1979 Volare wagon

Raff

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Headers vs. Manifolds – that argument has gone on for decades and will continue for more decades.
Headers will flow more air – but are noisier, leak more, can have rust issues, get in the way on some repairs, sometimes don’t fit well and sometimes hit speed bumps or other pavement issues.
Exhaust manifolds are quitter, will almost always fit and ongoing maintaince is rarely a concern (like tightening bolts. Leaky gaskets, etc.)
Personally, I like my cars to be quiet and as maintaince free as possible – even if I have a loss of power because of it. Also, I’ve worked on enough headers that I’m sick of them already.

To back up a bit, The Right exhaust manifold (cast # 2863549 - the one that looks like a flat “Y”) was used in ’68-70 A-body and ’70 E-body. The Left side manifold (cast # 2863553) was used from ’68-70 A-body and ’70 E-body (as well) – but also in ’71 (A, B and E-body) – IF the air cleaner design used did not use the heated air from Left side manifold (aka: used the fresh air system, instead).
The 340’s that used a conventional air cleaner uses a heater duct on manifold to heat the air to aid with cold weather drivability. The ’71 and newer 340 Left manifolds (with conventional air cleaners) – look the same as older ones – but has extra bosses cast in to attach the hot air (stove) tin. The ’71-72 Left side still flows about the same, only looks slightly different.
The ’71 and newer Right side looks more like a log style and just don’t flow the same.
In ’73, the Left side got smaller, as well.

That pair of exhaust manifolds are being repop’ed and is available from Year One, for about $700 (US). I would hang onto yours if you are not planning on using them (in other words, don’t toss them away).
I’ve got a rusty pair sitting in my garage and just waiting for me to install ‘em onto something.


The pair of cylinder heads flow the same as all 340/360’s (with 1.88” intake valves) from ‘71ish until the magnum engines came out in 1992. Installing 2.02” intake valves into your cylinder heads will net better air flow (the same as the ’68 to ‘71ish “X” or “J” cylinder heads will) – but not as well as the Magnum cylinder heads do (1992-2003). It takes a bit to convert a small block to use Magnum cylinder heads – so if looking for more power – one would need to consider yours vs. aftermarket aluminum heads vs, Magnum changeover.

When Chrysler went to the A.I.R. injection system for emissions usage, they widened the flange on the cylinder head. They also drilled holes in that wider flange for the A.I.R. air ports. A person can’t use newer exhaust manifolds (about ’74 to ’93) on older cylinder heads without modification to emissions equipment or to exhaust manifolds. Your cylinder heads have the wider flange, but no holes drilled (which is rare) – so it will fit all LA small blocks from ’64-93 (not Poly and not Magnum) – which is a big plus. Also, I assume that the bigger valves have been installed, if someone had ported your heads. Not something to write home about – but are still very usable heads (almost trouble free).
View attachment 30584
318 (has smaller intake/exhaust ports than 340/360) with A.I.R. holes drilled
View attachment 30586
Your wide flange but without A.I.R. ports drilled
View attachment 30585
Older 318 with older smaller (not as tall) exhaust flange.


As far as I’m aware, all F-body non-styled wheels came from factory painted “black” – but don’t quote me on that (as soon as I say it is written in stone, I will be proved wrong . . .). That does include the police wheels, which also came in black. There is a slightly different version of the police wheel that came on Super Coups that were painted (Argent, I think ?) – but they do not have a provision for the small hubcaps to attach.
That said – it is your car and if you want to paint wheels the body color, I will not complain one bit – for honestly, I don’t know why they didn’t come that way to begin with (I prefer body colored wheels).

My plans for my wagon is to install 15” police wheels (in black) and use the small hubcaps – because I want to keep the appearance mostly stock (which is my preference). I also have plans on installing 11” rear brake drums and 11¾” front brake rotors – both of which will not work with 14” wheels (which are present), so replacement wheels are mandatory.

For my ’86 Fifth Ave, I will be replacing the stock 15” wheels with Police wheels – but they will be hidden behind the stock lockable wire hubcaps (to maintain the sleeper effect). I love the 5on5 and 10-spoke Mirada wheels – but they only came 15x6” – which is a bit narrower than I want to use (need wider tires, for the way I drive). There are a couple of venders still making police wheels new and will make to your specifications at a decent price ( . . . unless you are buying 10 of them at once (2 sets of 4, plus 2 spares), like I’m planning on).

