"My bird IS the word" (mybirdistheword)
07/05/2016 at 13:33 • Filed to: Trans Am, restoration, 1979, WTF
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"My bird IS the word" (mybirdistheword)
07/05/2016 at 13:33 • Filed to: Trans Am, restoration, 1979, WTF | 2
| 18 |
So my exhaust manifolds have gotten the better of me.
No matter what obscure chemical I pour on them, they require the heat of a thousand suns to get them off (bolts are rounding even with properly sized six point socket, and I lack both easy access to oxi acetylene equipment and the desire to play with anything that powerful.)
The bolts also appear to be 17/32 in size ( had to order a socket off the internet) because GM is a huge piece of shit company and has been for years.
On the plus side- I got most everything else working just enough to pass inspection- floorpans patched and my shiny new emergency brake cable:
Got the blower motor replaced- It won’t work on the highest setting due to some wiring fault between the relay and the alternator. Very easy to do except for the damn extruded nuts holding the body together snapping like crazy, forcing me to grind them off. The wheel well was also surprisingly easy to get out.
Wiper motor is fixed, although it is old and needs the car running to get enough juice. Probably needs replaced at some point, but not now because that junk is expensive.
All that is left to do:
new tires ( thinking cooper cobras)
minor cleaning up/reassembly
finish painting headers
get manifolds swapped out by a shop
install exhaust
wire electric choke
- No way in hell am I going to make the vintage grand prix this year with this stupid manifold problem. Maybe I will be one of those guys and enter the mini this year.
That is, if it doesn’t blow a valve cover gasket (it did)
CalzoneGolem
> My bird IS the word
07/05/2016 at 13:43 |
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I just realized how much the front end of this looks like the Taurus of the same vintage.
crowmolly
> My bird IS the word
07/05/2016 at 13:44 |
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The bolts also appear to be 17/32 in size ( had to order a socket off the internet) because GM is a huge piece of shit company and has been for years.
No, it’s because your 70s car is old enough to have rusted the bolts down 1/32".
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My bird IS the word
> CalzoneGolem
07/05/2016 at 13:45 |
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That van..... I have so many good memories as a kid in that van but it really is a miserable SOB to drive. Which I am forced to now until the mini gets well.
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My bird IS the word
> crowmolly
07/05/2016 at 13:47 |
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I am going to keep blaming oldsmobile because it makes me regret my purchase less.
Cherry_man1
> My bird IS the word
07/05/2016 at 14:03 |
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I don’t dare to tinker with the Torino in the capacity only because it’s still running nice.
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My bird IS the word
> Cherry_man1
07/05/2016 at 14:17 |
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Trust me, Don't fix anything that isn't broken.
lone_liberal
> My bird IS the word
07/05/2016 at 14:24 |
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I actually have an extra one of those blower motors laying around, if it’s the same as the one in early 70s Camaro and I’m betting it is, so if you need another let me know. The one that’s actually installed in my Camaro didn’t work either but it ended up being a combination of a bad switch and a pushed out pin on the wiring block. Cleaned the switch and pushed the pin in and **whoosh**. It even has all of its speeds!
gogmorgo - rowing gears in a Grand Cherokee
> My bird IS the word
07/05/2016 at 14:38 |
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Exhaust bolts always rust. The heat accelerates the reaction. I can also guarantee that they started out as 9/16" but the rust has made them appear otherwise.
Even a propane torch should be enough to get heat into them to help break them loose. You’ll want to put new studs in, too.
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My bird IS the word
> lone_liberal
07/05/2016 at 14:39 |
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Thanks, but I bought a new one and it was only like 20$
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lone_liberal
> My bird IS the word
07/05/2016 at 14:43 |
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The wonders of parts used across product lines! That’s actually less than a new switch would have cost me. They wanted $40 for that fucking thing, and since it was only used in 70-81 Camaros I would have had to pay it.
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My bird IS the word
> gogmorgo - rowing gears in a Grand Cherokee
07/05/2016 at 14:58 |
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The hooker headers came with new bolts, but I don't know what material they are made out of so I'm considering grade 8 or stainless to prevent this madness
wagon guy now drives a boostang
> My bird IS the word
07/05/2016 at 15:06 |
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The last time I did a header swap I replaced the bolts with studs and used brass lock nuts with thick washers to hold it all in place. I was able to pull them off again afterwards without any issue and even a few years later I was able to pop a wrench on them and get the off without issue and zero rust...
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My bird IS the word
> lone_liberal
07/05/2016 at 15:06 |
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What's going to be the bitch is the vacuum line for the vent direction controls
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lone_liberal
> My bird IS the word
07/05/2016 at 15:21 |
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Yeah, getting under there is a pain. When my blower wasn’t working I feared that it was the resistor pack up under the dash on the heater box which of course I didn’t check when I had the dash torn completely out. I don’t think my car has any vacuum lines to anything in the ventilation system, though. There are the cables that control the temp and direction and pull out knobs on the kick panel vents, but that’s it. I’m guessing that’s because base model/ no air conditioning.
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My bird IS the word
> lone_liberal
07/05/2016 at 16:02 |
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What kills me is the phone book sized service manual says nothing about this, I'm going off forum posts.
Meatcoma
> My bird IS the word
07/05/2016 at 16:32 |
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Not wanting to drill/tap them yourself I assume?
I used all combinations of tools/methods to remove the broken bolts on the exhaust manifolds of my Ford V10. Some came out with a socket(5), some came off with a stud extractor(Titan Tools 16023 Drive Stud Extractor)-(6) and some came out after being drilled/extracted(7), one I even tried welding a knob onto it to remove it which broke the brittle weld(aluminium block) I eventually got it out with left handed bits, heat and extractors. I only had to re-thread one. It was quite a undertaking but I’m happy with the results for sure.
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My bird IS the word
> Meatcoma
07/05/2016 at 16:39 |
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It’s a lack of time/tools/confidence issue for me.
“Man’s got to know his limitations”
- Clint Eastwood
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Meatcoma
> My bird IS the word
07/06/2016 at 08:25 |
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I hear ya. It wasn’t my daily driver and I have 2 - 2 car garages so it wasn’t taking up my parking space. I could take as much time as needed to fix it.