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Recent posts
#1
Car Guys Discussion / Re: Dumb traffic tickets
Last post by lloyd3 - Today at 11:45:08 AMI once got a written warning for "Reckless Driving" back in Bradford, Pennsylvania the mid-1980s. I'd been in the petrology lab all evening looking at slides of different minerals and my eyes and patience were pretty-well shot. I never screwed around on campus (w/my Sublime '70 Bee) but the minute I rolled over the property line onto the county road, it was "game-on". The bigger Holley carb I'd bought to replace the previous iteration didn't have a provision for a choke, so the car was famously cold-blooded. I'd get that 383 started by feathering the throttle and then keep it in 1st gear al the way around the campus to let it warm up, but the minute I was off the school grounds, I'd run it much more briskly to get it to idle better by the time I'd get back to town. This November/December night was exceptionally wet & cold (the windows had a rim of frost) and, of course, it didn't want to idle at all, spitting and sputtering all the way around the quad. By the time I'd hit the county road, I'd simply had it and floored it, hammering all the gears as I headed for my off-campus apartment. Wound it up to whatever the top was for the 3.23 to 1, 8 3/4 set up when I noticed a tiny little flashing red light wayyy-back in my mirror. Townies, I thought, and after thinking about it, I decided to pull over and wait for them (it would be hard to hide a lime-green Super Bee in '80s nowhere Pennsylvania, because rust had claimed all the other examples there by then. This car also had fresh paint, Cragars, & a new tail-stripe & rubber all around, so...it really stood out in that part of the world) besides...I knew he'd not had a chance to lock-in my speed even if he had a radar gun because he was just too-far back from me.) The townie Police cruiser pulls up and the middle-aged officer walks up to my window, which was already down. He shines his flashlight at me and in my car and he then does a tour all the way around it while it idles (perfectly, now that it was warmed up a little). He asked me to turn it off (presumably so he could hear our conversation as I had turbo mufflers on it by then) and then he proceeds to tells me that my tires "didn't stop spinning until I was clear past the gymnasium". I then responded with "I'm really sorry about that officer, but I've had several problems with this carburetor and I was just trying to get it to clear out a little so it would idle". I believe also mentioned that I'd had a rather long & frustrating night in the geology lab at school. Not sure which story worked, but he then went back to his new Mopar cruiser (mid-80s St. Regis?) and returned with my written warning, he also told me then, rather emphatically that "if you have to blow the carbon out of her, take it up on the expressway....but just go 55!" and he then handed me my warning, explained the particulars of it, and then cut me loose. I saved that citation (and still have it after all these years) as I've never heard of another quite like it. "Reckless Driving" usually had a much-more severe consequence in the world I grew up in.
#2
Off Topic Discussion / Re: When did you last: Pull an...
Last post by John_Kunkel - Today at 11:34:38 AMAs one ages, sooner or later skill and desire will be trumped by ability.
#3
Charger Discussion / Re: What has been your longest...
Last post by ca 69charger - Today at 11:13:25 AMJust last weekend did the longest road trip in the 69. Rio Vista, CA to Fallon, NV. About 500 miles roundtrip. Stopped by Summit Racing in Sparks, NV on the way.
#4
Chassis, Suspension, Brakes, Wheels, & Tires / Re: Do you keep a spare tire i...
Last post by lloyd3 - Today at 11:01:09 AMMy spare is likely to be an original steelie from back in the day. When I shift over to 15-inch Magnum 500s on the back, will this spare still get me home? The Dana 60 under the car is tough but will the possible size difference between to different height tires be a problem, even for the short amount of time I'd likely need to use it?
#5
Chassis, Suspension, Brakes, Wheels, & Tires / Re: Question about changing le...
Last post by 375instroke - Today at 09:53:55 AMClean the u-bolts before unbolting them. Use a fine steel brush, and wash with solvent. Any dirt or rust will jam those nuts up real tight.
#6
Charger Discussion / Re: Never leave your bubble of...
Last post by lloyd3 - Today at 08:03:49 AMThat is probably the better solution, but uprooting would still be a gigantic pain. No, I'll just tough it out here for a few more years. As long as I can time my visits a bit more carefully (i.e. earlier in the day), I can usually avoid the bigger mess here. The next few years will tell for sure. If there is a "Nirvana" somewhere I guess I haven't found it just yet.
#7
Electric, Gauges, & Lights / Re: Replacement gauges accurac...
Last post by b5blue - Today at 07:58:29 AMTry this place: https://www.antiqueinstrument.com/
#8
Electric, Gauges, & Lights / Re: Anyone recall who rebuilds...
Last post by b5blue - Today at 07:56:15 AMUsing search I found this: https://www.antiqueinstrument.com/
#9
Chassis, Suspension, Brakes, Wheels, & Tires / Re: Align your car at home?
Last post by Kern Dog - Today at 01:19:49 AMWhat started this project is that I recently raised the red car 1 inch to quit scraping over speed bumps. The suspension is firm so it isn't bottoming out due to saggy bars and springs.
These tires are 200 treadwear and very sticky.
