martybose

What most people don't realize is that there are more than one class of NPT fittings. Naturally I don't remember the designations any more, but the more common class requires a sealant like pipe dope or teflon tape, but the second class of NPT has a slightly different thread profile and is designed to seal dry without any sealant. More trivia for the multitude ...... Marty

I'm running a standard FelPro headgasket with ARP studs on my Edmunds head. I coated the top side of the gasket with Gasgacinch when installed. Marty

Pete, It sounds like you torqued the studs to the same value that headbolts would use, which is seriously overtorquing. With the fine pitch on the studs, you really only need 55-60 to get the same clamping power as 70 on headbolts. That said, I initially did the exact same thing when I first installed my Edmunds head. Ran it that way for about a year, then replaced the head gasket and torqued them to just 55 lb.; no problems either before or after. Marty

I can think of a reason not to install the valves and springs first; How would you get the cam lobes past all of those lifters that are spring-loaded in the down position? I'm with Tim; invert the block, drop in lubed lifters, install lubed cam, THEN turn upright and start installing valves followed by springs, retainers and keepers. Marty

Looking at the clutch disk and the pressure plate, I believe that the disk is worn down to the rivet heads, and that there may be signs on the pressure plate that the rivet heads on that side are scraping on the surface. I would say that you need a new clutch disk, and that both the pressure plate surface and the flywheel surface should be ground as well. Not being familiar with these trannys, is the flywheel surface bolted to the back of the torque convertor? Marty

When I had my custom ground cable made I had them add a couple of pigtails so that my ground cable goes from the battery to the starter mounting bolt, the cab and the chassis at the clutch pivot bolt. I figure that should cover all of the ground issues! Marty

You need an entire Mopar 3 speed w/ overdrive setup, as the transmission is modified for use with the OD unit. You can't just add an OD unit to a standard 3 speed. Marty, enjoying my OD tranny ......

Well, in the greater San Francisco area they have inspectors who go around looking for smoke coming from fireplaces and issue citations on the days that wood burning is banned. Marty

Bolt stretch is much more effective than torque IF (1) the bolt is set up for it with dimples in both ends and (2) you know how much stretch is correct for that application! Washers don't affect either, assuming that they are flat and oiled. Using anything on the threads definitely affects the amount of stretch that a given torque setting produces. Most torque specs assume an oiled installation. Marty

.... followed by a discussion of aircraft bolts, where the grip length is more important than the overall length ..... Marty

Then you should join Good Guys and read the Good Guys Gazette, as the founder of Good Guys (Gary Meador) owns a 48 Plymouth hotrod, and they always seem to find a few in their coverage of the Good Guys events. Marty

It's a little hard to say, since I've never ridden in a 47 with brand new stock shocks. However, in my case I went from a ride that sort of floated along with a lot of motion until it settled down to a very controlled amount of body motion that settles down almost immediately. My biggest problem now is that the front suspension works very well, but the rear suspension, with its angled shocks, floats along with a lot of motion even with new gas shocks. I've found an outfit that has a rear shock relocation kit as part of a spring kit, and I want to find out more about it to see if it would tighten up the rear suspension to be like the front is. Marty

I've had Evans in my 47 for about 10 years. Once I managed to find and fix all of the leaks that popped up when I made the conversion, it's been fine. Marty

Doublecheck the shock travel once you get everything put back together. When I installed the Fatman dropped spindles a lot of years ago I used his shock brackets and got some Chebby pickup shocks, and the car rode terribly. When I checked everything I found that the shocks were totally compressed and I had what amounted to a solid front suspension. We had to extend the upper shock mount up almost 2 inches to get the shock into the middle of its travel, and then the ride was great! Marty

San Leandro, California, just across the bay from San Francisco ...... Marty

fstfish66, Be aware that if you put on the Fatman dropped spindles you really have to convert to disk brakes, as the drum brake backing plates will hit the lower A-arms so that your turning circle is REALLY LARGE. Marty

I have a Rhode Island harness in my car, and I'm very happy with it. They are also willing to do custom modifications as well, so you might want to think about your long-term goals for the car before you order a harness. On my car I wanted to run 6V-60W halogen headlights, so I had them add in wiring for headlight relays and up the gauge of the wiring from the relay to the headlight bucket. I also had them add turn signal wiring both front and rear and delete the voltage regulator wiring since I was running a single wire 6V alternator. Marty

Unless you backed off the bolt after marking its final position and then tried the other torque wrenches, all you've proven so far is that your click-stop wrench won't overtighten a bolt, you haven't proven that it will tighten up a bolt enough. It may have clicked at 40 lb-ft for all you know. Consider wheel lugnuts. If the idiot runs them on with an impact gun he may tighten them up to 150 ft-lb, then he puts on the torque wrench set at 80 and it clicks without moving the lugnut. All you've proven is that the lugnut is torqued to at least 80, even though it may be double that. Even if they use torque-sticks, if the lugnut doesn't move with the click-stop wrench, I always go home, loosen all of the lugnuts, and then progressively tighten them back up with a torque wrench, usually in three steps (say 50, then 65, lastly 80). That way I know they aren't overtorqued. Marty

I've always thought that it is relatively easy to mount the Cavalier rack and connect it to the spindles; what I want to know is how you connect it to the stock steering column and keep the horn wire! Marty

I own 3 click-stop torque wrenches, and all of them had directions to turn them down to a value of 10 or 20 when not in use. The inch-pound wrench even has a warning stamped on it not to turn it below 15. Marty

I have an 802 radio that I purchased as a reconditioned unit a long time ago, was working just fine when I converted the car to 12V. I have another dead radio that I have reconditioned cosmetically that I will convert to a digital AM/FM unit for my car. Make a reasonable offer and pay shipping and I'll throw in a complete set of spare tubes that I never had to use. Marty

The answer to your question is easy; the hardest to find is the next part that you want to find! I agree that the P15 clock is very difficult; I've been looking for one for years. But I do have what is apparently much rarer; a Mopar-built retrofit driveshaft that uses true cross-style U-joints and a slider section. I've never seen another one. Marty

I've been rather cynical about my Vietnam service, but for a different reason. I spent my Vietnam time on Yankee station in a brand new Guided Missile Destroyer Escort. Since it was the first ever deployment for this ship, we couldn't get anywhere near the shoreline because the Navy didn't want our electronic signature recorded. So we cruised around and acted as the ASW training coordinator for visiting submarines, which played no part in the war at all. So I don't consider myself to have served in Vietnam, even though the Navy does. The guys who were on the ground earned my respect, I don't feel I earned theirs. Marty

If memory serves, one of the forum members has been working on an adapter for 904's ..... Wish I remember who! Marty

My horns used to sound off intermittently of their own accord. I fiddled for ages with the horn ring and couldn't fix it. Then on a whim I installed a new horn relay, and everything has been fine since. Marty