When a 1968 Plymouth Satellite 4-door enters your life...

[Carolina_Mountain_Mustangs]

I did not read the entire thread I don't have any Mopars but do have a few parts, lol. In a buy of a lot of parts there were a couple twin snorkel air cleaners that I was told came off police cars. I do not have the knowledge of what years or anything and would have to search the barn to find them since I have not laid hands on them since the 80's. Is that something that you need?

David

 

[cudak888]

I did not read the entire thread I don't have any Mopars but do have a few parts, lol. In a buy of a lot of parts there were a couple twin snorkel air cleaners that I was told came off police cars. I do not have the knowledge of what years or anything and would have to search the barn to find them since I have not laid hands on them since the 80's. Is that something that you need?

David

David, I'd be interested, but to be entirely honest with you, you can probably make a killing that I don't have on eBay if it's a 1970's 340/360 unit.

I haven't seen any of the '80s Diplomat dual snorkels on eBay, so I have no idea what one of those would be worth.

Still, I'd be more than willing to hear out the price and see a photo, as I'd LOVE to top this engine up with two manly looking snorkels up there. Have loved the look ever since seeing the 5.0 Foxbodies with the setup.

-Kurt

 

[Carolina_Mountain_Mustangs]

I did not read the entire thread I don't have any Mopars but do have a few parts, lol. In a buy of a lot of parts there were a couple twin snorkel air cleaners that I was told came off police cars. I do not have the knowledge of what years or anything and would have to search the barn to find them since I have not laid hands on them since the 80's. Is that something that you need?

David

David, I'd be interested, but to be entirely honest with you, you can probably make a killing that I don't have on eBay if it's a 1970's 340/360 unit.

I haven't seen any of the '80s Diplomat dual snorkels on eBay, so I have no idea what one of those would be worth.

Still, I'd be more than willing to hear out the price and see a photo, as I'd LOVE to top this engine up with two manly looking snorkels up there. Have loved the look ever since seeing the 5.0 Foxbodies with the setup.

-Kurt

I will look in the barn and see if I can locate. I had some chrome ones for 442 also. Got them all from a junkyard the had to close and be cleaned up and went by the last couple days and took lots of stuff hanging on the walls. Baseball fields and park there now. My dad's 1935 Ford Deluxe Roadster was parted out there it had a Columbia two speed rear and V-8 with special factory chrome spoke wheels. A local business owner ordered it new and my dad got it from him use to win lots of street races with it back in the 30's. That is one I wish he had put in the barn for sure.

David

 

[cudak888]

Slow day, but I was able to get an M-body upper radiator hose to fit the KKS aftermarket radiator. I gave the parts store an '89 Diplomat w/318 as the source car.

Unlike a '70 Satellite hose, this one kinks downwards to meet the slightly shorter radiator. I did have to cut it short at the radiator end:

Comes close to the BPE brackets, but not as close as it appears. An aluminum thermostat outlet (already ordered) ought to take care of it:

I've also figured on using a 1969-and-up one-piece power steering high-pressure hose instead of the ridiculous two-piece 1968 unit. The fitting on the P/S pump will probably need to be swapped, but that shouldn't be difficult - if I can find someone selling the flare-to-1/2" SAE adapter for less than a ridiculous $23 as a "Mopar" part.

I will look in the barn and see if I can locate. I had some chrome ones for 442 also. Got them all from a junkyard the had to close and be cleaned up and went by the last couple days and took lots of stuff hanging on the walls. Baseball fields and park there now. My dad's 1935 Ford Deluxe Roadster was parted out there it had a Columbia two speed rear and V-8 with special factory chrome spoke wheels. A local business owner ordered it new and my dad got it from him use to win lots of street races with it back in the 30's. That is one I wish he had put in the barn for sure.David

The shame of it is that we can't save them all - one man can only do so much.

I've actually considered what would happen if my little That '70s Car actually did succeed as a web show. Even if one had an entire shop to his/her disposal, doing this full time isn't really possible on more than 2 cars.

That said, thanks so much for looking. Let me know if you find anything.

