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Donor drivetrain..


Plymouthy Adams

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As a birthday gift to myself ( born 59 years and about 33 minutes ago) I will go a bit later in the day and retrieve the donor vehicle for the power train upgrade I want to make for my Plymouth Bz. Cp. I have searched long and hard for a suitable unit and I think my patience has paid off. Only bad part is that I will be returning home during Atlanta rush hour..so am going to map out an alternate route I think so to steer clear of all that till some 40 odd miles south where I will hopefully resume travel on the interstate. I also will no longer be a shiftless bastard as the unit is a hydraulic operated 5 speed..want the hydraulic due to my left knee that is known to sometimes get a kink in it.

It was a good Thanksgiving season here at the house, my son is home for a couple weeks and we have been working a bit on a couple things in the shop and about the house.

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geez our birthdays are so close I guess we could almost be brothers-from-other-mothers. Enjoy your day, safe travels to and fro with the new donor in tow. Send pictures of the birthday present when you get home.

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Was a long day..son and I were in rain all ay till say about 4PM before it started clearing up...we started the day selling a used up donor car I bought to repair my cousins Ford Tempo..my son drives that car...I bought it for 300.00 got all the goodies off it I need to fix the front end damage my cousin did to the car...kept me a nice new battery, set of bucket seats that are very nice and a ton of spares for to keep the Tempo on the road..sold it today for 300.00 scrap price..

from there we went to Douglasville (west of Atlanta) and snagged home my donor vehicle..going north we noticed the I-75 south bound out of Atlanta was a 15 mile parking lot...came home alternate route and picked up the interstate closer to Macon..a number of accidents due to inclimate weather..one very pretty full size Dodge and enclosed 28 foot trailer on their side blocking three north bound lanes..we were about 1/2 behind it so we were not help up...did not gaulk so have no clue if anyone was hurt..been a long birthday...time for coffee and kicking back a bit..

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happy birthday Tim ! One year closer to that retirement ! Donor cars are really n neat ! One can usally get a lot of good parts from them . Like the one i used for my 'chopped 48' , used the entire drivetrain, chasis and all the electrics. My neighbor junked a perfectly good 80"s something Ford car, only thing wrong was the alternator was bad, he was tired of it sitting in his back yard ,and decided to scrap it . When I saw him, he was loding it on a trailer. I was able to get the radio, (which he kept) , the electric trunk latch, and a couple relays...... then it was gone.......along with a real interior, split front seats, 4 good tires, the 302 and trans, and the battery,.......just wish i was thinking fast enough, I should have offered him the $300 for it !

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My next door neighbor was just about to scrap a 98 saturn sl2 because the radiator was bad. The junkyard was going to give him $250 so I gave him the same. Went to the upull and got a radiator and a few other bits to spiff it up a little and made $400 bucks flipping it.

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these are a few pictures I saw when I bought the truck for the drivetrain/electronics..the vehicle left the road and was put into a steep ditch..and damaged the cab with a slight shift to the other side and mangled the driver's a-post and front fender ...no mud on the undercarriage..tires are all good and aired up..no scratches on the aluminum wheels..<74K miles, 3.7 210 HP SMPFI..5 speed floor shift with hydraulic 11.9 inch clutch..2004 year..bucket seat, console..lot and lots of stuff to play with..I had been looking for a long time and could never seem to time one right..always found the eng/tranny pulled but no electronics available..oh yeah..3.21 ratio 8.25 rear gear..OD is .73 very well priced, complete with title...pulled her home on the tandem with the B250 Ram Van..smooth trip..just wet and nasty..

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Edited by Tim Adams
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Happy birthday,Tim.Nice gift you chose for yourself.Makes for a memorable birthday.:)

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UPDATE today was really the first day I have had to look at my donor vehicle up close since I brought it home Monday....I have found that the damage is all A-post and roof shift..(plus front fender...cab fell over against the other side of the ditch thus the isue there...there is no mud whatsoever on the the under carriage of the truck..clean as a whistle with 5 nice aluminum wheels and good rubber.

removed the fender..opened the drivers door..vacuumed out all the glass...pulled the collar off the column and disconnected the air bag and was able turn passenger side off with the key...(just to be safe) jumpered the grounds to the chassis where I had to remove them from the fender...turned on key..about 2 seconds of starter action and its started right up..two to three seconds of lifter click then all was super quiet...am very happy at the moment...7/8 tanks of gass and battery is less than a year old..big big battery...

found the rear gear is not as per web site but is a 8.250 3.55 ratio...the 5 speed tranny is a NV3500 with close ratio gears..hydraulic clutch is functional..

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Ed...I was looking for the V6 but had this truck had the V8 I would have taken it..in my neck of the woods finding a useable wreck that has not been already sold to the wrecking yards is tough..usually they are total rolling clap traps before being parted. Wrecking yards pull the engine and tranny and sell them off but do not included the electronic and running yard to yard matching this stuff up is a pain..I needed the entire truck..I made a good find but it was a long time coming.

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Tim...a belated Happy Birthday to you!!!

A C-130 was lumbering along when a cocky F-16 flashed by.

The jet jockey decided to show off.The fighter jock told the C-130 pilot, 'watch this!' and promptly went into a barrel roll followed by a steep climb..

He then finished with a sonic boom as he broke the sound barrier. The F-16 pilot asked the C-130 pilot what he thought of that?The C-130 pilot said, 'That was impressive, but watch this!'

The C-130 droned along for about 5 minutes and then the C-130 pilot came back on and said: 'What did you think of that?'

Puzzled, the F-16 pilot asked, 'What the heck did you do?'

The C-130 pilot chuckled.

'I stood up, stretched my legs,walked to the back,

took a leak,then got a cup of coffee and a cinnamon roll.'

When you are young & foolish - speed & flash may seem a good thing!

When you get older & smarter - comfort & dull is not such a bad thing!

Us older folks understand this one, it's called S.O..S.

Slower, Older and Smarter....:D

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  • 3 weeks later...

Don..I have been enjoying myself out in the shop..the weather has been quite cooperative..the project has only had a couple minor setbacks..I think I have about worn one steel tape out..and yes I played for a short spell in the garage today..I did my vertical and over head welds..with the kids and grandkids gone just don't feel like Christmas..

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