The Crusty Cuda: Whole lotta Shakin' (N96) Goin' on!

[Woj]

Originally Posted by A12pilot

Thanks, Sam! Yes, my entertainment quotient is directly proportional to my lack of integrity and imaginative vocabulary. Sort of like figuring out the hydroplaning speed of a tire....it’s that precise!

See you next year!

Cheers
Dave

Hydroplaning speed = 9 times the square root of the tire pressure. That is what they told me in the Air Force.

[njsteve]

Originally Posted by Woj

Hydroplaning speed = 9 times the square root of the tire pressure. That is what they told me in the Air Force.

So if the tire pressure was 30 psi, the square root is 5.4. Multiply by 9 and you get 49.2 mph.

Shouldn't the depth of the water count as well?

Very cool. I done math stuff and it's only the second day of the year.

I should rest now.

[Woj]

Originally Posted by njsteve

So if the tire pressure was 30 psi, the square root is 5.4. Multiply by 9 and you get 49.2 mph.

Shouldn't the depth of the water count as well?

Very cool. I done math stuff and it's only the second day of the year.

I should rest now.

LMFAO Steve. Take it easy with the calculations. I'm sure tread and water depth has something to do with it too. I saw a video with extreme hydroplaning where the tire actually spins in opposite direction vs direction of travel. That hurts the brain too.

Phil

[njsteve]

Dave, do you have a close up photo of the dealer decal/badge on the tail panel? Is it a foil sticker? I had the original foil sticker from my Charger reproduced years ago. I think ECS Automotive did it for me back then but I imagine you can probably do it on your own printer at home nowadays.

I need to hurry up and sell my Firebird so I can buy a timeshare on your Cuda. ;-)

[A12pilot]

I’ll post one up, Steve. There’s actually a shadow of, I think, the original dealer sticker there as well. The one you see is the second, used car lot dealer sticker I believe. I’ll confirm and post up!

Timeshares are being offered right now for pennies on the peso. But once mechanical independence is confirmed, this fantastic fiduciary facade will start floundering and fade into a fleeting fishy fallacy and become a fabulous financial flop! So best to send in your deposit post-haste!!!

I’m not quite sure what I just typed.....

Cheers
Dave

[A12pilot]

Just a quick update; tomorrow is cam break-in day! This thing hasn’t run since 1978! More to come tomorrow......in video form!

Cheers
Dave

[A12pilot]

Welp, cam break in was successful....sort of. First step was to wire everything up, which you'd think would be easy. I mean, eight wires, right? Wrong! Despite being date coded correct and all that, they're about an inch short on every plug. But as one can see by the expression on my face, I didn't let that stop me!

Once that was done, everthing was primed and I was ready to fire! My film crew wasn't available so you'll have to take my word that it went well.... sort of. But here is why my posts are so awesome....I love talking about my downfalls as much as I do my successes! So what do I mean by "sort of'? After the 20 minutes or so running, I let it cool down and added more antifreeze, changed the oil and filter, and was ready to fire it back up. Cam break in done! Like I said, I was ready, but the mighty 340 wasn't.

I couldn't get it to start or stay idling without a lot of popping and misfiring. Hmmm.....but at 2600rpm or so, smooth as silk during break in. So what's the deal? I screwed with the timing and got it running, but it wasn't right. So what's one to do now? Sell the car and buy a Hellcat? Quit the hobby and become a recluse? Shake my first in the air and say "Damn you, car!!".

I chose to do the latter, then pulled the plugs to figure out what the heck was going on. I found #7 and #6 not firing. So I then decided to check the plug wires. They checked ok on ohms. I thought with them shorter than required, maybe they pulled away from the contacts on either the cap or plug? That was true with #7, but not #6. I shoved them in tight and tried it again. Once I had it idling, the slightest move of the distributor to set timing was met with stumbling, popping, and a stall. So seems the freshly rebuilt dual point dizzy is to blame in conjunction with two of the plug wires.

Jam on down to the parts house and grab a single point distributor and a set of plug wires. First try, fires right up, idles great, no issues.

So diagnosis? Condensor bad or dual points not set correctly, after checking the continuity of #7 and #6 plug wires, determine both are weak. Chinese crap parts 1...... original Chrysler parts 0.

So Crusty is alive! She hasn't had a running engine since 1978!!

Brake bleeding and a new yoke for the driveshaft and I'll be cruising!

Cheers
Dave

[mockingbird812]

Interesting. personally, i'd've just spliced yr short dizzy wires. simple, quick, and fraught with surprises!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!

[cook_dw]

Video of it running!!!! cONGRATS!

[A12pilot]

Progress forward! Brakes are serviced, new ignition switch installed, and the emergency brake assembly is back in. Last items are the windshield, trim, and all the Shaker junk to go back on under the hood. I should be driving around this weekend!

Don't you worry Big D, video of that to follow!

Cheers
Dave