I'm with the 'replace the axle crowd'. You will have an endless supply of parts available for either the Mopar 8¾ or the ford 8.8. Not too sure about using the old style maverick 8. You can double check what fits after you measure the stock unit. http://www.qualityengineeredcomponents.com/?page_id=1022 Narrow spring perches (1¾") are available from any trailer supply shop. .
Checked Kanter auto parts and the wheel cylinders (new) are $51 each. I went this route, as the wheel cylinders you have might not be any good. Take the cylinders apart first! You might not be able to get the pistons out! After getting the cylinders apart, hone the cylinders and see if they clean up. Then, if good, buy the rebuild kits. Not sure, then buy new ones. Still think you should do the axle seals too. The bearings might be ok, but the seals are old and brittle. At least consider the outside seal, which is only pressed into the backing plate, and does not require removing the axle and bearing.
The other exhaust shop came by today and gave me an estimate of $350 to do the complete dual exhaust. He said single might be a little cheaper. I have heard good things from this shop so I will probably have them do it. While we are waiting till after this big swap meet we are going to on saturday to make a decision about the rearend, Ive decided that changing the oil and filter would be a good idea. What is involved with the oil filter? Also will changing trans fluid. Is there a filter in the trans? Are there bands that can be adjusted? Thanks Eric
You have the old style cannister filter, unbolt the housing & replace the filter. You can buy an OEM up angle adaptor from Hot Heads that takes a modern spin on like the Wix 51515. Get oil with zinc, just to be safe.
Ok so we went to the big swap meet yesterday and I purchased a wood steering wheel and side mirrors. Tomorrow I will be ordering new brake shoes to fit the orig axle. Aslo I am ordering 20 wheel studs and a new after market wire harness. I am purchasing a 4bl intake manifold and carb from a guy on this site. After that I need to get the exhaust put on and find a back bumper.
Replace the brake shoes or replace the whole rear axle ... what to do, what to do? Replace the brake shoes and wheel cylinders and that will be the end of it. Make it easy for yourself. Also you don't need to change the oil filter, it already has a modern full flow filter and the filters are still available. The cartridge is a bit of a pain compared to a spin on, but you only have to change it every 5000 miles (factory recommendation). I thought you guys are on a budget?
I am replacing the brake shoes, I posted that. I did order wheel cylinder kits. I did order a new cartridge, and I am on a budget. lol
Our problem is that the remains of the pipe still connected to the exhaust manifolds need to be torched off and we dont have a lift. For some reason my dad has no desire to lay directly under where he has to torch. lol Plus the shop is willing to do the complete dual system for $350 and I wont have the headache of messing with it.
Well today we got the swap meet steering wheel on the orig column. Its a wood grant wheel I think from the challenger series. Of course there was no adapter kit for it so we made our own. Hoping tomorrow we can get the oil and filter changed, and change the fluid in the trans. It was suggested to add zinc to the oil, but do i need to add anything the trans fluid?
Ok stupid question time. I bought a new wire harness for the car because the old one is brittle and falling apart. My question is: Will the 6volt generator have enough power to charge the new 12volt system. I plan on having a 1000w amp and 2 12" subs. Other then that I wont have extra acc. The car has no a/c. we will run a chrysler electronic ignition. No power windows or door locks or any of that. Whats the difference between the 6v and 12v generator?
The 12 volt generator will probably have a hard time keeping up with the 1000 watt amp (put some super mega caps to help along). I would get me a good old Leece Neville alternator off an early 60's Chrysler product and go from there. That way it will be all Chrysler. You have to remember the 1000 watts = over 83 amps. But that won't be constant. More like 40 amps or so, plus headlights and other accessories, the old generator will be struggling to keep up.
Thanks guys! I have a few chrysler alts laying around. From what Ive seen in the hemi tech it seems like alot of people run the alt on the lower right side in place of the idler pulley.
On my '55 in my '48(avatar) I put it in the stock location with a bracket from HH(or somewhere). Had hood clearance problems on my '60 Plym, so backets were fabbed that mount it high on the pass side, with the brackets going to the W/P bolts(OEM W/P).
Keeping the 6 volt generator, yes, but he wants to convert to 12 volt. 6 volt, 12 volt, generator, either will have trouble, no matter what he does with them. Alternators will work a lot better, especially at idle.
If the generator is not going to do the job, it wouldn't make much sense to convert the current 6 volt generator to a 12 volt one (if that can even be done or if we knew how to go about doing that). We will just mount a Mopar alt on the passenger side to replace the idler pulley. I can make the brackets from scratch, won't be the first time. We will also keep the current generator on the car because the power steering pump attaches to the back of it. We will just remove the wires from it. I believe we are also going to add the Mopar electronic ignition, I am way to old and fat to be climbing across that Hemi whenever it need points. We are also going to change the current wiring that has frayed wires and missing insulation with a complete new aftermarket wiring kit. That should prove to be interesting, wish me luck! Kply39 is my son and he has a screwed up back, so I get to do most of the work, and I'm getting real lazy these days. Gene
I have a 54 Chrysler 4 door in my junk yard. Its in really rough shape but does have some usable parts. No motor or trans. Sent from my DROID device using the TJJ mobile app
Ok, so I guess its been awhile since I posted anything. Pretty much the car sat all winter. A couple weeks ago we dragged it out of its storage and started some work. Cleaned up the engine, swapped on a 4bbl intake and carb, and shot some paint. We have a few loose ends to fix on the aftermarket wire kit that turned out to be a total PITA! We did end up making alt brackets and threw on a chrysler alt we had laying around. The only thing we are using the generator for is the power steering pump hanging off the back. Has anyone ever installed a newer pump? Would love to get rid of the generator and orig pump
Hey Tank, that 54 Chrysler got a rear bumper, doesn't have to be pretty. PM me a price if you still have a rear bumper. Gene
On the '55 & up engines Hot Heads has brackets for GM P/S pump, but one for a 51-4 shouldn't be that hard to do.
Just caught up with this post,,recently got one owner '53 DeSoto that needed a complete brake re-do,,,got cylinders from several sources,,,that Bernbaum place didn't seem too friendly to me , and wanted to sell the front cylinders as a set of four only,,I only needed two, told him to forget it. Maybe the new guy there is trying to dump some really old stock.
Theres a guy in Illinois I bought a 53 seat from. He still has some various parts for the 53 New Yorker. Hes on craigs list. Or kiwi customs.com
another update. Ive put about 60 miles on the car now. Seems to cruise really well at 70 according to the speedometer. Unfortunately the trip o meter doesnt work and neither does the gas gauge. We pulled the sending unit out and the post the wire goes on was touching the outer edge so we tried to jb weld it to the center and added a pc of rubber so it wouldnt make contact. Stuck the sending unit back in and gauge still doesnt register. We even grounded the tank to the body. Any suggestions? Now a recent problem we have had is with the starter. I read in the hemi tech that a la small block chrysler starter would work. So I tried that but it hits on the power steering arm. We have pulled the starter out before and bench tested and everything seemed to work decent. Put it back in and it worked fine for a bit. Now its acting up again. Im not sure if a mini starter would clear the ps arm. Anyone have suggestions with this issue aswell? Thanks Eric
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