PhilAndrews Posted December 24, 2023 Author Share Posted December 24, 2023 14 hours ago, EmTee said: That was fun -- thanks for the ride! Nice job on the valve body and the Pontiac runs great! Needs a valve job but it runs pretty well. Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmTee Posted December 24, 2023 Share Posted December 24, 2023 I hope I work half as well when I turn 72! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilAndrews Posted December 24, 2023 Author Share Posted December 24, 2023 Just got back and noticed the car window has been down overnight. It's been raining since 4pm yesterday... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bloo Posted December 24, 2023 Share Posted December 24, 2023 Ouch... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilAndrews Posted December 24, 2023 Author Share Posted December 24, 2023 Yeah. Got one of the vents open and a heater inside to try get it dried out. It is moist. Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilAndrews Posted December 26, 2023 Author Share Posted December 26, 2023 Oops. The beautiful road surfaces around here did a number on the top mount of one of my new rear shocks. Further inspection tomorrow up underneath, hopefully the top mount didn't break on the car. Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilAndrews Posted December 26, 2023 Author Share Posted December 26, 2023 Found the fault. These shocks are slightly more stubby than the previous ones (1/8" or so) and don't clear the top mount correctly. Ordered a new set. Car currently OOS with a case of Low To The Ground. Phil 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilAndrews Posted December 28, 2023 Author Share Posted December 28, 2023 Problem fixed, cause remedied and car back on the ground with new shocks. Phil 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilAndrews Posted December 29, 2023 Author Share Posted December 29, 2023 The dew on the car has gone all strange. Voodoo witchcraft. First drive shows ride quality has been reinstalled in the vehicle, so that's good. Gearbox changes well, lending more credence to the theory that what counts for summer temperatures in Detroit is fine for a single weight hydraulic oil, but average ambient temperature here requires a heavier oil. Phil 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilAndrews Posted January 6 Author Share Posted January 6 Exhaust was getting noisy on acceleration, tick tick tick. This afternoon I pulled the manifolds off. Yup, there's the problem. Made some new gaskets and reassembled it all. Waiting on the rtv to cure. Phil 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilAndrews Posted January 7 Author Share Posted January 7 All back together again. After a couple hours, took it for a gentle run to dry everything out; I had burped the heater by taking the hose off the cylinder head, holding the flexible pipe from the heater up, and with the heater control set to HIGH, put the hosepipe into the cylinder head. Also had the benefit of back flushing the heaters. Primarily what it did was throw water all over the engine compartment. Driving experience? Improved. Exhaust now scavenges better and it's very quiet. Much better. Phil 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilAndrews Posted January 9 Author Share Posted January 9 (edited) Between rain showers I went go buy some plastic totes. Big car looks small. Also sounds like I have a wheel bearing that needs attention. Edited January 9 by PhilAndrews (see edit history) 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilAndrews Posted January 14 Author Share Posted January 14 Right passenger bearing tightened up, I was a bit gentle when I did it up last. However, got a new water pump on order. Hid the car in a lineup tonight. Phil 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy J Posted January 14 Share Posted January 14 I like the picture,but there is no way I would park that jewel in a parking lot full of cars. People just don't care about other people's cars and sooner or later they will open a door on you. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilAndrews Posted January 14 Author Share Posted January 14 (edited) 4 hours ago, Andy J said: I like the picture,but there is no way I would park that jewel in a parking lot full of cars. People just don't care about other people's cars and sooner or later they will open a door on you. It's already got dings in the doors. Some I inherited with the car, the most recent was the standard "I parked the car in the furthest space away from the doors, with no cars for miles around and some ass parked right next to me and opened their door into the paint" Since then I've just parked it wherever. The fact it needs bodywork and paint means I can enjoy driving it without having to be overly paranoid. Phil Edited January 14 by PhilAndrews (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmTee Posted January 14 Share Posted January 14 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilAndrews Posted January 15 Author Share Posted January 15 Cold snap ahead. I had drained the system and flushed it out when I did the manifold. Now, that should be good. Phil 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilAndrews Posted January 16 Author Share Posted January 16 Icicles (small variety) today. The car started up and idled happily, despite the wind chill being in the teens. Thursday we're forecast back in the seventies. Weather can't decide what it wants to do. Phil 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Summershandy Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 I couldn't resist to comment on the weather Phil. Most of Canada is experiencing the cold Polar Vortex. Where I live the windchills are hitting -40 and in other parts colder. Never mind year round use of antifreeze, have you ever heard an engine start when the block heater isn't plugged in at these temps? Sounds painful! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilAndrews Posted January 16 Author Share Posted January 16 12 minutes ago, Summershandy said: I couldn't resist to comment on the weather Phil. Most of Canada is experiencing the cold Polar Vortex. Where I live the windchills are hitting -40 and in other parts colder. Never mind year round use of antifreeze, have you ever heard an engine start when the block heater isn't plugged in at these temps? Sounds painful! The only place we normally get ice is in the freezer! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilAndrews Posted January 24 Author Share Posted January 24 I think the damp had gotten into the radio, it was all crackles and distortion. Wrangled it out from under the dash, always an enjoyable* experience. The output tubes had bad connections- typical with Loktal tubes. Cleaned up and added DeOxit. Ran it on the bench for an hour, played well. Glowing again as they should. I think a new vibrator will help the voltage sag and I'm on the lookout for a new speaker because this one is terrible. Phil 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilAndrews Posted January 28 Author Share Posted January 28 Helpfully today, as I was driving, the speedometer went from working perfectly to reading zero. I have a feeling the drive gear has stripped a tooth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itsonlypain Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 I have a question regarding the speedometer.... My 51 the gauges are rusted and not easily visible i bought working gauges to replace the old ones.. i know the temp/oil/fuel and battey gauges are replaceable but can the spedo faceplate be removed/ can you remove the spedo needle to remove the back plate to change it out? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilAndrews Posted January 30 Author Share Posted January 30 10 minutes ago, itsonlypain said: I have a question regarding the speedometer.... My 51 the gauges are rusted and not easily visible i bought working gauges to replace the old ones.. i know the temp/oil/fuel and battey gauges are replaceable but can the spedo faceplate be removed/ can you remove the spedo needle to remove the back plate to change it out? You can; it's a press fit on the shaft so the best tool to remove it without damage is a needle puller. You can improvise but using a screwdriver is risky, both to bend the shaft and dent the speedometer face. The mechanism has an internal stop so you do not lose the hairspring calibration by removing the needle (unlike gauges like a lot of Smiths for instance). Search "gauge pointer puller" for tools. Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itsonlypain Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 Thanks for the information! Is there any special process/tool for installing the needle back on or does it just press back on? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilAndrews Posted January 30 Author Share Posted January 30 1 minute ago, itsonlypain said: Thanks for the information! Is there any special process/tool for installing the needle back on or does it just press back on? Get it lined up with 0 and push on with a finger. The pointer center is cut at a slight taper and will bind up just with a press fit. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itsonlypain Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 I Am thinking this would work sufficiently....Just want to make sure i'm looking at the right things. https://www.amazon.com/Measuring-Gauging-Needle-Remover-Extractor/dp/B07T1X42WW 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilAndrews Posted January 30 Author Share Posted January 30 3 minutes ago, itsonlypain said: I Am thinking this would work sufficiently....Just want to make sure i'm looking at the right things. https://www.amazon.com/Measuring-Gauging-Needle-Remover-Extractor/dp/B07T1X42WW Those are the things yes. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilAndrews Posted March 21 Author Share Posted March 21 Fixed the speedometer. New cable time. Much better. Nice to have the speedometer back again. Replaced the rear UJ because the old one was getting noisy and no amount of grease would make it quiet. Phil 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Summershandy Posted March 21 Share Posted March 21 Curious Phil, what sound was your UJ making? I've always had this muffled clunk as I slowly depart and thought it was in the differential. I don't hear anything at normal speeds. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilAndrews Posted March 21 Author Share Posted March 21 30 minutes ago, Summershandy said: Curious Phil, what sound was your UJ making? I've always had this muffled clunk as I slowly depart and thought it was in the differential. I don't hear anything at normal speeds. Up to about 45 dokka dokka dokka, a deep low rattle from the back end. A CLINGK from the back end on engaging gears or 2-3 shift is just excess lash in the differential, which isn't too bad, when it is too bad it'll let you know by whining. Phil 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Summershandy Posted March 21 Share Posted March 21 Hey, I think I got that dokka dokka dokka! Luckily I haven't heard any CLINGK between shifts. Thanks for those sound effects! Come to think of it, when I was originally working on the car years ago I wanted to grease the UJ but couldn't get my dang grease gun in there, so I left it. All other fluids and zerk fittings were done though. I should get under there this summer and take another look. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilAndrews Posted March 21 Author Share Posted March 21 1 hour ago, Summershandy said: Hey, I think I got that dokka dokka dokka! Luckily I haven't heard any CLINGK between shifts. Thanks for those sound effects! Come to think of it, when I was originally working on the car years ago I wanted to grease the UJ but couldn't get my dang grease gun in there, so I left it. All other fluids and zerk fittings were done though. I should get under there this summer and take another look. Yeah, you have to jack the car up on the axle and not have it hang down to keep the angle on the uj correct to get a grease gun on it Phil 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmTee Posted March 21 Share Posted March 21 4 hours ago, Summershandy said: I haven't heard any CLINGK between shifts. Oh, in that case you can still get another 2,500 miles out of it! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilAndrews Posted March 21 Author Share Posted March 21 51 minutes ago, EmTee said: Oh, in that case you can still get another 2,500 miles out of it! I've done 6000 with it going clink. At least the oil doesn't fall out of it any more. Phil 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilAndrews Posted March 25 Author Share Posted March 25 Actually, see- that's an interesting point. Someone asked me how many miles I've driven in the car, so I went find the photos of the car when I picked it up- naturally a few were of the dash and the odometer reading was clearly legible. To date, 13,400 miles I've added to the car. Not bad Phil 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MasterChief Posted March 29 Share Posted March 29 What an amazing journey and repair log you have shared with us here! With me being a "newby" to these Pontiacs you have gifted us with a-lot of information here for years to come. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilAndrews Posted March 30 Author Share Posted March 30 That'll be what that noise was then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilAndrews Posted March 31 Author Share Posted March 31 Welded it up. Put it all back together again. Changed the oil and grease. Quieter now, funny how that works... Phil 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilAndrews Posted April 3 Author Share Posted April 3 Decided I needed the time to be able to clean the car before a club do on Friday and an outing on Saturday. Got a bit warm towards the end, but that's better. Phil 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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