TwinCamFan

I've seen brand new parts store brand HEP switch's fail (Distributor Pick Up Plate work for you Hemi? That's what the dealership called mine when it went out when my car was 3 days old) but not the OE dealer ones so I consider it highly unlikely that your new HEP is bad. However, where the HEP plugs to the engine harness there are two 3 pin weatherproof rubber plugs, one gray one and one black one. Unplug them there and using a nice bright flashlight check to make sure the female pins aren't 'loose' or 'widened' You'll know because the female pins are formed into a rolled sleeve that accepts the male pins, if they are loose, they will have a large gap along the seam. It's easy to gently bend them shut again with a little patience and a jewlers style screwdriver. After that to me with what you describe is a likely a fuel supply issue, most of the time a bad fuel pump. The classic symptom I've seen over and over again is that the car will restart and run for a short time after it has 'rested' a bit. Generally it runs for less and less time each time it restarts. Personally I'd throw a fuel pump at it anyway if it's original OR the car has sat for years with the previous owner.

I'm a glutton for punishment!

...From the TC Nationals in Reno. I've missed a couple years in a row now and thought this year I had a real shot at it But alas, being self employed has it's challenges. I *thought* I had an associate that could cover the clients while I was away but when two of my best clients come to me and say, 'you know, we would rather have YOU here than that guy' If they are dissatisfied, they would likely move their business. Then I wouldn't have the money to attend. Vicious circle I tell ya... So, any updates/stories/pics from the lucky ones that *did* go?

Hey Skeet, runs like a dog eh? A greyhound? Probably you meant a slow dog ;-) I would suspect ignition timing is off or cam timing is off. What methods did you use to set these? AJ

My personal favorite color combination, good find! Welcome. There was a turbo Mopar guy on another list searching for the right LeBaron to buy as a project/weekend driver. I suggested he expand his search to TC Masi's and he was glad he did, he found one and soon discovered they are very much NOT LeBarons. Unique in so many ways, here's to hoping you have a lasting and rewarding relationship with your first TC. Mine is long gone but there have been a few more that have found me:cool:

Turbosunleashed.com Makes an aftermarket machined aluminum thermostat housing that has a sealing area far superior to the factory stamped steel piece. Are you sure your's is not corroded thru and leaking right thru the housing?

2 16V TC's?? What a crazy notion, what were you thinking:D Like Hemi said, the later style is a safer routing for the fuel lines, Im betting that your 'over the top' of the valve cover fuel line TC has a build date before June 88 and your 'to the side' TC is after. Here are a couple other things to consider about the later build car: It has a common block motor(no fuel pump block off plate near oil filter) Its stonger in the block thickness and webbing. It has the fabric tweeter speaker covers instead of the fuzzy 'carpet' ones It has the small rubber caps over the front strut shafts instead of big plastic plates it has a double pivot K frame instead of the single front and stub strut arrangement From what Ive seen, there are many many changes between early and late build. The later cars are vastly improved IMO:cool:

Glad to hear things are going well for ya, maybe one of these days we can catch up in person again with a few cold ones. I know what you mean about the years flying by, kids are not in college yet but are not little anymore either...

A couple TC's at the last Applebees meet as well as 4-5 TC owners, didn't see you there Dave?

Dave, Your location has brought you good luck;), I've been organzing the meets for the California Shelby Dodge Auto Club for over 20 years. We have been meeting same time, same place at Applebees 1238 W Imperial Highway, La Habra CA the first thursday of the month from 8pm(sometimes starts a little later depending) til midnight or later. There are at least 4-5 TC owners in this group as they share many of the componants. Heck, we've even had 5-6 TC's there at some meets. Next meet is just 3.5 days away, come on out and network with some folks who are passionate about TC's and various other Chrysler FWD variants Alan :cool:

I've also had good results just disconnecting the air hose from the horn end, filling it with lubricant of choice and 'backflushing' it back into the compressor end with compressed air...

Cutting thru the trunk seems a bit excessive... The thing is, the manual release mechanism was meant only as an emergent procedure, when the pull down fails for any one of 3 or so main reasons;) the manual crank tends to get used over and over and eventually fails, it's pretty thin sheet steel not meant for repeated use. I've never seen one not 'unlatch' only fail to pull down the hard/soft tops becuase the mechanism arm gets bent. You may have already checked this, but are you sure the pulldown pins are not already released rather it's just the rubber seal and the weight of the top itself has 'glued' the top in place? I've had to pry them off as the hardtop won't just pop up when released like soft top will. When you do get the top off you'll need to dig into why the electric isn't working. If you do a search here the primary reasons have been covered many times, I think there are a few how to fix threads as well:) :eek:

Did they give you any kind of idea on what their minimum production number would be? It would be nice to have some 89's made in the stiff matt 90 style:cool:

Ha, I just got your screename 185,it's two scoops of win:cool:! I saw a white TC Masi in Newport Beach last night to contine the minor segway of this thread;) "My Maserati does 185, I lost my license now I don't drive...":D BTW, I've had the 'Worlds fastest TC' to right about 145 and that was pretty much all it had...

