Rebel's Fix Thread

[rebelyell]

OK..Here's the thread where I document all the dumb little fixes and things I've found wrong and want to change with my car.

Since I haven't had time to receive any parts yet, I'll start with the list of things I want to fix. No specific order.

Tachometer - bought 6/4/17. arrived 6/6/17

Accurate temp gauge - arrived 6/6/17

Fuel gauge - sending unit probably, but could just be the float. I'm going to try the brazed wire trick and replace the float first. Depending on the condition of the sending unit when I remove it.

Fix the oil leak in the intake/pcv/valve covers - ordered gaskets 6/5/17. received 6/10/17. installed (correctly this time) 8/24/17

Make the wipers work better - Funny thing, they only work on high speed and only go about halfway across the windshield

Bypass the amp meter in the dash - something clicks when I'm driving it and making the meter twitch. I'd like to have a regular volt meter in it's place.

Rebuild the shifter - I didn't say this in my original post because it made me feel dumb, but whatever. I thought I was cruising in second all the way from Indiana to Tennessee. Why? Well... "neutral" position for my shifter is the 3/4 shift and not 1/2. So I thought if I pushed left, I'd get reverse. As it turns out, I have to push left for 1/2 and SLAM it left for reverse. So that hurst is going to get pulled and probably replaced.

The driver's door handle quit working on the trip back and had to open the door from the passenger door. The mechanisms in both doors are screwed. Door lock doesn't work on the drivers door (no rods, but I bought them), the handle rod is detached (bought a full clip set for the doors) and the passenger door opens whether or not the lock lever is up or down. I've got to get in there and figure out what's wrong with all of it. received lock rods and door clips 6/10/17

Late EDIT: I've got a water leak directly above the rearview mirror. No idea why, but I'm going to remove that trim piece and hopefully I'll be able to find it.

That's the short list right now. I've got a Temperature gauge, tachometer, lock rods, and clips for the door on the way. I also want to get the windows tinted, but I need to get a new window clip kit and new window felt kit/weatherstripping so the tint won't get screwed up. It's just money, right? 

6/12 EDIT: Got parts! Door clip kit, lock rods, intake gasket, valve cover gasket, pcv valve, thermostat, fan clutch, tach, and temp gauge. All I need to buy now is a little gasket sealer and some automotive wires and I can get to work!

7/1 EDIT: Clutch safety switch doesn't work. Need to fix that. Brake lights aren't bright, so I'm going to get some LED bulbs. Also need to replace the passenger windshield wiper as it flew off in the rainstorm last night. 

8/23 EDIT: Got wiring in the mail this week. Hopefully tonight or tomorrow I'll be able to replace the intake gasket again and install the tach and new temperature gauge. The list of things I want to do to this car keep growing and growing. Now looking into a power steering with hydroboost setup when I do the 4 wheel disk brake conversion.

8/30 EDIT: Temp gauge installed and working, Tach installed (kinda) and working. Valve cover and intake manifold gaskets installed and sealing.

[Cuda Cody]

Looks like a very doable list of things to work on.  Good luck and let us know if you have any questions.  This might be of some help for the fuel gauge:

[Cuda Cody]

This has some good info on the shift linkage that might be of some assistance.


Section #13 and #14
https://www.e-bodies.org/resources/service-manuals-parts-catalogs-tsb/

Direct Link: http://www.e-bodies.org/Resources/Service_Manuals/1970_passenger_car_service_highlights_transmission_linkage_adjustment.pdf
Direct Link: http://www.e-bodies.org/Resources/Service_Manuals/1970_passenger_car_service_highlights_transmission.pdf

[rebelyell]

I will definitely be using those resources Cody! Thanks!

Bought some parts this week. Edited OP. Also bought a shed for my back yard that's going to hold all the junk I have to remove from the garage so I can keep the car in it. ha! Looks like the next few weeks are going to be spent putting together a shed. yaaaaaaay   

Also noticed that it feels like my car excessively twists when I take off. Driver's side feels like it's trying to take off. I don't know..could be normal. I did see that the car has traction bars installed on the leaf springs. Was that a factory option?

[RUNCHARGER]

No tractions bars from the factory. You might have some weak shocks.

[Chryco Psycho]

Sounds like the shifter is normal to me
it is supposed to sit between 3/4 in neutral , it is spring loaded so if you push the straight forward out of 2nd it will go into 3rd not 1st , there isa second spring to compress to get into reverse ,clean it & lube it , should be all in needs .
I have often modified the rear leafs by adding 2 or more 1/2 leafs going forward only then clamp them tight with a square top U bolt this can seriously aid traction .

