TwinCamFan

RTW at some point when you trust the TC enough for a 100 mile drive, you might consider diving it down to the TurboMopar/TurboDodge evey first Thursday of the month meeting at Applebees in LaHabra, 1238 W Imperial Highway. 830pm to around 1130. We have been meeting there on the first Thursday of every month for over 20 years. A few of the attendees have TC's so they are well known to us. I'd be glad to look over (and under ;-) ) your TC to see if I can find any potential issues. I'm not a mechanic by trade but do know TC's pretty well. BTW we will be there tomorrow night, December 1st. Likely a smallish turnout tho, traditionally when the first Thursday falls on the 1st, folks tend to forget it's meeting night. If it's clear out, I'll be in my white 16V TC. AJ

Well it took me 15+ years but I'm happy to see it's finally happening What's that you ask? It's getting the TD/TM.com guys to embrace the magic that is the TC Masi I can't take credit for the whole movement because the father of the movement is Rick D. in Florida as I bought my first 16V Masi cylinder head from him and built a motor for my 87 GLHS around it. But at every TD/TM meet I've been talking up how good the TC's are and how they are SO NOT a LeBaron(though I've had 2 and have nothing against them, just a whole different car despite being visually similar). I liked that fist motor so much I went in search of another one (to install in another Shelby Dodge) and the easiest way to find one was buy a whole 16V TC. In about 2003 I found a charity selling an 89 16v car in San Francisco, after a few discussions with the administrator, I talked him into picking me up at the airport, stopping at an auto parts store for a new battery on the way to where the car was stored, and a selling price we could both be happy with. The plan was to drive it the 400 or so miles home to SoCal and harvest the drivetrain for another project. I think it was about mile 200 when I found the fatal flaw with that plan- the car was too good to die the death as a donor. I liked driving this car-and that was with the had top on! Seven or so TC's later I still like driving these cars, top down of course. So welcome to TC ownership! Now for the questions. What did you set the valve lash too? Want your valvetrain to be silent? Use .008/.010 In/Ex. it wont hold a valve open ever and will be buttery smooth and quiet. Where did you find shims BTW? I don't know too many Dairyland TM guys, whos in the car pic? Is that Andy J's turbo Mini? Is something TIII that Jackson would be driving? Want to really love driving you TC? Shelby Daytona rear springs with 5/8's of a coil cut off will take away the back end floaty feel. A good quality exhaust and a grainger set to 14PSI will surprise you. 50 more HP is a good thing IMO

I guess I am still learning about TC's after all these years I suppose due to the nature of their 'hand assembly' there are always variations. Guy I still would expect you have a common block double pivot K fame etc etc. Post up a nice clear engine shot that shows the strut towers and we will look together. Ponder this, if they weren't building the 1990 TC's by 7/89, when were they built? In my experience previous to THIS TC, the cas built after 6/88 were the late style engine/suspension cars.

Great to hear another TC is back on the road from a long hiatus

My guess is that it is*still* a fuel delivary problem. New pump *usually* fixes it but I think you still have an issue. The best way to diagnose it ( or rule out fuel delivary) is to use a fuel pressure gauge that has a rubber line a few feet long so it can be placed (under the windshield wiper works for me, you don't really want it inside the car) so you can see the pressure as you drive and the issue happens. When it starts to hesitate look at the fuel pressure, is it below 50PSI? There are a few other components in the fuel system that aren't ruled out yet. Regulator, dampner, fuel rail, fuel lines, sediment in tank(did car sit a long time?) etc.Heck, new pump could be the wrong pump(has happened to me) could be defective even tho its new(also has happened to me. the fuel line could be loose at the pump fitting INSIDE the tank and be making only partial contact with the outgoing pressure barb(yep, you guessed it also has happened to me)