I suppose I'm pretty lucky in SoCal, I see at least one TC a week, saw a light pearlcoat yellow just today:) As far as 16V cars, I've only ever seen one of those 'in the wild' driving the streets of Orange County. Always a bit of a thrill when I see one:cool: Welcome to the forum, enjoy your car, in fact don't be afraid to 'make it yours' by changing a few things around. Just because Dad always kept it bone stock doean't mean you have to;) THe 16V cars respond remarkably well to a good high flow exhaust system... Alan

Anything is possible Maser:cool: Since you have already put the 8v into the 16v TC engine bay(which of course means you pulled the broken 16v motor) I'd venture to guess that you have the skills needs for most swaps:D Good job! The swaps I've done focused mostly on swapping out the original 284 Getrag transmissions (from the 16V cars) with more commonly available 523 transmissions. The serviceable parts (clutches and seals) are just too hard to find for the 284's IMO. I am curious about something in your swap, did the 'tin' from the 16v car fit with your 8V swap? I'm talking about the thin formed stamped sheet metal between the engine and transmission, it didn't quite fit on my swaps and I had to use one from the donor 8 V car. As far as the 16V head on the 8v motor, sure it will bolt right on and 'fit' but it's not that simple. Pistons need to be changed to the 16v units (or go custom which is easier IMO) then there is the issue of common block vs non common block engines. For your swap it mostly pertains to the cogged crank sprocket that drives the distrib and cam gears. The snout sizes are a different diameter in the two motors. However, if you are changing pistons, you'd be better off just to rebuild the shot 16V motor at that point. Some parts (rod bearings) are nearly impossible to come by (I've had them made at about $180/set) so it's just easier to swap to an 8V crank and rods onto some 16v pistons. I don't recall the stock 16V rod pin diameter so not sure if that could work even with machining. We're with you on this project, don't sell them and buy an older Mopar, consider instead fixing the TC and make it drivable/enjoyable *then* get that RWD Mopar (I'm partial to 69-70 Darts myself;)

I've never seen that picture before either Tonecaster, thanks for sharing:cool: I had heard that the first prototype was done by MetalCrafters in Fountain Valley CA, does that sound like the group Dad worked with? It also looks like the stainless wheel opening trim was one piece on this Proto and the interior I don't think is Bordeaux and it's too dark for Ginger... This is a unique TC, do you have any additional shots you can scan? TC History is always cool:) Alan

So this group of FWD Chrysler/Dodge enthusiasts has been meeting once a month, always on the first Thursday (January 1st and July 4th accepting) at Applebee's Neighborhood Grill 1238 Imperial Highway, La Habra CA 90631 for more than 18 years now. Many of the California Shelby Dodge Auto Club members also have TC's so I'm asking all of those, and all of you that live near enough to make it work to attend the August meet with your TC. We park on the Chase bank side of Applebees and usually straggle in between 8pm - 9pm, go inside for dinner and drinks between 9-1030, then end up looking at and poking around underhoods for a couple more hours. The club has had other 'theme months' Like Dodge Rampage/Plymouth Scamp trucklett month where we had the largest known collection of these rare little trucks(it was 8 in case you were curious) since they were new on the dealer lots 1982-1984. I'm hoping we can easily beat that number into the double digits with TC's Hope to see you all there!:cool: Feel free to post or PM any questions... Alan:D

Drive it out to Applebee's meet and get some exposure, 1238 Imperial hwy, La Habra, August 2nd 8pm. It's TC month, I've contacted the SoCal Shelby Dodge members that have TC's to bring them. And no, I'm not adding any to my collection;) Alan

Yep, that build is looking good:cool: Thats got to be a 500 HP capable bottom end:) I need to get back on my 2l Masi project:( Alan

Welcome to the AACA TC Forum 727:) I've not had to replace the entire system as Hemi described but there are some other options. Do you have a hard brake pedal or soft? Hard could easily be just a 30amp fuse in the ABS harness overlay(small fusebox on passenger side engine compartment by the ignition coil) Soft pedal usually is the pump(has the system been opened at any caliper or line?) but Larry Carlson at TC parts has the remaned in stock for $575. not $1400. There is a good chance he would do some parts trading with you as well if cash outlay is the issue. Lastly, rumor has it there is a competant small shop in Spring Texas with a full time mechanic that could do this kind of work for you:cool: Alan

Mark, did you already try adding a good quality 3 in 1 or Teflon based lube to the compressor? Chances are it is barely spinning which makes for very low air/sound output. There is a small hole(some have a plastic plug in it) on the side of the compressor motor. Also I've sen the rubber line split where it attaches to the 'bugle'

Funny thing is, I bought my first TC more than 10 years ago to 'rob' the the drivetain out of for a racing project. I was so impressed by the character of the car after putting a battery in it and driving 400+ miles home that I couldn't gut it out! Since then I have had just a few TC's and have fallen for the unique character of them. Although, a 93 (only year with the 32 V Northstar engine) Allante is on my list for cars to own;) Alan

So if we carefully reread, substitute letters, and add punctuation, I do see now that you were offering to help. Thank you for that.:cool: My mistake:o. Thanks Tom. Hey Roger needs a shift fork, any idea how much you would like to get for it? Roger, my brain is getting older and I can't recall right now how to remove it, it has a circlip right? Or is it pressed on? I'd have to look... Who knew that pushing 50 meant that my brain would be getting so soft:o Alan

Uh, lets not forget TVR, it has to be right coast as well. If I recall correctly lots left coast cars have been passed over due to their geographic unsuitability:D... Alan