also bought a set of used tires yesterday and got them mounted on my old smoothies (with no center caps) It changed the whole look of the car because I used to have 14's on the front so the front sits about 1 1/2" higher, but I'm ok with it! The 2 tires on the back don't match the front, but they are white letter tires in great shape so I'm planning on skimming the side walls on the back and continuing to look for another 2 tires with white letters or white walls to put on the front. I just had to get those awful wheels and dry rotted tires off the car for my own sanity! Pics to follow!
Well today was a banner day for the Plymouth I drove it out to my dads house (15 mile round trip) to work on my uncles vette...and it didn't die once! That being said I've got a miss, I haven't determined if its from the carb or the ignition system/timing. I'm leaning toward the carb. Does anybody have any advice on diagnosing Edelbrock carb woes? I'm considering a rebuild kit just for the hell of it since the car was sitting for around 15 years after it was first installed. The good news is I seem to have my fuel delivery issues solved! Oh well small victories for now! One of my favorite motivational quotes in life is "win the day" if you think about it that quote can apply to everything in your life. If I get something positive done on my car every day I stay pretty motivated no matter how small it is! For now this is a big step. One step closer to being able to reliably drive the thing! Oh and for the record there is nothing safe about the way that thing handles at speeds over 45 miles and hour! It darts back and forth with the slightest bump and the steering is incredibly sloppy. So suspension work is going to be moving up the priority board real quick! Thanks for listening to my rant!
il send you photos later did you see the new Motorola i picked up so i wont be needing the other two its not like i was going to plug them in anyways they are just for show for me
Dude that's awesome! Congrats on the "small victories". I'd like to be able to take mine for a drive.
One word of advice,get that paper fuel filter off there and throw it away! I lost a Holley Red Pump with only 2 1/2 hours run time on it because it sucked the paper into it,Summit is even warning people to use a metal element filter between the tank and the pump.This is what I used(pic below) http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/RUSS...ptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessoriesit has bronze element you can take out and clean it,cheap insurance for $12.When you do the rewire it is important to use a fuel pump relay like this http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Pain...37?pt=Other_Vehicle_Parts&hash=item5d2ebdfdc9 which comes with everything you need in a kit.
Thanks for the advice I'm planning on getting a nice one or two! I'm a little confused though Holley wants me to put a filter between the tank and the pump and Edelbrock wants me to put a filter between the pump and carb...Should I use 2? I'm thinking just one before the pump. I'm currently running 2 but I was just doing that to make sure the tank was clean. Joel I'm interested I'll have to see if I can scare up some cash, and yeah I dig that motorola! I won't be hooking up the stocker but I need to fill that hole with something? I think I'll prob just run some type of CD player in the glove box with an adapter for my MP3/pone... but for now the sound of that 283 is music to my ears!
OK so I need to rebuild my Edelbrock carb...I confirmed this by putting my Holley on and all my problems went away! Any how I've been wanting to make some visual improvements to the car. I'm planning on putting an even coat of ox blood red primer on the car for the rest of the summer (yes I realize that primer is not a sealer and I shouldn't drive the car in primer) But I need to paint my wheels as they were very pitted and only look as good as they do because I glass beaded them. So any oppinions on what collor to paint the wheels (not red) I was thinking maybe cream and painting the top of the fire wall the same cream color. with some black and cream pin stripping! Any input would be appreciated!
Started pulling out some interior panels today (drivers side door panel, and rear quarter). Did I ever mention I hate tweed? Man that was a trashy set up crusty dry rotted particle board in the back and staples every where! I'm planning on cutting my own patterns and letting my wife experiment with some material (leather/pleather/Vinyl) to attempt a tuck and roll pattern or an X? pattern. I'm about to start my research on doing my own interior (on the HAMB of course) work. I'll start with door/kick pannels, and progress on to the seats down the road if all goes well! Any advise would be much appreciated! My first order of buisness is to find some affordable material to start with! I'll be posting the pics of the interior pannels I pulled out soon.
Wood would be cool especailly for the old school lowrider vibe you got goin on! I went to Jo Ann Fabrics tonight and looked at some Vinyl found 2 colors I was really diggin on. A glove leather brown color and a black color. That Vinyl didn't look heavey enough to hold up on seats but I'm pretty sure it would be ok on door pannels? I'm having trouble finding info on interior work so I think I'm gonna try and go to an interior guy and ask for some pointers.
Used to use particle board behind the material, but as you know, it doesn't hold up very well if it gets wet. On my current project, if it ever gets that far, I'm going to try abs plastic. I bought a cheap shower surround at a local home improvement store for about $40 (it was a 1 piece thing that someone had returned). I think I'll be able to get both door panels and the center of the roof from this thing. Glue on abs arm rests and some material, and I should be good. If you buy material from Joann Fabrics, they used to get roll ends of material used to cover furniture (chairs & sofas) for a great price, just be sure you get enough material to cover what you want to cover with the pattern matching. Gene
Just found a couple pics of the Plymouth at a local cruise in on a website. Tought I'd share them! Thanks to the countrycruiser website! http://countrycruiser.com/
Been working on the garage lately trying to get some organization before hopefully hitting the Plymouth hard over the next few months. Hunting season is right around the corner here in Ohio so I've got to get my ducks in a row real quick like!
The Jalopy Journal
