The Horvaths
Young man with a cowboy hat
440Source
The shipping was free too.
1966 Plymouth Sport Fury 383 4 Barrel 4 Speed Restoration Thread
- Thread starter The Horvaths
- Start date
The shipping was free too.
The Horvaths
Young man with a cowboy hat
Here are the pictures I promised.
The Horvaths
Young man with a cowboy hat
Intake came in today...
The Horvaths
Young man with a cowboy hat
Went ahead and painted the exhaust manifolds to match.
Putting this here for reference:
Putting this here for reference:
Last edited:
commando1
Old Man with a Hat
Looks great.
Can you do me a HUGE favor??
Can you snap me a good sharp pic of the frame mounted z-bar bracket?
For the book I'm writing..
Can you do me a HUGE favor??
Can you snap me a good sharp pic of the frame mounted z-bar bracket?
For the book I'm writing..
The Horvaths
Young man with a cowboy hat
Sure. Car should be back home sometime next week. I'll do it ASAP.Looks great.
Can you do me a HUGE favor??
Can you snap me a good sharp pic of the frame mounted z-bar bracket?
For the book I'm writing..
65sporty
Old Man with a Hat
Do you really need that much carb spacer?
The Horvaths
Young man with a cowboy hat
No.
The Horvaths
Young man with a cowboy hat
Went back through the thread and some of the posts got messed up. Here they are again.
So, to start this thread off, I will begin with the shifter.
The original shifter to the car had a popped weld and a few fractures, so we decided it would be best to just get a new one (pictured above).
It is the same Inland Shifter that came with the car.
We took the new shifter, and put it in an ultrasonic parts washer for about an hour. Then we put it in the oven to dry quickly. It cleaned it up really well!
The next step, was to remove the shifter handle so it would not be damaged. Also, it is important that you replace the grommets where the handle mounts! The grommets for the Sport Fury are different than those from B-Bodies!
So, to start this thread off, I will begin with the shifter.
The original shifter to the car had a popped weld and a few fractures, so we decided it would be best to just get a new one (pictured above).
It is the same Inland Shifter that came with the car.
We took the new shifter, and put it in an ultrasonic parts washer for about an hour. Then we put it in the oven to dry quickly. It cleaned it up really well!
The next step, was to remove the shifter handle so it would not be damaged. Also, it is important that you replace the grommets where the handle mounts! The grommets for the Sport Fury are different than those from B-Bodies!
The Horvaths
Young man with a cowboy hat
After the shifter handle is removed, we can start work under the car. I put mine up on a pair of ramps to do this. To demonstrate what I was doing under the car, I will use the old shifter.
There are 3 "rods", (represented by the straw), which connect to the transmission via a "lever". The "rods" are connected to the shifter by 3 "fingers".
To start, I disconnected all the "rods" from the "fingers" and let them dangle from the transmission. I then took the shifter off the frame, which was connected by three bolts.
The red circles represent where the bolts went.
After the old shifter is removed, you can put the new shifter on in the same orientation, via it's three bolts. When you go to put the new shifter in the car MAKE SURE that you put the large center bolt in it's slot BEFORE you start with the other bolts. It will not fit otherwise! Tighten the shifter to the car. This will take time. Reattach the shift handle with it's 3 nuts. Next comes the fun part of "tuning" it.
You first need to make a special tool to align the fingers.
It measures: 2.5 in. (length) by 9/16 in. (height). Length and height relative to picture.
You must do this with one person in the car and one person underneath. The levers must be in the position demonstrated by the Shop Manual.
With the shift handle in the neutral gate move it all the way towards the "reverse" position, but do not put it in the reverse gear. The goal is to engage the reverse "finger". Have the person underneath align the Low and High gear "fingers" so that the slot lines up. The special tool will only go in about 1/2 in. into those two "fingers". It will not go into the reverse "finger". Then connect the Low and High gear "rods" to the "fingers". Adjust the "nut thing", (I don't know what it is called), on the end of the "rod", until it just slips through the hole without interference. Make one turn adjustments until this is achieved. Put the washers back in place, and then clip it down to the "fingers". Remove the tool from the shifter. We now need to adjust the reverse "finger" and "rod". Have the person in the car move the shifter through the neutral gate, and then hold the lever in the reverse position very carefully (to the far left, but in the "neutral gate" position - this aligns the reverse finger without tearing the shifter further apart). The "finger" down below should be very tight (not wiggly) as judged by the person under the car. Once the "finger" is tight, follow the same process of putting the "rod" back on. Once all this is completed, have the person in the car shift through each gear as the person below watches. Make sure the correct "rod" is moving, and that each "lever" is engaging. Make sure that the shift across the neutral gate is buttery smooth, and has no binding. If it is not, check your "rod" lengths, (especially reverse), and try again. This entire process should take a little over an hour (if you are not as hopelessly inept as I am!)
