Still haven't drove the ol' dodge because we went ahead and pulled the transmission last week. We think we found the problem though, the clutch was slipping because it was wore completely out. I ordered a complete clutch kit off ebay (for real cheap, thank god) so it should be here in about a week i hope. So hopefully next week all the grinding problems will be gone and i can start driving her, then we can start focusing on the little problems again like the windshield trim, wheel alignment, body work, etc... while the transmission has been out John pressure washed it and painted it silver.

The day has finally came... a few days ago i got insurance and a tag for the ol' Dodge.
I haven't been able to drive it to hell and back due to a few issues, such as 3rd gear grinding, brake issues, timing/carb, tire alignment, and to much play in the steering wheel. But she does drive and we are trying to fix it as quickly as possible so i can that ol' girl on the road. I will keep up to date with the progress.

Today John and I got about half of what we planned done but at lease we are half done, right?
We started with hooking up the brake lights to the ignition switch so they wont stay on after engaging the line lock brake. Then John hook up a kill switch to the coil and fuel pump.
I jacked up the car and took off the front wheels so John can take them and get them sandblasted and put the newer tires on. After all that I went ahead a jacked up the rear and John adjusted the clutch so it wouldn't grind when going into gear. Oh yeah i also wire wheeled and painted the inside trim for the front and rear windshield.
Next we still have to get the tires back and put on, wheel alignment, and fix the windshield trim and that should just leave body work for last. The main thing is just to get it on the road and worry about body work as i drive it.

Here we are taking the Dodge for a test drive, illgealy.
She is really almost on the road, just front tires and fix the windshield trim.

If anyone is reading this i need help trying to figure what paint scheme to go with.
Flat battleship grey with red border at bottom of car with red rims or Flat charcoal grey with glossy black trim and bumpers and rims ( basiclly black on black)?????????????

Here I am. We installed the line lock a week ago so I have parking brakes (as far as I know). I have two of the new steel rims on the back but they didn't fit on the fronts cause they were too deep and hit the tie rod ends. So I'm gonna take off the front rims and have them sand blasted. and try and put new/used tires on.
John and I are currently working on sealing the rust holes around the windshield and putting new silicone on and around the windshield.
Let me tell you about the worst thing so far.... i have to drive to two different part stores 6 times until I got the right size belt. It was getting so pissed!
We also installed the thermostat and that didn't go in as easy as it should have but we got after a few hours (yeah a few hours, long story. if you wanna know i will tell).

I'm back for an update. I'm gonna give a homemade line lock a try as my parking brake. Let me tell you it was a pain in the ass trying to get all the pieces together that i needed but i gott'em.
I bought two pieces of brake line, a couple 3/16 to 1/8 brass unions and a 1/8 ball valve.
John and I will try and install next weekend when i get a day off. (16 days of work with one day off). If all works as well that will solve my brake problem. Also last week John and I went to the junk yard and got a nice set of steelies that i been needing. I will take pics of everything when we work on it next and post them, you need to check out the parking brake set up.
Once those two things get installed all i really need to do is fix or rig the door windows so they don't fall out. (there is no rubber or weather stripping) So that will be the next hurdle. That and a Tag and insurance and ill be ready to roll to the local car show and show everyone what a car with personality looks like, not no damn trailer queen and its driver standing by there car buffing it with a hand towel cause there is a fingerprint on it...get real.
till then

I started a new job this week. I'm working nights now and John is working at my last job, so our schedules aren't lining up to work on the Dodge. Maybe if i get more than a damn day off we might be able to get stuff done. I'll keep you updated.

Last weekend was a bust due to John being sick and the both of us getting new jobs.
He replaced me at my job and i went to Publix. Today was my first day and the sad thing of it all is that i will not have a set schedule. So i'll never know when John and I will have same days off to finish this Dodge.

Today was a short day because John had more cars to work on, but we did get a few more things done. We started on the front wheel seals and rewired all the lights to the front of the car.
That's about all we got done today but at least its a step forward and not backwards.

I'm a slacker i know and I'm sorry. Its has been another four to five weeks since i last posted i believe.

Alot has been done since the last post and i will try and list everything.

