-tom.

Ok, so this is the second job done, I successfully put on new fastners for the headlight frames.....

So when I was looking at the super cool, retro and beautiful front grill area I noticed the aluminum headlight frames were totally loose and only had one screw holding them on, so after taking them off I could see what was going on and what needed to be done, it wasn't just a simple fact of not having enough screws. Well ok it was but there was more work to be done then was thot at first look.

Ineeded to replace the fastners that held that headlight frames on, the ones that were still there were maybe original seeing as how rusty they were, I went down to key2auto parts and bot some replacements, I think they are called "slip nuts" - I think they should be called slip nuts because of the way they are used, but the teller said no, they are called "U nuts", but I don't think I'm that crazy.... (haha)

Anyways, when I put the first one on I noticed about half a inch was popping out from under the headlight frame, so I went and bot a hacksaw. I had to get creative as to how I would cut off the excess of the new fastner which was quite a bit different from the original, the original looked like it was flat until the person using them crimped them on using needle nose pliers or 90 degree needle nose pliers. I did not have a proper work bench or a vice to hold the tiny piece of steel I needed to cut, so I had to think outside the sandbox on this one... I eventually resorted to using a old plastic clamp to hold the tiny piece onto a rotten wooden table and carefully and gently sawed through the slip nut and was able to cut off the excess, and after buying a longer screw for the bottom o the frames I was able to put new slip nuts on and properly fasten the headlights frames to the rambler. When I was done and I looked at my work, I was proud I did a good job and if someone takes off those frames they will see I did a good job and it feels and looks great seeing all four shiny screws in those holes!

The finished job.....

You won't see them, but I did see tiny cracks in one spot of the fly wheel while cleaning it up with the sand paper but I'm sure those are just age cracks and nothing serious. Also, would anyone know why the springs are white colored? ( Springs of the pressure plate ) update on feb27: as read in the mechanical book of the tsm the reason the pressure plate springs are white is a way of defining by visual meens different characteristics of the pressure plate springs, such as number of springs, compressed length, what series of car they are used in and the location of the springs. Springs data: there are two types, heavy or standard, white springs are "heavy" there are 6 springs and have a compressed length of 245# -+5lbs. At 1 15/32" there location is adjacent to clutch release levers.

I don't think I thought to put it in neutral before I did all that pushing and pulling it wasn't a long distance but maybe 4' up then down again, and then maybe 5' back and forth again.

Now the trans shifter doesn't go through the gears like it used to.... I was wondering why while having a coffee with a freind in the rambler and just now sitting on the couch the idea came to my mind that I didn't think to put it in neutral before doing all that pushing and now I'm very worried sick I wrecked the transmission. I hope I'm wrong. 

(No engine in this rambler so transmission is disconnected with no fly wheel, clutch disc or pressure plate)

Below is the gear shift mechanism with drill bit through the holes.

The only bolt shown as a connecting bolt is part 5.054 and the info in the catalog beyond that is in-useful.

"Part 5.054    60 thru 63   01(LHD(left hand drive)-six-LES(less "E" stick transmission)  60 thru 62   10(LHD-LES)

No length, size or diameter is recorded for reference. Another dead end. 

Tried to search tomj website for my bellhouse in his bellhouse data base but was not sure if the same type asmine was there, I also looked over his t5z trans install section to see what I can learn from that.

Over several weeks I had gotten further and further, closer and closer to solving this problem, to addressing this issue, of either stuck brakes or dead and dry bearings. First I jossled the E brake cable and loosened up the brake assemblies, then sanded smooth the brake drums.

I also found a bearing castellated nut that was so tight I needed a 5 pound wrench to loosen it off. When I inspected the front bearings on one side, after using brake cleaner to clean off the grease I discovered both inner and outer bearings were damaged and needed to be replaced, this was not quick or easy.

I did the research and asked questions, I read a article step by step instructions how to replace wheel bearings, also watched a few youtube videos, I picked up knowledge here and there to help me.

Any one can do what I did and find their way to accomplishing this big job with the info sources I mentioned above, but I'll also put in some of my own cents....

"Knock out the races with the driver of your choice" per web article....

This is IMMEDIATELY INACCURATE.

Do not use a punch that is 1/8, this job will destroy the punch, and you will have to go back on the bus two more trips to and from hardware store and buy a 1/4 punch. 

Then if your as unlucky as I was you will have to knock out the two races with the 1/4 punch and a 2 1/2 pound sledge.......in the dark because the sun went down and you don't have a shop with lights.

It wasn't that bad when the job started to get done and I started seeing the race being knocked out. Putting the new races in was stressfully, but with patience and taps with a 8ounce ball piene hammer all around the races got flush with the hub then back to the punch to seat them..... Stressful work, in the dark with the cell phone flashlight, I was nervous I'd mess it up, or be there for who knows how long, but it went well.

Packing the grease into the new bearings was a piece of cake, putting the new seal in with the 1 1/2 $16.99 socket I bot just for that part of the big job was nice and humbling.

Putting more grease into the hub cavity then adding a little slick to the spindle then sliding the hub with inner bearing nicely greased onto the hub, then putting the outter bearing on and the spacer and nut then spinning the wheel and closing the nut down with the channel lock to seat the bearings was a piece of cake.

I feel very happy I did this big job on my own, and I feel alot of confidence in myself, " there are few things more pleasant and intimate then packing wheel bearings by hand for your car " --- very true!!

Just kidding about the last part.

So with tomj's advice about treating the install and first start up like a nasa space launch I think I will go over it again a few times In my head and write it down a few times to see if I missed anything or can learn anything I have overlooked. Right now there's a list of jobs in line to be done, but organizing major priorities first puts them on hold, like using money to rent a generator for the welder, or buying new trunk weather seal rubber from peter statues.

Just another purchase! I have SOOOO many receipts for tools ect that I've bot, I've probably spent maybe $2000 by now, but I'm not sure.

The buying price was $3000, the rebuilt engine was $4800 or something, so I'm sure I've spent $10,000 or around there by now on the rambler... It's too bad I didn't have all this experience before I bought it, because alittle while ago I was looking for clues as to how things get attached to the engine by looking at videos and adds for ramblers for sale like mine, and I saw a exact similar 1958 rambler super for sale for $3500 (american dollars) in minnesota (?) that had a good engine and transmission and drove fine.... But I can't think like that and regret things now, there's no point is there? Just gotta stay positive and keep working away towards one day driving and enjoying the rambler! 