I heard the 4.5x5 bolt pattern Rallye caps will fit the police (or regular) wheels – but have no first-hand knowledge there. Hopefully someone else can speak up, on that.


A833 transmissions: There are a few Aluminum cases out there (not a lot) – but most are cast iron (which is fine). The aluminum cases are troublesome anyway.
Almost all the tailhousings made from early ‘70’s is made of aluminum – which I would recommend installing (less weight – especially trying to heft it back in place).
There are two different length tailhousing – short (A, F, M and J-body) and long (everything else). The short tailhousings are completely interchangeable between iron and aluminum and there are no issues about strength or fitment. If your overdrive transmission has an aluminum housing – I would swap ‘em out before install.
The non-overdrive transmission will be a lot more fun to drive in town – but not as good for fuel mileage if planning on driving it a lot (which you said you will be).

Just make sure to change position of the front link if you are changing it between overdrive or back.


I visited my brother this weekend and he mentioned about looking for an adjustable pinion snubber for his race car. I don’t know if he has an 8¾” or a Dana in his car (which are different), but said if I found one for sale I’d let him know.

If you would send me a PM on your wanted price and I will relay it to him. Also, I would be interested in your driver quality small hub caps if/when you are ready to sell. If so, just send me a PM on it, as well.
BudW
Once again thanks for all the great info. You're a wealth of knowledge!! As for the pinion snubber and the caps i'm willing to part woth them and would be happy to send them your way. I'll send you a PM.
 

Raff

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So after buying the Volare I figured it would just sit in my garage until winter before I could get a chance to work on it. Summer is a busy time around my house with renos, repairs etc. It's also busy at work so I pile on the overtime when I can. Anyway I had a couple of free hours and couldn't resist doing some investigation into the nasty grinding sound it was making when I bought it. Previous owner thought it was the tranny and kindly included an extra. I was leaning towards a rear axle problem. I got it up in the air, pulled the driveshaft and found that the pinion gear has a ton of play and binds up when you try to rotate the wheels by hand. I started the car and ran the trans through all the gears with the driveshaft out and everything seemed good. I had just enough time to disassemble the brakes and pull the axles before work. I'll pull the centre section out soon and see what parts fall out of it. I also took some time to check out the floors and frame and i'm happy to say its rust free from front to back which is a miracle for a Canadian car.

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BudW

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I couldn’t find any good pictures, for illustration purposes.
In my garage, I have several 8¾” carriers (or chucks, they go by many names). Of that group, I have 3 drop-outs that don’t have Limited Slip that have a similar problem to what you have. I suspect it has to do with cars capable of roasting 1 tire on non-Limited Slip differentials and/or non-hardened cast iron carriers (the part the ring gear bolts too) – I’m not sure.

These pictures are from my ’86 FSM (Factory Service Manual), so will be a bit different from the 8¾” differential but will at least show you what I suspect is wrong.
Capture.JPG

This picture shows install of a carrier bearing. All 4 spider gears are in place – but pin has been removed.
Note: this is not a very good example on installing bearings, for those spider gears can and will fall out, damaging themselves on the concrete and/or your foot. Plus, the shims behind the gears WILL get lost – never to be seen again (one of Murphy’s Laws).
This picture shows how to remove the rear axles on the 8¼” differential (mostly not applicable to you).
Capture1.JPG

There is a small bolt that holds the spider gear pin (what I call it - the purple arrow above). This pin is about 1” (25 mm) in diameter and has chrome plating. The pin doesn’t cause a problem, per se. The cast iron hole the pin goes through is softer than the pin and becomes egg-shaped (orange oval, above).
Of the three examples in my garage (which were kept for the ring & pinion gear set and the outer carrier itself), two if which have about 3/8“ gap between the pin and the case (about 3/16” per side of pin on both sides of the case. That causes a lot of “free play” inside of the differential. If continued to drive, the Spider gear pin bolt (or roll pin, which is present on most 8¾” differentials), will break. The broken bolt/roll pin will allow the pin to come out one of the two ends and WILL vehicle to (immediately) lockup when that pin contacts a solid part inside of differential - so if that happens hopefully you are not on an interstate with a semi right behind you (the makings of a "bad day").

If your differential is not a Limited Slip, I would highly recommend changing it over to a Limited slip version and this should fix that problem for good (along with a good cleaning out of metal flakes/debris from inside the differential housing (including the tubes).

