And the restoration begins,

[R/T Mirada]

And the restoration begins, not with a bang but new distributor with vacuum advance to replace the Lean Burn Dizzy, a complete set of Mirada factory mags and cash! I met someone who was selling a 82 Cordoba about 6 months ago when I started getting serious about finding a Mirada. I wasnt really looking for a Cordoba but atleast it was a J-body and I remembered he was straped for cash back then. Since I didn't care for the American mags already on my car I decided to hit him up and see if he was still in need. Indeed he was so after a couple of days we settled on a price plus my existing wheels.Now the Mirada looks "right" Now i am on the hunt for the fake rag top but I might just stay hard top I have the rear window, side opra window, and crossover top molding located. Decisions, Decisions, Decisions. What to do,What to do. Probably the transmission will be next since it is demanding attention. So now A-904 or a518. I do love the overdrive I put in the Chevelle.

 

[jasperjacko]

I wish I had o.d. in my car. I prefer the look without the fake top.:angry9:

 

[Bryan M.]

I'd leave it solid roof too...all a covered roof does is leak.

 

[R/T Mirada]

I am taking an Automobile Air-conditioning class and after initial inspection the HVAC system was looking good, although the last of the R-12 in the system was long gone, it wasn't contaminated, it could still hold 25 inches of vacuum after 15 minutes and the compressor when jumper wired spun smooth and quietly. Although the blower out put from the vents was unimpressive I pulled off the dash to inspect the duct work ( no fun) thinking after all these years there was a bunch of crud clogging up the heater core or evaporator and check out what I found.

I am not sure yet whether this is a flood car or if the drain hose was has been blocked (for years) and the vacuum motors are not working along with the control cable being almost frozen solid. I hope the HVAC in my junkyard donor car is in much better condition. on the plus side the blower motor is now blowing like crazy on high

 

[jasperjacko]

More than likely, all the drains on the firewall are plugged which then backed up into the heater box and certainly the drain is block also. This is a good reminder to everyone to make sure the firewall drains are clear and not full of leaves and junk or you will also have rot up there.

 

[Diplomat_Wagon]

More than likely, all the drains on the firewall are plugged which then backed up into the heater box and certainly the drain is block also. This is a good reminder to everyone to make sure the firewall drains are clear and not full of leaves and junk or you will also have rot up there.

I second that.


I bet if the A/C did work you would have soggy carpet.

 

[R/T Mirada]

The drain was completely plugged with sand dirt and rust, I pulled the box out of the donor 82 and it is in much better condition, I will be swapping it out with the rusted unit. At least it is probably not a flood car.

 

[R/T Mirada]

Now that the A/C system seems to be sorted out. I decided to tackle the next Item on my list the transmission, the PO tried to fix an overheating problem but in the process connected the tranny cooler lines together, It looks like he failed to save the fittings from the old radiator and couldn't hook them up to the new radiator. I picked up a claimed good transmission from the same car that I got the wheels from, steamed cleaned it and changed the seals. Tried to just pull the trans with engine still in car and got thoroughly frustrated and filthy while under there I could see a couple of freeze plugs looking suspect. That was all I needed to yank the whole drive train out. Those last few trans bolts were easy to remove when the whole deal was out of the car. Now i can change the engine's leaky seals and do a rattle can rebuild. I will be doing a leak down test while it is out the results will be interesting for a 33yr old engine. Oh yea the tranny fluid and the engine coolant were a icky brown color

 

[jasperjacko]

Way to go. Remove all the freeze plugs and run a pressure washer through it. You'll be shocked how much junk is laying in the bottom of the water jackets. Keep the pics coming, we all like to see progress.

 

[My imp]

For future reference, I always lift the body off of the drivetrain. With a good hoist the job is much easier. The single heaviest unit (tires to steering column connector stays including eng, trans, suspension, crossmember, etc..) stays on the ground. I place the rear of the car on 12" oak blocking (so much more stable than jack stands) and then use cargo straps to lift the front. When I junked the Gran Fury, I ran straps through the open windows & turned the car around on the hoist, in a single wide driveway! This way, EVERYTHING is out of the way for steam cleaning/repair/paint. Ask anyone who's done it that way. Rebuild your steering/suspension standing up on a bench. Blast & paint the whole crossmember before it goes back in, instead of just where you can reach with the brush/overspray. Makes life much easier. It's been a few years since I did one, so I'm sure I've oversimplified it. Of course disconnect & drain everything, wiring, etc.. Then re-assemble the same way.

 

[R/T Mirada]

I like the idea of dropping out the whole sub-frame, but since I am doing this at Luke AFB auto hobby shop. I think that is a bit too much. And the steam pressure washer just went down Friday night. The pressure washer part of it is still working but with out the steam, that 33 years worth of crud just won't completely go away and I am too lazy to get in there with degreaser and a wire brush. On the way in Saturday morning I tried plan ahead and stopped by Auto Z to get all new freeze plugs in advance. But the kid there couldn't tell me what size and how many plugs I would need, even with his know it all computer, so I would have to pull them out and bring them in to compare.

