• DCRC 2024

Because Roadkill, -or- I bought an old ugly domestic car

TurboMinivan

TurboMinivan

Still plays with cars
Location
Lehi, UT
tv_larsen said:
You might be able to spin the o-ring connection out of the old pump and install it in the new pump so that your old hoses work.
Click to expand...

I tried this earlier today, and it worked! The stock V6 PS hoses are now both installed, no matter how goofy they look. You know, because Roadkill.
 
NYCEGUY01

NYCEGUY01

Well-Known Member
Location
Willard, UT
TurboMinivan said:
Thank you both.



I have really missed working on a car project, so this whole swap has been very therapeutic in a number of ways.
Click to expand...


Time in the shop always helps me out when I get stressed.

Now, In true Roadkill fashion Im gonna need to see Smoke, fire, and a general disregard for law and safety.

A burnout is needed ASAP.
 
TurboMinivan

TurboMinivan

Still plays with cars
Location
Lehi, UT
In my post above, I said the pressure hose looked goofy. Allow me to present exhibits A and B:

J1rcgBu.jpg


wAWyWoG.jpg


It looks like it will clear the Taurus fan, so I'm fine with it for now.

NYCEGUY01 said:
A burnout is needed ASAP.
Click to expand...

Soon. Soon.
 
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TurboMinivan

TurboMinivan

Still plays with cars
Location
Lehi, UT
I spent most of yesterday and an hour or so this morning working on the car. Man, all the last-minute details are exhausting. I've done a few engine rebuilds in my past, so the idea of pulling and installing an engine sounded easy enough. But now that I've done this, my hat is off to everyone out there who has done a similar engine conversion on their car. This is a lot of work.

Brown Santa dropped off my new starter right on time yesterday, so that got bolted in place. This let me fiddle with the wiring harness until I found the best way to route everything. I spent hours adapting a Taurus fan into the car; this morning I was finally able to bolt it in place for (hopefully) the last time. I borrowed an inline fuel pump from Mike and installed it next to the tank; I attached a long power wire, encased it in convoluted tubing, and ran it through the frame to the front of the car. I still need to finish wiring the relay for the pump and I need to wire the Taurus fan connector to my existing fan relay, but that should be pretty straightforward. Most of the transmission stuff is still waiting to be completed.

It's getting closer.

O8lZ0xt.jpg


7noDsEl.jpg
 
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TurboMinivan

TurboMinivan

Still plays with cars
Location
Lehi, UT
"Buy a four core radiator," they said. "It'll be fun," they said.


I've pulled my hair out trying to install fluid cooling lines into the side of the transmission. My OEM fittings were rusty junk, so I yanked them and installed some shiny new aftermarket fittings. Why not OEM? Because I didn't want to use the factory 'quick connect' style connections. Instead, I found a pair which used traditional NPT threads. I thought I would appreciate the flexibility.

Once I crawled under the car to install them, I realized I still had a problem: there is not enough room between the trans and the tunnel for us to install a bent brake line into the fittings. After a couple days of brainstorming and searching, however, we stopped by the oldest NAPA in the county... where, after blowing the thick dust off them (literally!), we found these 90^ adapters (pictured with the front trans fitting):

USIwl2V.jpg


It looked like these could work, so I laid out $21 each (!) and took them home. I attached some rubber hose to each barb and clamped them tight, being careful to rotate the clamps in the optimal way so as to leave clearance for tightening the pipe fittings. I managed to wedge them into place, and then actually tighten them down properly. You can't get much more than a feeler gauge between the back side of the fittings and the tunnel, but they do clear. I'm just glad we found a solution.

I have two 5ft pieces of hard brake line. I cut the threaded fittings off them, then bent them into shape to connect the trans fitting hoses to the hoses on my cooler in the nose. I wasn't able to get them installed just yet, but that will happen soon.

What else is there? Well, I need to add fluids. A tall oil filter fits, though one header tube only leaves about 1/2" of clearance in one spot. It'll do, I decided, and I poured in the oil. Next up, I filled the new power steering reservoir. So far, so good.

I went to fill the radiator. I had two and a half gallons of fresh green coolant sitting in the garage. After I had poured it all in, I could barely see it down in the radiator. Really?!? So I went out and bought three more gallons of coolant plus three more gallons of distilled water. (I bought a lot since the Jeep is waiting for me to install a new water pump.) After a little more mixing, I added another two and a half gallons. The radiator still wasn't full, but at least now the level was up near the filler neck. It took another 1/3 of a gallon before it was full enough to justify reinstalling the cap. Wow. I guess I'm still used to my FWD Mopars and their tiny radiators.


So... what's left?

I need to crawl under and install the hard lines for the trans cooler. While I'm there, I need to attach the positive battery cable to the starter. Then I need to rotate the engine to find TDC for cylinder #1, thus allowing me to properly install the distributor and plug wires. At that point I can connect the battery cables, which will let me find a suitable ignition source to power the fuel pump. Once that works, I can actually crank the engine.

Now I just need it to stop snowing.
 
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TurboMinivan

TurboMinivan

Still plays with cars
Location
Lehi, UT
It's Alive! It's ALIIIIIIIIIVE!!!

80-young_frankenstein1_4689fc517619331b62d499d7eb1b4346c1d7c9ad.jpg


Thanks to Mike's help with the carb and setting up the distributor, the 454 finally sputtered to life tonight. It took a few tries to get the distributor in the proper range for the engine to run, then another attempt or two to set the base timing (~ 16 degrees). But once that was done and the electric choke played nice, the engine ran and idled fine.

My plan was to get the engine up to operating temp and make sure the rings seated, but I forgot about the transmission. Specifically, there is no driveshaft installed in the car... which let the trans puke all over my formerly-pristine concrete RV pad. (sigh) So I ended up shutting it down after only a few minutes of run time. I don't even have enough kitty litter on hand to absorb the spill, so I'm sure I'll never get the stain out. Oh, well. On the plus side, the engine was showing ~ 65 psi of oil pressure so at least that was nice.

Sorry, no photos or video. By the time it fired up, it was pitch dark. I decided to wait until another day to shoot video.


Now, to have a driveshaft made....
 
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D

Deleted member 12904

Guest
Congrats that must be so satisfying to hear it run
 
RogueJeepr

RogueJeepr

Here!
Location
Utah
Use lots of dirt to absorb it all and let it sit for a few days.
I did this when mine leaked trans fluid everywhere. Stain gone after a few months.
 
moab_cj5

moab_cj5

Well-Known Member
Supporting Member
Location
The Village of Kay
Rogue-One said:
Use lots of dirt to absorb it all and let it sit for a few days.
I did this when mine leaked trans fluid everywhere. Stain gone after a few months.
Click to expand...

I use super absorbent kitty litter, and I crush it into the stain by stomping, or driving over it. That has always worked for me to get stains out.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
NYCEGUY01

NYCEGUY01

Well-Known Member
Location
Willard, UT
I bought some Purple Power cleaner from Autozone or oreillys a while back.
It worked surprisingly well on my garage floor.

After you absorb up as much as possible do a quick scrub with that stuff.

If it was outside Id do a 2nd coating of sawdust and let it sit for a while.
 
TurboMinivan

TurboMinivan

Still plays with cars
Location
Lehi, UT
I did go buy another bag of oil absorbent stuff, and I put a nice blanket of it on the entire stain. I'll leave it there until I move the car. At that point, I'll deal with whatever stain is left.
 
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