There are several types of Limited Slip carriers, Clutch, Cone and the one I prefer, Eaton Truetrac.
The cone style wasn’t used much in the 8¾” differentials much until 1970 (or so), but what was used on FMJ cars. It is a cast iron cone rubbing against a cast iron case, via springs, which provides the limited slip. It works OK, for a while at least, until the cast iron pieces wear down to nuttin’. It also produces a lot of cast iron “debris” which floats around inside of the bearings and gears. It doesn’t require Limited Slip additive – but I do recommend changing gear lube more often because of the iron particles suspended in the lube. This unit is also non-rebuildable (makes for a great boat anchor).

The clutch type is the most common and is rebuildable. It does require an additive to be used with the gear lube or differential will chatter a lot during turns. This one is the mid-price range unit, it has been around for many decades and is made by several manufactures. Some people don't like how this system works or "feels" in turns, or in gravel/soft ground.

The Eaton Truetrac unit is somewhat new to marketplace. It doesn’t use clutch disks nor has any wearable surfaces inside – but uses helical gears to provide traction. Smooth engagement – a person hardly even knows it back there. It does not require additive, either (another plus).

. . .
Other possible problems are: broken spider gears, a broken pin (unlikely) or a bearing failed. Either way, it requires removing the third member to find out and to fix.

If you have a spare, it usually is best to get 'em swapped out, then to fix the existing one (and put back under the shelf). Otherwise your car will be disabled while fixing original unit.



IMG_8184.JPG

This car has been repainted (which may or might not be news to you). The black rubber plug (red circle) will not have any paint on them. It might have undercoating on it, but no paint.
Otherwise, car looks very nice underneath!
BudW
 

Raff

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I couldn’t find any good pictures, for illustration purposes.
In my garage, I have several 8¾” carriers (or chucks, they go by many names). Of that group, I have 3 drop-outs that don’t have Limited Slip that have a similar problem to what you have. I suspect it has to do with cars capable of roasting 1 tire on non-Limited Slip differentials and/or non-hardened cast iron carriers (the part the ring gear bolts too) – I’m not sure.

These pictures are from my ’86 FSM (Factory Service Manual), so will be a bit different from the 8¾” differential but will at least show you what I suspect is wrong.
View attachment 30813
This picture shows install of a carrier bearing. All 4 spider gears are in place – but pin has been removed.
Note: this is not a very good example on installing bearings, for those spider gears can and will fall out, damaging themselves on the concrete and/or your foot. Plus, the shims behind the gears WILL get lost – never to be seen again (one of Murphy’s Laws).
This picture shows how to remove the rear axles on the 8¼” differential (mostly not applicable to you).
View attachment 30812
There is a small bolt that holds the spider gear pin (what I call it - the purple arrow above). This pin is about 1” (25 mm) in diameter and has chrome plating. The pin doesn’t cause a problem, per se. The cast iron hole the pin goes through is softer than the pin and becomes egg-shaped (orange oval, above).
Of the three examples in my garage (which were kept for the ring & pinion gear set and the outer carrier itself), two if which have about 3/8“ gap between the pin and the case (about 3/16” per side of pin on both sides of the case. That causes a lot of “free play” inside of the differential. If continued to drive, the Spider gear pin bolt (or roll pin, which is present on most 8¾” differentials), will break. The broken bolt/roll pin will allow the pin to come out one of the two ends and WILL vehicle to (immediately) lockup when that pin contacts a solid part inside of differential - so if that happens hopefully you are not on an interstate with a semi right behind you (the makings of a "bad day").

If your differential is not a Limited Slip, I would highly recommend changing it over to a Limited slip version and this should fix that problem for good (along with a good cleaning out of metal flakes/debris from inside the differential housing (including the tubes).

There are several types of Limited Slip carriers, Clutch, Cone and the one I prefer, Eaton Truetrac.
The cone style wasn’t used much in the 8¾” differentials much until 1970 (or so), but what was used on FMJ cars. It is a cast iron cone rubbing against a cast iron case, via springs, which provides the limited slip. It works OK, for a while at least, until the cast iron pieces wear down to nuttin’. It also produces a lot of cast iron “debris” which floats around inside of the bearings and gears. It doesn’t require Limited Slip additive – but I do recommend changing gear lube more often because of the iron particles suspended in the lube. This unit is also non-rebuildable (makes for a great boat anchor).

