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Post by sigmfsk on Jul 19, 2011 17:43:48 GMT -5
Marin County is back from the bead blasters. And it looks beautiful, and ragged, all at the same time. There are rust holes everywhere. Notice the gold car in the background, just waiting to donate its sheet metal. It looks like the VIN is only on the car in three places: 1) the VIN tag 2) the firewall 3) the rear package tray The axle was back from DTS. Recall that TK826 pointed out that the 9 1/4 axle cover silhouette is shown when they're driving down Maxwell street. So I needed a 9 1/4 axle (as well as a stock 9 1/4 axle cover). Recall I had two bluesmobile style cop wheels made. They center the rear wheels inside the wheel well perfectly (with the stock 9 1/4), but they were really too close to the upper a-arm in the front (barely 1mm to spare). So I'm going to move them 1/4" outboard. Since I'm changing the wheel backspacing to move the wheel 1/4" outboard (to clear the front a-arms), and I want to use the same spare on all four wheels, and I want the wheels to be centered in the rear wheel well, I had the axle tubes/shaft shortened 1/4". This actually didn't cost any more, because DTS cut the axle tubes (to remove the c-clip axle style) and welded on a Dana 60 tube end (bolt-in style axles). Since I had Dana 60 style axles, I had the easy option to upgrade to disc brakes. These are Wilwood 140-7144 - Dynalite Pro Series Rear Parking Brake Kit with 12.19" diameter vented rotor (2.36 offset) mopar 8-3/4 - Dana 60, For use w/ green non-adjustable bearings w/ snap ring. So this disc brake kit will work equally well on an 8 3/4. Here's the 1350 yoke. I also got 3.92 ratio, truetrac They also welded the axle tubes to the housing all the way around. It surprised me that this wasn't done at the factory. These guys are working slower than I like. I must say - slower on my car. They are going like gangbusters in general, but my Mopar work takes priority behind their larger customers. I have plans to go back in a few weeks and take detailed measurements of the front suspension points on the subframe. Then I can fool around with designing a new front suspension, and win the 2013 Steam CEVS challenge. your friend in planning ahead, arthur
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Post by countrybunker on Jul 19, 2011 18:30:39 GMT -5
She looks awesome Arthur! Thats also one great looking gold B body in the background! They might be taking a lil longer then you would like.. But judging off that car, Id say yours is gonna be worth the wait!
That 9 1/4 is sweet! Might have to come grab it and just see how well she works under my car... haha
One thing though.. DONT use the green bearings! they are junk! They are intended for drag use only. Within the 1st 5 miles of cornering use they will be shot! Ive heard this over and over again on several sites, and also in several mopar magazines.
-zac
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Post by sigmfsk on Jul 19, 2011 18:52:34 GMT -5
One thing though.. DONT use the green bearings! they are junk! They are intended for drag use only. Within the 1st 5 miles of cornering use they will be shot! Ive heard this over and over again on several sites, and also in several mopar magazines. -zac I've heard some rumblings, but it doesn't seem clear that it is as bad as you think. Here is the manual on my disc brakes: www.reillymotorsports.com/140-7144.pdfThese Wilwood disc brakes require snap-ring style green bearings. From what I can tell, there are two types of green bearings: flange style and snap-ring style. > The snap-ring style is supposed to be stronger than the regular > flange-type. Moser also stated this, that they are a superior > design over the flange-type. Rick from MA also states that they > are the stronger type in a recent mail reply in this month's issue. www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php?topic=72769.5;wap2But even the flange style is used successfully on the street by some folks. Here's a thread board.moparts.org/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=4740404&page=0&fpart=1&vc=1where one guy writes: > Agreed. For drag racing they are OK, for street driving no, and > an autocrosser would destroy them in no time. They don't hold > up well to side loading (cornering). and a guy responds: > I love responses like this. I have been using greens for almost > a 100K, and I'm not a drag racer...Changed the first set @ 50K. and another guy: > greens 8 yrs and 100 miles a day and another: > I replaced to greens at least a decade ago. So far I have years of > autocrossing, two track days as well as tens of thousands of > miles of spirited driving - no failure yet. I really don't know much about them. DTS seemed like a standup place to do axle work, and the only disc brake kits they recommended/sold were Wilwood, and the only Wilwood disc brake kits for my axle with an integrated parking brake required these bearings. And I went through everything I planned to do with the car and axle and tried to pick the strongest most reliable parts, so if it was a concern for them they had every opportunity to let me know. Of course, just because they sell it doesn't mean it's the best, but I felt comfortable with it. Wish me luck! your friend in the wheels not falling off, arthur
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Post by countrybunker on Jul 19, 2011 20:52:08 GMT -5
I wasnt aware that there were 2 types of green bearings. Good to know! Hope it works out for you! Im looking at a set of rear disks for my 8 3/4, and it also suggests using green bearings..
I didnt wanna go with the greens. I read somewhere on how you could get a good bearing in there with some modifying.. Not sure where though.. Ill have to look..
Got any more pics of the car man? -zac
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Post by Steam McQueen on Jul 19, 2011 22:24:53 GMT -5
Does the gold Royal know what's going to happen to her yet? haha. This is a remarkable restoration you're doing, Arthur.
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Post by bm4you on Jul 20, 2011 3:34:49 GMT -5
What a great restoration, Arthur. I take off my hat!
