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Previous Owner Problems


rallyace

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When I had my MG-B one of the forums had a 'DPO (dumb previous owner)/IPO (idiot previous owner)' thread that listed what folks had done thinking they were doing the right thing while making things much more difficult for the next owner to fix. I could not find one here so I will start one.

 

I am in the process of changing out the engine in my 1951 Plymouth Cambridge. The old engine was tired and I was on the OPEC Christmas card list and Exxon-Mobil was ready to set me up as a dealer for all of the oil it was leaking. We all know that the previous owners mean well with their repairs but sometimes they are not as skilled as they think they are.  In the process of changing out the engine here are some of the things that I found were incorrectly done. 

 

First, when the DPO changed out the engine, the head was missing the tapped hole for the throttle bellcrank pin. To compensate they welded a plate to two of the head bolts and welded on a piece of  rod for the bellcrank pivot. I needed to grind off the plate to remove the head from the old engine. Both bolts were loose and could not be retorqued with the plate welded between them. I was surprised that it never blew the head gasket.

 

Second, when I went to reinstall the yoke and radiator support after installing the new engine, things were not lining up.  When I removed them, I noticed that the radiator support could easily be installed backwards and that there was a lot of stress on the bolts. I carefully marked the radiator support to make sure it went back in correctly. I had noticed that when removing them there was a lot of shear stress on the bolts. When reinstalling the yoke,  I had all kinds of difficulty installing the bolts and that is when I found that the support was installed backwards by the DPO. Once I reversed it, everything lined up and the front end sits about one inch lower. It also explains why they drilled new holes for the radiator bolts.

 

Third, the previous owner who did the engine work must have liked spending a lot of money buying hardware store quality bolts.  I think I broke off at least a dozen on this project. Grade 8 bolts are less than $5 per pound at Tractor Supply and Runnings so you can get a lot of high quality bolts for a lot less money than buying them a couple at a time at the hardware store.

 

I am sure I will find more as I continue with this project.

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An interesting thread topic that can help shed light on some potential issues.  Sometimes it can be difficult to figure something out because you can't get into the PO's head for WTF they may have been thinking when they "fixed" something.  I don't have any horror stories for the D24, but we had a 1960 Ford F-100 for a while whose original and sole owner before we got it was a farmer.  Absolutely nothing was fixed right, most by spot welding, any extra holes (thankfully only a few) were made with a sharp punch, and the aftermarket oil pressure gauge was plumbed by scavenging pressure off the rocker arm shaft, via a hard line run through the valve cover, with, you guessed it, a punched hole.

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I am sure as the cars got older the interest in keeping them in the best of condition soon turned into just get the Da*n thing going.  And as is often said, who the heck ever thought that anyone would want these cars anyway as they got older.  I am guilty of MM rigging my 2001 Astro van as it has reached the point where although it is not on a DNR list I do only fix what I really need to have and the rest....

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To avoid installing a new or reconditioned fuel tank, my cars PO used an antifreeze bottle strapped in front of the radiator with a rubber hose stuffed thru the cap of the bottle. ugh. No big deal to fix, but not real safe.. and not much range !

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Hey, guys, someday I'll be a  PO.  But I think I've kept track of my work, and there will be plenty of digital photos of the work.   I wrote a small book about my power steering project.   But I'm sure there will still be something to mystify the next owner. 

 

 

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documenting your work on any modification will go a long way for next owner to be able to identify and maintain in the future what work you did as the source of the material will be known.  It is imperative for any owner making such mods to document this.  I have only sold a couple modified vehicles and in the glove box was a book describing all parts used and what donor vehicle they came from.  Wiring changes were also included.  Beside.....it may not be the next owner that is needs this, as time passes the repairs and processes seem to fade a bit and a good reminder on paper of what we did will even help ourselves.

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When a PO rewired my previous 48 Plymouth in the conversion to a 12 volt system they simply twisted the ends of wires together then wrapped it with electrical tape. If they needed to tap into a wire mid run they just scraped off the insulation, wrapped the end of the new wire around it and you guessed it wrapped it with electrical tape. I drove it as a daily driver for about a year before I discovered this during a swap from the 218 to a 230. 

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51 minutes ago, hkestes41 said:

When a PO rewired my previous 48 Plymouth in the conversion to a 12 volt system they simply twisted the ends of wires together then wrapped it with electrical tape. If they needed to tap into a wire mid run they just scraped off the insulation, wrapped the end of the new wire around it and you guessed it wrapped it with electrical tape. I drove it as a daily driver for about a year before I discovered this during a swap from the 218 to a 230. 

unfortunately, with proper guidance, tools and supplies given to these folks.....they would still take the shortcut doing the job instead of proper and well executed repair.  It is one thing to reach for the moon and come up short...but when you don't reach at all....!!!!!!

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1. Cut open fuel tank, epoxy patch back in.

2. Zip tie electric fuel pump power wire to the fuel line.

3. Added separate toggle switches, one for front the other for rear turning signal lights. Drilled holes for turning signal LEDS. You had to toggle the switch to flash the LEDS.

4. Installed door panels without springs on window cranks, the pointy things on the excursion would get you.

5. Installed washer on wrong side of one of the spindle bolts causing the brake drum to grind against some other part.... cant remember....sounded horrible. 

6. Wrong fuel sending unit, had the wrong resistance range so fuel gauge didn't read correctly. 

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Does this trunk repair after a rear ended accident the previous owner did qualify???

 

 

 

The rust was a preexisting condition also Not covered by insurance! ?

50 plyy. oil filter 007.jpg

50 4 dr. trunk underside.JPG

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1 hour ago, DJ194950 said:

Does this trunk repair after a rear ended accident the previous owner did qualify???

 

 

 

The rust was a preexisting condition also Not covered by insurance! ?

50 plyy. oil filter 007.jpg

50 4 dr. trunk underside.JPG

 

 

oh yeah....this if how you do it...…?  last one I repaired had foam rubber...AND THAT WAS FACTORY.....

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On 7/9/2019 at 4:30 PM, hkestes41 said:

When a PO rewired my previous 48 Plymouth in the conversion to a 12 volt system they simply twisted the ends of wires together then wrapped it with electrical tape. If they needed to tap into a wire mid run they just scraped off the insulation, wrapped the end of the new wire around it and you guessed it wrapped it with electrical tape. I drove it as a daily driver for about a year before I discovered this during a swap from the 218 to a 230. 

After buying my P-15 coupe I discovered it only had two colors for wires,red and black. I also discovered the V-8 he had swapped in there only had a motor mount on one side,and the transmission mount was just sitting on two "L" shaped brackets welded to the frame. They didn't even have holes for bolts.

 

The most amazing discovery was when I discovered why it was blowing oil out under the car. When I put it on a lift I discovered the hole in the trans tailshaft (turbo 200) was covered with masking tape. Seriously.

 

What makes that even more amazing was that when I looked around,I spotted the speedo cable jammed up in a floor brace,and all I had to do to fix that leak was install the speedo cable.

 

The frame clip wasn't completely welded or braced either,but other than that the installation for that was perfect. I just had to make a few braces and do a little welding and it was done,and it sure does drive nice.

 

Or did until it backfired and caught fire under the hood.  Damn good thing I carry a fire extinguisher with me.

 

Don't feel too sorry for me,I got it really cheap,and drove it for about two years before it caught fire. Which gave me a chance to figure out what it needed,what I wanted for it,and to buy it all. The plan was to keep driving it until I had everything sitting in my shop to redo it and get it back on the road,and I almost made it.  Even have a new Ron Francis wiring harness still in the box,ready to install.

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