WooHoo! If I am unclear about something, please let me know, and I will do my best to clarify.
There are 3 "rods", (represented by the straw), which connect to the transmission via a "lever". The "rods" are connected to the shifter by 3 "fingers".
To start, I disconnected all the "rods" from the "fingers" and let them dangle from the transmission. I then took the shifter off the frame, which was connected by three bolts.
The red circles represent where the bolts went.After the old shifter is removed, you can put the new shifter on in the same orientation, via it's three bolts. When you go to put the new shifter in the car MAKE SURE that you put the large center bolt in it's slot BEFORE you start with the other bolts. It will not fit otherwise! Tighten the shifter to the car. This will take time. Reattach the shift handle with it's 3 nuts. Next comes the fun part of "tuning" it.
You first need to make a special tool to align the fingers.
It measures: 2.5 in. (length) by 9/16 in. (height). Length and height relative to picture.You must do this with one person in the car and one person underneath. The levers must be in the position demonstrated by the Shop Manual.
With the shift handle in the neutral gate move it all the way towards the "reverse" position, but do not put it in the reverse gear. The goal is to engage the reverse "finger". Have the person underneath align the Low and High gear "fingers" so that the slot lines up. The special tool will only go in about 1/2 in. into those two "fingers". It will not go into the reverse "finger". Then connect the Low and High gear "rods" to the "fingers". Adjust the "nut thing", (I don't know what it is called), on the end of the "rod", until it just slips through the hole without interference. Make one turn adjustments until this is achieved. Put the washers back in place, and then clip it down to the "fingers". Remove the tool from the shifter. We now need to adjust the reverse "finger" and "rod". Have the person in the car move the shifter through the neutral gate, and then hold the lever in the reverse position very carefully (to the far left, but in the "neutral gate" position - this aligns the reverse finger without tearing the shifter further apart). The "finger" down below should be very tight (not wiggly) as judged by the person under the car. Once the "finger" is tight, follow the same process of putting the "rod" back on. Once all this is completed, have the person in the car shift through each gear as the person below watches. Make sure the correct "rod" is moving, and that each "lever" is engaging. Make sure that the shift across the neutral gate is buttery smooth, and has no binding. If it is not, check your "rod" lengths, (especially reverse), and try again. This entire process should take a little over an hour (if you are not as hopelessly inept as I am!)
WooHoo! If I am unclear about something, please let me know, and I will do my best to clarify.
The Horvaths
Young man with a cowboy hat
The C Pillar discovery:
So I decided to face my problems head-on last night and remove some of the paint to let whatever was under the bondo on my '66 rear it's ugly head. I used 80 grit sandpaper, a sanding block, and a little elbow grease to work my way through a QUARTER INCH of bondo! The pictures I took tell the story.
This is what I started with:
When I got the base coat of paint off, I could peel the bondo off in chunks! Gross!
I thought this was rusted, but...
Nope! I did some more sanding towards the top of this area and it was clean as well! There wasn't even surface rust. My phone died before I could take pictures of that.
My guess is that a previous owner did not like the body line, and decided to bondo over it in the most sloppy manner possible.
After finishing all this sanding, I coated the bare metal with a substance similar to Ospho (I can't recall the name off the top of my head) to protect it. I will be taking the car to the body shop after I finish removing the engine and the rest of the driveline (yes, there will be a thread on this, and some more on rebuilding the transmission!). Anyways, I thought I would share my progress.
So I decided to face my problems head-on last night and remove some of the paint to let whatever was under the bondo on my '66 rear it's ugly head. I used 80 grit sandpaper, a sanding block, and a little elbow grease to work my way through a QUARTER INCH of bondo! The pictures I took tell the story.
This is what I started with:
When I got the base coat of paint off, I could peel the bondo off in chunks! Gross!
I thought this was rusted, but...
Nope! I did some more sanding towards the top of this area and it was clean as well! There wasn't even surface rust. My phone died before I could take pictures of that.
My guess is that a previous owner did not like the body line, and decided to bondo over it in the most sloppy manner possible.