Anyone interested in watching me work away on the rambler can check out my youtube videos "1958 AMC Rambler Super pt.2" ect ect the latest video I made was pt.18! So I've been at it for awhile.... 

Bye every one!

Some people have already told me they can't believe how much money I've spent... I keep all the receipts because I really do want to know how much it ended up costing to get it running and driving and I plan to list off all the things and how much it cost for each thing and then adding it all up to see how much it all cost, THEN I can go ahead and be shocked and it won't bug me because I'll have such a unique car, and probably every where I go every one will look at my car and think " whoa!!!!! Look at that car!!! " I told that to my friend who saw the car show up at my house on the trailer and he said " yeah, that's for sure ".

The rubber that they could order and sell to me was I think not as long as I needed and it was not heat resistant, so I couldn't use it for the clutch fork boot I was trying to make, and I think it wasn't long enough to use for whatever I could have done to restore the rubber at the bottoms of the windows. So Grainger was no help and I ended up finding after a long search the stuff is used in the pics.

it can rain.... Sometimes it rains.

But it's more noticeable when it decides to rain while your driving back to your house with a freshly rebuilt engine in the back of the truck.

I thought it was stressful jumping out of the truck I just rented at a red light to throw my jacket over the plastic bag that coverd the engine, of all days in the week it had to rain that day.

Writing out the scenario and planning for this day was productive and a good idea, but I forgot to write "bring a blanket to cover the engine on the journey back to the house", that would have been a good one, just incase it rains. I also didn't think to include how stressed out I could get, driving a huge truck I just rented, it was big. It was like a tank, I'm not even sure it's nesesary to have pick up trucks be that big.

Basically it all went as planned, but it cost more then a hundred bucks more for some reason... Oh well, I don't wanna be the richest man in the graveyard anyways.... It's a good attitude to have on these days.

Renting the hoist was ok, but not fun, I got lucky with the rental place, they were throwing out cardboard that I could use to lay the hoist parts down on so I wouldn't scuff up the bed of the truck, and they were big pieces, the hoist apparently could hoist 6000 pounds...it was big.

Driving down the driveway at my house was alittle stressful too, the width between cement walls was something like 93 or so Inches, I had to stand up in the driver's seat and with most of my torso out the window looking at the edges of driveway and front bumper while I toed the gas and brake untill I slowly rolled through safely, then I had to make a 25 point turn and got stuck once, but eventually had arranged the truck so the tail gate was near the only flat surface in the backyard, the place I had planned to set the engine on the stand.

My neighbors Mercedes parked there didn't leave me much space and I almost creamed it once, but wanted to cream it more then once. It wasn't getting any less rainy, so I coverd the engine with two blankets, two tarps and a third one over as much of the truck bed as I could to stop rain from gathering in the valleys of the texture of the truck bed and dripping down and soaking into the plywood the engine was resting on. I left it all like that untill morning to finish the job when the rain stopped, the next morning when I woke up, the last thing I was excited about was finishing that job, and then returning the hoist and truck, having to negotiate the truck out of the back yard with out hitting anything and then driving through town in traffic, but the feeling didn't last long and I was up and at it after a big healthy breakfast. I went and looked at the engine and figured out what size bolts to buy to attach the hoist to at which parts of the block, it wasn't something I could do with out the engine there, but with the engine finally in front of me I could say "ok, how about a bolt here and here to attach the chains to" and see what I could do.

(But maybe don't pass the chain over the cyl head, it looks like it might move the head and wreck the seal the head gasket is making- that's a thought I had as I was looking at it) the first store I went to didn't have bolts long enough to pass through the long 3inch stand adapter piece and thread into the block, but the second store at the other end of town did, but I bot the wrong length and had to go back, so annoying, then I STILL needed to go buy a whole bunch of washers to take up the 1/4 space still left. After that I had a pretty confident feeling and hoisted the 195.6 up in the air, drove the truck forward, attached the engine stand adapter to the block while thinking "this must be the best way to do this and have the engine be as balanced on the stand as I can" but I'm not sure it is, and am hesitant to try and rotate the engine that's now on the stand.... After that I lifted the rest of the stand up to the adapter that was attached to the block and wrestled the pin in which took alot of effort, and once I even tried Sanding off all the paint from the stand and adapter pieces so it wouldnt catch on the paint and stick as I was trying to slide it together but it only helped alittle, then I lowered the engine mounted to the stand to the ground slowly, and waited a few moments with the chains still on just incase the stand and engine needed some adjusting but it didn't, then I disconnected the hoist, disconstructed it, made another 25 point turn to manuover the truck out of the backyard, returned the hoist, returned the truck, good riddance, and bussed home.

Then finally finished my morning coffee 7 hours later!! And then it was time to relax and get back to enjoying the work I do on the rambler, I don't enjoy the other stuff, stressing out over driving big trucks down tiny driveways that are for the birds, are transporting engines in the rain that cost almost $4900

I have also noticed the rust has started to appear inside the engine..... At this time specifically on the inside walls of the block inside the two rectangular inspection areas where the rods that extend upwards from the tapets are.

This was something I noticed last night and it got me worked up into a state.

But later on I thought about it and decided maybe I should take one of the smaller paint bushes I have and brush some light engine oil onto the inner surfaces of the engine to coat it so the air can't get to it and keep rusting it, I'll also brush on some oil onto the other moving parts like the valve and spring assemblies ect ect

The engine has all the openings taped shut, but I geuss the air has still gotten inside.

The outside of the block has lots of rust on it, on the side opposite to the spark plugs, last night I used a portable drill I bought and a small wire wheel and wire wheeled off almost all of it, but I think the drill 18 or 20 volts doesn't have enough power to really get the rust off and the battery died so quickly, I'll get back at it tonight and try and get even more of the rust off, and also buy another smaller wire wheel to get at the smaller curves and smaller areas. On Monday I'll call rondex automotive paint store and order the paint, they are closed on weekends, and my days off this week are Tuesday and Wednesday, so I can't paint it exactly right away, so the engine has to sit there and rust some more. And I will have to wait for the clutch to return from falcon clutch down in new York and also put on the harmonic balancer before I am able to drop the 195.6 into the engine bay, so, I'll brush on some oil for the inside of the engine, paint the engine when I can, and wait.

