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1980 Dodge Aspen
https://mail.slantsix.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=9948		 Page 2 of 3
Author:  Slant6Ram [ Thu Aug 11, 2005 1:54 pm ]
Post subject:  Back to work on the 'Race' car
Got the transmission mount on and the hoist out of the way. Still need to install the rad, hoses, driveshaft, tranny lines, shift linkage, kickdown, and a few other things. I'm worn out and feeling sorry for myself about N. Wilksboro points results :(

Seems like about an hour of work if I could just get myself in gear again. You can actually see the difference between the old and new block. Don't know what this new transmission will do. Can't figure out what gearset the 83 truck 904 actually has. Got a set of 3.21 gears on it's way to upgrade from 2.94 and sure grip is already working. Should be easily able to beat my 18.4 second best, but needs too get a lot more consistent to win races. :oops:

Crazy thing is,, my wife has always been supportive, but
My wife was at N. Wilksboro and the light finally went on for her :idea: She brought me some racing magazines from the library last night and is encouraging me to continue to try for any points I can collect this season. She demanded that I finish the car by Tuesday, so I can get to the test and tune and get some more practice! :shock:

I think part of the change came when while I was at N.Wilks on Saturday, my son Paul Jr (2 1/2 years old) and Wife were at the mall. Nascar was on one of the TV's and my son took notice. "That's my daddy, he's racing a slant six car" he told my wife and her aunt. :D

Hearing my son struggle to say "Mommy's slant six car" is about the cutest thing you have ever heard. My Wife's heart melted and she even thinks she might try to race her scamp a few times next season. We are now officially a slant six racing family. Life is good.
Author:  Tim_K [ Sat Sep 03, 2005 10:48 pm ]
Post subject: 
Do you plan to put a tach in that Aspen anytime soon? Shifting at whatever speed the speedometer says is no way to do it, especially when the new gears and tire sizes haven't been properly calibrated.

Shifting from tach readings will be far more accurate and consistent. And you'll probably pick up a few tenths too.



See "Online Video", the internet's comedy / opinion webshow, at www.loudmouthtim.com !
Author:  Slant6Ram [ Mon Sep 05, 2005 5:42 pm ]
Post subject:  It's a very long list.
Quote:
Do you plan to put a tach in that Aspen anytime soon?
It's on my Christmas list. :wink: I'm sure it would help, thanks for the suggestion.
Author:  Tim_K [ Mon Sep 05, 2005 5:45 pm ]
Post subject: 
Call Uncle Bob, I'll bet he's got some tachs laying around or can find you one cheap. I don't have any extras right now.
Author:  Slant6Ram [ Fri Sep 09, 2005 6:49 am ]
Post subject:  It's a long list
I already owe uncle bob a couple of hundred bucks for truck parts.

I thinK I did ask a while back, but all he had was oil/water/amp gauges.

I'm sure I could get one for about $35 new from the parts store, but I've really got to focus on paying what I owe and saving enough to get to this last race. (I've still got to pull the motor back out and fix the cam which = more new gaskets and maybe a timing chain)
Author:  Tim_K [ Fri Sep 09, 2005 4:08 pm ]
Post subject: 
Send me an email with a phone number to loudmouthtim@hotmail.com . Maybe I can do something or locate some spare parts cheap for your /6 car.
Author:  Rob Simmons [ Sat Sep 10, 2005 6:00 am ]
Post subject: 
Quote:
Crazy thing is,, my wife has always been supportive. I think part of the change came when while I was at N.Wilks on Saturday, my son Paul Jr (2 1/2 years old) and Wife were at the mall. Nascar was on one of the TV's and my son took notice. "That's my daddy, he's racing a slant six car" he told my wife and her aunt.
Hearing my son struggle to say "Mommy's slant six car" is about the cutest thing you have ever heard.
My Wife's heart melted and she even thinks she might try to race her scamp a few times next season. We are now officially a slant six racing family. Life is good.
Great stuff!

When I was stationed in Virgina for a school back in 2000 a friend was letting me race his '71 Comet that he had up for sale. It was a mid 15 second car....

One Friday night my wife decided to be supportive and she took the kids to watch me race. My son, Chase, was about 4 years old at the time. He was up in the stands cheering me on. One of the rounds of the test & tune had me paired against a 10-11 second car. He was yelling, "Go Daddy! Go!".... Until that 10-11 second car just blew right by me! He slumped his shoulders and let out a sigh. Then he looked at my wife and said, "Daddy's car isn't very fast at all!"

Fast forward to Bristol 2003... Chase and I towed our rag-tag Duster up from Atlanta for the race. Just Chase and Dad. It was his turn. (With 4 boys you have to take turns sometimes :D ) This was the car's maiden voyage after being pulled out of a field and I had no idea if it would even make it down the track, much less run 19s. I warned Chase on the way up that the Duster would probably be one of the slowest cars there and it might not even make it on the track. His response was, "That's okay Dad, I just like being with you."

