For those that don't know what the Okie Apache is, go here. https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/the-okie-apache-thread-a-boy-and-his-truck.1109227/ So, we have had an issue since we built the Okie Apache. The truck has always been underpowered and had a weird vibration when it would go into OD. It had a vanilla 350 with an RV cam and a 700r4. It was like clockwork, the minute it went into OD it would shudder for about 5-10 seconds. We talked with the trans shop guy, he drove it and he didn't think it was the torque convertor. We started with the low hanging fruit, we checked , timing air fuel mixture, ensuring 5/7 were not cross wired, rebalanced tires, added shims to change driveshaft angle etc. Nothing worked. Now, keep in mind, this is a 17 year old kids only car. It's his way to work etc. I wanted him to figure it out, so I would give him homework and let him research it. The kid probably watched 12 hours of youtube videos on misses. He checked the compression, re-stabbed the distributor, set the valves. I got a text at midnight one night saying that the culprit was a burnt plug wire boot on the backside, where it was too close to the header. It was arcing. I have never had one cause a vibration, but it did and it was noticeable. The boot was so close to the header it was a pain to take off, so it got overlooked. He ran a shorter plug and replaced the wire. Instant fix. He found it himself and he has done a lot of things that a lot of adult males have never done. He impresses me at his technical ability. He got frustrated at me for not jumping in and working the problem. I gave advice and told him to change one thing at a time, so that he would have the reason when he was done. My main goal was to teach him how to methodically troubleshoot, rather than throwing parts at the issue. I think he grasps it now and he's pretty pumped that he was able to troubleshoot it and repair it himself.
very cool last week, my 17 year old did his first welding on the headache rack for his flat bed 61 so far we have covered brake, suspension, clutch, drive shaft shortening, basic wiring and lots of measuring and fab work fun fun
Sometimes you luck into finding an arcing wire by watching the engine run in the dark. Not a bad thing to do now and then. I would have never guessed it would be the source of a vibration in OD. Good find.
Colby has come a long way with help from you and your dad. Thanks for sharing. I hope to have similar stories soon. So far, my oldest has only learned to fix stuff he broke on my vehicles since his isn’t done yet...
Guess re-stabbing the distributor didn't expose that wire issue but glad it's fixed. Same thing with my dad "either you fix it - or have the money to pat some one to do it"....it's what he said.
That is a great story. More so in these times. So it sounds like you have a pit crew, so time to get thrashing on that SEGA car!
Yeah, the burnt end was really buried under the header. He has come a long way. He is really more of a purist. It stresses him out when we do something that wasn't in the original design. He really likes the fact that something is "original"equipment. He was always asking me, is that the original water pump? etc. He would be a great survivor car caretaker. He plans on building another car already, once he pays off his debt to his folks. They are making him work this summer to pay back his portion. He wants to do an all original pre-40 car. He signed up for auto body this next school year, but with the COVID situation, who knows?
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