In thinking about what I could do about the problem, I had two ideas, the first was to go back home right after werk and take off the valve cover and completely and profusely bath everything, rocker arms,springs, iron casting, everything in a coating of oil using a small paint brush (a clean one) (actually it was a fairly expensive one that I used to paint a far out famous quote from the ending of the movie "color from space" a movie by h.p. Lovecraft, I painted it on my living room wall, my landlord hasn't noticed it yet) and do the same to as much that was reachable with the oily paint brush inside those two rectangular openings, I think they might be inspection covers for something, what's behind them is the rods that travel up from the tappets that ride on the lobes of the cam shaft ( I think I mentioned that earlier ), I also squirted a good amount down each "oil gallery hole" (the raised casting that travels along the length of the lower area of the block) and down each spark plugs hole, someone from the forum told me that was a bad idea, but I did it anyways thinking it would be better then not doing it.... because Coating the inside with oil, that would drop and spread on the surface area of wherever it flowed and stop the air from getting to those places and stopping rust from occuring anymore then it already has or would have.

I can't turn the engine by hand because I can't grab onto the end of the crank with the engine stand adapter in the way, and I can't turn the engine by hand at the other end of the engine because the harmonic balancer isn't installed yet, the builder said he would do it but when I picked up the 195.6 it wasn't on, I think he must have looked at it and maybe said "f that" the balancer looked old and the rubber bushings (?) That seem to be "bushing" the two bolts between the two parts (?) Of this particular old harmonic balancer are old squished and need to be replaced, so maybe it made him not want to put it on, or not, how should I know? I didn't wanna ask him because he had said he would put it on, along with the timing cover, which he didn't bother charging me for, and that was after I realized from watching videos on YouTube FOREVER to learn about the engine and the car in general, because the tsm doesn't tell you basic things, and I saw the timing cover has to go on with a backing plate, before the crank and cam gears and then the gears and timing chain go on then the rest of he timing cover, and he didn't know that before when he gave me a total for the bill for the build, and he just said he would do those extra jobs for free, so I didn't wanna ask him why he didn't put it on. But anyways, the balancer isn't there for me to turn the crank by hand so the engine pistons ect can't be moved to move the oil around and let the parts move somewhere else from time to time. Today I was planning on going out and buying a balancer instal tool and putting it on.

When I was familiarizing myself with the spacer plate, or backing plate, which ever it's called, I was looking at the back of the block near the volcano butt crank, and I remembered the large opening that I coverd with duct tape, I didn't pay much attention to that area since I got the 195.6 back, but I had a bad feeling that what was going on under the tape, the nature of that opening, and the fact that it was still a opening and not sealed shut in some proper way was going to bring my install to a saddening halt.

I took a closer look, and I definitely knew that opening had something very critical about it and what was inside, there looked like a large passage way going down into the block and in the general direction of the oil pan, there was another cylindrical shaped something in there.... Don't know how else to describe it.... But I took a picture and sent it to tomj and he replied pretty fast, he told me the opening was a "rear cam plug" that was not Installed, he said my builder f'ed up, and should have def installed the plug, otherwise all the oil would pour out that opening and the engine would be ruined. He said it was good I caught that and was paying attention, and I should also get the builder to come over and put it in.

I'll talk to the builder tomorrow, I'll go to his shop first thing in the am. 

I'll show him the pictures and ask him to please please finish the building of the engine, because I really dont think it's finished with that plug not installed.....

Man, it really let me down.

I've been working away at getting the distributor on, I set the firing order backwards, I didn't know what "left hand" ment when I referenced the tsm to see what rotation the rotor was turning.... The sun's gone down, and it's time to put new batteries in the headlamp and keep on trying to put together the clutch stack.... But man it's annoying trying to torque the flywheel when it keeps spinning!!!! 

But it was actually a good thing to start over, I had more of a confident feeling having a second try the next day, and with the chance to get fresh, strong wood blocks to help with the flywheel.

Starting with the bolts, talk about using too much loctite.... Lesson learned right there, "when squeezing out the loctite, use a gentle, calm, not shaking hand and be modest, don't let the pressure of the job get to you during the application of loctite to your bolts" is what I was saying to myself while cleaning all six bolts, all the threads on each bolt with a razor knife and also a wire brush, after i had clean bolts that could actually function as bolts after maybe 40 minutes of careful cleaning. 

I also had easier success with switching the side I was using the torque wrench on the flywheel(big difference!!!) As well as my right foot stepping on the engine block to keep it steady.

This time, bolt after bolt was partially torqued down, in a criss cross pattern then fully torqued down. Another big job done well!! Now whats next to do is put together the rest of the clutch stack, but I'm currently waiting for replies to my question "how far in to tap the pilot bushing?"

So I'm stuck again!

But I didn't put the clutch stack together yet so I had to take the 195.6 out and set it down on wood blocks again, then in this order put in the align tool, friction disc, right side on, bump facing transmission, pressure plate, then tightened in rotating pattern to spread the tension of the tightening bolts, did this in four different stages, first finger tightened, then socket driven tightend, then partially torqued and looked at each bolts distance bringing pressure plate to the flywheel, and kept It even as I finished the torque, then I got back in the rambler and started working on the moly grease job for the friction and pivot places the clutch fork and release bearing collar and sliding surface....

So after coffee time, I got on with the big job, using the hoist to get on with the install...

I gently lifted and pushed, across a not smooth cement surface, the hoist holding the engine, got it over the metal part of the grill me and my dad couldn't take off due to stripped hard to reach bolts, went back and forth from pushing the hoist to looking at were the engine was, watching as the distance became shorter each time I pushed the 195.6 towards the firewall and transmission, then started lowering it more and more, then I went under the car and had the chance to see with my longest finger where the trans Input shaft was and where the splined hole of the disc was, and made the adjustments with the hoist.... And also crushed my finger against the fric disc when the engine shifted(ouch!)

I had never done this before, and didn't know if it was a super bad thing that the wobbling 550+pound engine was putting stress on the trans Input shaft, but I couldn't seem to get it easily connected, so I just kept going, trying to raise the engine or lower it, I even got right inside the engine bay and grabbed onto the engine with both hands and wrestled it around, I did this for a while and ALL OF A SUDDEN IT SLID ON!! I was startled when it happened, and quickly got the bellhouse to engine special bolts that are long and partial thread bolts, each one a different length, and put them in, one went in very easily but not the other one.

And after that I started working on the issue of the engine mounts not aligning with the engine mount holes,  I used what I would call a old timers trick, something a person would know from years of experience and wisdom, and that method of putting the engine mounts on the timing cover before lowering onto the cross member, I was surprised it worked when there didn't seem to be any way that the difference of around two inches would disappear... But it did, and now the engine is mounted to the chassis, all thanks to farna.

This was not done.

