66 Monaco Wagon Preservation

[66MonacoWagon]

I just bought this:
Advance Auto Parts - Down for Maintenance
Mine is a 66, and it had the 4bl Carter. The base was too small to fit the new carb. The plastic collar fixed the issue, but it did raise the air cleaner a smudge (not enough to hit the hood).

Joe

 

[TxDon]

We have had a few days of unseasonably warm weather here in North Texas (70s to 80 degrees!) so I changed the oil and filter and took a couple of nice drives now that the car starts and runs like it should. I still want to pull the distributor to check it out and replace points and condenser but no rush. I do have two fairly major jobs that I'm starting to plan for:
BRAKES:
The brakes work now but not very well. Normal stops are no problem but a quick stop reacts like the pedal hits something about half way and the car keeps going, almost like a fade. Drums, linings, wheel cylinders and hoses have all been replaced but the fluid in the MC is dirty. I auto adjusted the brakes by backing up which helped a little but not much. My plan is to have the booster rebuilt, replace the MC with a dual unit using the Inline Tube line kit, rebuild all the wheel cylinders and flush all the fluid with new then adjust the shoes by hand.
A/C SYSTEM:
If you follow this thread you know I had my factory system working for a whole month then the compressor locked up. My car has the dual A/C with the roof mounted unit in the back so any work becomes pretty involved. I would really like to retain the factory parts as much as possible, replace the compressor, dryer and expansion valves, flush as needed and recharge with R-134. I'm going to need a lot of help with this, I plan to use the search and re-read all the A/C posts here then probably start my own new thread just for the A/c work.
My goal is the get these two items done by spring, we shall see if I will be successful.

 

[Ross Wooldridge]

Remind me Don if you converted to discs in front or not. If not, and you replaced all the shoes front and rear, your symptoms sound suspiciously like the shoes are not properly arced to fit the drums... Often shoes needed to be filed to properly fit the inner profile of the drum to maximize "swept area", or the shoe only contacts the drum on the shoe's high spot(s), greatly reducing brake effectiveness. Decent slower speed stops but useless at any heavier type stops. Have a grey-beard brake guy check and arc the shoes if required.

If you're running discs in front then it's something else like a hanging up caliper or a poor master.

Message me for any help needed re the AC.

 

[TxDon]

Thanks Ross. I still have drums all around, good point about the arcing. Even though the shoes look fairly new the car sat unused for a long time. I'll look at the wear patterns when I open it up.

 

[GJS]

Strange my stock air cleaner fits on with no adaptor.

1969. When I built my 440 for my 68 (a 1970 engine) I swapped to an Eddy and the stock air cleaner fit. No go on my 67 383 4bbl. Wound up with a mister gasket open element base with the stock top ... less than Ideal but I hope to remedy that this summer

 

[TxDon]

I'll start my brake research with re-asking a question that didn't get an answer before. My car has what I assume to be the Midland-Ross power booster. I've seen references on here to "just use a 1967 dual master" for a conversion, is there a specific source or part number for a master that will fit this booster? I would prefer to buy a new master rather than rebuilt.

 

[Ross Wooldridge]

If the master is listed for 67 with power brakes it will bolt right up to that booster.

 

[LocuMob]

If the master is listed for 67 with power brakes it will bolt right up to that booster.

Yep, I just swapped out the master in my gray car to a 67 up dual and added some line, just crudely coiled it once and hooked it up.

 

[Ross Wooldridge]

There's a proper distribution block for doing that very conversion.

I still think you should ultimately go to front discs.

 

[TxDon]

There's a proper distribution block for doing that very conversion.

I still think you should ultimately go to front discs.

I bought the Inline Tube line conversion kit CDB6504 mentioned in other posts which includes the block and bracket.

Discs - ultimately who knows? For now I'll stick with drums and see how that winds up.

 

[Ross Wooldridge]

Good choice on the distri block. Make sure your shoes are arced as noted above, and get your AC sorted!

 

[TxDon]

A quick update on my brakes - decided I would try a poor man's brake arc job. I took it out for a drive on expressway frontage roads near me where I could travel at 60-65 mph then rode the brakes on and off while keeping the speed constant. Not excessive and let the linings cool between brake applications. I did that about 15-20 times, trying a few moderately hard stops in between. I could feel the response improving as I went and now they work quite well, biting harder with low pedal pressure and stopping quick and straight on a hard stop. So now I'm not so worried anymore, the booster is working fine. I will still do the dual master conversion and flush the system but no longer feel as much urgency.