-Kurt

 

[Carolina_Mountain_Mustangs]

I did not read the entire thread I don't have any Mopars but do have a few parts, lol. In a buy of a lot of parts there were a couple twin snorkel air cleaners that I was told came off police cars. I do not have the knowledge of what years or anything and would have to search the barn to find them since I have not laid hands on them since the 80's. Is that something that you need?

David

David, I'd be interested, but to be entirely honest with you, you can probably make a killing that I don't have on eBay if it's a 1970's 340/360 unit.

I haven't seen any of the '80s Diplomat dual snorkels on eBay, so I have no idea what one of those would be worth.

Still, I'd be more than willing to hear out the price and see a photo, as I'd LOVE to top this engine up with two manly looking snorkels up there. Have loved the look ever since seeing the 5.0 Foxbodies with the setup.

-Kurt

I will look in the barn and see if I can locate. I had some chrome ones for 442 also. Got them all from a junkyard the had to close and be cleaned up and went by the last couple days and took lots of stuff hanging on the walls. Baseball fields and park there now. My dad's 1935 Ford Deluxe Roadster was parted out there it had a Columbia two speed rear and V-8 with special factory chrome spoke wheels. A local business owner ordered it new and my dad got it from him use to win lots of street races with it back in the 30's. That is one I wish he had put in the barn for sure.

David

I did go to the barn but could not see the Chrysler air cleaners. The Olds was there. I did find another long console I forgot about, lol. Also found a box of models for 20th. ann mustang still in box never opened I think there was 10 of them put one on eBay, lol. Every time I go in there I find something I forgot about. I am sure they will turn up as I go deeper into the hoard.

David

 

[Mustang Dynasty]

I did not read the entire thread I don't have any Mopars but do have a few parts, lol. In a buy of a lot of parts there were a couple twin snorkel air cleaners that I was told came off police cars. I do not have the knowledge of what years or anything and would have to search the barn to find them since I have not laid hands on them since the 80's. Is that something that you need?

David

David, I'd be interested, but to be entirely honest with you, you can probably make a killing that I don't have on eBay if it's a 1970's 340/360 unit.

I haven't seen any of the '80s Diplomat dual snorkels on eBay, so I have no idea what one of those would be worth.

Still, I'd be more than willing to hear out the price and see a photo, as I'd LOVE to top this engine up with two manly looking snorkels up there. Have loved the look ever since seeing the 5.0 Foxbodies with the setup.

-Kurt

the dual snorkel, got so much crap in an overbuy, may even have one of them as snorkels shorter to be able to put down a Monte Carlo Bar as I have a functional Ram Air set up will not fit over original snorkel then figured would give me more air but research says NOT. So, looked went ahead on this Thursday replacing my 2bbl intake manifold to a more generous 4bbl Performer Air Gap intake manifold set up for my existing MPEFI and since have botched up chance w/the bar in its proper location w/out customizing to extend it as now an AC pump blocks its position. Why I chose the pic. ie, so much modifications like threading a needle-the hole in the middle of that spiral-the work asking for problems also like traveling into the Twilight Zone(if you remember the beginning of that show w/Rod Serling, that spiral in a dark void of space.LOLlollerz

 

[cudak888]

Van starter and starting solenoid cable were cut to length, a new end soldered on, and the cables wrapped for looks and neatness. The starter end has both cables fused to match the mini-starter, so I figured it would do well. Torched the smaller wire a bit, but it'll do:

At the solenoid below the bulkhead - the brown solenoid wire (from the van) was also soldered with a different connector:

In other news, my thermostat water neck arrived, but the thermostat sits in the thing loose. The designers of this thing can't expect me to mill the bottom of it to spec...or do they?

-Kurt

 

[Mustang Dynasty]

Now, speaking of 'solenoids', there is this one was told was needed to maintain the idle, as on the side of the AC unit which when I got the EFI installed, the stang did not have AC so the EFI unit I ordered at the time, never thought of this part. (with Holley Avenger MPEFI for the Cleveland does not come with the solenoid with the kit, however, heard as an extra item). With AC in any of your vehicles, might know where I am coming from. Tried to get away with just increasing idle from 8-9,000rpms to @ 10.5,000 rpms and created a wear factor on the oil distribution system, ie, increase oil pressure from 55 lbs to 72 lbs.