I gave the timing cover parts to the engine builder with out remembering this important process.... He didn't know about it either and tightend down the timing cover pieces, and then later on after I had the engine I installed the harmonic balancer, most likely disturbing the seal, which will cause a oil leak, and I'll have to take off the balancer, timing cover front piece, find a new seal, and do all that stuff I just said.

But would it be a problem for the size of hose be bigger then the size of the ID of the block threads? I've been thinking maybe it will change the pressure and cause the oil to spray when it goes through the transition of different sizes... Is that true or bad? Farna and tomj say to use a 1/8 ID size brake line for the engine to the head and to the filter but use a larger ID for the return line, most people at hardware stores say those sizes are too small for this application, but the pipes I seen in various pics all look around the smaller size...... It's ok to go up a size apparently, but how large ID is too large? Does anyone know?

“Farna and tomj say to use a 1/8 ID size brake line for the engine to the head and to the filter but use a larger ID for the return line, most people at hardware stores say those sizes are too small for this application”

They also mention that they think the metal pipes will rattle and break eventually, but again, I've seen the metal piping along the side of the engine in videos and pics here and there, so it must not break like they think it will. So again I suppose I shouldn't let there thoughts derail my objective like it does again and again when they give me thier two cents.

I've started thinking maybe I should not tell them too much about what I'm working towards to stop them from telling me not to do what I'm trying to do.

".....oh, im just trying something on the side - it's no big deal, so I need these parts please!"

Something like that.

But I have the stuff at the house for the oil situation, I bought a mount for oil filter and fittings to connect hoses to it and sizes of hoses to fittings attatchjng to the block at the three diff places ect ect, in a other thread specifically about the oil system for the 195.6 I started I think maybe I gave the guys on the thread the wrong idea with my wording, either that or I just don't know what I'm talking about. 

But the oil filter relocation kit that I thought I was talking about was exactly that, a relocation kit to have a place to mount the oil filter, period.

Instead of trying to find the old style of mount that those metal pipes thread into, maybe I could just buy one at a store that's alittle different and that does the same thing, buy some hose that can handle hot oil going through it and just use that instead of the pipes ect.

But I had some new posts to the thread and reading them makes me think that either I used incorrect wordage or am ignorant, I have inner peace with both of those possibilities.

But I've re-read the product packaging on the website, and the info for the "oil filter relocation kit, part #1113 single oil filter system" does mention a bypass flange, and does mention it has a bypass adapter included in the kit, as well as describes the "filter bypass style: standard port bypass style" blah blah....

BUT!

All that crap I bot and is at my house in the "new stuff" box beside the fridge is in fact not a relocation kit, but just a base or mount to screw the oil filter on, that's what I was going to use it for to solve the issue of not finding the old stock AMC style of filter base, and use hoses instead of metal brake line which I also bot that same day from a store across the street.

 It is a "remote oil filter base" -- "single remote oil filter base, 

part # 1028, 1/2 inch NPT vertical ports, fram ph8a (or equivalent)"

And has no mention of bypass workings attributed to this package, it is only detailed as a remote oil filter mount, and I was thinking that it's exactly that! Just a place to have your oil filter screw into it and have the inlet and outlet hoses coming and going from it, if you want you could attatch it to the stock location (after making a additional metal plate that can attatch onto it and also the bolts on the engine, swinging the plane of space the bolts are facing) between two bolts one on the top of the cyl head and the other on a intake bolt, or you could mount it on a fender or firewall if you like. 

But I think when I used the words "oil filter relocation kit" it makes people think that I'm using a bypass operation, I'm still alittle in the dark about what a bypass is, other then a completely seperate oil filter system in place WITH the usual oil filter system, (so basically two oil filter systems working to filter the oil) 

But that's not what I was aiming for with the whole idea I was trying o materialize.

I was just looking to set up a oil network and filter easier then searching for the original "stock" oil filter base and have to bend the pipes and ect ect

Which sucks.

Because the balancer is very hard to rotate. I'll look in the distributor and see if the rotor is pointing to the opposite of the #1 cyl.

For every two turns of the balancer that's one turn of the rotor, so I guess that meens I need to rotate the balancer one time..... I think.

Then the firing order will be ready and I can pack the oil pump with vaseline.

I was thinking, how will a new carb that's never been used, and not adjusted, be good to use for the first 20 min operation of the rebuilt engine?

I was also thinking I should ask someone and I got the advice to use one of the old ones that came with the car, so I considered both of them and decided the one that seemed to be used most recently and still smells like gas would be a good choice, even though portion of the choke housing is sliced off to make room for the air cleaner I suppose.

I thought about what I could do to improve it's performance during this crucial time it will be used and thought, well, clean it with some carburetor cleaner spray, so I bot a can, I read the label and it said to operate the engine and carburetor untill the carb is warm, then let it cool down, then run the engine and carb again and spray the cleaner into the carb while it's in operation for one minute, and also spray other moving parts

So, with out being able to run the engine and carb untill carb is warm, I wondered how to get it warm, and thought OMG! put it in the oven! 

So I set the temp to around 100 or so and left it in there to warm it up, and then I took it outside and sprayed it down real good! All inside the inside where the air+fuel gets sucked into the engine and moving the throttle plates levers and other moving parts, and the choke plate moving parts and all over the inside and outside.

(After I was done baking a loaf of bread, not before.)

So I hope that helps. Lost a few brain cells with all the spray even though I was out in the back yard. 

I also bot a set of points for the distributor, and it looked really weird, it didn't look like the one that I had in the distributor and it also had a half inch or so length of felt loosely attatched to the end of the set of points and looked like.... Well I don't know what it looked like... But I went out and bot a different set of points that looked more identical and proper.

It's too bad those details can't be seen in this pic.

But yes I am that guy, my real name is Tom Cooke, the name Tim cooper is the name of a native I used to work with at my third job (third out of more then 30 by now) when I was 18. 

Tim was from time to time unnessesarily suspicious of the people he was around, and would maybe once a year have serious convincement that people at the fishplant were talking about him ect, but they weren't.

We were good friends for a while, but as time went on things changed, and I got very unhealthy due to poor choices I made. In my mind, I always respected him and liked him, but I think he didn't see things that way.

That part of my life as a young person struggling through hardship, almost all alone, took a heavy toll on myself, I lost my job, the respect of my co-workers, and indirectly lost my place to live too. It was a hard time to be 18 and learning about life, and the one other person who was right alongside me during that time who also had his battles, was Tim.

I'll never forget that guy, and if I ever run unit him again I'll say hi.

                               ELECTRICAL WORK

Chewed red wire at plastic block, 6 wires leaving block:red-chewed, brown-damaged, violet, orange,yellow.