First, we completed all brakes except the E-brake. While doing all that we ran into a problem with the front brake cylinders. The rebuild kits that i bought for the front were not the same as what was in there originally and what i mean is, the rubber and the piston inside of the cylinder were completely different and could not use. So i took them back and got my money back, only to drive back to the parts store to by them back because John came up with a idea that would fix the problem. Luckily i kept the old cylinders from the rear, i don't know why i did but I'm just glad. We removed and cleaned up the pistons from the old rear cylinders and the kits that i bought for the front worked fine. So that solved the brake problem. The following week was my wife and step daughter's birthday and i was ordered not to work on the dodge that week.

Next we move to the harmonic balancer. I purchased new one (used) online and when that came in we devoted a whole day to installing and touching up some paint on the motor, fan and little things here and there.

Neither one of us had a timing light and could not find anyone that had one. John and I got a timing light, so the next week we started on getting the motor in timing and that turned out to be a job and a headache.

Everything that we had done to the timing, the car was still not running right, it had no power and the carburetor kept popping. At the end of that day John disassembled the carburetor and we found that the plunger was bad and we were using way too much fuel. With that known we thought that might have been the problem for the popping, the carb was getting way to much fuel and that was what was causing the problem. John rebuild the carb last weekend and the excessive fuel usage has been fixed but the car still kept popping.

After troubleshooting and troubleshooting John finally found the problem... Praise Jesus!!!

Who ever had the car before had the number three and four spark plug wires on the wrong plugs. As soon as those were swapped the car ran like a champ!

Now all that remains to get her on the road is a few tires, steel rims (if sandblasting mine wont work), E-brake and a licence plate. What that boils down to is about $250 dollars and I'll be driving.

There is good news upon us. Yesterday I found a harmonic balancer from dessert valley auto and it was only $50 so that baby will be here in ten days and I was able to order the wheel cylinder kits the same day so this week the brakes will be complete and next week the new balancer will be on and the only other major thing after all that will be two tires and a wheel seal.
So let us pray my brothers and sisters that this ride will be on the road very, very soon.

This past weekend went well. We still had a few snags though but a few things went in our favor.
one particular tire that was on the dodge just would not seal itself on the rim. We messed with that damn tire for about an hour but we got it.
While we were screwing with the tire my power cord on the air compressor broke so john had to stop and fix that. Back to the dodge, two of the front wheel cylinders did not ever reseal themselves so i need to but two rebuild kits for that. I'm also really needing a new harmonic balancer, mine is shot. I did have some brakes so i got to drive the car a bit. She did stall out alot, i don't know if it was me or just the carb is needing some more fine tuning. As soon as get a new harmoinc balancer John will be able get the car in correct timing. Another good note John came across a 95 Jetta that is going to the scrap yard, so i will get me seat belts for the whole car for free. whoohoo, its all about saving the money. We also hung the steeling wheel back up so its not just hanging now, brake lights work now, rear of car is lowered (took a few leaf springs out) next is on to the front brakes again and replace the tie rod ends and rig that balancer up.
Till next work day.

Yesterday we assembled the race, brake plates, the wheel cylinders, brake shoes, gear oil and we finally were able to complete the brake lines. In the middle of all that i took a quick break to air up my son's kiddie pool, he had a blast. After that we also attached the leaf springs and the rear shocks and hung the rear end back up in the car. Everything went well until when we were calling it a day one of the damn brake drum would not go back on! We finally got in back on but the drum does'nt spin freely at all. Any ideas?
If all goes well maybe I'll be driving that Ole jalopy in maybe three weeks. I just need some more money and alittle more time.

Next week we will be starting on that rear drum, putting the tires back on and trying to push it out of the carport. John will also be figuring out the fuel problem, replacing tie rod ends, and checking those front wheel cylinders.
I'll let you know next week how it all goes and much more closer to driving I'll be.

Yeah I'm still alive. Sorry its been a really long time that I've been on here. John an I just ran into so many problems for little over a month now that it just discouraged me to the point of not caring. So I will attempt to update you all the best that i can. I'll start with what comes to mind first but it may not be in the right order.

First and foremost, the fuel pump that i ordered really never worked. It just wouldn't suck enough fuel to keep the motor running. So i sent it back and got a refund and did something that i really didn't want to do....I got an electric fuel pump, i know, i know. I wanted to keep it all mechanical but i just wanted to get it in and done. Plus it was cheaper going that route. After we got that installed it wasn't working right either so the following weekend we reinstalled the fuel pump lower than what we had it, in hopes that it would work. After that, we were getting plenty of fuel to the motor it just seem like too much now... at this point i wanted to burn this car and the carport it was in.