After finishing all this sanding, I coated the bare metal with a substance similar to Ospho (I can't recall the name off the top of my head) to protect it. I will be taking the car to the body shop after I finish removing the engine and the rest of the driveline (yes, there will be a thread on this, and some more on rebuilding the transmission!). Anyways, I thought I would share my progress.
monaco75
Senior Member
That is a pleasant surprise to not find rust under there! Looking good!
The engine looks great!
The engine looks great!
The Horvaths
Young man with a cowboy hat
Did wheels and hubcaps today. Special thanks to Bryan for the dog dishes.
Nothing much to see on the wheels. They're black.
I did many little dent repairs on my hub caps. They may not look like new, but they're close enough.
Before:
After:
Nothing much to see on the wheels. They're black.
I did many little dent repairs on my hub caps. They may not look like new, but they're close enough.
Before:
After:
Nice work... they'll do...
The Horvaths
Young man with a cowboy hat
Special surprise today:
And the completed wheels. (Thanks again, Bryan)
And some more parts:
And the completed wheels. (Thanks again, Bryan)
And some more parts:
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Love it... excellent use of the college fund...Special surprise today:
And the completed wheels. (Thanks again, Bryan)
And some more parts:
View attachment 92942
Seriously, I am looking forward to the build and the final product, thanks.
Ripinator
Old Man with a Hat
The C Pillar discovery:
So I decided to face my problems head-on last night and remove some of the paint to let whatever was under the bondo on my '66 rear it's ugly head. I used 80 grit sandpaper, a sanding block, and a little elbow grease to work my way through a QUARTER INCH of bondo! The pictures I took tell the story.
This is what I started with:
When I got the base coat of paint off, I could peel the bondo off in chunks! Gross!
I thought this was rusted, but...
Nope! I did some more sanding towards the top of this area and it was clean as well! There wasn't even surface rust. My phone died before I could take pictures of that.
My guess is that a previous owner did not like the body line, and decided to bondo over it in the most sloppy manner possible.
After finishing all this sanding, I coated the bare metal with a substance similar to Ospho (I can't recall the name off the top of my head) to protect it. I will be taking the car to the body shop after I finish removing the engine and the rest of the driveline (yes, there will be a thread on this, and some more on rebuilding the transmission!). Anyways, I thought I would share my progress.
Mighty fine efforts there. I always liked the '66 Fury - especially with a four-speed.
The Horvaths
Young man with a cowboy hat
It's back...
And almost done.
This week should include putting the engine back together, including making sure the heads will clear. Next weekend I will put the floor back together, and then I will rebuild the transmission. Of course, there will be posts for all of these. I'm getting excited about how close it is to being "finished". I will snap a picture of the Z-bar bracket next weekend.
And almost done.
This week should include putting the engine back together, including making sure the heads will clear. Next weekend I will put the floor back together, and then I will rebuild the transmission. Of course, there will be posts for all of these. I'm getting excited about how close it is to being "finished". I will snap a picture of the Z-bar bracket next weekend.
The Horvaths
Young man with a cowboy hat
Big update time:
Mary's engine is f*#ked!
Well not really.
The jackclown who "rebuilt" this engine failed to degree the cam (I assume) so the pistons absolutely destroyed the valves and vice versa. Also, something got into #8 and heavily pitted the bore. So basically, the only way to do this right is to rebuild it entirely.
That brings me to my final update for this thread (for now). For various reasons, I'm going to stop work on Mary, at least for a while. My sincerest apologies to those who watched and enjoyed this thread, and thanks to you all for the encouragement. It is now time for my other project that I've been hinting at for a long time. The Blue Moose is going to get upgraded to how I've always imagined it. This includes fixing the body, a 4-speed conversion and the kicker,
A 522 stroker.
Well, that's the plan at least.
Mary's engine is f*#ked!
Well not really.
The jackclown who "rebuilt" this engine failed to degree the cam (I assume) so the pistons absolutely destroyed the valves and vice versa. Also, something got into #8 and heavily pitted the bore. So basically, the only way to do this right is to rebuild it entirely.
That brings me to my final update for this thread (for now). For various reasons, I'm going to stop work on Mary, at least for a while. My sincerest apologies to those who watched and enjoyed this thread, and thanks to you all for the encouragement. It is now time for my other project that I've been hinting at for a long time. The Blue Moose is going to get upgraded to how I've always imagined it. This includes fixing the body, a 4-speed conversion and the kicker,
A 522 stroker.
Well, that's the plan at least.
Sorry to hear about your unfortunate discoveries.
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