Other plastic block: black,black,white,yellow,green,brown.

Chewed red wire was traced back to the "fan" nob, tracing it back to this origin was a breeze. (Haha) 4.5 ohms-high resistance, probably due to damage. Other end of chewed wire leads to "arm" post on volt regulator 1.7ohms

Black wire was at junction block but not in tsm diagram travels to a "crimp" connection and then splits of into new volt, oil pressure, engine temp gages, and maybe one does not need the elec connection and this will go to the new fuel gage next to the three gage cluster.

These are grounded together under a screw that's screwed into the dash, all wires here and also screw measure 2.5 ohms

Two posts on back of fuel gage 1.8ohms, post that seems to go directly to ground 2.1 ohms

Two posts on back of volt gage 2.5 ohms

Green wire on junction block, under black wire and ontop of green wire that travels to "small box" under dash, the box has marking on it "12v" and "30amp" 1.8 ohms, the box also has two posts on it"aux" and "batt" 

"Aux" post has green, blue and black wire, "batt" post has one thick black wire.

+Batt cable to starter 1.8 ohms

Starter blue wire to ballast resistor 1.8 ohms

Starter gree wire to junction block top post 1.6ohms, middle post 2ohms

Starter red wire to bottom post on junction block 1.8ohms

Red wire bottom post on junction block to "b" post on volt regulator 1.8 ohms

Starter red wire to ignition switch "b"post 1.6 ohms

Wiring pic is different then the wires actually on my ignition switch, as I mentioned earlier, in the tsm pic there is supposed to be one yellow and two black wires at the "IGN" post, one green at "st" post, "b" post one black, two red, "acc" post one black.

Wires in place on the switch in my rambler are "IGN" post, one yellow and one blue wire, blue wire goes to nowhere and is not connected to anything... Ends in a bundle underneath the dash near passenger side of car (?). "St" post, one green, "acc"post three black wires, "bat" post, one red wire. Very sure the red wire goes directly to starter.

The three black wires on the "acc" post have been hunted down like those awesome white powderd doughnuts in the grocery store, one black wire goes to the radio, one goes to the cigarette lighter, and the thicker black wire travels to the mystery box under the dash, with two posts on it marked "bat" and "aux" and "12v" and "30 amp"

The thick black wire has it's destination on the "bat" post, I discovered this after searching and seeing that there was no thick black wire this size beyond the firewall.

The other post marked "aux" has a green, a blue and a thinner black wire on it, the blue wire crosses a small gap over to a small round device with a flat type push on connecter, the blue wire arrives here, and another blue wire leaves on the next post.

 

Green wire on middle post of junction block 1.7 ohms to small round something attatched to outer part of brake fluid junction(?) Is near master cylinder for brake fluid has two green wires connecting to it.

Generator "f" green wire to "fld" post on volt reg 1.8ohms

Generator "a" orange wire to "arm" post on volt regulator 1.8 ohms

Generator ground wire to volt regulator ground 1.8 ohms

- wire from coil to distributor 1.8 ohms

+ Coil yellow wire to ballast resistor 1.8ohms

Yellow wire on passenger side of ballast resistor to yellow wire on "IGN" post 1.8 ohms

Black wire from horn relay to bottom front post on relay1.8ohms

Black wire from horn relay to "hi" horn and to "low" horn 1.8 ohms

Horn relay bottom rear post to horn relay too post 4ohms

Horn relay bottom rear post to either horns 0ohms

Driver's side outer headlight black wire 1.8 ohms

Driver's side inner headlight white wire 1.8 ohms

Driver's side outer headlight red wire to ground 1.8ohms

Driver's side outer headlight  white wire to inner headlight 1.8 ohms

Driver's side outer headlight red wire to inner headlight 1.8 ohms

Driver's side turn signal black connected to yellow cannot be checked as this wire travels Into steering column, but red wire to turn signal light bulb socket is 1.8ohms

Passenger side outer headlight white wire 1.8 ohms

Passenger side outer headlight black wire 1.8 ohms

Passenger side outer headlight red+white wires to inner headlight 1.8 ohms

Passenger side outer headlight red wire to ground 1.8 ohms

I tried to identify unconnected yellow wire with a small round push on type connector was, I thought it might be a turn signal wire because there is a yellow wire connected to a black wire for driver's side turn signal, so I clipped the neg aligator clip to the post on junction block where the yellow/black wire connects to junction block before it leads to the driver's side turn signal and contacted the unconnected small round push on type connector under the dash near the gage cluster and got a reading of 1.8 ohms, then I tried contacting other areas, one also had a connected yellow wire connecting into what seems like "direction indicator", (L.H. left hand?) which is a Yellow wire.  I found in there immediate area two other wire, blue and orange, blue is possibly according to tsm electrical diagram a " inst. Cluster light (3bulbs req)" and orange is for "oil pressure indicator", all housings that these wires connect into will indicate the same resistantance reading, the same resistance reading is also indicated if the POS mm lead contacts the metal structure all these gages are attatched to. Maybe this is a bad thing?

The "tabs" that are pressed down onto the strands of wire were quite scratched up after I was done, and I think I may use my dad's soldering gun and put alittle bit of solder over the ends of the wire and that last set of tabs that were very small to begin with and have been reduced in size from the work I did trying to pry them back up from the wire to release the old wire from them. I also stabbed myself with the tiny crew driver, I hope it doesn't get infected.... After I finish fixing these wires I can crimp them together with the other part of the wire then get on with the other electric tests after I finally buy a battery!!!

They do sell those connectors and I would recommend using new ones.  They have a specific name but I call them double crimp connectors.  You might find that those tabs will break off when you go to re-crimp them.  And practice on a few new connectors on spare spare wires before you attempt the real deal to make sure you can get the process right.  There is one size crimp for the bare wire and another for the coated wire.  They do sell single crimp connectors with the tangs to hold them in the connector block.  Check YouTube for "how to crimp wires."  "Eric the car guy" is pretty good.  This one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5LBf19MqPk" rel="nofollow - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5LBf19MqPk among others, is good.

And if your good at soldering, go for it.

But I'll go back and check again this morning...

