Project Bulldog. (1988 Diplomat AHB)

[SonOfaTomP]

Cool car, worth saving! I agree with Mark, just replace ignition with the kit bypassing the feedback computer that is up under the dash on the driver's side. Then a new or rebuilt non feedback carb. Try and find a "canadian" y pipe and dump the pre-cats and main cat. You'll have to plug some holes where the air pump/tube to cat were. These alone made mine run really nice! Eventually you could do dual exhaust. I got the A body kit from Jegs. 2.5" mandrel bent. Shifted my tank over (pretty easy) and extended the filler tube and the exhaust tucks under there real nice with some minor mods.

My guess is that your frame is good. Might have some floor or trunk rot from water flowing top down.

floors felt very solid. thankfully its been sitting on pavement all these years. been thinking of cat delete on the civ daily since it rattles. Reg was telling me all about the glory of dual exhaust. i might. don't want the car to wake up the neighbors though

 

[LSM360]

The first time I did a dual exhaust on an AHB and eliminated all the CATS I used full sized OEM style mufflers. It had such a nice sound without being loud. Just not suffocated anymore.

 

[SonOfaTomP]

finally got word from the guy. she starts, runs, but won't go over 40MPH. rust isn't structural. brakes are shot. hope to have good news soon.

 

[SonOfaTomP]

been a while. car has been away getting some work done. new A904 Transmission, Power Steering lines, brakes, tires, etc. shes back, runs and drives, but there is still much to do.
items on the agenda:
new oil sending unit. old one leaks.
fix rear bumper mount. old one is pushed in
patch antenna and rust holes
put a Dodge grille on. car is a Dodge that was given a Plymouth front end after the old one was cracked.
fix windshield and wipers


on the topic of wipers. the wiper switch isn't doing anything. green module was missing, when i plugged one in still nothing and it oddly silenced the door chime. i suspect the wiper motor is dead but fluid also doesn't spray either. the under dash is truly a wiring nightmare. my father put an aftermarket radio in here back in the early 2000s and now the dash looks like spaghetti
i aim to just put a stock AM/FM in here. hope the aftermarket radio was just a plug and play. had a subwoofer so that might be pain.

car coasted down the highway just fine but did bog out after a while. there is a hesitation when hitting the gas from a stop. gets worse when engine is hot. this the old "thermobog" i heard so much about? carb might need to be rebuilt. also quite dirty and been sitting for many years

 

[AMC Diplomat]

When you look in the cowl, does the motor spin? Or are your bushings all broken?

 

[SonOfaTomP]

When you look in the cowl, does the motor spin? Or are your bushings all broken?

took another look. yeah all the bushings are busted. normally the drivers side still works but nope. you can move the wiper arm by hand. don't think it's attached to the motor. i'm just curious why the fluid nozzles don't spray. only the passenger side of the T is broken. i'll replace that soon. it's rainy here and i'll wait to get back to this.

it's easiest to take the whole mechanism out and build it like that? it's such a pain to reach into that small space. i've only ever had the passenger wiper break on my Gran Fury

anyone know what the proper oil sending unit is for a AHB 4bbl? 100 right?

 

[Aspen500]

Yes, remove the wiper linkage and pivots assy for repair. With the washer hose T broken off for the passenger side, all the fluid will pump out there, none will come out the drivers nozzle. Path of least resistance......

 

[SonOfaTomP]

now it all makes sense. both sides have fallen apart. not looking forward to this. also, today i learned AHB intermittent wiper module has a different mounting plate. old one looks like it broke off long ago. finally you can see the wiring spaghetti under this dash. aftermarket radio will be deleted soon. i hope it was a plug and play as Dad said but the subwoofer wiring might be a pain. only the rear speakers work with the current radio. i can't find a balance control on the radio. it's phone in a cup for now. cig lighter was deleted for subwoofer power i believe.

 

[GregG48213]

"thermobog"

Just as an FYI: if the car is original, this year should have a Rochester Quadrajet.

 

[AMC Diplomat]

now it all makes sense. both sides have fallen apart. not looking forward to this. also, today i learned AHB intermittent wiper module has a different mounting plate. old one looks like it broke off long ago. finally you can see the wiring spaghetti under this dash. aftermarket radio will be deleted soon. i hope it was a plug and play as Dad said but the subwoofer wiring might be a pain. only the rear speakers work with the current radio. i can't find a balance control on the radio. it's phone in a cup for now. cig lighter was deleted for subwoofer power i believe.

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There are two kinds of wiper pivot bushings out there. Softer ones and harder ones. You don't want the softer ones. I used the harder ones and boiled them in water for a few seconds and then slammed them in.

The soft ones go in too easy, like by hand, and they fall right apart

 

[SonOfaTomP]

There are two kinds of wiper pivot bushings out there. Softer ones and harder ones. You don't want the softer ones. I used the harder ones and boiled them in water for a few seconds and then slammed them in.

The soft ones go in too easy, like by hand, and they fall right apart

Soft ones would be the translucent ones? Hard are solid white? I have like 10 in every drawer of the house lol.

Just as an FYI: if the car is original, this year should have a Rochester Quadrajet.

Do the ones from this year have heat soak issues? Or was that rectified by then? Didn't have much hesitation until I was well down there highway

 

[SonOfaTomP]

Got a few connectors I can't identify. Some of these maybe old police equipment? Which one is the trunk popper? There is a trunk popper button on the bottom of the dash unplugged

 

[Mikes5thAve]

Follow them back and see where they go. That white one looks add on, the factory stuff usually had black cloth tape or the self cling stuff.

 

[SonOfaTomP]

weird my civ Gran Fury has a very similar plug that also just up and fell out the dash. everything works fine so i can't pinpoint what it is. i'll tear apart the dash when i have time. a lot of this might be old Police stuff. Diplomat's HVAC controls don't light up but otherwise work. i think i have another module around here somewhere. Diplomat's electronics are on the fritz. door chime started buzzing while just cruising on the road out of nowhere. these don't chime for high/low oil pressure do they? pressure sender leaked all over the place now i'm kind of anxious about oil pressure. the idiot light never came on but the police oil gauge doesn't work right now.

meanwhile this carb is in bad need of a rebuild. severe stumble on acceleration. will cruise fine just hates accelerating from a full stop/low speed. likely needs at least a new accelerator pump and idle stop solenoid. and a very good cleaning. cap and rotor coming soon. wire-plugs too why not?

no one makes panels for these things right? rear quarter panels are F-ed on this thing. might be Bondo® time

 

[SonOfaTomP]

hose comes from the vapor canister. everything looks fine on the carb. this hose plug to this? looks like it should be a massive vacuum leak but i'm not getting any symptoms of that. car remarkably refuses to stall despite looking like and kind of being a rolling garbage can

 

[GregG48213]

hose plug

There should be a vacuum hose routing sticker under the hood.

 

[Mikes5thAve]

Could be that that set of wires was taped up in white at some point.

Yeah there should be a vacuum sticker under the hood. If not that's one thing haynes manual is good for, it has them for multiple years and carb setups.

Nope, no panels available.

 

[SonOfaTomP]

that thing is the coolant switch? no that doesn't seem right. might be a bleed off?

 

[Mikes5thAve]

Coolant switch to not purge the charcoal canister or whatever it does bdlow certain temperature. Also used to keep egr valve and other items from operating before its earmed up on some years.

 

[SonOfaTomP]

thanks