Rusty's not very quiet cuda progress
- Thread starter mopar_man
- Start date
RUSTY Cuda
In over my head!
Well this story may go on FOREVER!!!
By the time I got out there today he had the bed lifted again, he forgot to tighter the fill hose on top of the tank
Well that was just the start, to get it back on we had to remove the bumper & tow hitch again.
So after a couple of hours we load up a bunch of his tool including the hoist & goes home, unloads & then hits the gas station, & that's where it all goes off a cliff, gas leak!!!
Triuck is in the back again, we have to do the whole job over, cause the gas tank is now to heavy to drop.
It looks like on of the pressure lines off the fuel pump, doesn't leak till we start it.
& how was your day!
By the time I got out there today he had the bed lifted again, he forgot to tighter the fill hose on top of the tank
Well that was just the start, to get it back on we had to remove the bumper & tow hitch again.So after a couple of hours we load up a bunch of his tool including the hoist & goes home, unloads & then hits the gas station, & that's where it all goes off a cliff, gas leak!!!
Triuck is in the back again, we have to do the whole job over, cause the gas tank is now to heavy to drop.
It looks like on of the pressure lines off the fuel pump, doesn't leak till we start it.
& how was your day!
RUSTY Cuda
In over my head!
Couple a bucks grazing across the street! 
Dr.Jass
Pastor of Muppets
Ordinarily a shaker siphon would be a godsend in this situation, but they intentionally make it too large to fit down an unleaded filler neck. Of course, you could pull the filler neck again. I keep an old electric fuel pump around for stuff like this, but I think the shaker siphon's actually faster than that pump.
If I had to guess, I'd say the O-rings in the quick disconnects are beat, but it's entirely possible one of the lines self-disconnected too.
That's a hell of a spread on the one with the retaining wall behind him.
RUSTY Cuda
In over my head!
He was a pretty good size for around here, I have a golf course across the street to the left a bit & that backs up to a reservoir area.
there's also a pretty large wooded area about a half mile out, so plenty of critters wondering around.
So beds off again, leaks not on the top of the tank/pump area, it's up front, can't actually see it so we have to drop the tank anyway, he already got all new lines, but didn't have the straps for us to lower the tank with the gas in it!
The saga continues.
there's also a pretty large wooded area about a half mile out, so plenty of critters wondering around.
So beds off again, leaks not on the top of the tank/pump area, it's up front, can't actually see it so we have to drop the tank anyway, he already got all new lines, but didn't have the straps for us to lower the tank with the gas in it!
The saga continues.
b-body-bob
Well-known member
Yes it was easy to drain old gas out of my tank using an electric pump. I just plumbed it in at the rubber transition in the engine bay. You might run into the problem of having enough gas cans to store it all though.
We've got a couple of big boys living here too. My yard is like a barnyard with deer crap instead of cow patties.
A friend found this guy on his property. Poachers didn't poach hard enough I guess. Had to drag him out in the woods for the buzzards.
RUSTY Cuda
In over my head!
Well at least the leak wasn't something we did wrong, a metal line nearthe canister rotted out, I guess all our bouncing things around was enough to finsh it off.
After that it was nightmare time, you can't get to anything in there, he checked out u-tube for some hints & basically you have to take half the truck apart to get to them, torsion bar, something in the 4 wheel dribve over there, one guy dropped the tranny, soooo, he decided to just reroute it all, he's about half way there after some major cursing today.
tanks ready........
A tiny part of the lines you can actually see & get to.
Me thinks these lines went in first & the darn truck was built around them!
After that it was nightmare time, you can't get to anything in there, he checked out u-tube for some hints & basically you have to take half the truck apart to get to them, torsion bar, something in the 4 wheel dribve over there, one guy dropped the tranny, soooo, he decided to just reroute it all, he's about half way there after some major cursing today.
tanks ready........
A tiny part of the lines you can actually see & get to.
Me thinks these lines went in first & the darn truck was built around them!