I think you mean 8/88 but either way it's a win. You see a pre 6/88 TC and a post 6/88 TC are two very different cars. SUBSTANTIAL running change upgrades. There are at least 10 that I've found. My 3 favorites? You have a 'Common block' It is a thicker casting with more webbing between the cylinders for stiffness (the common block is shared with the 2.5l motor). Easiest way to identify a CB is to look down by the oil filter boss in the block, absence of the vestigial fuel pump block off plate is the giveaway. It also has a better sealing oil pan, a revised crank seal(its a different crankshaft alltogther), better water pump etc etc. You also have fuel lines that un NEXT to the valve cover instead of the stupid over the top earlier design. The last feature of the later build car is so important to me that I've actually CONVERTED 3-4 cars over to the upgrade. The double pivot K frame The control arms tell the story, two pivot points instead of one pivot and one stub strut at the rear. Huge difference IMO and immeadiatly noticeable after the conversion. Lots of little changes as well, cloth tweeter covers instead of silly fuzzy ones, water tite rubber strut nut covers instead of those goofy rattle-ly plastic ones that scrape the strut tower paint off. The list goes on and on. See, your car is even better than you knew

I'm sure it would help if the cables were lubed with a good quality Teflon based lubricant however lubing them on the car doesn't work, you only get a little bit right at the ends of the cable which does nothing. Back when I used to build 70's and 80's motorcycles I'd remove the throttle (or whatever cable), hang it upright, build a little funnel out of aluminum foil and a rubber band at the top end. Then fill the funnel with lube and leave it hanging until the lube dripped out of the bottom end of the cable. Worked like a charm but it would be a ton of work to dissasemble and remove your shift cables. Out of curiosity, what's the build date of your car, pre June of 88 or post June?

Lol, now I've hijacked 440's thread. I suppose he did mention a Rampage Stock, not for me. Fully built DOHC IROC RT motor makes 322 WHP @18PSI boost, over 400@ 26PSI on race gas. Runs 11 second 1/4's, is at home on a RoadRace tack o hauls 2000lbs. I've built it over the last 22 years to do it all, heck it even has four seats

Sounds the 5 speed Getrag Reatta you worked on *is* that Canadian car I sold the trans for-Very Cool I never knew about the 284 equipped GTP's so that they got the 'Lumina' DOHC 3.4?? How many were made? 47 total or that's just 93? Anyone using forced induction on one? The later supercharged cars are a whole 'Nuther motor right? (showing my lack of GM knowledge here, pretty much been a Chrysler guy always tho I do have a black turbo Buick :-) ) Back when I was younger and had more time and energy I pulled the heads off of one of these motors in the yard and was very impressed at the port/runner/chamber shape of the 5 cam 3.4 motor! I used to daydream about turbocharging one, it would make some serious power as well as those heads are designed

