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Quick job took 3 hrs

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Oldwillys View Drop Down
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    Posted: 20 Sep. 2014 at 2:56am
My modified 46 ( Frankenstein ) started missing yesterday.I picked up a new set of plugs and figured it would be a quick 20 min job this morning.After several attempts it became clear,removing the fenders was the only logical way to reach the plugs.We removed the driver side without much problem,but the passenger side was more problematic.For some reason the original modder welded the fender to the grill with a 3" bead.Not wanting to grind the weld,we had to remove several add ons in order to get to the plugs.We got them changed,but not without several extensions and a few knuckle scrapes.I really missed the flathead today!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Flatfender Ben Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20 Sep. 2014 at 3:37am
Oh man it's always the quick jobs that get ya.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Carlsjeep Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20 Sep. 2014 at 5:23am
Is that another deal where it's easier to pull the engine to change the plugs?
Life is only as good as you make it.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote scoutpilot Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20 Sep. 2014 at 10:11am
1969 428ci, Mustang Cobra, Mach I. Without the right tool, I had to loosen the motor mounts to get at the spark plugsAngry
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Bruce W Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20 Sep. 2014 at 5:03pm
  '75 Chevy Monza V8. There was no "right tool". Had to unbolt the mounts one at a time and tilt the engine, according to Chevrolet. And the mounts were harder to get to than the plugs. Ouch We found that a jack under the pan would stretch the mounts just enough to get in there, but Chevrolet didn't recommend that at all. Big smile   BW
It is NOT a Jeep Willys! It is a Willys jeep.

Happy Trails! Good-bye, Good Luck, and May the Good Lord Take a Likin' to You!

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote 52 M38 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 Sep. 2014 at 12:31am
Everything is a project.  I tell my wife that all the time.  There is no such thing as really quick.  I took the engine out of Sparky today took me about 3 hrs.  It is being delivered back to the machine shop on Monday or Tuesday so the sticky valve can be warrantied and the SUPERSONIC head can be installed with the copper head gasket.  Party Still only bolt on Mods on Sparky and still 24 volt.  To me that means his soul is in tact.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote mullen46cj2a Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 Sep. 2014 at 1:01am
Oldwillys - if you changed the plugs in that '73 Grand Am, you would remember it.  Front plug on passenger side - jack up right front, remove wheel and long extension through inner fender flap.  The plug was under the A6 air conditioning compressor.  No way to get it from above.
 
And I had an Astro Van that got a 5 cylinder tune up once....
Bruce Mullen   Harrisville, WV       

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote rocketeer Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 Sep. 2014 at 2:13am
The one I hated the most was a Corvair with A/C. You had to remove the A/C from the top of the engine in order to access the spark plugs.

Larry
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote rocnroll Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 Sep. 2014 at 2:50am
I'm ashamed to say I owned one of those damned Monzas one time myself. Ermm




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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Bruce W Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 Sep. 2014 at 4:04am
Originally posted by rocnroll rocnroll wrote:

I'm ashamed to say I owned one of those damned Monzas one time myself. Ermm




  A Vega by any other name is still........Ouch   BW
It is NOT a Jeep Willys! It is a Willys jeep.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote scoutpilot Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 Sep. 2014 at 9:49am
Originally posted by Bruce W Bruce W wrote:

Originally posted by rocnroll rocnroll wrote:

I'm ashamed to say I owned one of those damned Monzas one time myself. Ermm




  A Vega by any other name is still........Ouch   BW

That infamous quote concerning the Chebby Vega, "Check the gas and fill the oil.".
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote p3ferris Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 Sep. 2014 at 2:47pm
I had a chevy celibrity.  I used a broom handle to get a spark plug wire on that fell off. About 2 inches between the fire wall and the engine .  Four years later I took it to a shop to have the impossable to get to spark plugs replaced.  The mechanic took the engine shock absorber off and pulled the engine forward makeing acces to the spark plugs.  What a dumb idea  chevy had.  On that same car the engine would blow a fuse on the fuel pump while driveing on a washboard road. They had the wireing harness straped over the strut.  $1800.at 2 shops  later and 16 hours of my time traceing all the wireing out I found that the strut would come up and poke into the wireing harness to short out the fuel power line.  The harness sleve would open up then close leaveing no evidence.  I know of 3 cars that had this same problem.  I think I am the only one that found out how to fix it.  You do not want to know what I think of ENGINEERS.
Ed
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote surveypunk Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 Sep. 2014 at 4:41pm
Originally posted by p3ferris p3ferris wrote:

   You do not want to know what I think of ENGINEERS.


