1967 Plymouth Barracuda

Archive for the ‘Drivetrain’ Category

The new harmonic balancer would not seat all the way onto the crank causing the pulley grooves to not line up correctly.  The new pulley is not even close and cannot be used.  Had to remove the harmonic balancer again and file about 1/8th inch off of it to make it the same size/depth as the original.  Took a while, but that little bit made all the difference in the world as now, everything fits as it should.  NOTE – a harmonic balancer install tool is a nice thing to have in the tool box.

The engine has some kind of oil leak near the balancer, but only when the alternator and P/S pump belts are installed and tightened.  I decided it was time for a new balancer and pulley…

Bought a disk brake conversion from PirateJack.net and used their adapters and instructions…  Overall, the conversion went well….only minor injuries.  Had to shave down the castle nuts for the upper control arms as they were just a little too thick and couldn’t be tightened down enough to expose the cotter pin hole.  After that, no issues at all.

Removing the old small bolt pattern (SBP) axles and replacing them with Dr. Diff A-body Big Bolt Pattern (BBP) axles. This looks like it will fix the rear brake drum rubbing issue and I should be able to remove the washers behind the drum that were necessary for clearance. This also means that the current rims will no longer work, so I’m not on the lookout for new ones…

Removing the old small bolt pattern (SBP) axles and replacing them with Dr. Diff A-body Big Bolt Pattern (BBP) axles. This looks like it will fix the rear brake drum rubbing issue and I should be able to remove the washers behind the drum that were necessary for clearance. This also means that the current rims will no longer work, so I’m not on the lookout for new ones…

Here’s a sneak peek at the exhaust setup I’m planning…

New harmonic balancer seal, new water pump, new alternator.. going back together.

Had a bad oil leak from the front of the engine.  Did some testing… without any accessories, no oil leak, the minute I put a fan belt on and connected the power steering pump or the alternator, oil sprayed generously out of the harmonic balancer seal… it had to be replaced.  I used this opportunity to replace the water pump, the alternator and the power steering pump so I wouldn’t have to deal with that in the near future.  Can’t button it up quite yet as the new water pump does not come with the heater hose connectors and the ones from the old water pump will be no good after liberating them from it.  Also, needed to order a new harmonic balancer bolt as the current one is toast….

Replaced the inner and outer tie rod ends.  Fired it up, set the idle, verified the oil pressure.

Been a little over 2 months since I’ve had the time to work on the Barracuda.. spent a few minutes with it today.

Installed the exhaust from the headers to the mufflers.  I think I’ll just attach some turndowns to the mufflers for now until I decide how I’m going to handle the tailpipes.  I want to exit in front of the tires, but may just put the rear exit dual tail pipes back on.

Planning to replace the Holley 600 carb with either a 650 or 750 double pumper carb to feed the larger cam.