So my primary focus on AACA is over on the TC By Maserati sub forum, I've been there a few years and have had 6 or 7 of them. Pretty much just the 5 SPD cars are my passion. Brief history lesson (disclaimer, as I know it and have been told by reliable sources, not looking for a debate on my fact checking. I've been thru those debates, don't need another one) on the 284 Getrag transmission. When the C4 Corvette was on the design table at GM in the early 80's there were TWO designs in the running, FRONT engine and MID engine. We all know which one was picked right? Anyway for the mid engine version Getrag was contracted to build a 5 SPD trans that could withstand 475LbsFt of torque, they did so and delivered the 284 transmission. The rest is a bit of hearsay (and if you are privy to details please share) but when the mid engine concept was killed for the C4 getrag had already built a thousand or so transmissions for it or AT LEAST the gearsets (I'd love to know if cases were made and if so what happened to them, I've never gotten anyone from Getrag North America to comment). Enter the team of Lee Ioccoca and Alejandro De Tamaso with their two seat 'Touring Coupe' they are building. Why yes, we will take some of those trransmissions off your hands if you build a case that bolts up to our inline four 2.2... So they did and 500-ish 5 speed TC's made it into production. Having driven at least 10 TC Maserati equipped with them I can tell you its a great transmission-but its an orphan. Theres no serviceable parts I can find, no seals and worst of all, not more clutch pressure plates so when you burn thru those, its game over. I'm at that point with one of my TC's, it's slipping under WOT in 4th and 5th, due to inability to source another clutch (needs to be stronger than stock, this car makes about 50HP/75 torque over stock) I'll replace it with a 568 and aftermarket clutch. Here's the part where it gets a little more interesting for this group, could I see a show of hands for those that know what I'm talking about? That's right, the 284 made it into one other production car (hands anyone?) Yep, the 91-93 Z34 DOHC 5 SPD Lumina's. Also a very rare breed (I've heard 500, can anyone confirm?) I've only ever seen two in the wild and both were in Junkyards, one of which I brought home with me about 15 yeas ago to try and use the gearset out of(the cases are very different from the TC 284 as you'd expect) to fix one of mine that had a bad diff bearing. A buddy and I opened it up (between the two of us we've rebuilt dozens of 525/520/555/523/568 Chysler FWD transmissions) and right away I knew we were in over our heads The shift rail has multiple springs/balls/dogs that hold it together, there's nothing like that in any of those Chrysler transmission I listed. But still we ripped it apart out of curiosity. It took up too much space on the garage floor for a while before I gave up on the project and stashed the parts and unlovingly left the transmission case on my side yard in the weather. Circling back to why this is pertinent to the Reatta fans (about time right?) That Lumina trans bolts up to your blocks or so tells the guy on the other end of the phone(calling from Canada no less, was his name John??) and could he buy that trans off me? I told him it's worth anything and not worth my time to ship it north. Persistant he sent a friend to pay me $100. and pick it up in SoCal, and ship it to him. Rumor had it he found a shop with the skilz to reassemble it, and put it in his Reatta. Hence the title of the post 5SPD Reatta. Can Anyone confirm? You might be asking why I should post about it now after all these years? I suppose because I have a buddy in Florida that yesterday sent me pics of the 284 he is refurbishing (no new parts really other than an NOS clutch, he's just cleaning and painting the case) and he is looking for seals for. I haven't looked in the last 10 years or tried very hard but I still don't know of any service parts for the 284's. Heck, Getag has a little transmission listing page on it's website and guess what's not listed there? Yep, 284's. They don't even admit they ever existed! I'll end this overly wordly post with a funny story about a sticker. You see on the bottom of every 5 SPD equipped TC Masi (did I mention they also got a specific DOHC Cosworth based motor never available in any other car? Whole nuther story I guess) There is a very durable metallic backed (they obviously wanted it to last) sticker that says something close to "This transmission is not field serviceable do not attempt to open it, for repairs or warranty please return it to Getrag North America" I had always thought that because of the low production numbers of an orphaned and unprofitable TC (ChyCo lost money on every one of Lee and Alejandos creations) that they didn't want to train the Chrysler Service techs on repair/service and that they had 'cheaped out' on training costs. I remember the day I found that elusive 5spd Z34 in the boneyard( super weird part is that I looked for a couple years in the windows of every Z34 I found looking for that elusive manual shift lever. BOTH 5spd Z34's were in the SAME yard THAT same day!)and looked the trans over, it had the exact same sticker, GM cheaped out too

Currently waiting to install the new motor however said motor and choice of turbo is built for 600+HP

Am I the only one that wants to see the Rampage? I've had mine over 20 years.

Every Ginger interior TC I've found in yards I have taken the seatback panels out of, no matter how rough the interior is they are always in good shape. Perfect for a custom gauge cluster. Just two Phillips head screws pulls them out

Ive been reading along this thread and your diagnostics you've been thru, youre quite thorough I just had a thought tho, There is a manual set screw/throttle blade adjustment screw in the throttle body itself. From the factory it has a small plug over it but once removed, the screw can be wound in which opens the butterfly blade. If its been opened, no other adjustments will lower the idle. Check it out.

I'm with Nile, does sound like a vacuum leak somewhere. Did you by chance check the charcoal canister? I've seen multiple pop-top failures there and then it's a vacuum leak as well as not functioning to collect the fuel system vapors. Also the four way splitter under the intake manifold, lightly pull on those connections, if they are bad, the line will pull out. sometimes its a partial leak that sort of still connected.

