Medina, a 1971 T-code Monaco

[ayilar]

Happy to report that the alternator is charging the battery properly and that the car runs well. Among the folks I want to thank (beside, of course, @71Polara383 and @saforwardlook as already mentioned) are @polara71, who took and sent me detailed pics of his own Monaco's engine bay to show what the original setup should look like, and @70 Sport Suburban, who selflessly offered to swap the alternator on his own car with a non-A/C spare and send me his correct alternator in case I could not find the right unit.

What's next? Why, five new Hankook H724 whitewall tires will be installed by Discount Tires of Rockford this afternoon (they are upstanding guys who honor their sale prices), and then Wyatt will install the new Moog replacement tie rod ends (1, 2) and idler arm (which I bought from Summit Racing, after reading Dave's suggestion to not just replace the ends). Then, the car will be ready to get an alignment in time for Volo!

Ran out of photo space in the previous post, so I've attached here a photo of the engine bay with the heat riser back in place after replacing to valve cover gaskets. The bolt holding the riser to the manifold is broken, but the riser is in place and does not shimmy/rattle. Yeah!

PS: I will keep providing detailed information about the decision and installation process, as well as multiple links, in the hope of (i) sharing and letting readers benefit from the same fantastic advice I've been getting from experts on FCBO and (ii) saving others in the same situation the not-insubstantial amount of time I have devoted to tracking the right parts and vendors.

 

[ayilar]

Guess what’s next?

 

[Fratzog]

Having never used that type of shock what is the advantage supposed to be?

 

[ayilar]

@Fratzog — good control combined with a very comfortable ride. I got them last year for my first C (the ER6 ‘vert that you know well) on the advice of @polara71, and am very thankful for his recommendation.

The difference between Poppy (my ‘70 vert, which has them) and Medina (which does not) is remarkable. I love Poppy’s ride, but I can’t say the same of Medina’s. Way too firm for my taste in C-bodies, yet without a commensurate improvement in handling. Both of my Dodges have fresh Hankook Optimo WW Tires, so I give the credit to the shocks and just got KYBs all around for Medina.

 

[Don Stolfi]

Enjoyed seeing Medina in person & meeting you, too, at the Volo show!

 

[Fratzog]

good control combined with a very comfortable ride.

Thanks for the info.

 

[Samplingman]

Great job on the refresh! Any pics from the show? Will Medina make it to Carlisle this year?

 

[Yeahrightgreer]

Guess what’s next?

View attachment 297976

View attachment 297977

How much did the shocks run you mate

 

[ayilar]

Enjoyed seeing Medina in person & meeting you, too, at the Volo show!

The pleasure was mutual. I will be posting some pictures from the show in the “3rd Volo” thread later today -- Wyatt and I are in the middle of a deal to acquire another C, and that takes priority

Thanks for the info.

You're most welcome!

How much did the shocks run you mate

I like to buy locally if possible but O'Reilly, whose Rockford stores have provided great service to Wyatt and me, did not carry what I wanted. I therefore bought from Summit--with which I've had good experience before--the fronts (KG4507, $30.45 each) and the rears (KG5512, $34.98 each). Tax is on top, but shipping is free for orders over $99.

OK folks, back to the question: what else did I buy? What else is getting installed soon?

 

[71Polara383]

Tell them about the hellephant crate engine you ordered!

 

[Don Stolfi]

Care to share what new C-body you guys are looking at or is it too secret?

 

[saforwardlook]

Care to share what new C-body you guys are looking at or is it too secret?

My bet would be its a 1973 Imperial. But what do I know???

 

[LocuMob]

My bet would be its a 1973 Imperial. But what do I know???

Wyatt = Dodge.

 

[saforwardlook]

Wyatt = Dodge.

Michel = A nice C body 4 door!

 

[ayilar]

Great job on the refresh! Any pics from the show? Will Medina make it to Carlisle this year?

