OnkelUdo

And here she is.... Not been here is a while since life got really busy (moved to new rural property, life, work, racing, got flooded, etc) but the Plymouth will be back to racing in about three weeks. It is now sporting an 1997 L67 (Buick 3800 SC) from a Pontiac Grand Prix GTP with a T5 from 1996 Camero (official Cragislist spelling), 2003 Ford Crown Vic front subframe, 1998 Explorer Trac-Lok rear axle and bits from about 10 other cars. First test drive was today and teammate tells me it is a ton fun...until it died (electrical issue).

I think you will find the Explorer rear to work unless your axle is significantly longer than the Plymouth. The explorer axle is about 1" narrower (from memory) and the 3.73 Trakloc is about the most common disc brake explorer in the Midwest as it was kind of the default on V8's and the Eddie Bauer trim. The only thing you have to do is swap or fab the spring perches and get longer u-bolts. In our case the shocks even mounted up. Do consider lowering it about 2" in the rear immediately. Also, the 16" Explorer alloys from the stick-axle era are about perfect needing only about 1" spacers in front and 1/2" in the rear (longer studs needed for the rear and adapters with lugs in the front). Crown Vic post 2002 should work as well but will need a deeper spacer as will the wheels from the IRS Explorers. We are going to mount the Explorer sway bar in the rear but did not do so in the first race.

Greg, There is no way to use the factory size drums in the type of racing Dale is talking about unless you are content just driving on the racetrack while others race around you. Thought this is great for winning the highest prize, the Index of Effluency, it is normally only fun once. Most of the tracks have an average of 4-5 turn per mile so you are constantly on the brakes or full throttle. At 1:15 minute a mile you are talking about 330 braking events per 7-hour day...two days in a row Everybody, I have a separate thread about our race-proven 1948 Plymouth and we are the ones hoping to help Dale out with our Explorer conversion. We are moving to a Crown Victoria front subframe so all the beautiful (as in ugly but functional) fab work did for the front brake conversion would likely go to waste otherwise. The brakes were phenominal (as was the rest of the car) with barely measurable wear on the Raybestos ST47 pads after about 18 hours. Granted, we almost had a problem keeping the pads up to temp (need to be about 200-250+ degrees to be linear) since we were only running the stock flathead but with the New Yorker's extra heft and power, that should not be an issue...especially keeping the rear drums.

We have now decided to go full-crazy racecar on the old girl. I just picked up 1999 Pontiac Bonneville SSEi so we can swap in the supercharged 3800. Next step is to obtain the proper manual transmission...likely this weekend. I fought for keeping the flathead for a few more races but was overruled by the other car owners. I can't say they are wrong but I am a little sad not get to see how far we could have gone with the flathead and just improved steering and handling. 240 horsepower and almost 300 lb ft of torque will be fun. This does mean both our race vehicles will share the same engine architecture since the racevan is a Series I 3800 NA motor.

Just picked up a 2003 Crown Vic front subframe for the Plymouth. I know the hub-to-hub dimensions are too wide for our cars so it will be an interesting experiment. With the late model CV wheel offset we are still about 3.5" too wide on paper and add to that the relatively wide tire...likely some sort of fender flaring or fender displacng (spacers) are in order. Tomorrow morning I go out to measure the frame rail dimensions to see how much fun this will be. My guess is the frame is also at least 3" too narrow (alignment pins are 31.5" center to center). There is a distant possibility this will enable offset double u-joints for the steering shaft meeting the anti-spear columne requirements while still potentially keeping the stock drivetrain including column shifter...unless someone has a floor shifter solution.

FYI, we have some rule changes that make things potentially sticky for our hope to run the flathead a few more races. We have to have an "anti-spear" steering column solution for 2017. Normal solution is a collapsible column from an aftermarket company but the column shift causes a challenge (without craploads of money). We are at a decision point: Custom driveshaft plus column plus shifting solution = lots of time and/or money for something we plan to replace once we have max'ed our potential for the stock engine. Move NOW to modern'ish engine tranny combo, steering upgrade, etc. Use a "subframe solution" like the bolt-on 2003+ Panther subfrome (crown vic, P71, etc) Other? Thoughts?

Ok, re-doing research on front springs, the Moog Aerostar springs seem to restore ride height. We need to stiffen and lower. Is the generally accepted practice to use those coils and cut the "soft" coils first? the rear seems simple. Lowering blocks and the sway bar. we use all-thread for our sway bar mounts so we can easliy adjust the pre-tension.