In February last year I had it aligned at a trusted shop. I told them I wanted .75 degrees of negative camber, 1/8" toe in and as much caster as they could get. Since these were not "book specs", I had to pay for the alignment by the hour to the tune of $160. Not a terrible price if it is right though, right?
The man told me that they got 5 degrees of caster on the left and 5.5 on the right.
How do you know if it is right if you don't have a way to check it yourself? Are you a good enough driver to know just by feel?
I'm a decent driver but not that good.
These tires are 200 treadwear and very sticky.
In February last year I had it aligned at a trusted shop. I told them I wanted .75 degrees of negative camber, 1/8" toe in and as much caster as they could get. Since these were not "book specs", I had to pay for the alignment by the hour to the tune of $160. Not a terrible price if it is right though, right?
The man told me that they got 5 degrees of caster on the left and 5.5 on the right.
How do you know if it is right if you don't have a way to check it yourself? Are you a good enough driver to know just by feel?
I'm a decent driver but not that good.
#10
Chassis, Suspension, Brakes, Wheels, & Tires / Re: Align your car at home?
Last post by Kern Dog - Today at 01:07:33 AMThe same thing happens on the other side.
You see, usually when you have a Mopar up off the ground and then set it down, the track/width of the suspension isn't established because it is in a bind. You usually have to roll the car forward and back a few feet to let it settle. These grease plate sandwiches/turning plates allow the top sheet to slid over and the suspension settles. See what they do when you turn the wheel:
Now you bounce the front end down a few times and it will settle. You can crank on the torsion bar bolt to raise or lower the car to where you want it. Be sure to bounce the car up and down a few times after each adjustment to get it to settle.
The next step is to establish the caster and camber angles. For that, I'm going to use this:
There are many variations of this tool. Some are battery powered but the one I bought uses a bubble like a level. No batteries to replace and the bubble is basic technology that has worked for 200+ years. I ordered this one through Amazon.com but it hasn't arrived yet.
To establish Toe, I ordered these:
Now these are designed to bridge past the tires so you can hook a tape measure over the edges and measure the distance in front of the tire and behind it. These haven't arrived yet either.
Years ago, Mopar Muscle magazine printed an article where a guy mapped the alignment curves of two popular disc brake knuckle/spindles that we use in our cars. One was the 1973-1976 A body version, the second was the much more plentiful "B" spindle that was used from around 1973 to 1989. Here are the maps he charted starting with the A body unit:
The numbers he recorded really surprised me. I couldn't believe how much the alignment really does change in such a short amount of wheel travel. Look at the changes from zero (standard ride height) to 2 1/4" dive and 2 1/4" rise. I was shocked at how the height dramatically changed the caster.
Now look at the later "B" knuckle/spindle:
With the A unit, you gain 3.7 degrees of caster at dive. The B unit you gain 3.4 degrees.
I recently raised the car 1 inch. Doing so cost me about 1.8 degrees of caster. I am still amazed at that. It seems impossible that so much changes in such little difference in ride height.
Metal plates: $44
Caster/Camber gauge: $136 plus shipping.
Toe plates: $34 plus shipping.
Total so far, $214 plus whatever the shipping charges may be, if any.
You see, usually when you have a Mopar up off the ground and then set it down, the track/width of the suspension isn't established because it is in a bind. You usually have to roll the car forward and back a few feet to let it settle. These grease plate sandwiches/turning plates allow the top sheet to slid over and the suspension settles. See what they do when you turn the wheel:
Now you bounce the front end down a few times and it will settle. You can crank on the torsion bar bolt to raise or lower the car to where you want it. Be sure to bounce the car up and down a few times after each adjustment to get it to settle.
The next step is to establish the caster and camber angles. For that, I'm going to use this:
There are many variations of this tool. Some are battery powered but the one I bought uses a bubble like a level. No batteries to replace and the bubble is basic technology that has worked for 200+ years. I ordered this one through Amazon.com but it hasn't arrived yet.
To establish Toe, I ordered these:
Now these are designed to bridge past the tires so you can hook a tape measure over the edges and measure the distance in front of the tire and behind it. These haven't arrived yet either.
Years ago, Mopar Muscle magazine printed an article where a guy mapped the alignment curves of two popular disc brake knuckle/spindles that we use in our cars. One was the 1973-1976 A body version, the second was the much more plentiful "B" spindle that was used from around 1973 to 1989. Here are the maps he charted starting with the A body unit:
The numbers he recorded really surprised me. I couldn't believe how much the alignment really does change in such a short amount of wheel travel. Look at the changes from zero (standard ride height) to 2 1/4" dive and 2 1/4" rise. I was shocked at how the height dramatically changed the caster.
Now look at the later "B" knuckle/spindle:
With the A unit, you gain 3.7 degrees of caster at dive. The B unit you gain 3.4 degrees.
I recently raised the car 1 inch. Doing so cost me about 1.8 degrees of caster. I am still amazed at that. It seems impossible that so much changes in such little difference in ride height.
Metal plates: $44
Caster/Camber gauge: $136 plus shipping.
Toe plates: $34 plus shipping.
Total so far, $214 plus whatever the shipping charges may be, if any.