[ec_co]

my thought on the leak: e-bodies are notorious for rotting out the lower front and rear window frames. since you'll have the trim off and possibly the glass, it might be a good time to assess those corners and make sure they are solid too. 

[rebelyell]

As soon as I get my garage cleaned out and get the car in there, I'm going to pull the shifter and have a look. I didn't realize that neutral is 3/4. Either way, the thing is sloppy as hell and precision is looooong gone. I'll probably replace the linkage bushings too. I noticed it kinda pops when shifting into 3rd. I'll figure it all out when I get it apart. I'm not even going to hide it. I'm scared to put my foot down in the thing. I feel like I'm gonna break it. Wouldn't need traction bars with the way I drive it.

That's not what I wanted to hear about the leak. It's bothering me, but I don't want to take the glass out at all. I guess if I have to to replace the seal, then I have to. Hopefully pulling a few of the interior trim pieces will tell me everything I need to know.

Thanks for the help, guys.

[rebelyell]

I looked under the dash yesterday when I got my temp gauge. That was a mistake. There are loose connectors, random loose wires, nasty wires, etc. I think I saw some audio wires stuffed under the carpet. What a mess 

I need to run a wire to the tach from the coil so I can hook it up when it gets here. I need to locate the temp gauge sensor and replace it with the new one that came with the gauge I bought..hopefully I can reuse that wire and splice into the one at the dash. I also need to rewire the charging system and put a volt meter where the amp meter is. I'm probably going to do all of this at once while I'm feeling up to playing with electricity. I'd like to put a radio in, but there's no way I'll hear a radio over that freight train of a car at 70mph. Where does everyone get their auto wires? Do you guys buy spools of red, black, and white? And would it make sense for me to buy a new harness for the dash on this side of the bulkhead connector? I'm going to eventually put a modern hemi in it, so I'm not sure if I want to get a new harness or limp this one along until I can make the swap.

On to cooling. It's got a clutch fan, but I think the clutch is broken. It spins all the time. I noticed while driving it in 90 degree weather last Sunday that the temp stayed on C, then rose to middle, then crept above middle and didn't look like it was going to stop. All happened within 30 miles traveling at 75mph. First thing I'm going to do is replace the temp gauge and brass sensor so I can see if the stock gauge is messed up. If the new gauge reads too hot, I'll look at a new clutch fan or dual electric ford contour fan setup, but not after I replace the thermostat when I replace the intake manifold and valve cover gaskets.

Another thing I noticed is that my oil pressure gauge pegs at zero when I stop sometimes. I think it's because the oil is a half to a full quart low and dipping just below the sump so it sucks in enough air to read zero for a second. I didn't hear any valve chatter to indicate the pressure is indeed zero and I checked the oil before I left on that trip so I know it had oil in it. Don't know what to do about that other than fix the oil leak and hope it stops happening.

Haven't actually done anything yet. Still collecting parts and building that stupid shed in the back yard so I can fit the car in the garage.

EDIT: The horn and left turn signal both don't work. Just adding it to the list.

[Cuda Cody]

Fan clutches are pretty cheap and that's an easy fix. 

I don't like the oil pressure going to zero.  That would be my goal to fix.   

[rebelyell]

Fan clutches are pretty cheap and that's an easy fix. 

I don't like the oil pressure going to zero.  That would be my goal to fix.   

That makes the most sense. I'm going to replace the intake manifold gasket, the pcv valve, and the valve cover gaskets in hopes of fixing the oil burning/leaking problem. It's fine when the oil level is up to the "full" mark on the dipstick. Any less than that it seems to get finicky.

I'm not sure if I want a clutch fan or an electric fan setup yet. I guess the absolute easiest and cheapest option out of the gate is to find a clutch and replace it.

[Chryco Psycho]

Clutch fans are FAR more efficient thanany electric fan , grab a clutch from Rock auto use discount code ebodfrm

[Cuda Cody]

ebodfrm?  Where did you get that code?     It's "EBODIES" for 5% off...  http://www.rockauto.com/?a=ebodies

Clutch fans are FAR more efficient thanany electric fan , grab a clutch from Rock auto use discount code ebodfrm

[Chryco Psycho]

Ebodies expired
used Ebodfrm 2 days ago nowI cannot find the where the updated code is 

[Cudakiller70]

I couldn't find a code here that would work. EBODIES hasn't worked last two times I've tried, so I had to use one from a Chevy site. Sorry I forgot to ask @Cuda Cody. If you have to ban me ill understand