The clutch type is the most common and is rebuildable. It does require an additive to be used with the gear lube or differential will chatter a lot during turns. This one is the mid-price range unit, it has been around for many decades and is made by several manufactures. Some people don't like how this system works or "feels" in turns, or in gravel/soft ground.

The Eaton Truetrac unit is somewhat new to marketplace. It doesn’t use clutch disks nor has any wearable surfaces inside – but uses helical gears to provide traction. Smooth engagement – a person hardly even knows it back there. It does not require additive, either (another plus).

. . .
Other possible problems are: broken spider gears, a broken pin (unlikely) or a bearing failed. Either way, it requires removing the third member to find out and to fix.

If you have a spare, it usually is best to get 'em swapped out, then to fix the existing one (and put back under the shelf). Otherwise your car will be disabled while fixing original unit.



View attachment 30814
This car has been repainted (which may or might not be news to you). The black rubber plug (red circle) will not have any paint on them. It might have undercoating on it, but no paint.
Otherwise, car looks very nice underneath!
BudW
Greetings Bud

Love reading your posts. A real education. As for the 8 3/4 it’s got a sure grip with 3.23 gears. It was rebuilt about 10 years ago, I have the receipt. Perhaps a less than perfect job considering the car has only gone about 40k kilomotres in that time. I hope to pull it on Sunday and see whats going on.

As for the paint on the body plugs. Good catch. It had the rockers painted, also about 10 years ago. Once again documented with pics of before and after. The owner said the rockers had alot of stone chips but were otherwise clean so he had them touched up when he had the rear wheels painted. After I got it into my garage I looked everywhere for any evidence of paint in the door jambs, on weatherstripping, around lights or latches etc and could only find a small spot around the pass side rear marker light. Seems like an odd spot for rust cosiderig the overall condition of the car. Perhaps a dent repair..
 
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BudW

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The Limited Slip carriers do not have the spider gear pin, hole issues (or very infrequently) as the open carriers have – so it sounds more like a bearing problem or a broken spider gear(s).

I will always use top of the line bearings – which almost stops that kind of thing (and there is a huge difference between bearings made from Timken (and others high end company’s) vs. from some unnamed “cheap” overseas bearings (which are, well, crap (pardon my language)).
Differentials deserve to have top end bearings installed – or, well, you will get plenty of exercise via removing your pig, often. No other way to say it.
Low end gears and low-end carriers/cases don’t give that much problems, but bearings do.

Once you have your unit out, here are some things to look for: (for identification purposes)
Cone type Limited Slip (post 1970)
542051.jpg

Note: springs are visible in the case holes.
auburndiff_explodedlarge.jpg


Clutch type Limited Slip (pre 1970)
PLC8_75-2.jpg

Note: there is two spider gear pins. Also there are "V's" where the pins are located at, on opposing sides of case. When one wheel is spinning, these pins move applying pressure against the clutch packs. The more slippage, the more force applied to clutches. A trouble free system, until clutches wear out and/or lack of additive is used.
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Truetrac type Limited Slip (looks like a mostly solid case/carrier (the part ring gear bolts too)
eaton-detroit-truetrac-exploded.jpg


Open (no Limited Slip)
Factory Spiders.jpg



The gear ratio will be stamped on the ring gear, so just rotate it around and it will look like this.
3.23.jpg

The blue line is part number (not important to most people, unless you have loose or unmarked parts lying about).
Red line is gear ratio. In this case it says “3.23 – 1”
White line is date gear was made. In this case it says “11 19 66” (November 19, 1966)
Any other numbers or stampings are not important.

I hope this helps
BudW
 

BudW

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I ran across this picture while looking for other pictures.
Do not do this to your carrier!
!BvUCNzgB2k~$(KGrHqMOKiEEwOHzS7tyBMEBYCdzZQ~~_35.jpg

Which is: mount the gasket surface to a vice.
It will cause an oil leak at the gasket surface as well as scar the cast iron housing.