As our original radiator could not be verified to hold pressure, we replaced it with an AL one. As for the rest of the coolant system, all new hoses and three attempts to seal the thermostat housing meant no leaks. We had some oil seepage on the lid of the oil filter housing that we never 100% resolved (handmade cork gasket) so we lost about 1 quart over the entire weekend but no signs that we burned any. Side exhaust outlet had the telltale signs of a slightly rich mixture but it was likely at idle (never needed choke to start it). Slightly different note...the awards ceremony which is funny for us but if you just want the mention of our car, skip to 21:30. https://www.facebook.com/ron.vickers.3/videos/10153992874583811/

I guess I am not that great at the online version of storytelling but I will do my best. The car truly ran flawlessly and had very predictable handling. Keep in mind, the only modification we made to the suspension was doing the front shock relocation. The only modification to the engine was a 12V coil and the only modification to the drivetrain was an Explorer 8.8 with the 3.55 axle. We did 226 racing laps which is 475 miles. This does not count the test and tune which was probably an additional 50-75. The car averaged almost 14 miles per gallon which is insane at race pace (about 3 gallons per hour) compared to our Saturn (4-4.5 gallons per hour) and our van (5.5 g/h in manual transmission form, 7 g/h with the auto). This means even without fuel cell we can realistically pull 4+ hour stints if we so choose. The car was nowhere near fast with a calculated top speed on the short 2.1 mile track of about 62-64 mph and it was not fast through the curves either (average speed 45-50 mph). Most folks called it "Stately" but we were easily 20 seconds off the Class C pace and an 40 seconds a lap off the competitive pace. Our one driver put down a fast lap of 2:32 but averages were closer to 2:48-2:55. In the end, we won the top prize known as the Index of Effluency! For the next race there are a number of small modifications to make: Custom driveshaft (our adapter or a u-joint started making vibrations over 3000 rpm on the second day) Lowering front and rear Rear Sway bar More aggressive alignment including camber adjustments "Race" tires Potentially more aggressive timing The next race is at the same track and in the same configuration with all the same drivers (likely) so improvement will be easy to gauge. We will also be stretching the stints out as this race we were only making sure everyone got a fair amount of time and we kept it running the whole race. In theory we could run Saturday on two fuel stops/driver changes and Sunday on one which would be a huge advantage but I wonder about driver stamina with the manual steering particularly with the more aggressive alignment and super sticky tires.

Most pictures and videos from other teams will be link on the facebook page listed above. For the most part we are too lazy to much ourselves in that realm but others always seem to come through for us.

I will drop this one here as well. http://www.roadkill.com/24-hours-lemons-bad-decisions-racing-1948-plymouth-special-deluxe/ Still recovering from the weekend...both physically and the enormous backlog of work I have from a couple of days off. In short, not one mechanical problem, it drives like a box truck and it was one of the most popular cars at the race.

Car is ready to race but for one issue we found today. The shock relocation for the front that we did used the "suggested" shocks had them bottoming after an inch of play. This was likely an install error on our part but should be easily remedied by the much shorter shocks we found. Plus side, they limit max travel increasing effective minimum spring rate. Negative, I do not envy our chief mechanic having to install them as max travel is about dead even with than static squat.

Sorry, the secret part is a joke. We will be driving it from about Exchange and Western in Crete, IL to 171st and Calumet in Hammond, IN. Anyone interested in taking a gander, PM me and I will make it happen anytime 10/1 to morning of 10/6. The main thing we are going to have fun/trouble with is trying to get as close to a good "race" alignment as possible. The steering geometry adjustments other that toe are new to me and a distant, half-forgotten set of memories for our chief mechanic...even with the manual it will be a challenge. We likely will not have time to adjust anything but toe before the race anyway. Most of the other stuff is "racecar" safety gear and prep. Our chief mechanic did some tuning on the carb and we have a good baseline timing for the ignition but that will have to be fiddled with once it is good and hot. Pictures will start surfacing Saturday/Sunday and pictures from the race normally end up on our Facebook page the Tuesday after. https://www.facebook.com/BadDecisionsRacing/

We are down to the wire with one build day left on Saturday, 10/1. If that build day goes well and it is not raining at the end of it, I drive the car the 20 miles home from our super-secret build location. If that goes well, I actually should get to drive it to work on Wednesday 10/5! I load the old battle wagon on the trailer Thursday morning, pack up the gear, load up the food and beer then head to (hopefully) sunny South Haven, Michigan for 4 days of fun. This means the car will have moved a total of about 30 miles under its own power in more than two decades right before it hits the track for test and tune. What could possibly go wrong?

Well, we have actually done all the "safety" related improvements to suspension and brakes based off of threads and templates on this forum. The brakes are Ford Explorer pieces since they offered dual piston fronts and the 8.8 rear axles was what we wanted anyway. Heck, we even have the race pads on four corners...now we just need a place we can bed them in without scaring ourselves or getting arrested! Shock relocation was a little trickier than planned but is done. Our real challenge if we even have time before the first race is setting up the steering. There is no similarity between any of the other cars we have done (at least in the front). The standards we think of as far as toe, camber and caster for a race set up do not seem feasible here as the reaction of the wheels in all three axis to the slightest steering input is significant verses turn in being significant and Ackerman being very subtle. We tend to get most of the pictures at the track so they will be on the team Facebook page but probably a few from the cage and seat install will pop up there first.

