"19JRC99" (19jrc99)
09/13/2019 at 23:33 • Filed to: None
2
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"19JRC99" (19jrc99)
09/13/2019 at 23:33 • Filed to: None | 2
| 14 |
First things first. The Dakota’s dead. Engine blew and my buddy scrapped it. Both of us have been pretty bummed since it happened, literally one day after I posted about it being black.
Also, I did a magnet test on the Chevelle tonight. While the front fenders, rocker panels, and most of the rear quarters are solid, the magnet didn’t stick too well behind/above the wheel well. That sucks, but the car looks decent enough, is undercoated, and I’m too broke to blow it apart to care.
The magnet wouldn’t stick on that section. Oh well.
Speaking of the Chevelle, I tried to reset the rockers last summer without a clue as to what I was doing. Called my grandfather before trying to fire it, he told me that was a no-no and they had to be retorqued... so Dad and I did it. And forger to set the engine to top dead center on each piston. Which means we bent the shit out of the rods. Thankfully, the engine still has compression and I only jacked with the driver’s side cylinders. New pushrods are in the garage, we’re just waiting for Pap to be able to walk us through it and watch over us.
The Camaro has had no updates. Not one. Hasn’t been touched. Except the valve seals are bad now. Shocking. And I’m fairly worried about sticking a magnet on it if I’m honest. Both it and the Chevelle were restored by the same person.
The Grand National’s carbon/charcoal/whatever canister is bad and it’s not running right. And the alternator took a dump while Pap and I were diagnosing it.
The Mustang soldiered on, with only the passenger window motor failing this year, and then last week it came off the track and wouldn’t go up. I yanked it up and took it home and parked it, irritated at the abhorrent luck I’ve had with all of them this year.
But the Ranger is still truckin’ fine (knock on wood)
NKato
> 19JRC99
09/14/2019 at 00:02 |
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Given the amount of wrenching you do, I’d suggest investing in a CVPI to have as a reliable daily-driver/wrencher car that won’t smurf you with its giant steel dick like the others do.
I’m not kidding. Even though it’s a fuel injection engine, outside of that and the lighting control module
, everything else is mechanical and can be worked on by any joe with a reasonable level of knowledge.
Future Heap Owner
> 19JRC99
09/14/2019 at 00:11 |
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Bummer about the Chevelle, but I bet you’ve got a little while before it gets too bad, right? How long do you think?
I wish I had a Pap to help me with that sort of thing... gonna take the valve covers off my truck soon, and I’m kinda nervous about it.
But yeah, rough stretch with the fleet for sure. Thank god you’ve got that R anger!
Urambo Tauro
> 19JRC99
09/14/2019 at 00:36 |
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Weren’t you planning an engine swap on the Dakota anyway? B lowing the ( original , I assume) engine seems like a good excuse to move forward with that plan...
DutchieDC2R
> NKato
09/14/2019 at 03:04 |
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Seriously man. I mean, I know you love those things, but, I cant help but wonder if youre one of those Spambot automated accounts. You keep suggesting those cars to literally anyone. Do you really think someone who drives a new mustang is going to trade it for a Crown Vic?
Dont get me wrong, I love your fanboyism for the car, but come on...
Montalvo
> DutchieDC2R
09/14/2019 at 09:25 |
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Whoever said about trading it for a crown vic? You can pick them up for cash you find under a sofa. They are cheap beaters you can tack on to any fleet. I’m pretty sure anyone would reccomend what they like or have because it works for them. Its the same reason I keep hawking foxbodies in the face of miatas are always the answer. Having a car that you like but don’t have to really care for is extremely liberating.
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DutchieDC2R
> Montalvo
09/14/2019 at 09:46 |
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I understand all of that.
The ‘trade it in for a mustang’ was a reference to nKato’s earlier comment on K-Roll’s post about his Mustang giving him trouble.
I get the whole ‘cheap, easy car to work on’ mantra, I honestly do. I’m also not saying he shouldn’t give out sound buying advice, I’m just trying to give a realistic perspective here. Buying a Crown Vic as a daily/second car/beater is one thing, advising every random person on here to trade their car in on a Crown Vic is a whole different story. In some cases, it comes across as......a bad joke? While I’m sure he’s pretty serious about it.
MM54
> 19JRC99
09/14/2019 at 10:08 |
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If it looks okay (which it does look good) and you aren’t tearing it apart anyway, no reason to rip apart that quarter panel. Now, if it gets wet enough it’ll start to bubble up and cause problems, but as it sits it is done wrong, but it looks fine and isn’t going to make anything worse if you hold off on redoing it.
Consider yourself luck you bent the pushrods and not the valves (
I’m assuming you checked that) - much cheaper and easier to replace
:)
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NKato
> DutchieDC2R
09/14/2019 at 11:05 |
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Is because, outside of the first year of “maintenance pains”, the Queen has been an absolute sweetheart. She even handled the winter storm blast last February like a boss while even modern AWD SUV’s got stuck.
It’s not just about cheap/easy... It's supremely reliable with routine maintenance. Compare that to modern vehicles, which seem to develop problems after seemingly every 5,000 miles.
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19JRC99
> Urambo Tauro
09/14/2019 at 12:14 |
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I was, and then I sold it to my buddy, who was, but when it blew, he knew his mom wasn’t going to let him keep it. That was in July. Kipper’s long since passed.
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19JRC99
> NKato
09/14/2019 at 12:15 |
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I’ve got my Ranger, which has been perfectly reliable. No worries! The others are just the weekend/nice weather toys.
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19JRC99
> MM54
09/14/2019 at 12:16 |
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Yeah, it’s getting left alone. The car’s never been a show car anyway.
Hell, we’re lucky we didn’t blow a hole in any pistons.
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19JRC99
> Future Heap Owner
09/14/2019 at 12:18 |
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Actually, the Chevelle is pap’s car. All of em are. But I’ve sort of claimed them in the sense that I’m the one that does anything to them. They’re basically still around just for my amusement.
It should still be good for plenty of time. Good enough for me, anyways.
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Urambo Tauro
> 19JRC99
09/14/2019 at 13:23 |
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Ah, bummer.
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NKato
> 19JRC99
09/14/2019 at 13:29 |
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The Ranger you have is from the same design era as the CVPI. It also shares the same rear end. So, yes, it's a good truck.