1966 Plymouth Valiant Signet

T

The Wizard

Member


Edit:
http://s1296.photobucket.com/user/Th...?sort=3&page=1
Click to see pics as they're uploaded!

Alright, so after deliberation with others, I've decided to start a project thread.

I'll be repairing and fixing my daily driver day after day, and I'll try to be as informative as I can, so as to give the pros info to work with(When I ask them for help, which will happen)- and hopefully to inspire others to action if they're apprehensive.

The good:
- The paint is good.
- The 727 works just fine.
- The 273 runs good.
- It 'passed' aircare.
- Dual exhaust
- The interior is in really good shape
- The vinyl roof was done very well
- Most of the lights work
- Supposedly the suspension was overhauled.
- Frame is solid
- Body is very solid. Rusted floorpans were replaced.
- 2 barrel carb was recently rebuilt
- Radiator works, since the engine hasn't blown.

The bad:
- It needs window felts.
- It needs spark plugs.
- It has a lean on the passenger side.
- There is a lot of oil seepage on the block.
- The diff case has gel at the bottom of it.
- No headers
- Both the thermostat and the fuel gauge are kaput.
- Passenger rear tire wobbles.
- No antenna.
- One reverse light is out.
- It needs a sway bar. Badly.
- The seats aren't great.
- The seat belts are well... It's from 1966.
- There's a hole in the wheel well.

All in all, I'm happy. Lots of work to do, but I've got the time to do it now.
 
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Wizard, you say your valiant leans on the passenger side. If its on the front can you crank it up on the torsion bar on the passenger side or down on the drivers side ? I had charger years ago that I leveled out that way. I realize if you have a huge variance in adjustment from one side to the other that you may have some suspension issues ie tired torsion bar and or leaf but in the case of my old charger the adjustment brought the two adjustment bolts closer to each others height
 
Valiant instruments

I have restored several A body mopars. Currently have a 65 dart G.T. ,66 Dart Wagon , 66 Belvedere. The heat and fuel gauges are powered together from a voltage reducer mounted on the panel on the back. This may have failed.This is fed by a 12 volt wire in when the key is in the ON position. The reducer drops the voltage to approx. 5 voltsto operate the gauges. This is most likely problem if both gauges don't work. Also check the sending units. They work off of grounds. Ground the wire to the temp sender . The needle should go to full hot . Good Luck . Fred
 
"ShovelHead" is right about adjusting the torsion bars as the easy way to level up the suspension. But before you do that, check to see if the lean is caused by the front or rear suspension or both.

If you jack the front of the car up at the center of the front crossmember then the lean measured will be the result of the rear springs. Also jack the rear up at the center of the rear axle and front suspension lean will show. Make sure the jacking point is at the center of the car as sometimes the differential pumpkin is offset to one side.

If the lean is the result of the rear springs and you correct by adjusting the torsion bars you can develop diagonal corner weighting which may be good for oval track racing or for drag race launches without positraction, but may also cause a steering pull to one side.

Inspect the rear springs for any obvious variations, side to side, number of leaves, broken leaves, lowering blocks etc. If the springs are in good condition but not of equal camber you can have them re-cambered by a spring shop or shim one side down with a lowering block and longer u-bolts. Springs sag from age / use but unless the leaves are broken, they do not get any weaker, so the spring rate remains the same as new.

Air shocks in the rear are another option, but will raise the ride height unless lowering blocks are added first.

Stock car racers usually have access to individual wheel scales (like longacre), so that may be a possibility to check your corner weights.

Good luck, you've got a good project there. John
 
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Mo ...par. Oh ya.

See you moved the thread, want to keep an eye on this build, just love old Mopar's, just have their own style.
 
Update:

I've decided to tackle the instrument cluster first. The speedometer cable needs lube, so I went and bought some lithium. Next, the thermometer and gas gauge don't work. After a few hours, I tried to remove the cluster containing the idiot light, gas, temp, speed, and charge. I was successful in disconnecting the ignition terminals and scaring the hell out of myself before I figured out why the car wouldn't turn over. I'm going to come at it again in the morning with a fresh head and get it done.

@ Shovelhead & Gfart - Thanks for the info, I honestly had no idea. I'll keep that in mind for when I get to the lean issue.

@ Dolfan - I read about that. I'm just hoping a connection went sour and I just have to scrape and vaseline the connections, though I'm sure it's more than that. I can't even get the cluster out though. The light switch terminal is getting caught on the upper lip of the dash with about 1/8th inch of interference. I'm worried I'm going to snap the 50year old plastic if I reef on it too much. Any suggestions? Anyone here work with one of those clusters and dashes?

@Kermit - Thanks man! Yeah, the wheels are going to be a tough find, but I was hoping what I've got now would last until I have the money and time to swap out to a more common bolt pattern. I didn't know about the site, so thanks a lot for that! I don't plan on a motor swap anytime soon though, I just want to get the 273 back in shape, maybe throw a Edelbrock 4barrel economy carb on. I want to post more pictures, but I don't actually have a camera of my own, so I'm bugging friends and family to take pics as I tool away.

@Mud.man.rj - You're right about that, I really love the suedo-space look that seems to remind me of casinos for some odd reason.
 
Day 1:

Bolstered with my experience from the night before, I disconnected the ignition terminals, as well as the light terminals on the cluster. After trying unsuccessfully to remove the cluster, I dropped the steering column for clearance. I then discovered that the actual speedometer cable itself was preventing me from removing the instrument cluster.