 

[cudak888]

My 1970-style power steering hose arrived - an Edelmann 70344 for a 1970 Coronet/Belvedere with a Saginaw pump. $18 and change from Amazon. I had to relieve one of the bends in the pipe a bit (probably because of the lower '89 Ram Van/Ramcharger style PS bracket), but otherwise it'll be a perfect finished fit once the adapter arrives for the steering box end:

Now to find one of those stinkin' little finned power steering coolers. The ones used on these Mopars are identical to those used on the '72-73 Mustangs.

-Kurt

 

[Totalled]

The late 60's/early 70's ford trucks had them. Might be another source.

 

[cudak888]

Unfortunately, I consider myself lucky to have found the '89 engine in the junkyard, much less any older.

LKQ prices down here make eBay almost affordable too.

-Kurt

 

[cudak888]

Another "one step forward, one step back" sort of day. My Summit carb arrived, and seemed to bolt in fine - until I realized the throttle linkage was binding on the huge chunk of aluminum cast into the left side of the M1 intake.

The nub of the throttle cable on the inside seen here was contacting the squared off part of the M1 casting.

I propped the carb up on that cheap 1" spacer shown in the pictures...for now. Rather than grind or hack anything, I ordered a 1/2" carb spacer. Should take care of the problem and not look too out of place.

-Kurt

 

[cudak888]

More fun with Dick and Jane tonight, courtesy of the Mopar Performance P4876850 Magnum conversion throttle bracket, at right:

Granted, seeing as anything associated with a Mopar kickdown that is not cable operated bearing the name "Lokar" is suspect, I should have known that I was walking into uncharted territories here (not to mention that there isn't any record online of anyone actually trying to use this bracket on their Magnum conversion).

That doesn't mean I'm going to knuckle under that quickly. Someone at MP designed this thing to work (we hope), and I'd like to put the part to its use.

Problem #1:

The P4876314 bracket has provisions for a bellcrank pivot stud, but the original stud is swedged to the throttle bracket. It's not serrated and press-fit - trust me, it's impossible to push the stud out and reinstall it with a hydraulic press (ask me, I tried).

The new bracket is obviously designed for a press-in or bolt-in piece, but I don't know the part number to find it, and Googling has been of no luck (nobody else references this part other than a few retailers).

Question is: Did MP ever issue a manual for this stinkin' little part? I bet they didn't, and I bet they forgot the stud too.

Now if the stud doesn't show up, I can always cut the swedged end off the stud and weld it into the MP bracket - which is probably the only option, but I'm not going to take guessing as an answer until I've exhausted all possibilities (yes, even sending an email to MP - bet that'll help! :banghead.

Which brings me to problem #2, which is the reason I suspect a manual might actually exist for this thing:

There is no indication which factory donor kickdown linkage (at the carb-to-bellcrank location) is supposed to be used with this piece. And, of course, this has been a black art mystery ever since Mopar ever invented the concept of designing a kickdown linkage that has a drawn reciprocation dingle arm built into it. In short, I'm left wondering whether I need a 340 kickdown arm at the carb, or whether I can stick with the 318 unit.

My guess is the 340, just by virtue of the MP conversion bracket's design vs. the stock 318 bracket vs. the stock 340. Almost certain the 318 arm would interfere with the throttle cable if mounted to the conversion bracket:

318 2-barrel Carter:

340 4-barrel Edelbrock/Carter:

-Kurt

 

[Totalled]

Almost seems like it would be easier to adapt a ford kickdown rod.

 

[cudak888]

Almost seems like it would be easier to adapt a ford kickdown rod.

Nah, not with Lokar out there.

The stock setup drives me nuts though - someone designed that bracket to work with a certain combo of parts.