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Post by sigmfsk on Jul 20, 2011 17:09:05 GMT -5
Got any more pics of the car man? Oh, so you like pics of cars with holes in them, eh! Here's the rest of what I took at the recent trip to the panel beaters. Here are some before / after shots of the axle. your friend in becoming friends with photobucket, arthur
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Post by sigmfsk on Jul 20, 2011 17:33:00 GMT -5
I got in a new license plate bracket from Bluzman. The location of the bend looks slightly different than stock, but the stock bracket is so boogered up it's hard to tell. And maybe the stock bracket wasn't exactly 90 degrees. If it fits, it fits the bill! A nice job.
your friend in parts coming in, arthur
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Post by countrybunker on Jul 21, 2011 12:32:49 GMT -5
Man that front cowl area sure is eaten up! These cars seem to rust in wierd spots! Everyone of them Ive seen seems to rust somewhere different.
My cars horrible in the front clip!
That 9 1/4 sure turned out purty! Look forward to the rebuild!
Let me know how that license plate bracket turned out. Might have to get ahold of him for one.
-zac
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Post by sigmfsk on Jul 21, 2011 16:51:12 GMT -5
Let me know how that license plate bracket turned out. Might have to get ahold of him for one. Well, I don't have a bumper handy to try it on. Well, I could find a bumper, but it wouldn't be attached to the car. I think the best test would be with a license plate attached to a bumper attached to a car. I have this test planned for March 2013. I can say right now: it's as good as one could possibly want without actually testing that it fits perfectly. But I have no evidence that it won't fit perfectly. So tentative thumbs up!
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Post by scatpack on Jul 31, 2011 16:51:31 GMT -5
That is mind boggling the small rust holes on that car. I didn't realize how far you were going restoring this car. It will be one of the best in the country I am sure.
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Post by sigmfsk on Aug 13, 2011 13:56:09 GMT -5
I was looking at this shot (here lightened and resized from blu-ray):
And noticed that this is a pic of a car without A/C.
Look at the far left and see that the kick-panel is missing. To the right of the wire holder is an open area. This is for the vent door of a non A/C car. A car with A/C has this area filled in.
Above: same pic, with me outlining the areas I'm talking about.
Above, a pic of my 1976 parts car with A/C showing hole filled in.
Above 3, Marin County - non A/C car.
On BBC, I posted some shots showing the bluesmobile morph from A/C to non A/C (based on the right dash vent being blocked off).
But this shot clearly shows a car with a hole for the non-A/C vent. Different people have different goals with their bluesmobile, and mine has changed over time.
I think this is a valid summary at the moment:
------------------------ if it's shown once in the movie, it must match that shot if it's shown multiple times in the movie, it must match one of them
under those conditions, the car will be exactly the same as a 1974 stock 440 cop Monaco, except for changes due to the following considerations: - performance - safety
So this means that I can't use 75+ hood rollers, even though they are not shown in the movie (because it would be mostly a change of convenience, not performance).
when options still remain, select the one that is - coolest to impress nephews
So the movie bluesmobile morphs between CHP tan carpet, and cop rubber flooring. I picked cop rubber flooring because that meets screen accuracy, 1974 cop car accuracy, and is most likely to impress the nephews. -----------------
My goal is no better or worse than anybody else's goal. It just gives me something to shoot for without always wondering what to pick.
The inside of the trunk isn't shown, so I must pick a spare tire position that is compatible with being a cop car. CHP cars had the rear right. But Chicago cars had the standard civilian left front.
As both are cop-compatible, I pick the standard civilian left front, because that's coolest to impress the nephews that I'm 6'1" tall, and can lie down completely in the trunk without my head or feet touching.
So, according to my goal, I must have a car with the non-A/C vent hole in the left kick panel area. And, thank goodness, I have one! Yeah, Marin County!
And, according to my goal, the car can either have a dash passenger vent (which means A/C), or have a dash passenger block-off plate (with means no A/C). I elect A/C.
Notice in the Elwood floor shot that the wire holder to the left of the vent hole is empty. This car had no wiring harness! No problem; I can route my harness to left of the screen shot. I don't know what the horizontal rod/cable/wire is (just under the wire holder).
There are three shots of the driver floor area: - pumping the throttle when run out of gas - brakes on bridge to nowhere - jam on the throttle to jump over nazi road hole
In order:
All seem to show exactly the same car. The above are DVD full-screen shots (that show a little more vertical picture). Here's one that's been lightened:
That if you look at the lower left, you can see the cop rubber floor mat insert area. It matches the insert area of Marin County's CHP style carpet:
your friend in Saturday afternoon pondering, arthur
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Post by ti4438 on Aug 13, 2011 16:20:09 GMT -5
My interior used to look EXACTLY like the last two pics.
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Post by sigmfsk on Aug 14, 2011 17:49:43 GMT -5
My interior used to look EXACTLY like the last two pics. Those pics bring up all those wicked memories of working in junk, rust, and broken glass. But I'm a glass is half-full kinda guy. I think about how cool it will be to repopulate my blumo with actual 35 year old cop junk! I'll duplicate the patrol log, make lots of copies and stick them in the sun. Whenever one completely falls apart in the car, I'll toss in another one. your friend in planning ahead for the WAY WAY distant future, arthur
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Post by tk826 on Aug 21, 2011 14:13:01 GMT -5
Hey sig, Do we know what this is? I seem to remember the seller from Oregon had two Marin Co's. Is that correct, or am I mistaken? And if so, is this in fact the other car? .
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