An example of this, is using vice grips on a good bolt head - Yes, it works, but bolt (or whatever) will not ever look the same afterwards. In the case of the carrier gasket surface, it will leak there, no matter what you do to stop it.
BudW
 

Raff

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I pulled the carrier out the other day and the pinion gear is flopping around in there with nearly 1/4 inch of play. Further to that the ring gear is badly chewed up. That'll be an expensive hit but I figured as much and will sell some stuff to ease the sting. I'm in no rush to fix it immediately since I'm not planning on driving it this year. In the meantime I'm going to redo the rear brakes, bend up some new brake lines for the rear axle and clean and paint the housing. I'm also going to get a shop to de-arch the springs. The car was at least 3" too high both front and rear. I've got some bushings coming from Firm Feel and I'm going to pick up some brake parts tomorrow.
 

Raff

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I received the new bushings for the rear springs from Firm Feel last week. I dropped the springs off at a local shop and had them de-arch them by 3”. There is a Mopar shop about 50 miles from my house and I had some free time so I jumped in my 50 Plymouth for a peaceful country drive and went up there to pick up some new shackles and brake shoes. I could have got the stuff at the nearby NAPA but the drive was enjoyable and they have a yard full of parts cars to look at and kill some time. I also pulled the seats out of the wagon in order to clean the carpet. Realistically the car should have new carpet but I’m trying to keep the cash outlay to a minimum so I’ll try the shampoo route first. When the springs were ready I picked them up, sprayed them with some rattle can black that I already had and put the bushings and shackles together. Next I’ll clean and paint the rear end housing. After that I’ll have to decide if I’m going to rebuild the carrier or look around for used one.
 

old yellow 78

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Looking good! Your carpet might come up nicely with just a cleaning. I had thought of taking out the carpet in OY and power washing it, but it was also faded and the cig burns had really just ruined it. The nap was still quite good and it wasn't worn, so it could have been dyed. Oh well. My carpet project has stalled due to other stuff going on, but hope to get back to it soon. If you do replace the carpet, remember that they do not make replacement carpet for the four door (includes wagons) four speed F's. I am going to try to piece mine together to avoid buying another TWO DOOR carpet to splice together, but we will see. I will be very interested to see how the springs turn out. OY needs to sit up a bit higher in the back, and I'm thinking of re-arching the springs also. The shocks are still original, and I figure that with new KYB's all around and the re-arched leaf springs, it should sit quite nicely. Keep us posted!
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Oldiron440

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So how about a look at the 50, after all the dash looks nice.
 

Raff

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So how about a look at the 50, after all the dash looks nice.
A couple of the 50. Floors and rockers have a few patches which were done in the 80's as well as the paint. I've had it about 8 years. Threw a connecting rod the week after I bought it. Pulled it apart, put in a used motor, a T-5 from an S10 truck, lowered it a bit, jeep Cherokee rear axle and front sway bar, disc brakes on the front, mopar cop wheels on the back and Caravan wheels on the front with a spacer, rewired the whole thing for 12 volts using an aftermarket kit and put in electronic ignition. It runs good, doesn't overheat, it'll do 75 on the highway but takes its time getting there. Car hobby money is always limited so I tried to build it cheap.
 

Raff

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Does it work to re arch leafs? Will the re arch last 10 minutes? I hope it works
I've done it before but going the opposite way. I had the shop put some arch into a set of springs and that held up. In this case I had them de-arched, the wagon was far too high. I'm hoping for good results when reassembled.
 

Raff

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Love the 50! Craftsmanship on a budget. I'm afraid to ask what you did to use the T-5 in it
The T5 was actually pretty straight forward. I found a guy online who was selling an adapter plate that he designed for use in his 35 Plymouth. It's sandwiched in between the trans and the original bellhousing and uses a custom clutch disc and pilot bearing which he includes. You have to machine the original throw out bearing to fit the T5 but I used the original bell housing, clutch pedal, fork etc. I paid more for the adapter and a new Hurst shifter than I did for the motor, trans and rear end. I've got some pics of it all in pieces on another hard drive. I'll post them another time if you like.
 

Raff

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Motor is so clean on the 50. You probably get 26 M.P.G. @ 75 M.P.H.
That motor pic was from about 6 years ago. Used motor. I disassembled it, put some gaskets,a new oil pump, timing chain and dropped it in. Been running good since then. Nowhere near that clean now. Not sure about the mileage, I didn't have a working gas gauge until this summer. I'm guessing it gets about 20. It's turning about 2000 RPM at around 60-65 mph.
 

Oldiron440

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Very cool!

I like the done on a budget thing!
Every one has to have the latest and greatest is just pooo.
 
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