I'm not well versed in mechanical speedometers, so I'm imagining that there isn't supposed to be a whole lot of slack in the cable. That said, I fingered my way to the back of the speedometer through the underside of the dash, when I discovered that there was no way for me to achieve leverage with pliers to unscrew the collar.

While lying upside down with my feet in the air and my head in the footwell, I noticed a blown 20Am fuse. I'm sure this has something to do with the failure of my temp and gas gauges. The voltage regulator died, and sent full power to the box, which killed the fuse? Or is it possible that I just had a dead fuse all along? Too late to buy a fuse, so that'll happen tomorrow.

Back to the speedometer cable - I crawled under the car and traced it to the back of the torqueflight. I then noticed that part of the cable's insulator had melted from contact with the exhaust. I also noticed that the transmission oil pan took a serious hit and peeled some of the lip off, exposing the gasket. Luckily it's not leaking, but it's something I'd rather not keep around.

Again, back to the cable, I found once again that there was no angle of approach where I could attain leverage, as there was a bracket mounted directly below the cable, to the back of the trans. There was also a metal rod that looked like it extended from the floor pan, past the trans and through the bracket. I tried to break the bolts, but they wouldn't budge. I sprayed them with some penetrating stuff, and I'll be back at it tomorrow.

So, I looked around on the internet, and I haven't found ANYTHING explaining how to get the instrument cluster out. I'm seriously stumped here. Since it's partially melted, I'm thinking of just cutting it, and putting a new one in. It still works though, just need to lube the bushings behind the speedo. Any suggests and/or advice is welcome and requested!
 
Put away those pliers and put some gloves on and unscrew that speedo cable. Pliers just distort the flange and make it bind up. Or try sliding a hose clamp over the end, tighten it a bit and then unscrew it by hand. The clamp will bite into the flange.
And best advice is don't hack and wack on any parts on an old car. Don't cut things out unless you have a source for replacements. Especially on a mopar.
If your speedo cable is toast anyway, cut it and get a new cable. They are available or easily made.
That metal rod etc on the tranny sounds like your shifter assembly. I bet you got a console shifter since I see buckets.
Another thing to remember is the dreaded left hand threads on your wheels (driver side). Don't go twisting those nuts off!!
 
Thanks Kermit! I tried with my hands with no results, but I'll try it again today. Gotta get my finger strength back up again, I suppose. Oh, I'm being very ginger with the old girl, I don't want to have to drive all around B.C. for some dumbass mistake I make.
The cable insulation was melted a little, but the cable and speedometer work. The back of the speedo just needs lube.

That metal rod, really? You are right, I have a console shift.

Wait... What? Left hand threads? You mean what they have on motorcycles? Thanks for the heads up!

After a long while of digging, I found a Dodge service manual for a 66 Dart, which is essentially the same car. The instructions said to remove the speedometer cable from underneath the dash. I'll give it another shot.

Also, pictures - finally!
http://s1296.photobucket.com/user/TheGeezerWizard/library/?sort=3&page=1

There are so many, so I figured I'd just link you guys instead of stretching this page out.
 
Another tip on those left hand studs.
Go gentle!
Always possible someone swapped the hubs around on the front or changed out a stud or two. I ran into that on a 64 Fury once. Hubs where swapped and 2 studs that shoulda been lh were rh on the rear.
Thanx for the pics!!
 
@ Kermit Oh god. I'll be sure to crank carefully then. Who the hell does that?

Day 3:

Set out and bought a set of eight V-Power NGK spark plugs, and ordered the valve cover gaskets. Back at the garage, I got behind the speedometer and managed to unhook everything behind the dash, and I finally got the speedometer cable. Still square so I lubed the cable and the bushing behind the cluster. I checked the Voltage regulator but I didn't notice any scorching that would indicate a short or a dead unit. Put 'er back together and got to work on the plugs. Yanked them all, and noticed the electrodes were dry and brown. Happy day!

However the threads all had oil in them, I'm guessing from valve cover leak. Still, no oil in the cylinders! Got the new plugs out, set the gap for .035... and promptly killed one of the spark plug cables. Mom drives me to Canadian Tire, we pick up some Accel cables, and I'm back to work.

Then I notice that there are only four spark plugs in one box, and three in the other. I guess I'll be calling Napa after Christmas. Well, replace all the of the cables and she starts! I haven't driven her around yet to see if the speedo works, but she idles better than ever.

Next up are the valve covers, when they arrive.
 
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There are basically 3 ways of putting a 4 bbl on a 273. 1-find an original 4 bbl intake.2-change the heads to later 318 heads and use a after market or stock cast iron intake to match.3- although i have never done it apparently you can file the intake bolt holes on say an after market intake to match the intake bolt angle on the 273. for some reason chrysler made the intake and intake head bolt holes at a different angle than the later small blocks.
 
Thinking more about this .you may be ok ,i think 66 was the year that they changed to the later intake bolt angle.Just something to be aware of thats all.
 
@Nitro - Thanks for the heads up! Didn't know that was something to be on the lookout for. I'll keep that in mind when I upgrade to a 4barrel.

Also, SUCCESS! I fixed the speedometer cable!
 
Plymouth Valiant Signet

Could I suggest getting your hands on a workshop manual. I did that for my 46 Olds and a life saver. It shows most things in detail and saves all the frustration and skinned knuckles.
 
@ MGTSTUMPY - I got lucky. I was shown to a online directory with service manuals in PDF form. Found a 66 Dart Manual, since it's essentially the same car. You are certainly right though, without that, I'd be screwed.

Also ordered in some gaskets and other parts from Mopac! Those'll be here soon. There'll be some real nice pictures soon!
 
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