I also stopped by China Freight to get a leak down tester to determine just how tired the engine was. Once I was back to the shop I opened it only to find the wrong gauges were on it making it worthless, went back to the store found an opened box with the correct gauges and did a swap got back to the truck and thought that was too easy and did a inspection of the new tester and discovered one of the gauges was stuck at 40% reading went back in and unwrapped the last box and hopefully I now have a good unit.

Pulled off the valve covers and oil pan to check out the internals and to reseal the motor, a bit dirty but no obvious problems yet. I had been driving it around and the engine seems tired but has no real problems considering checking and maybe throwing in new bearings when I change the rear seal.

would love to junk the lean burn carb and go 4bbl but since this has gone beyond my initial plans the jury is still out on that decision. The Hobby shop is closed till after Christmas so I took the engine home hopefully to clean up the engine, inspect bearings, finish cleaning and painting and install all new brass freeze plugs if they are not too expensive.

It always amazes me just how long it takes me to complete tasks I am working on, and just how complicated the job gets. I started of just changing the trans then I found bad freeze plugs, the steam cleaner craps out and I can't get parts I need when I want them and tools I bought won't work and I have to drive back to the store to replace them.

So, how is your day going?

 

[NoCar340]

I just bought a complete set of LA-engine freeze plugs from Amazon. Under $23 shipped for brass, which won't rot out. The Melling part # is MPE113BR. Dorman has two different numbers, 02661 and 567-014. Clevite/Perfect Circle is 219-9487. All of those numbers have the brass coolant plugs. If the kid at the parts store can't do something with one of those numbers, try a different parts store. :laughing11:

 

[jasperjacko]

Yeah, these "little" projects have a way of morphing on you!

 

[tim berry]

yes they do that why the Cordoba is staying covered for the winter and the truck is almost done mechanicaly

 

[R/T Mirada]

Ive decided to pop for the 4BBL conversion (I will probably regret spending that money later) So I am cleaning it up on the cheap, who needs a hoist or engine stand. I will just clean it in the back of the truck. Still have to change the rear main seal and inspect the bearings but its almost clean enough for paint.

If you have time on your hands check out roadkill's Dirt Cheap Rat Rod! 1968 Charger Buildup and Thrash - Roadkill Ep. 23

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JXDcJQqZrA

Ive seen it about 5 times now, These are my kind of guys!

 

[kkritsilas]

Looks like your project is coming along well. I am learning a bunch of stuff on how to keep costs down for my own cars.

The guys on Roadkill seem to take the long way around to get things done. Why did they need to buy the Pierce Arrow when they already had the Fury around. It is obvious that the Fury was a big block car (its 727 fit on the Pierce Arrow's 440, so by definition, the Fury had some sort of big block; it may have only been a 383 or a 400/413, but should have worked fine). They wasted a bunch of time and money with the Pierce Arrow (buying it, cutting it up, getting a garbage bin, and then they paid somebody to haul it away). If they had used the Fury's engine, they probably would have come out ahead, even if the Fury's engine needed a rebuild. Makes for good video, I guess, but the amount of time and money wasted is stupid for what is supposed to be a "best bang for the buck" type of show concept.

Kostas

 

[Mr.Lopar]

the big block in the fury was toast

 

[R/T Mirada]

Yea, they are not the most efficient mechanics.They sure are entertaining. As long as they are not hurting anyone and using tax dollars to fund their craziness, I look forward to their next adventure. So a few laws get broken here and there, stuff happens

 

[kkritsilas]

Mr. Lopar:

I didn't know that. On the other hand, they could have waited for a C body to show up at the wreckers. They do up here, on occasion, so they probably have them in California as well. Most C bodies are big blocks. Still would have been cheaper in time and money. Also, when they couldn't get the 440 out of the trunk of the Fury, they didn't have to cut up the trunk lip; a little bit of effort would have gotten it out (it did go in, after all). Making that small bit of effort, would have allowed the Fury body to be useful to somebody else.

R/T Mirada:

I don't know how it is done in the US, as I live in Canada, but the Pierce Arrow motor home and Charger would have probably both been impounded by the cops up here in about 5-10 minutes. There is no way that you would be permitted to drive vehicles in that condition up here. There may have been some leniency because they were shooting a video, but if DOT or cop pulls you over up here with a vehicle in that condition, they aren't looking to lend you an axe, they are looking to take you off the road. Also, they would have also been impounded on the grounds of not being registered.

Kostas

 

[My imp]

In Ohio, you are allowed to purchase a vehicle, then drive it to (unregistered) its destination. You then must get a temp tag if emission tests aren't up to date, or a permanent tag if it is. Road kill is for the production values, at least they didn't cut up that truck! But he sure had us pegged when he said the Mopar faithful would've freaked if they had! Not to say I told you so....