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

[njsteve]

Gradually hooking things up under the hood. Installed a new set of Autolite 65 spark plugs. I like Autolites and the 65 is actually the same application they used in the 426 hemi - I thought they looked familiar. I installed the restored wiper motor, too. I pulled the thermostat out to see what it was and it turned out to be the original Chrysler 2943209 190 degree unit. I am replacing it with a 160 degree thermostat as I like to run my Mopars on the cool side.

[m22mike]

How is running a 160* vs. the 190* stat going to make it make it run cooler ? Just curious. Car looks great by the way.


Thanks Mike

[njsteve]

From experience, Mopars seem to like cooler thermostats. Pontiacs not so much - you could put a 160 in a 455 and it still runs whatever temperature it wants to.

[njsteve]

Got the horns all fixed and painted. Dave had mentioned that they were the original date coded set but non-functional. HA!

The key to fixing non-working horns is to get Jersey Mad at them. First remove the tiny adjuster screw on the side...and not lose it...then spray PB-Blaster or WD-40 inside the tiny hole. Let it soak for a few minutes and reinstall the tiny screw. Then apply positive 12 volts to the horn terminal and negative to the ground bracket and "carefully" whap the heck out of them a couple times against a block of wood on the floor. It will make some weird, dog howl-inducing noises and then you will hear that they are working again fully. It's kind of like jumpstarting Frankenstein's monster. Start with 2 amps, then go to 10 and then higher if your charger has the setting. It's always worked for me in the past and worked on this set as well.

Here's the set all painted up. You can see the date codes on the outer lip One was "37 9" and the other was "39 9". You can also see the "HI" and "LO" indicated on the outer edge area.

[tom406]

Steve, when are you going to write a book/website documenting all of these home restoration "hacks" you've developed or adopted? You are super generous documenting in these threads, but selfishly I'd like them all in a centralized collection Thanks to you and Dave for sharing this journey.

[Lee Stewart]

[markinnaples]

Wow, that is going to be so sweet when it's all done, whew.

[RS_COPO_Canuck]

Looking fabulous! Good Tag Team Duo!
Steve - What markings are on the carb bolts?

[njsteve]

They are just regular, modern bolts from what I can tell - not original ones. Got a photo of what the markings should be? I can start digging through my bucket of bolts for similar ones.

[njsteve]

More random parts getting refurbished. The ash tray insert for the E-bodies is nicely reproduced and it comes with the three tiny rivets that need to be drilled out and then hammered back into place once you repaint the ash tray door. The ash tray door, upper housing, glove box door and hinge, all get painted in a special suede black paint ($25 a can). Once I get the dash frame out that will be painted in the same paint as will the steering column parts, too. But that's for another episode. I am still waiting on the dash pad to be available again. They are currently on backorder.