Ok, I went o the store this morning and they didn't have those connectors, but miraculously the store right next door I didn't think would have them did! I almost always need a part number to get anything, but these little connectors were just sitting on the shelf for people to browse and I was able to take a look and after a minute I found them! What a success!! When I got back to my house after going to try and see my dad, which wasn't as successful because he wasn't home, so I just had a coffee and listend to Leonard Cohen, bit when I got back home I stripped new Lengths of wire and used the brand new connectors, didn't mess the job up at all! It's a good thing, cus there was only two connectors in the little box and that was the last pack the store had. now I have to wait untill I can go back and buy the shrink wrap, I knew I forgot something.... Also, about the wire I mentioned for the polarizing of the generator, I saw some old wire sitting in a free box, and grabbed the thickest one, it fits into the 10 gage stripping hole of the crimp tool, so I geuss I found the kind of wire I need to polarize the volt reg and generator when the time comes, unless anyone has advise against that. The wire looks pretty good, not corroded or anything, so it seems fine.

Anyways, this is the pic of a real beauty of a freshly resurfaced exhaust manifold in the sunlight of a summer sunset, holy moly! it got taken down 20,000ths of an inch and it looks so good, and I'm sure it'll do a great job sealing itself to the cyl head for the best exhaust exspulsion process possible and have great benefits to the engine. You should have seen what it looked like before! All crusty and had lots of green paint on the surfaces of the mating surface, didn't look like it would seal well at all.

Anyways, I Revuewed a small list of things to do in a check list before I started the business with the battery, and reviewed the tsm about the operation of polarizing the volt regulator with the generator using a wire.

I had taken the generator and starter to a small shop that rebuilds them ect and they gave me a sheet of paper with polarizing instructions, on this sheet it specified to use a 10 gage wire to do this. Later, i found a bunch of crap in a free pile on someone's driveway and looked for a larger size wire that could POSSIBLY be 10 gage, when I got back to my apartment with all my crap in it I checked with the wire crimping tool I bot, and sleuthed the facts about this wire using up to date technical techniques, I used the wire crimpers stripping section to size the wire "10 gage" on the stranded side of the list of sizes....

Before I did the polarizing I tested this wire with the "ohms" function of the MM (multimeter) and observed it to be of optimal functionality at 2 ohms.

Then I got on with it, when I momentarily connected the wire between the two appropriate terminals there was BIG sparks, I wasn't sure if this was a normal thing to see or not so I decided to ask here to a few people and see what they say.

If anyone wants to see what exactly happened it will be uploaded later today on my YouTube channel documenting the progress or lack of progress on the rambler... 1958 AMC Rambler Super pt.40

I also just watched the video and see your also learning to weld.  Just kidding.

I did a Google search on polarizing the generator and it was confusing because one said to do like you did, but several others said to connect the Batt terminal and the Armature terminal. I would do some searching and reading for yourself.

You could have kept the battery connected and done the other tests.  I now see that there's no way it will accidentally start.  Try the headlights, dome lights, and brake lights just for fun, but to get it to run you need to ensure you get 9 to 12 volts at the coil in both the "start" and "run" key position.  So connect the MM as suggested, turn the key and read the voltage at both key positions.  You said in the video that there was a blue and green wire to the starter so I'm gonna say it'll work.

Oh, make sure you have a ground wire from the engine to the frame/chassis.  That will complete the circuit for the lights and such.

And also in the video, when you showed in the vehicle under the passenger side of the dash, is that the blue wire that connects to the ignition switch that's hanging down?  If so, cut the exposed wire off, and tape / seal /  or shrink wrap the end so it can't short to anything.  I don't have your wiring diagram but I'm gonna guess it goes to the heater blower.

I'd leave that polarizing thing alone for now.  You followed the directions, got a little (actually a lot) more spark than expected, so I'd say its done.  Besides, you don't want sparks like that near the battery...that's when they go kaboom.

I'd hook the battery back up.  Test the voltage at the coil in "run" and "start."  And if successful, put the rest of the engine back together and get it running.

Ive asked about it on the electrical thread I have but no one has given me specific advice about it so I feel alittle uncertain about it.

I'd say its polarized, but I've never done anything like that before. Once you get the engine running you can check to see if its charging and go from there.

As for the battery, leave it in the car.  No point in hoisting it in and out of the car all the time.  Just disconnect one of the cables from it when you don't need the power.  Your neg cable looks to be the easiest.  And you can cover the battery with a towel or something when your working around it to make sure you don't drop a tool across the posts.

This all sounds promising.  Starter turns the engine over.  Coil gets power in both run and start key positions.  All you need is fuel, but put the rest of the engine back together first.

You have a 4 headlight system.  The inner headlights are high beam only, therefore they only need 2 wires, a pos and and a neg (ground).  The outer headlights are both high and low beam, therefore they need 3 wires.  They are different, you need 2 of each type headlight.  In your 3 prong connector, one is ground (or neg (-)), one is for high beam (+), one is for low beam (+).  The high beam wire probably jumps from the 3 prong connector over to the 2 prong connector. And then there's the wire that runs to the red "high beam" indicator in the dash to let you know your high beams are on.

The "p" connector on the headlight switch is for parking lights.  Its the first click when you pull out the headlight switch.  The second click out turns on the headlights, and probably leaves the parking lights on.

The power to your headlights runs from the dash switch to the high beam switch on the floor.  This floor switch simply switches the power from low beam to high beam and back to low beam.  These floor switches are notorious for causing problems.  If you've checked everything and headlights still don't work properly you can check the high beam switch connections and operation, but there's a lot of power going through there so make sure you turn the headlight switch off and disconnect the battery first, or you'll be welding again.

I also ordered a new one and I'll put that in when I get it.

 Any tips in the mean time?

Last night I tried to torque down the harmonic balancer, (I kept putting that last finishing part of the installation off and finally got to it) but the engine kept turning and wasn't able to stop it from turning to get the torque of 70or80 pounds with the torque wrench... It might be different now with the spark plugs in plugging the cylinders....

I also put on two new water hoses, there red because there was no black at the store, that also made things look alittle cooler under the hood, not to mention the new spark plugs, yep, that engine is starting to look like a engine these days!

I'm of no help with the oil pump.  But doesn't your TSM show a blow-up or assembly picture of it?

On the headlights, which one was not working?

Make sure you have the correct headlights in the correct location....3-prong headlights in the outer positions, 2-prong headlights in the inner positions.

So now I guess I dont have to check the tsm, but it's gunna be so easy so I will. I think there was only a short write up about the oil pump but no exploded type view of the pump.

Ok, there was a exploded view of the pump, BUT the view revealed the oil pump gasket only under the cap, and doesn't resemble the one I have to use, and there is also NO other gasket that tomj describes under the pump housing and between the block.

Weird.