Thanks! Wyatt gets the credit: he and I discuss things thoroughly together, and I source most of the parts, but he's the expert and the doer. Much credit as well goes to folks on this board, especially @saforwardlook and also @Big_John for advice and references.

Yes, here in the Volo thread!

Unfortunately not. The engine and transmission mounts, as well as the U-joints, first need to be replaced as part of a process through which Wyatt and I are troubleshooting a vibration coming from the drivetrain. In addition, the shocks need replacing and Medina needs a full tune-up. The distributor will also be getting remanufactured -- for Volo, Medina used a loaner from one of Wyatt's own '71s.

Care to share what new C-body you guys are looking at or is it too secret?

Sorry for not revealing everything yet. A verbal deal has been made, and a deposit has been wired and accepted. The ad has been pulled by the seller. So as not to jinx things, though, and given that there was a lot of buyer interest in what will be my third C, I've decided to wait till I have the title in hand before the reveal.

 

[Polara_500]

[QUOTE="ayilar, post: 760379, member: 1059" I've decided to wait till I have the title in hand before the reveal.[/QUOTE]Wise choice, young grasshopper..........

 

[ayilar]

OK, so here is an update on Medina. Post Carlisle, Wyatt has been able to get back to the car. The transmission mount was worn, so it has been replaced by a new Prothane unit that I had chosen and bought from Summit.

Here are some pictures. In order: the part I'd bought plus its box, the old mount on the car ("before", you can see the deterioration of the rubber), Medina on the lift ("during" the operation), and the new mount ("after" its installation). The replacement did not make much of an improvement in terms of the vibration we've been troubleshooting, but it was necessary maintenance:

 

[ayilar]

Next on the list were the distributor and a tune-up.

I. Distributor:

Prior to Volo, @71Polara383 had diagnosed that the one which was on Medina when I had bought her was clearly leaking (specifically, the vacuum advance pot was not holding). We suspected that could help explain some vibrations and poor part-throttle response (full throttle was very good).

Looking at the old dizzy, it was missing the tag with its parts number and manufacturing date. I've included two photos at the bottom of this post for records. They show that it was not the original one, rather it was a Chrysler performance part at some point in its life. The area where the tag would be is behind the screw in the second pic.

As a temporary fix back in June, Wyatt had loaned me a dizzy from one of his cars (it sure helps to have several parts cars on hand!) and swapped it so that Medina remained drivable. It had helped, but not much.

This week, Wyatt got the proper fix: he installed a remanufactured unit that had been advertised on FCBO by @halifaxhops and that I had bought from the latter at Carlisle. I had PM'ed Ray in June at the suggestion of @saforwardlook and recommendation of @LocuMob, and he kindly kept the part for me to pick up on July 12.

My car was built on November 16, 1970 and this "new" dizzy is dated 4/1 (as per the anodized metal tag on the screw between the vac advance and lead wire), so it is not date-correct (by a few months). I don't really care: what matters to me the most is that (i) it is the correct part for the car (3438559) and (ii) most importantly, it works. The car is much improved following that replacement. Thanks, Ray!

II. Tune-up:

Lest you think that the vibrations were all gone and the car worked perfectly at part throttle after the proper dizzy replacement, not so fast! As @71Polara383 and @cbarge had independently advised me (respectively before and at Volo), the car probably needed a tune-up anyways. As of yesterday that's now done and... Wyatt tells me that the vibrations are pretty much gone and the car feels great. I can't wait to drive it and see for myself.

For those interested, I got the Accel 8320 cap and rotor kit, as well as Champion Copper Plus 14 spark plugs, from Summit Racing. For the wires, I followed @Big_John's advice in this post and ordered a set from Lectrics Limited (P/N 6338-703). As John had said and Wyatt confirmed yesterday, they look OEM and are great.

Next episode, the motor mounts!

 

[halifaxhops]

Any time it was great to meet you also!

 

[71Polara383]