I absolutely LOVE being a father! :D

It would be great to get my wife involved as well. She has no interest, but is as supportive as she can be. I think if I could get her behind the wheel at a race she might develop an interest. She does have a competitive nature.

Keep up the good work. I look forward to racing with you someday! Maybe we can be on the same team! :wink: :D
Author:  featherduster76 [ Fri Sep 16, 2005 1:26 pm ]
Post subject:  You made mopar collectors guide
Spotted your aspen in mopar collectors guide, sweet!
way to go!
Author:  Slant6Ram [ Fri Sep 16, 2005 1:57 pm ]
Post subject:  No way!
I can't believe it. Did I make it into any of the glossy pages? Or did that rustoleum white just stand out too nice on black and white to pass up? Did I get a caption?

I don't have the current collectors guide. Help me out, what issue and what page! I gotta get a copy!

:D :D

That's the biggest ego boost I've had in months! :P

Now I just gotta get the cam oil feed fixed so I can finish off this season right!

If I can also get the gearing installed, I could be dipping into the high 17s if the air is good. Thanks for the tip, it's been VERY motivational. Guess this is a good day to also upgrade my sig pic to something nicer.
Author:  Dart270 [ Fri Sep 16, 2005 4:47 pm ]
Post subject: 
Congrats, Paul! Always good to get some ink.

Lou
Author:  featherduster76 [ Sat Sep 17, 2005 8:26 pm ]
Post subject:  The current issue
The current issue as in october '05, it's featured in the slant six racing
news section. In color too, lol.
Author:  Slant6Ram [ Sun Sep 18, 2005 11:59 am ]
Post subject:  Into Action
:shock:

I called around and can't find one on the shelf of any of the local bookstores. :( I can hardly wait! I can't believe it! :o

It was such great news, what an ego boost, that I deceided to get off my can and turn the wrenches on that cam/oiling problem. 3 hours on friday night and the motor/trans is again free of the car so that I can figure out what's wrong.

I'm hoping it is just a poorly drilled aftermarket cam and not the bearing, but I've only read about what to look for, so I hope it goes well. I don't know the history of this block, but maybe it's got some kind of 'performance' aftermarket cam installed. Otherwise, I'm stumped as to how it would have developed oiling problems.

I guess we'll find out, I'm going home now to pull it off the hoist and tear into it.
Author:  Slant6Ram [ Mon Sep 19, 2005 2:56 pm ]
Post subject:  A better look
Well, the cam is out. It's a stock cam and the origional timing chain. Strange that someone sleeved the damper, but didn't replace the chain. Found a slighly burnt valve and lapped it back in with a better used valve.

Checked the holes in the cam oil feed against another mopar factory cam. Looked to be drilled at exactly the same angle, and the holes were actually bigger on the questionable cam.

Probing with a coat hanger, it seems like the cam bearing is installed pretty close to correct, but I can feel the edge of the bearing is obstructing a small amount of the passage. It doesn't seem like enough to cause such poor oiling by itself.

Looking at the wear mark on the rear cam lobe, I can see that one of the oil holes is not drilled directly in the middle of where the bearing rides and this might be causing the bearing hole and the cam hole to not line up perfectly or perhaps the cam shifts forward during acceleration causing even worse alignment of the holes. The hole drilled from the other side is located much more true and I can see the difference when looking through the hole, I can see the offset. I'm sure there is plenty of opening through the cam to allow oil to flow.

So, I hope that the combination of several small tolerance variations is causing the poor oil flow problem. I have already re-centered the odd looking hole and radiused both cam holes per suggestions I've seen by Doug Dutra. I hope I didn't over do it. Would have been nice if I could have found a more difinitive answer.

I also cleaned out the casting abnormalities in the water pump housing, since the water pump needed replaced anyway. I also have a slightly used melling high volume oil pump which I intend to use to replace the stock oil pump.

I hope to get back to working on the motor in a few days, but any additional suggestions are welcome.
Author:  Dart270 [ Mon Sep 19, 2005 5:09 pm ]
Post subject: 
Can you stick a piece of wire down through the rear hole in the head, or if the head's off, down the block oil hole? The wire should come out through the rear cam bearing into where the cam would sit. If it is blocked by the bearing, then it has spun and you'll have to either drill a new hole or replace it. The bottom hole on the brg sits over a slot in the block, so it may still be clear. If that's the case, I have drilled a new upper hole using a long 3/16" drill bit down through the oil hole in the block, head off.

Lou
Author:  featherduster76 [ Tue Sep 20, 2005 2:41 pm ]
Post subject:  Hi
Send me a personal message with your address Paul...
Thanks--Michael
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