 

[Ross Wooldridge]

Interesting... one definitely can run the risk of warping drums that way, but it sounds like you went about things in a thoughtful way. I would suggest you may want to repeat the whole routine.

Don't get too complacent regarding the dual circuit master conversion... however well the brakes perform, if you lose a brake line you have NO brakes.

The single circuit brakes in my Monaco were excellent, but I had a scary moment nonetheless when I lost a brake line during a panic stop (the most likely time for failure). Thank goodness my p brake is always kept in good nick, or the little old lady who pulled out in front of me would have died.

 

[BIGBARNEYCARS]

Interesting... one definitely can run the risk of warping drums that way, but it sounds like you went about things in a thoughtful way. I would suggest you may want to repeat the whole routine.

Don't get too complacent regarding the dual circuit master conversion... however well the brakes perform, if you lose a brake line you have NO brakes.

The single circuit brakes in my Monaco were excellent, but I had a scary moment nonetheless when I lost a brake line during a panic stop (the most likely time for failure). Thank goodness my p brake is always kept in good nick, or the little old lady who pulled out in front of me would have died.

You mean you have folkz that do that on your side of the boarder too My Friend? I got on a real nostalgic trip the other day when Welder Guy posted that Pic of the Old Mission on Yonge st. Very painful to know that our favorite Inn-On-The-Park iz now an Auto Mall. Stay warm up there Pal and Keep Jamin'. Lemme know when you're gonna Make Carlisle, Jer

 

[TxDon]

Now that my brakes are working well for the time being I need to get busy on fixing the A/C system. As mentioned previously I have started a separate thread for just that under 66 Monaco Wagon A/C Resurrection
Thanks to all who posted here in the past about A/C issues, I would greatly appreciate any additional help on the other thread. Texas heat is just around the corner and I really want to keep cruising in this car when it hits!

 

[BIGBARNEYCARS]

If you're bound and determined to use the R2 get a re-manned, WITH A NEW CLUTCH. I don't think you'll find a new Tecumseh Compressor on the planet anymore, But you can get a new Sandon AND CLUTCH for about the same $ az the R2 and plumb that in and it will do the job az well if not better, even if their not original. Who knows when the hoods down and the windows are up, lol. Sandon's are bullet proof and run forever. That's the way I went with every RB Mopar I've built except my 300 Hurst and in retrospect I'd have been far and away money ahead if I'd gone with the Sandon on that one too. For 5 years I fought that R2 Compressor while my bride and I were living in Austin so I know what 105* iz with 95% humidity too. Got it fixed after 5 yearz of re-charging it X?, 6 weeks before we re-located back north in '99. BTW, your rear A/C won't know the difference with either compressor. Just make sure it's flushed out well and both fans work, Jer

 

[TxDon]

Long time since I posted here since I spent a lot of time with the A/C rebuild. Not much happening lately other than enjoyable driving. With the cold weather I have noticed my speedometer cable is very noisy when I first start out and the needle jumps all over, after about a mile it stops. I assume this means the cable needs lubrication. Haven't looked at the FSM yet but what is involved in getting the two clusters out. In addition to the speedo cable I would like to clean the faces / lenses and possibly add LED instrument bulbs. Has anyone done this and can you share procedures or pitfalls?

 

[Ross Wooldridge]

You shouldn't need to take out the clusters, but I could be wrong. FSM will state.

However, if I'm right, you only need to remove the bottom dash shrouding, and you should be able to reach up and unscrew/unclip the cable.

At that point you can either replace it by detatching it from the trans (or cruise control head if so eqipped) and replacing with a new one, or leave it all in place and pull out the inner cable from the sheath, inspect for kinks or other damage (will require replacement if so), clean it, grease it and thread it back in.

Others will chime in with their advice.

 

[1970cat]

if you do a search on the main page, there are several threads on the conversion including:LED dash lights

 

[mr. fix it]

There's a proper distribution block for doing that very conversion.

I still think you should ultimately go to front discs.

Disc would be good.

I just sold my 67 dual M/C setup with the correct distribution block.
(You can't just bolt up the dual M/c and add a line. unless you want the rear wheels to lock up under a panic brake situation.)