Also,

 The new headlights don't work at all, I had two of them on the driver's side , outer and inner, and no activity....nothing.... Just like the first time they went to the T-Rex pen in Jurassic park....nothing.

BUT! When I thought "I wonder what this will do?" And I put the old outer passenger side headlight into the outer driver's side headlight socket and turned on the headlights it worked..... It was weird, just like the idea of Winona Ryder not being a shoplifter, weird.

It was a frustrating moment I had around 1130 in the night and it made me pretty mad I seemed to be wrecking my car following the tsm procedure.

If you're torquing onto a cork gasket, it might be inch-pounds (in-lbs) not foot pounds. 

If so, now make sure the inspection cover contact surfaces are flat.

I really would feel good throwing that tsm straight in the trash.

Anyways, last night I made alot of progress!!! And with no help from that stupid tsm.

I carefully bent and installed the main feed line 1/8 inner diameter size metal pipe for the oil network as well as the oil filter base, and the larger 3/16 inner diameter size return oil pipe from the oil filter base to the crank case. The second sized 1/8 inner diameter feed line going from the "t" fitting in the cylinder head to the oil filter base was juuuuuuust a tiny bit too short, and no matter how much I tried to get as much extension out of that pipe it was still maybe 2 inches too short to make the connection to the filter base, so i will have to maybe look at seeing if I can use a fitting to connect a extender pipe, or just use the longer 20inche pipe, which will end up looking really bad with all that extra pipe..... Maybe 9inches of extra pipe.

I think the next available size in length from that size is 20 inches...darnit..... But I'll check again.

Ok, it is 20 inches, and the 1/8 pipe that was about 2 Inches too short was the 12 inches length, so that would be about 15 inches when it makes the connection to the filter base, so 20 minus 15 is 5, so that will probably be about 5 inches of extra pipe, so that's not too bad after all. I was gunna buy some before work bit I didn't because that store did not have the same looking type of brake line, it didn't have the black coating on the outside. I'll wait, I have time since the exhaust pipe gasket doesn't fit and I need to find a new one.

Ok, I measured the inside diameter of the exhaust pipe and it has a inner diameter of 1 27/32,  I just researched the inner diameter of the gasket I thought would work for my rambler that I used from tomj part list and that gasket is 1 13/16 inner diameter.....

I looked with the measurement I took from the exhaust pipe on my rambler and searched far and wide on the internet and found a gasket that is also a "doughnut" and the measurement for the inner diameter for that gasket is 1 25/32, but I'm not sure if there would be a problem with using a gasket that's alittle smaller, so I've asked tomj what he thinks. As far as my thinking is going, I don't see a problem with that gasket, but I don't know everything, so that's why I've asked.

Hmmmmmmmm..........

He said maybe I could get a muffler shop to make me something..... Man!!! So many strange problems with this rambler..... I don't wanna start being negative here but I got something to say about the rambler and how it's effecting my life....

The gasket for the oil pump I talked about earlier, there was one after all between the pump and block, but there still needs one between the cover and body of pump.... There was a super paper thin gasket there, it was so small I didn't even notice it, it was in tatters when I finally saw it, the pump is still on the block and I at this time haven't taken off the idler arm, or pitman arm if that's what it's called to completely remove the pump, now that I have seen the gasket between the pump and block I dont have to!!!! 

Bit here's a pic of the gasket I have that I am not sure if it will work, this gasket does not completely have the same shape but an experienced person might say that it can still function as a gasket, or at least for the 20 minute initial break in......

(This other gasket with the funny looking channel carved into it isnt the one in question, but the one that's sitting on the cover of the pump)

Ok, tomj saw the pics and he says the gasket ontop of the cover is a no go.

Last night I thought of something.... What if the old gasket is still on the back of the old oil pump? What if it is still there and I can use it, just switch the covers and put the old pump cover on the new pump and solve the problem of not having the gasket?

So I asked tomj what he thinks, he seems like he will know.

He also mentioned to me that I could find some gasket paper of .009 thickness, he said I could find it at summit racing but when I searched it I searched using all the different ways of typing in the search title for the .009 thick gasket paper but couldn't find it, it wasn't there... I also searched in some different places but nothing else pipped up either.

So, I remembered the name on the box of gaskets the engine builder gave me, it was best gasket set, so I searched that and there was a whole engine gasket set they sell, but the don't sell it to people only to businesses, so, I found a place very near me in Washington that sells not only the gasket set, but also sells individual ones, so I orderd the gasket I needed, gasket 3436(I think) and can expect it in a few days from ups, the gasket will cost around $5 but all the rest of the cost with shipping is around $40. Oh well, I need it.

So yesterday I installed the break in oil, I was careful o calculate how much 4 quarts is in cups, and made sure I put the right amount in, not too much or too little, I poured alittle into the oil filter too and also two cups into the valve cover area so it would drain down Into the engine with gravity, just to prelube the engine alittle, I freaked out alittle when I heard some oil dribbling sounds and I looked into the plastic oil pan I bought to put under the oil pan just incase it started leaking out of the oil pan nut I replaced, even though I checked it already to see if it made a good seal. I also drilled a 1/8 hole in the side of the thermostat like tomj advised on his website, installed the thermostat gasket and wrenched it on there. I asked farna if I should pour some engine coolant Into the thermostat housing hole before I put on the thermostat and gasket, but he said I don't need to, and pouring it in the radiator will be fine, so I looked in the tsm, and the coolant capacity is 11 quarts, so that's just over 10 liters, so I bought three bottle of premixed coolant, each 3.78 liters, so I'll have to be carefull not to overfill the radiator tonight now that the thermostat and gasket is installed and dry.

Now I'm waiting for the oil pump gasket... After that comes and I put it in behind the cover, I won't have to much left to do before the key gets turned for the very first time, I was having a family visit last week and was trying to get it all done so my cousins nine year old little boy could be the one to turn the key, but there was no way that could happen. But the little guy helped me put the tiny oil pressure tube fittings together at least, he said to his m in french because their from Quebec, that he wanted to drive a old car that had a gas engine, before they all turn into electric cars, so it was kind of a bummer he didn't get to start the engine that day.... But he didn't know that was my plan, but I told his mum and her face lit up with joy at that idea!

I still have the old one bit it doesn't have the accuracy of different temps though.... It only has a small light in the dash that activates so there will not be any amount of degrees.. oh well, I do have a small 1/8 hole drilled into the side of the thermostat to prevent the engine from overheating so that is reassuring... For now. (After werk I found a adapter fitting to use to solve the problem, so it's installed now!)