74DartSport
has asparagus pee
Watch this guy, he shares your thoughts. Rusted out clutch line.
RUSTY Cuda
In over my head!
Hope Mark doesn't get stuck every 2 miles!
I think the big trucks were easier to get to, He wasn't asked to drop the tranny!
I think the big trucks were easier to get to, He wasn't asked to drop the tranny!
b-body-bob
Well-known member
I'd bet the chassis was completely built out then the cab and bed was installed.
I remember hearing about Ford trucks that required pulling the cab to work on things.
Dr.Jass
Pastor of Muppets
Dorman and AGS sell a complete replacement kit, though it ain't cheap. It's designed to circumvent all the disassembly by including flex lines and junctions in certain spots. Our shop has done a few of these, and the high cost of the line kit is more than offset in saved labor. The lines route the same as the stock ones and take between 1-2 hours to install, pump to engine. New factory lines are just as, if not more, expensive than the Dorman kit if the former is even available, but the difference in labor is several hours.
If he hasn't already done it, the time's coming for brake lines. Dorman sells full prebent stainless-steel kits for $90-$200 (depending on truck) that replace every hard line on the truck, even the rear axle. They're a bargain, and the pain in the arse front-to-rear line can be slipped into place with the truck assembled. While it's not always the case, oft times that the fuel lines are disturbed, the brake lines get compromised in the process.
They absolutely were. It's the most cost-effective way of doing it: easy installation, shorter (and hence cheaper) lines. Why on Earth would they do it any other way? Read on....
This has been true of trucks since the dawn of the assembly line. When unitized construction came along, cars continued to use the "body drop" method.
On several years of PowerStroke trucks, merely changing the injectors required pulling the cab. The guy who did pickups at the diesel shop could have the cab off in under 45 minutes, which is impressive when one considers brake lines, steering, etc. atop just pulling the bolts and unplugging wires. In several cases regarding areas at the rear of the engine, he'd pull the cab whether it was required or not just to ease access and shorten the job.
What folks don't understand is that in the automotive industry, the only design priority is getting each car assembled as quickly as possible. Labor is by far the automakers' largest expense. No thought is given toward service, and in fact the service manual isn't even written until well after the design is finalized (and the design team is not involved with its writing). The only concern is getting that car down and off the line as quickly as possible. There was literally never a time when manufacturers "built cars so you could work on them". Cars were just plain simpler 50+ years ago. Still, there are still decades-old instances where the "production first" mindset is obvious. The one that always comes to mind is the 1967 GM F-bodies. Most of the passenger's side front sheetmetal has to come off the car to replace the blower motor. After their 1970 redesign, this also included removing the bumper or header panel. Removing the dash structure on a Mopar A-body first requires pulling the windshield.
There are no stupid engineers. They do their jobs brilliantly, because their job is to make the vehicle easy to assemble on a production line. Service is the dealer's (and eventually customer's) problem. It's one of the reasons I, perhaps foolishly, abandoned both my plan to work in the automotive industry and the engineering degree required to do so.
RUSTY Cuda
In over my head!
It looked like these babies were clamped 3 times to the bottom of the cab, where a midget monkey couldn't reach.
He had already left when I got home, he got them in & ran it a while no leaks yet & no extra warning lights buzzing!
He ordered a new bracket for the filter he put in outside the rails, I didn't crawl under to look.
You can see the old lines just dangling in there!
He had already left when I got home, he got them in & ran it a while no leaks yet & no extra warning lights buzzing!
He ordered a new bracket for the filter he put in outside the rails, I didn't crawl under to look.
You can see the old lines just dangling in there!
RUSTY Cuda
In over my head!
Well that was fun, it's kinda done, He's thinking of a different route inside the rail, but it's put back together now, we are actually getting rather schooled in putting the bed back on!
Got some clamping to do, I guess he's waiting to decide on the reroute?
The leftovers, the most expensive item was the fuel line, had to buy 25 ft lengths! 
