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

[CTBob]

Thanks so much for the inflow of the Tom Hale info, Lee! That's so great! Very cool! (Now that you mention it, I do remember reading about that, as well.) …So that completes the picture: Step 1.) Tom's aspirations thwarted; wrath incurred! ("Grrrr…") Step 2.) Tom's "revenge" Approved & completed; Production Department's wrath incurred! ("Grrrr…" in return!) Sounds like a true corporate "love-fest!" (Not!!) (Did they not remember the heart (as illustrated in the hemicuda ad in my immediately previous post) which punctuates "Plymouth Makes It?")

[njsteve]

The Powr-Lok Sure Grip unit and parts arrived from Dr. Diff on Tuesday afternoon and I then dropped them off at Bontempo Brothers Competition in Linden, NJ. If you ever get a chance to stop in there, it is like a time warp trip to 1970. It is an old time speed shop with all four walls covered in NOS and used speed parts. VERY COOL! The back garage and warehouse has racks of engine blocks, heads, rear end parts, transmissions, etc. It's just amazing.

I dropped off the parts and the center section and axles. They disassembled, hot tanked, and reassembled everything in less than two days. Total labor was around $400.

Once I repaint the case and add the inspection marks, I will throw it all back in this weekend. Just waiting for the axle tube seals to arrive.

(The little white specs are styrofoam from the box I brought it home in. So I will be cleaning those off before installation, of course).

[njsteve]

I got the paint marks done and managed to manhandle the carrier into place in the housing today. Unfortunately the transmission jack I used to remove the carrier was not too helpful for installing since there was no way to load the carrier onto it and then lift it, since the jack saddle is already about 8" off the ground and won't clear the underside with the carrier sitting on it. So, I had to use the low profile floor jack and over-head lift the carrier while on my back so the flange was on the saddle and then jack it a couple times so I could wiggle it into a balanced positionon top of the jack. Luckily the exhaust was something of a safety barrier to prevent the carrier from falling left or right (onto me).

Got it up in place and bolted up and then had to adjust the axle freeplay on an 8-3/4 rear. It calls for a range between .008 to .018, measured from the left side. To get your correct play, you then adjust the spinning flange on the right side and bolt the keeper in place under one of the flange bolts in order to permanently fix the clearance.

It then took about an hour to pump in two quarts of traditional 85W-140 and a little bottle of Ford friction modifier, (that came with the posi unit). Nothing like trying to hand pump semi-solid, 35-degree gear oil. (Yeah, I should have heated it up in the house overnight). DOH!

[big gear head]

I've been on my back on the floor many times with a 84 pound 9 inch Ford chunk above my head doing an overhead lift and then shoving it into the housing with gear oil running over my head and chest. It's lots of fun. I've been doing that about 4 times a year since I started racing my Camaro, switching from street to strip and then back again. I think I'm going to invest in some aluminum cases.

[njsteve]

Since you do it four times a year, you could just bolt in a small winch or pulley to the underside of the trunk above the carrier location and pull it up into place effortlessly. Hmmmmmm. I should patent that idea...

[big gear head]

Good idea. You design it and I'll build it.

[olredalert]

----Feel your pain, Steve. Have been doing something similar, but different but the same frustration level!.....Bill S

[njsteve]

And what happens this morning? I go to pick up the new, fluffy dog pillow my wife bought yesterday for the Jack Russell, off the floor. (Probably weighs about half a pound) ...and pull a muscle in my back.

[njsteve]

I took the purple mobile out for a spin today to test the rear differential installation. Bontempo Brothers did a great job on the sure-grip installation. Not a sound out of the rear end. Totally silent. Ran her through the gears for about ten miles. Didn't even have any popping out of gear under coast conditions. So maybe the transmission doesn't need synchros after all. Just needs to be warmed up and driven.

At 60 mph, the tach reads 2,600 rpm.

Here she is, in all her dusty glory. Next project might be to actually wash and wax her.

Things left on the short list:

1) S24MY Turbostart sealed Group 24 repro battery. Out of stock everywhere, even though Summit, Jegs, etc., will take your money and then tell you a fake future shipping date from the manufacturer. Even TurboStart themselves say they arent building them til at the earliest late March 2021. https://www.summitracing.com/parts/tbo-bb-s24my (Says 2/2/21 shipping date when checked on 1/18/21)
2) Bumper jack assembly, base plate, bumper hook, etc.
3) Sunny days to drive it and some cruise nights again...

[RPOLS3]

Very nice Steve. Congratulations.