-Kurt

 

[1973grandeklar]

Seeing that kickdown issue kind of reminds me of the issue I had trying to make a tv cable work for a 700R4 on a 1968 GTO. I was cheap and did not want to buy a fancy aftermarket. So I got several brackets out of the junkyard and cut and welded to make one fit and still look stock. I have seen your welding work, you are pretty darn good and I think you could cut and refit those brackets. The end result would probably look as good or better than stock.

 

[cudak888]

Seeing that kickdown issue kind of reminds me of the issue I had trying to make a tv cable work for a 700R4 on a 1968 GTO. I was cheap and did not want to buy a fancy aftermarket. So I got several brackets out of the junkyard and cut and welded to make one fit and still look stock. I have seen your welding work, you are pretty darn good and I think you could cut and refit those brackets. The end result would probably look as good or better than stock.

Modifying the geometry of a Chrysler bellcrank kickdown by cutting and welding the rod at the carburetor seems to be regarded as something of a black art in the Mopar community. Some Mopar mechanics claim that they've never seen one modified from stock and work correctly.

At this point, I'm already willing to do the Lokar route (or rip off a cable from a modern 32RE or 46RE) for kickdown, as I've done enough research to be convinced that the bellcrank design is pretty much a load of unreliable bull to begin with.

-Kurt

 

[midlife]

I take it Ford engineering design issues (e.g. leaking cowl) have nothing on Mopar engineering design issues?

 

[cudak888]

I take it Ford engineering design issues (e.g. leaking cowl) have nothing on Mopar engineering design issues?

That's one of the oddities of both of my Mopars - zero cowl rot. At least, any that would cause leaking. The drain holes on each side of the cowl are pretty large, and allow water to drain easily even if clogged with lots of leaves.

I'm almost certain the big problem with Ford cowls was the seam sealer used on the cowl hat. Something about it absorbs water very readily.

That's not to say that there's a whole bunch of covered-wagon engineering on Mopar's part (examples: bellcrank kickdown, ballast resistor to coil, low amp alternators, ALT gauges instead of amperage). Not to mention questionable ECU quality. Say what you want, but I'm going to be running the Mopar dizzy off an 4-pin GM HEI module and Ford E-core ignition coil (which I hope to mount mount on the front of the cylinder head with a Magnum-era coil bracket, with the intent of making it look like a 1992-2003 Mopar coil).

-Kurt

 

[cudak888]

Couple of things tonight:

First, the BPE power steering fitting arrived today. Works well, and the setup looks as if it came from the factory. '70 Belvedere/Satellite hose is a nice clean fit, and reaches the lower 1989 Ramcharger/B-series Van P/S bracket without issue:

And my M-body radiator shroud (#3869812) arrived. Apparently, I'm the only person on the internet talking about them, save for one thread at the FMJ forums:

And now comes to light some of the reasons why I may be the only one talking about them. Initial fit tests suggest this shroud is probably the only ideal one for the Chinese KKS aftermarket radiator and the van's substantial 20" 5-blade fan (EDIT: The hell it is. It won't fit), but there are a few issues - some minor, others a complete PITA:

First off, the mounting holes on the shroud are about an inch higher than the holes in the radiator. Looks like a good excuse to put some serrated bolts to use, seeing that I spent so much time researching them for the throttle bracket.

Second, the lower radiator hose binds. Apparently, M-bodies use a different hose that does a little dance around the shroud. Dayco C70483 is the solution. Looks like I've already worked my way through two sets of hoses.

Close quarters with the PS pump snout, but safe:

This is where I'm a bit ticked off. The fit at the upper hose is such that it's getting pinched. I can remove some material, but there will always be contact and a snug fit:

The 20" fan doesn't look like that much of a tight fit against the top, but once the lower radiator hose problem is solved, the clearance will be notably smaller:

Also got the original valve covers back from hot tanking. Doubt if I'm going to use them, but they sure look a heck of a lot nicer now:

And in other news, I'm convinced the 340/360-style 4-barrel kickdown lever is correct. I've been looking at a few photos of small blocks with Thermoquads, and the bellcrank positioning is the same. Can't hurt to try. Anyone have an upper kickdown rod for such an application?

-Kurt