During all of this headache we were trying to remove the rear drums to put in new brake shoes and let me tell you that it was a real pain, those babies did not want to come off. We done just about everything to get them damn drums off, that it got to the point that I was worrying that they could not be removed. We tried hammers, we tried sledgehammers, a three legged puller and almost broke that, we even tied one end of the rear end to a tree and the other drum to a to a car in attempt to pull it off.......it didn't work either, John then took it home with him to try and use a blow torch on it and that too did not work. So on the third week just on the rear end I rented a axle puller from AutoZone and that wouldn't get it by itself so we then put as much tension on the axle puller as we can and then built a small fire in my driveway and let those drums cook for a few minutes. Before we knew it one popped off and then the other shot off and nothing was damaged on the inside. It was a miracle from god!! Once we got them off the wheel cylinders were shot, they had some white stuff growing in them...what was that? Yesterday i picked up two wheel cylinders and a new race.

Now on the front brakes we had just as much of a headache. I had got two wheel seals for the front because the old ones were bad so when we went to put the in we found out that one side is bigger than the other (still waiting to figure that one out). John took off the front wheel cylinders to check the condition and they turned out to be OK. We took some fine sand paper and cleaned out the cylinder and put it back together, all the rubber was still in good condition. Once the brake shoes were on we tried her out. We put in the brake fluid, pumped up and wouldn't you know with every pump of the brake it looked like a cut vein (squirt, squirt, squirt). So we just let it sit in hopes that the brake fluid would help expand the rubber and seal up. We have not checked it yet. Also i broke a castle nut in half trying to remove the rear drums and i have found anyone that sells them yet. Here's another one that went wrong, John was installing my turn signal switch he got it all wired up and realized that he tangled the wires around the steering column , that too still has to be fixed. On a good note we got the rear end cleaned, painted and put back together and took a few leaf springs out to drop the back end. This week we Will put on the wheel cylinders, race, put in the gear oil in and finish the brake lines to the rear and install the rear end back in the car and hopefully have enough time to check the front wheel cylinders. If all goes well then i will finally have stopping power. I promise i wont leave for so long till the car is done.

Till this weekend.

What a GOOD! day and a bad day yesterday. I finally got to drive the Dodge, didn't get to drive it far but she did come out of the carport and i drove her back in. We did have a whole day of problems though. Starting with the last tire that we could get to hold air we somewhat got it to hold air long enough to drive it. Then we ran into a problem with the distributor it took us about an hour to figure out that is was grounding itself out and would not start and we installed the E-brake and in the process the main power wire behind the dash came apart from the butt connector. So that took some time to find that problem. On a good note i did take some pictures. Here is some of them, enjoy.

John and I got alot done this past weekend. We turned in some copper that i have been saving and with the money I got from that i purchased a few cans of engine paint (red and gray). We cleaned the motor and painted it, also we fixed the holes on the inside fender where the battery goes because the battery was about to fall through fender and on the other side where the water from the heater box had put a few rust holes in. So now both sides are solid once again. We only have a few more things to in the engine compartment and we'll be done with that. We still need to install new brake lines fix and a piece of metal that goes behind the grill. Also we hung both front wheel drums back up in a attempt to pull her out of the carport for the first time in years and on her own. we hung the driver side dirty, we still have to clean and paint it though. There was a problem getting one of the front tires to pop on the bead so it will hold air, we lost daylight and had a few snags so the dodge still sits till next weekend. I'm just waiting for my W-2 to come in, once that does then i will buy everything we need to finish her up so we can at least drive her away in the sunset. Then the journey of body work will begin. Sorry i haven't posted any pics i haven't had the money for a new camera but there has been some taken that I'm still waiting on. As soon as i get them they'll be up.
Take care till next weekend.

This past weekend was impossible to work due to sleet ... yes sleet in central Florida. Its was just to cold and wet to paint or even stand outside for any period of time. So we will resume this weekend.

Well, this past weekend John and I took the hood and whole front clip off, which left nothing but the motor and the frame exposed. John took apart the driver side suspension while I grinded and cleaned up the firewall and frame. We figured since i have no money till income tax time that we should go ahead and paint the motor and firewall and inner fenders and our next big project is gonna be lifting the body off the frame and cleaning and painting it and also paint the motor and transmission since there will be nothing in the way. We are already doing more that i expected to this car. I think buy the time we get done its gonna be a damn show car rather then a rat rod. We did take pics but I'm waiting to get them so i can post'em.
Till next weekend.