Recent content by BillGrissom

My 1969 Dart had separate lap and shoulder belts, so that must have been an early design. There was a separate latch for each on the seat side, as I recall. The shoulder belt had a clip at the top so you could keep it secured up there on the headliner. That is likely where most people left...

Removed my cluster to fix a few issues. One was that the odometer stopped working soon after I re-installed the speedometer's spinning magnet ~1992. I sent that off to a speedo shop in Bakersfield who re-bushed the shaft. It had been wobbly, letting the spinning magnet grab the aluminum cup...

Looks like "The RAM Man". No personal experience, but I frequent the FABO forum too and he is often recommended there, like one of the few who can rebuild old brake boosters. I think he also offers a master cylinder like 1980's Dodge trucks, but with a custom 15/16"D bore (unless mixing up...

Leaks from the rear of the valve covers have driven me crazy for years on my 1965 Newport. The problem appears that the heads don't have a flat sealing surface. It is a rough casting and drops away ~1/8" at the rear. I have negligible blow-by (new short-block & restored heads), so the...

My parent's 1955 Olds had such an "electric eye" on the dash. It used a side-on photomultiplier tube to sense light, which I know from academic research (see Hamamatsu), which became the biggest market for those components. But, the unit shown in the photo looks much different (smaller)...

The rubber coupler is termed "RAG joint". OE type are very expensive (>$100) if you can find them and the rubber may be old. Decades ago, when mine separated in my 65 Newport, I had a local gasket & rubber place in Atlanta cut me a disk w/ holes to use & has been fine since. I later saw the...

I think the purpose is for EV credits, which are more burdensome in Europe than even CA. Previously, FCA had announced spending $$$$ to buy credits from Tesla for Europe, so looks like this merger will nix that plan. I was a little happy when Daimler owned Chrysler since I have two 1980's M-B...

I would not term it "gets power". All the steering wheel switch does is ground the single wire from the horn relay's coil. Use a jumper wire to do that yourself (cover ears). Often there is a break where a jumper goes around the rubber isolator (RAG) on the steering column in the engine bay.

Did you say a store tested it and showed the alternator wasn't outputting, but the Vreg was the problem? For others, leave it in the car since best way to test it. Gazillions of posts in the A-body forum, esp by 67Dart273 who is ever patient w/ gomers. You can easily apply "full field" w/...

Thanks. Very useful. $23 was an amazing price, but none left. Search "switch 3502126" in ebay turns up many for $75-80, which is still a good price. I recall when Paddock sold them for $99 in the early 1990's. You are correct that many later van parts interchange w/ our 1960's Mopars. I...

Scarebird is the cheapest and simplest front disk conversion since keeps your spindles. Especially good if you recently rebuilt the front suspension. They use common GM or Toyota parts so should be easy future replacements. Factory disk parts are getting very rare. You will need to add an...

First, it is a myth that rust is like cancer and will inherently spread. The problem is that it provides porosity to allow moisture to reach bare steel. I agree w/ the above on eliminating as much loose rust as possible - down to shiny black steel, then a chemical that dissolves rust...

I'll just add that if the wild camshaft makes cruising at lower rpm tough, you might consider Rhoads variable lifters. Same PN for SB & BB, and I assume your RB. They work by leaking-down at lower rpm to give less valve lift, thus more efficiency and intake vacuum. At high rpm, they can't...

A few things to consider as you plot your path. Carburetors are increasingly expensive and difficult to repair. If you can find a rebuild kit cheap and the car is just an occasional driver, that might be the best path. My 1965 Newport came with a Bendix Stromberg WWC 2 bbl which gave 18 mpg...

I'll 5th the suggestion that an air space at the top of the radiator is normal. As example, for a time I would notice the coolant level in the radiator being down ~2" below the cap in our 2002 T&C 3.8L V-6 van, so would top it off. After repeating many times, I noticed the level in the coolant...