Got some clamping to do, I guess he's waiting to decide on the reroute?
The leftovers, the most expensive item was the fuel line, had to buy 25 ft lengths!
RUSTY Cuda
In over my head!
Jass, He looked up those kits, not far off from what He made up, if he decides to keep the truck long term He will try the AGS kit, Thanks for the ideas!
RUSTY Cuda
In over my head!
Today he routed the lines inside the rail added a bunch of insulating wrap, left too quick to get any pics but he might be a little safer now?
RUSTY Cuda
In over my head!
Waited 3 weeks to get the 'Cuda in, alignment & a bunch of adjusting/double checking my questionable work, see what & how bad I screwed up????????
Might get in a few cruises in before the snows come?
Poor car has been sitting at least 20 years now.
Might get in a few cruises in before the snows come?
Poor car has been sitting at least 20 years now.
RUSTY Cuda
In over my head!
I made it 3 weeks ago, was supposed to go in last monday & I got pushed off another week, my driver he would squeeze in, but since I don't need this it gets less urgency!
Then there was my procrastinating about insurance, needed that before I could schedule, at least registration in NJ on classics is free yearly & I keep the plates forever, so I didn't waste another month getting it registered!
Then there was my procrastinating about insurance, needed that before I could schedule, at least registration in NJ on classics is free yearly & I keep the plates forever, so I didn't waste another month getting it registered!
b-body-bob
Well-known member
Is there anything obviously wrong with the alignment?
I think unless you're going to autocross the car, close enough is good enough. If it doesn't wear the tires and/or pull massively to one side, I kind of let it go. It does help that I've got the tools and was at one time trained by Hunter on how to do them. There's no way my rinky dink tools are accurate. But they're good enough.
I once took a car in to be aligned. I told the guy I needed as much caster as possible. I figured he was smart enough to know you have to set both sides about the same with just a little difference to account for road crown. I got the car back, and it would sort of drive in circles because one side had massive caster, the other had the opposite.
Between that and the guy who installed a set of control arm bushings by pressing the bushing into the LCA and then pressed the pin into the bushing I decided the common mechanics here just aren't that smart. FWIW I paid that guy to press the guts of the bushing right through the shell. At that point I just bought my own damned press.
I think unless you're going to autocross the car, close enough is good enough. If it doesn't wear the tires and/or pull massively to one side, I kind of let it go. It does help that I've got the tools and was at one time trained by Hunter on how to do them. There's no way my rinky dink tools are accurate. But they're good enough.
I once took a car in to be aligned. I told the guy I needed as much caster as possible. I figured he was smart enough to know you have to set both sides about the same with just a little difference to account for road crown. I got the car back, and it would sort of drive in circles because one side had massive caster, the other had the opposite.
Between that and the guy who installed a set of control arm bushings by pressing the bushing into the LCA and then pressed the pin into the bushing I decided the common mechanics here just aren't that smart. FWIW I paid that guy to press the guts of the bushing right through the shell. At that point I just bought my own damned press.
RUSTY Cuda
In over my head!
Well now that I drove it a whole block & a half it needed it driving left quite a bit.
My guy is pretty good, hasn't destroyed anything on me in 40 years of my cars, work vans & now my kids cars too.
& the prices came down after he got to know me/us.
He also put the best guy on it, problem is He's almost my age 70ish & can't see him working too many more years, I asked the boss, what are you gonna do when he retires & he just rolled his eyes & shrugged his shoulders, he only has one other guy, fairly new, I don't know his credentials?
My guy is pretty good, hasn't destroyed anything on me in 40 years of my cars, work vans & now my kids cars too.
& the prices came down after he got to know me/us.
He also put the best guy on it, problem is He's almost my age 70ish & can't see him working too many more years, I asked the boss, what are you gonna do when he retires & he just rolled his eyes & shrugged his shoulders, he only has one other guy, fairly new, I don't know his credentials?