I think there is a certain instant in History where car manufacturers decided they could make more money if their product was not shade tree mechanic friendly. My guess is sometime in 1969 or '70.
it's gotten progressively worse since then. Censored

JB
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote rocketeer Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 Sep. 2014 at 4:53pm
I was a Chevy line mechanic for over 10 years so nothing surprises me. Of all the dumb things they have committed over the years the dumbest by far is replacing a late 1960s early 1970s Camaro heater fan. You had to remove the right front fender which of course also meant the hood (the hinges were bolted to the fender), part of the grille, and the inner panel. That was the official Chevy way. However, if the car was out of warranty I had figured out a way to do it with the fender on but it required the owners approval. I had created a template and using a large hole saw would drill a hole through the inner panel and using a 3/8" drive with a flex socket could get the problem bolt out through the hole (yes, the whole problem was just accessing a single bolt). I then washed the area around the hole with alcohol and put heavy black tape over it. When I quoted the difference in price to a customer they always opted for the hole.

Another GM wizbang was something I only ran into one time. I can't remember the year or specific model but it was a mid-size Buick from either side of 1970. A guy comes in and had been pulled over by a cop for a taillight being out. He said he could not figure out how to replace it. No big deal right? Well, on that particular Buick the only way to replace a taillight bulb was to remove the rear bumper and then remove the taillight from the vehicle. There was no other way to get at the bulb! Genius engineering huh?

Oh, yeah, don't get me started on the Vega. I was selected as the SE PA mechanic to go to GM school and learn all about the Vega prior to it's intro to the public. At the end of the week they asked what we thought. It did not go well for them. I just asked one question, who determined that just coating an aluminum cylinder wall with Teflon would ever allow the rings to seat? They assurred me their engineers had done all the research. Well apparently not. OK, gotta stop now or I'll go on forever about that dog of dogs. Luckily the Yugo surpassed it as the worst ever so at least it doesn't have that distinction but it was close.

Larry


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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote scoutpilot Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 Sep. 2014 at 5:11pm
Any HONEST and rational new car dealer will tell you straight up. The profit on a new car sale is nothing compared what they WILL MAKE back in the shop. Parts and Labor are their bread and butter. The sale is just the appetizer. 
Every new car I have purchased, and believe me they were few and far between, saw the dealer's shop only as long as it was under warranty. By the end of that period I had thoroughly familiarized myself with the needs of the critters and was able to care for them myself.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Oldwillys Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 Sep. 2014 at 5:52pm
Originally posted by mullen46cj2a mullen46cj2a wrote:


Oldwillys - if you changed the plugs in that '73 Grand Am, you would remember it.  Front plug on passenger side - jack up right front, remove wheel and long extension through inner fender flap.  The plug was under the A6 air conditioning compressor.  No way to get it from above.
 
And I had an Astro Van that got a 5 cylinder tune up once....

Oh,I remember all too well,Brian Stewart broke that plugs ceramic off and then proceeded to round off the corners,that little ordeal nearly cost us a friendship haha! I got it out,but it looked pretty grim for a while!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Carlsjeep Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 Sep. 2014 at 6:35pm
LOL, rocketeer, I love your stories about being a car mechanic. One has to remember that at some point the car manufacturers decided that field maintenance was not as important as a smooth assembly. At that point cars were designed to build, not work on. 

Saying the companies didn't want shade tree mechanics working on them is a small part of the story. They were looking for a more profitable assembly line and didn't really care about those that had to repair them. As was pointed out, their only cost factor was during the warranty period, after that is was a profit bucket to the dealers and independent shops but still a pain in the butt to mechanics.

Cars are not designed to be repaired easily, they are designed to be built easily. 
Life is only as good as you make it.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote otto Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 Sep. 2014 at 7:35pm
Oh, yeah, don't get me started on the Vega. I was selected as the SE PA mechanic to go to GM school and learn all about the Vega prior to it's intro to the public. At the end of the week they asked what we thought. It did not go well for them. I just asked one question, who determined that just coating an aluminum cylinder wall with Teflon would ever allow the rings to seat? They assurred me their engineers had done all the research. Well apparently not. OK, gotta stop now or I'll go on forever about that dog of dogs. Luckily the Yugo surpassed it as the worst ever so at least it doesn't have that distinction but it was close.

Larry

I had three Vegas in High School (I didn't know any better back then either), the  first one was free and I never paid more than a couple of hundred for the others. They were ten year old cars at the time! I would LOVE to hear more horror stories about them.
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If you can't get there in a Jeep, get a motorcycle!
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