Drove under its own power for the first time in probably 30 years...25 at least. Granted, it was towed back after a little more than a block but running and driving again by the end of the day after I left (points plate was not properly tightened down). It races on October 8 and 9 if we can get the cage and safety gear installed in time. FedEx lost the two most important pieces in the custom bent cage we ordered so that is not as likely as we would prefer. I plan to daily drive it for a few days next week if the cage does not go in Saturday (or maybe if it does).

Drivetrain is in. Brakes (Explorer conversion, some Corvette C3 MC conversion) almost done. No racing stuff like cage, race seat, harness, etc, but it is shaping up finally.

FYI, after a bizarre failure of the manual tranny we swapped into the minivan at this weekends race the team has decided to try a fast-paced prep of the Plymouth for the mid-October race in South Haven, MI. We will keep the automatic re-swapped van in reserve, but we need a different focus for our frustration. Engine, carb, coil, oil filter, 12V alternator, modern'ish AL radiator and swapped rear axle (Ranger with disc brakes) are ready...most of those need installed. Master cylinder, front brake conversion and shock relocation are in the works. Anything we are missing? We not even close to shooting for competive but maybe the highest award in LeMons, the Index of Effluence, is a reality. We just do not want to roll the car of spend the weekend wrenching only.

Interesting that we have two with the same failure. The one from the car (somewhat confirmed 36K miles) had the failure which led to the "restoration" that never finished 30 years later. The second was theoretically the "good" replacement (may explain part of the delay in putting back on the street). Based the value of most of the NOS parts it is either a common failure or there are not many left (because spares proved unneeded and not stocked). We did find one listed in our price range and snapped it up.

The nut spun right off with the with the giant impact. Our chief mechanic found that BOTH transmissions that came with the car had bad cluster gears (countershaft). We have one ordered but any idea what the primary failure mode is for these so we can try to avoid it.

Yesterday the daily driver seat from a Sebring convertible got installed. Just a note to anyone doing this, you need either 12V to the seat or remove the rear skin and get rid of the solenoid on the shoulder belt. Floor repairs were not as extensive as expected. Steering wheel came off easily but of course we found that we will have to use a weld-on hub for a quick release wheel. So we hit the crank nut with everything we have but heat. Even with the right 1 13/16" socket with all the taper ground off, it is not budging. We have a 3/4" 1000 ft lb wrench coming but after that, I am out of options unless I borrow a torch. The 1/2 price day at the pick n pull was good to us. Explorer 3.55 axle with sway bar and brakes. Front Explorer brakes less the rotors. Still need to find wheels...and weather is nice enough I might go to a different PnP that actually does not wholesale out their wheels...I mean how hard should be to find 4-8 7 x 16 Explorer alloys?

Any chance they are running BSPT instead of NPT? We run into this in solar pump and brewing equipment lot. 95% of the time you can get it to thread and if not super high pressures, you you can get it to seal but minor weepage is not unheard of. Edit: Just looked it up again and the difference is 27 TPI 60 degree for NPT and 28 TPI 55 degrees for BSPT for 1/8" pipe.

Are the pressure relief fittings except for the actual plunger pretty universal on these engines? There is a guy selling parts off a 1947 powerwagon in the classifieds. He has everything I need but the plunger and he also has the oil filter canister and lines for the bypass filter.

Today we put a lot of the motor back together. We have run into two issues...one likely small and the other potentially big. The boxes of parts do not include the (obviously formerly installed) remote filter or lines. It also does not include the pressure relief stuff so probably in the same lost box of parts. Easy fix. The crank nose nut will not loosen. We did not have the right socket but a 24" pipe wrench with a 4' cheater and my full 220 #'s on it did nothing. We will be basting it in penetrating oil for a few days and I have 1 13/16" socket on order (we checked it with the calipers). Likely use our old trick of using the impact in forward and reverse repeatedly while spraying Kroil on the gap will finally do the trick but welcome to other suggestions. We are only doing this to change the front main seal but since it was installed in 1993 and never run, we think it is imperative. We are off for Memorial Day as I have to get a Volvo engine done for a friend and everyone else has family plans. Our Chief Mechanic (retired coal mine mechanic) might get the floor repairs done and the the outriggers for the cage done (easier to do before the floors are in) just so he has an excuse to play with the present the team bought him for all his hard work...a new plasma cutter. Oddly, I think the drivers floor is relatively sound, while more than half off the front passenger is daylight.

Not ready to sell but when I am will absolutely have it in the right area.