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73 Hornet winter project.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote pit crew Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Jan/26/2012 at 8:36pm
Next up was the color. The prep work paid off as the color coat went down as good as if not better than factory. And yes, there are a few runs just like the factory. But then again, I don't paint cars for a living. The AC lines were masked off as it would have been way too much work to break them loose under the dash. The line had to be drawn some where or this would have continued to snowball into a much larger job.



After a few days to let the paint set and harden up it was time to start putting the peices and parts back in to the engine bay. A new battery, fresh paint on the shock tower caps, the blower motor, and a few other minor touches really dressed it up. Notice the floor. I was surprised at how much paint spray just dropped straight to the floor and all over my shoes. I was a bit shocked to see that I was walking around with yellow shoes. Only later did several painter type friends tell me that yellow was a "heavy" tint and that it would drop like that.

 

At this point it was starting to look like an engine bay once more.




Edited by pit crew - May/31/2018 at 8:33am

73 Hornet - 401EFI - THM400 - Twin Grip 20
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote mellowyellowx Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Jan/26/2012 at 8:53pm
Looking good PitCrew. Really like the colour choice....lol.Wink
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote pit crew Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Jan/26/2012 at 9:19pm
Originally posted by mellowyellowx mellowyellowx wrote:

Looking good PitCrew. Really like the colour choice....lol.Wink
I just can't imagine what anyone would see in that color. LOL

73 Hornet - 401EFI - THM400 - Twin Grip 20
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote pit crew Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Jan/29/2012 at 9:28pm
Now we get to the big decision point. What to do with the 232/904 combo that came out at the start of all this. Well, it was a tough choice but given the unknowns about the true condition of the 232 engine and the fact that a "fresh" 12k miles engine was sitting around the shop it was time for a swap.

It is only a mildly juiced up 304 and a TH400 with a 1200 converter but it should do the job mated up to a 3.15 twingrip AMC 20 axle. Yeah, at this point the AMC 15 is coming out too. End result should be a pretty decent highway cruiser. Bulltear I6 to V8 cross-member adapters saved the effort of hunting down a small car V8 cross-member.



And in it goes. Talk about a tight fit. There are a number of issues that need to be addressed next like the neutral safety switch and transmission dipstick for example. The wiring harness is spread out on the garage floor and the new main power feed along with a few other wiring changes will be taken care of after which the whole main harness will be re-wrapped.



Now it is really starting to look like an engine compartment. The radiator and AC condenser are back in. The battery leads are in as well as some of the wiring for the new gauges. The firewall opening for the old speedometer cable makes a great way to bring in the new gauge wires. I'll post more later on the gauges but with the TH400 the speedometer is going to be electronic so no cable, just some light gauge wire. When it was rebuilt the TH400 was drilled to have the speedometer hookup. This was not the case in the Jeeps. As I understand it the speedometer was hooked to the transfer case and not the transmission thus the transmission was not originally drilled for the speedometer hookup.




Edited by pit crew - May/31/2018 at 1:26pm

73 Hornet - 401EFI - THM400 - Twin Grip 20
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote FuzzFace2 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Jan/29/2012 at 10:26pm
Looking good!  Tight I dont think is the word. I have a 75 Gremlin with a factory 304 that has to come out to fix an over heating issue. That is why the car has been sitting, PITA to pull.
BTW the car is also Mellow Yellow too.
Inbetween racing (GAD) I will try and get over to see it and the others in the show area.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote pit crew Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Jan/30/2012 at 5:42am
Originally posted by FuzzFace2 FuzzFace2 wrote:

Looking good!  Tight I dont think is the word. I have a 75 Gremlin with a factory 304 that has to come out to fix an over heating issue. That is why the car has been sitting, PITA to pull.
BTW the car is also Mellow Yellow too.
Inbetween racing (GAD) I will try and get over to see it and the others in the show area.
Dave ----
With all that was going on for this project the best plan of attack was to take the engine, transmission, and cross member out the bottom as one unit. The cherry picker was used to lift the front of the body high enough to roll the whole assembly out from under then roll in the new. Engine dollies have to be the greatest invention ever.

If all goes as planned I'll be at Mike's Thursday night and Friday night so if you can't make it over on race day you can always stop by then.


Edited by pit crew - Jan/30/2012 at 5:44am

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote pit crew Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Feb/01/2012 at 9:28pm
More progress. The front brakes are on. As much as I liked the Bendix disc set up I just could not stand the noise they make on bumps. No matter how hard you try the floating calipers just make too much noise for me. Personal choice was to go with a fixed caliper solution. The Wilwoods still need bleeding once the master cylinder and booster are re-installed. The Wilwood set up is sweet. It bolted up without a single issue. The instructions were well written. Even the brake lines looked to be of the highest quality. The team that put this package together should get a huge bonus.



Spark plugs in, wires on, and headers installed. For every good word about the Wilwood brakes there is a bad one about the Hooker Super Comps. How a company can crank out something with what appears to be absolutely no quality control at all I'll never know. We had to tweak the tubes at the flange just to be able to insert the header bolts. Forget about even getting a wrench on most of the bolts. This was the worst part of the entire project so far. Enough said about that. You get the idea.



That pretty much brings things up to date. Next up was to be the main wire harness but for some strange reason the power steering pump decided it was time to start leaking around the can. I don't know the history of the pump but it very well could be an original 74 pump that has seen over 147k miles. Kind of a long shot but it is possible. Looks like a new seal kit is going in tomorrow before the wire harness work get started.




Edited by pit crew - May/31/2018 at 1:28pm

73 Hornet - 401EFI - THM400 - Twin Grip 20
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Fluffy73 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Feb/01/2012 at 10:15pm
Hehehe.... headers on a small body w/ V8.  I threw in the towel on mine and ran manifolds. Oh well. My Hornet isn't meant to be a street sweeper. It's my GT car. 5-speed, sway bars fore and aft..... and mine's yellow too! (but a hatch)  Love yours. Mellow Yellow is a nice color when it's fresh!
I am genetically incapable of being Politically Correct.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote pit crew Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Feb/02/2012 at 7:37am
Originally posted by Fluffy73 Fluffy73 wrote:

Hehehe.... headers on a small body w/ V8.  I threw in the towel on mine and ran manifolds. Oh well. My Hornet isn't meant to be a street sweeper. It's my GT car. 5-speed, sway bars fore and aft..... and mine's yellow too! (but a hatch)  Love yours. Mellow Yellow is a nice color when it's fresh!
Thanks for the good words. Installing headers in a small body with a V8 ranks up there with other methods of self abuse. But it can be done if you don't mind giving up your sanity along the way. A one inch sway bar was put on the front about a year ago when I first got the car. It will go back on when we get ready to button down the front suspension. The Mellow Yellow color has grown on me over the past year or so that I have owned the car. I hope that using the modern paints means the color will hold true much longer than the original paint did.


Edited by pit crew - Feb/02/2012 at 7:40am

73 Hornet - 401EFI - THM400 - Twin Grip 20
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote FuzzFace2 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Feb/02/2012 at 9:41pm
Looking good I will have to find the time to check it out.
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75 Gremlin X v8 for sale
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