Also, when I went to pour in the coolant I noticed it was orange Instead o green, and on the bottle it said ",for GM vehicles" so I thought maybe I bought the wrong kind, so I asked farna and I'll see what he says... you never know right?

According to the Internet, there is four cups in a quart, and there is apparently 5 quarts in that bottle of break in oil, so I started thinking, how come there's not 4 cups which is 1 quart left in the bottle of break in oil when there should be, since I carefully measured and recorded each 2 cups I poured into the engine?

Then I wondered if I made a mistake, and didn't record one of the cups, but I don't think so, I would write it down and put alittle check mark after each 2 cups was poured I to the engine, just to be careful, and I triple checked and counted each 2 cups untill I was triple sure 16 cups were in the engine, totaling 4quarts the engine is supposed to have according to the TSM.

Then I started thinking maybe the measuring cup I bought for this specific big job at Canada tired could be inaccurate? So I went inside and used a super old measuring cup for baking, and poured in 1 cup of water, took it out to the rambler, poured it into the measuring cup I used for initially  Calculation of how much oil was being poured into the ramblers engine and saw that measuring cup did not have one cup in it, but 2/3 of 1cup.... So, either that other measuring cup is Inaccurate too, or there was an extra 1/3 of a cup of oil poured Into the engine, totalling a total of 1/3 times 16 equals just over 5 extra cups...bit how could there be the extra 5 cups if there's apparently only 4 cups in 1 quart and there was only 2cups left in the bottle of oil....?

This is bad.

What if I didn't come across any of this and started up the engine and it poped it's seal?

This needs to be sorted out for sure. I think I'll go back to Canada tired and buy a proper oil measuring cup and use that, and then check and see what's observed.

I'm gonna guess your a victim of the difference between "Imperial" and "US" quarts and pints (See chart below).  So if your measuring cup (purchased in Canada) was of the "Imperial" type and you wanted to add "US" amounts, you added about 2 ounces more per "cup" than you should have. (I found this info Googling "Imperial vs standard measurements.") I don't think think you have a real problem though.  A lot of us run an extra 1/2 quart (= 1 pint = 16 ounces = 2 cups) in our V-8s to compensate for the slow drain back.  You're not going to run the heck out the engine during break-in and will change out the break-in oil relatively quickly.

But if you're going to lose sleep over it your only option is to drain it all back out into a very clean bucket and start all over.

Yeah farna had told me not to worry about it, but I hadn't read that yet and during the meantime I had bought a actual measuring for automotive needs that had a quart measurement on it and drained all the oil after Jacki g up the rambler so it was leaning and drained it all and started over with the new measuring cup, and at the end of it there was only one quart left in the jug! I also put on a new set of points in the dizzy and set the point gap to .16 per tsm specs....

If that fork falls off the pivot point the engine will have to be disconnected from the bellhouse.... A big pain in the butt for me....

I'd like to buy a new spri g, even though those two old ones are still capable of holding tension, but I'm asking if anyone knows which type or size of spring SHOULD be used to do this job for the long term... As usual, that info ain't in the amc bible. (The TSM).

They just want to know that you are not starting a junk yard  or parting cars out for eternity.

If you fight them they might demand that the car leave the property.

Also, keeping the property around the car clean and tidy (no tools or parts laying around)

will go a long way in showing you care about appearances.

How much torque are we talking about here? In-lbs? If so and the gasket is .009” I can’t see it crushing much, if at all. As long as it came off in one piece you’re probably okay. On the other hand, how much does a gasket cost? If it will put your mind at ease then it’s cheap peace of mind. 

Its not the big if a deal to put plates on the car and insurance, after all, I was going to do that anyway to drive it, possibly, but I'm having a hard time pictureing myself actually driving the car, I have bad feelings about the shifter capabilities for instance, it seems clunky and gets stuck often, I adjusted it a few months back but I think I'll have to work on the adjustments again, the shifter is the main concern, also, it seems to be making a new "clacking" sound when the shifter handle is moved ever since my cousins nine year old son was having fun in the driver's seat when he was visiting two weeks ago and was playing with the steering wheel and also I geuss what ever he could get his hands on!!! and I'm worried he didn't know he needed to be gentle and maybe ruffed it up a it and broke something....

there rust here and there and the gas tank needs to be cleaned, or at least I want to, I don't know if it's dirty or what, bit I want to clean it for peace of mind, and also put on new fuel lines too....and I see there's a few things wrong with the electrical system concerning headlight function stuff and I do t know how the transmission will perform, so putting plates on it is what I want to do, the city isn't forcing me to do something I don't want to do, I was thinking of getting personalized lisence plates for once in my life too!

After that it's on with the whole putting the gasket on the oil pump, it would be nice to have the throttle links to the gas pedal and carb figured out..... It's been made to work by the prev owner, so it's a puzzle I got stumped trying to figure out and I haven't been able to make progress on it, I think those details might be in the video I made.... Maybe 1958 AMC Rambler Super  pt.40 something??? Usually the videos have descriptions of what I was trying to do, if anyone wants to take a look and tell me what they think I'd appreciate it!

I'll make another one today specificly about that and post it soon, I'll be posting video pt.55 today, but the carb link mystery will be video pt.56.

Here's the pic, and it's glorious! The rambler comes to life!

On another note, I finished connecting the tach but didnt have complete success... Here's some copy paste text of some of what I did.

I connected the black ground wire previously to the same ground location as the ground location for the volt regulator, but when you told me there was no need to put the ground through firewall I moved it to the bunch of grounds under the dash near the new gage cluster, and I also looked around the light switch for a place to connect the white wire, and eventually found a place to experiment with, it was a twist type of connector for a white white(I think) and a brown wire, so I noticed it was affiliated with the lights so I unscrewed the plastic thimble twist type connector and twisted the white tach wire into it and moved on....

I put the red tach wire on the IGN post, which is also "run".

When I connected the battery the courtesy lights came on since I left the door open, and when those lights came on so did the light for the tach, but when I closed the door the courtesy light wehnt out and so did the tach light..... When I activated the headlights, and even when I turned on the key switch to the IGN or run position, the tach light did not illuminate, so that was a failure, but a mmentary one, I can reroute that white wire later today and try a diff spot, also, I noticed two out of four new gage lights are now not lighting up, maybe I jossled something, or maybe what I did with the ground somehow disturbed tye delicate connection for their ground spot and now thats why the lights don't work for them....

Hmmmm, what about this idea, what if I put the white wire for the lach light on the same post as the red tach wire, which always had power as long as the key is turned to the IGN post or the "run" key spot on the switch?