Picked it up this morning from the shop that did the front-end alignment, filled the tank, and proceeded to burn off 1/2 tank of fuel driving "here and there" getting used the car again. In no particular order...

- Loud... wow, this thing is loud... as in my oldest son who drives a WRX asked if it has any mufflers, to which I replied "Two"... and his response was "It needs two more"

- Good thing I have fairly strong legs (not counting my ACL injuries) cuz these manual disc / drum brakes need serious pedal pressure to slow the pig down... nothing different than before, but today was a reminder of what the old car is really like to drive

- Steers like a barge, but at least it goes straight at speed... typical Mopar manual steering box w/ that has an "always loose" feel

- Mechanical oil pressure gauge is very sensitive, but also seems to fluctuate significantly even at steady throttle; under WOT it doesn't exactly "drop", but it sure does move all over the place

- Cold oil pressure is 60-80 PSI, but hot oil pressure is 25 PSI at 1200 RPM idle and 50-ish at 3000+ cruise RPM

- On the engine dyno it was a steady 60+ at WOT, but I'm not sure what it has at high RPM under load in the car... may need to see if I can video something while I'm driving

- The weather has been in the low 80s today; during the drive the water temp was generally 180-190* and the oil temp was close to the same, although way slower to warm up; I thought I put a 160 'stat in it, but it runs like it has a 180 instead

- 15 year-old M/T ET Street Radials don't hook for sh!t... and don't even squeal when they spin... but they still smoke

- We swapped to a new Mallory 140 dead-head pump cuz I remembered the old Mallory 140 was making some serious noise when it got hot before the car was taken off the road... but the new pump started howling like a kicked kitty after going thru stop and go traffic where the pump wasn't getting any airflow to cool it... not confidence inspiring, as in I'm thinking I should keep the old one in the car along w/ tools needed to make a roadside pump swap "just in case" it locks up

- Even though I added a .140" front clutch passage restrictor when the trans was out, the 2-3 shift is still pretty harsh at less than about 4K RPM under acceleration... not much difference IIRC

- The Dynamic 9.5" converter is still the one spec'd out for the car when it was about 100 HP slower... and I'm thinking it may not work well for the new engine... will be curious what the flash stall and slippage are when it goes back to the track, cuz it feels kind a "slushy" to me now

- Doesn't feel that fast, but getting into it on the street with limited traction isn't a great indicator of how strong it really is, nor was there an opportunity to run it up thru the gears anywhere

- Won't idle consistently... tried to set it for about 1200, which it will do sometimes while other times it keeps dropping below 1000 and I have to keep blipping the throttle to keep it from dying

- Shifter linkage needs to be readjusted cuz I noticed when I pulled into my driveway after the test drive that it won't engage cleanly in Park now


Probably post more later, but that's what's going thru my head right now

Yep, that is exactly what an old muscle car feels like after driving some modern muscle for a few years!

If you are willing to put more money into the car I'd suggest switching over to a Holley Sniper. A high pressure fuel pump inside the gas tank is quiet and it stays col. You won't have any vapor lock problems with high pressure fuel lines, the digital timing control will give you start retard, vacuum advance for freeway driving, rev limiter, adjustable timing curves, etc., plus you'll gain an onboard data logger which will be useful for problem solving.

EFI is main upgrade that keeps my old car drivable. That and power steering. I added a PS setup to my Coronet and it solved a bunch of the issues that I had with steering effort as well as driving comfort.

Brad ,
same oil pressure as mine .
Pedal pressure well you can fit a smaller diameter master .
More ya drive it the better it gets .
Glad its out and about .

Tex

It takes a while to get them dialed. I drove mine to work 3 days last week before we took it to the track Friday night and it was really enjoyable.

You've cleared that initial big hurdle, though!

Yeah, gonna take some more & to get it dialed in, for sure

A couple of "beauty shots" I took while letting the fuel pump cool down a bit. Amazing how photos can "fix" all the paint & body issues which are so obvious up close in person.

Was this taken at 20'

Has a serious "street racer" vibe to it. Looks mean.

Looks great Brad.

So... on Thursday's test drive there was one "interesting" moment

I pulled onto a section of the Loudoun County Parkway just past the Washington Commanders practice field... no significant traffic behind me... clear road ahead of me... and thru the gears -- lots of tire spin -- up to about 90 MPH... and when I let out of it I saw a little farther up the road was a LC Sheriff's motorcycle officer setting up a radar trap... $hit

Backed out of it and braked hard to scrub off speed... in my head I'm already rehearsing the "Yes, Officer, I am aware the posted speed limit is 45 MPH... "

Fully expected to get waived over, or flashing lights, or something... but he was still getting set up and didn't bother... no way he didn't hear me... guess Christmas came early for me this year

I drive Loudoun County Parkway when I go into the office(rarely). I always see cops on Loudoun County Parkway.
Sounds like you are almost ready to hit the track. Car looks great!

Great to hear it’s on the road again!!

Awesome. You may call it a 20 footer but it really looks great and presentable in the photos. The list to iron out seems pretty minor, gonna attempt to get it to the track this year?

Looking good keep plugging away. Next spring will be here before you know it.

years ago, my best friend made the comment : "did ya ever notice it's friday AGAIN already ?"
and guess what ? it's FRIDAY AGAIN ALREADY ?
i could kick his a$$ every time he says that ! .............. [provided i could reach that high. ]

There "should" be an opportunity or two to get to the track before everything closes this fall as long as I can finish off a few things. However, if it doesn't stop raining around here, I'll have to switch to drag-racing Jet Ski's to get any track time.