2600 enjoyable miles per year

OK., just like mine then, Light yellow with Ginger 16V I still wonder what color top it is tho I'll keep my fingers crossed for the much nice Hartz Fabric Black...

Very cool survivor car, white with Ginger-Just like mine Has me wondering if you have the back soft top or brown... Anyway like reaper said I too suspect a vacuum leak. The entire vacuum harrness is very 'inspectable' if you just look closely. Most likely culprit is the main vacuum feed source into the four way that the exits the underside of the intake manifold. That piece softens and rots over the years. Just closely inspect every part of the harness. Also, do all that stuff reaper suggested

I'm with you Emmett, I want all the power when I'm motoring around for enjoyment. In fact, it's a nice 75degree SoCal evening and I'm gonna hop in the white 90 16V TC for a leisurely 14PSI blast to Newport Beach I know 7-10 *should be* sufficient but it's not for guys like us

So I take it then that plugging the MAP line back in fixed your problem? I'm not certain the engineers and builders thought out our vacuum harness lifespan thru to 30 years plus because I have seen more driveability/low power/ surging/bucking/otherwise unpleasant driving conditions due to cracked or failed vacuum lines. It's the very first system I check when I poke around underhood of any turbo Chrysler product. Now having said all that and not really added much value to this thread I'll add this tidbit that works for me. Get some good quality, rated for high temps small zip ties(black please, we're all over 20 years old on this list and too old for neon green or orange right?) and 'fix' that connection for good. Trim the tail very flush with a single edge razor as well, if you use diagonal cutters or similar the tail will be a little sharp lancet that will open up the flesh on your arm if you brush into it next time your doing maintenance or repairs in the engine bay. Add a few more fixes to other connections that are just waiting to fail.

Very good Fuzz, but wait, doesn't being retirerd mean that you have nothing but time for *all* the projects One thing I recommend to any TC owner that want's to put miles on in a 'sporting' fashion is to change out the rear springs to the HD units from a Daytona. The wire diameter is actually thicker (.276 vs .253 stock IIRC) and they take away that rear floaty feel. I've done it on each of my TC's and it's usually the first or second mod along with a good high flow exhaust. I'm not sure if they are available on Rock auto or similar online because I've always sourced them out from pick a part yards or bought them from the forums from 89-90 Shelby Daytona's or 91-93 Daytona IROC's. They will sit a little higher than stock so I use a grinder to cut 1/2 coil off each spring. Now then add a little more power (or a lot ;-) ) and it will make that 13 mile trip to town for chicken feed a bunch more enjoyable! RDI Performance offers a nice little drop in SMEC module that's a 10 minute install and lots of smiles when your right foot is feeling heavy.

Fuzzy, it sounds like your dad found a great caretaker for his TC Clearly you are putting in the time and effort to get the 'little things' sorted out. Nice work. I'd like to ask a little more about you and your car tho... Where are the two of you located, and what engine package/color combination do you have?

I hope your trans finds a good home NK, they're surely not making anymore of them and heck, Getrag of North America's website doesn't even list the 284's they built for the 16V TC's (or the ones they built for the 91-93 5SPD DOHC Lumina Z34's for that matter!) In they're products listing. Great catching up a lil in Memphis with you and Steve, let's not wait 5 years to do it again! Did you tell me you travel out to Cali periodically for work?

Chris have you upgraded the rear springs yet? If you put 100lbs in the trunk it's gonna bottom over every dip for 4800 miles. If you have some Shelby Daytona or IROC rear springs kicking around, theyre perfect for TC's with 5/8's of a coil cut off. No more bottoming after that..

Was that a few years ago already Tim? Time does fly as we get older Speaking of national conventions in FWD turbo Chryslers... SDAC #26 in Memphis starts the 24th of June Check out turbo-mopar.com for whats going on there