Buttoned it up tonight.

Had some major problems that made it take forever.

First, the engine mount had to come off again because the bolt wouldn't thread into the tensioner. So that had to be untensioned and the bolts loosened. Had to rebolt it up straight.. then put everything back on.

Second. The valve cover gasket sucked.. Even with RTV it wouldn't stay in its groove. So I ended up redoing that several times. Then I lost some of the bolts and washer and spent half an hour looking for them.

Third. I decided as long as I have the coolant drained that I should do the thermostat and the pressure cap. While removing the water neck.. broke a bolt off. Not a big deal, my dad used an easy out to remove it. Then he somehow managed to break a hardened steel tap in there. It took like an hour and a half to get that out..

After that.. it went smoothly. Power steering was a bitch to get back on.. the crank was surprisingly easy. Did oil, coolant, spark plugs.. etc. Several new hoses.. The only thing I didn't have was a new 2" section of hose that went to the PCV. Thats the only thing that hasn't gotten back on..

Stock intake system went back on. I still need to get a filter for the 3.0L intake. (I ended up ordering one off of eBay).

With the exception of the PCV having a vac leak. It runs perfectly.. needs some adjusting of the brakes with the new pads put on. Maybe needs a simple bleed.. all fluids are at good levels.

Runs pretty smoothly.

Its a real pain to get the belt onto these mechanical tensioners. I've been undoing the bolts in order to slip it over. There isn't much room either and the PS line keeps getting in the way. Its annoying! I think I'm gonna go finish that and slap the timing cover on so I don't have to look at it!

It ended up taking me a bit of time before I figured out how to get it perfect. Ended up moving it back one tooth (instead of the 1/2), putting it on the water pump, idler then gears. Turn the crank to TDC (mark) then managed to slip it over the tensioner (which was loosened). Tightened it up, and checked.. everything is perfect.

Got the motor mount on with two bolts. I think I got the wrong ones on there so they have to come out. Jacking up and down the engine makes it easy to get them in.

Worked on the turns a bit.. fixed the runs I put into them. Wetsanded and they are getting a few more coats. Look really nice I think.. We'll see if its what I want to do. I could put the Euro tails on this car instead of the R/T.

The inner timing area is COVERED in timing belt!

Yeah. The timing belt was seconds / minutes / hours / days away from breaking. Chunks were missing, it was cracking at about every tooth. The goo was the timing belt.. fibers all all, turned into a pretty good sludge.



Got just about everything off now..

Cut up the stock battery tray to prep it for the 3.0L intake. Pulled the valve cover to get to the cams. Took off the cam gears, idler, tensioner.. etc. Ready for the water pump to come out, and the inlet tube. Needs a good cleaning though first..

The side motor mount on the engine is REDICULOUS!

This thing is on there, and I can't figure out how to get it off. I've got one bolt left and its pressing against the frame rail. Its twisting a bit.. so I think it just needs a bit more turning.. Also trying to push the engine to the side but its pretty hard.

Got a ton of the pin striping off.. found a good method that didn't take but a few minutes for each section. The quartz molding was pretty loose on the doors. I just pulled moderately gentlly and it came off. (fender and rear quarter is still there). I think its gonna look good without it.. should look like a 95 ACR or something..

The lugnuts were a bitch to get off. Impact would not do it.. had to use the breaker bar and REALLY hit it hard. Everything on this car has been rusted together and has been harder to take apart than any other one I've worked on. The wheels needed to sit with some PB all over them.. it was pretty well rusted to part of the rotor/hub. After sitting a few SOLID knocks broke it loose.

Drained the Oil and Anitfreeze. It was not milky or anything.. so I feel like the headgasket should be good. The anitfreeze had just a bit of a rainbow on top, but since I drained it into the oil drain pan.. it probably was just leftover. The oil had a tinge or what must of been airated or bubblely oil. I know when I checked it, it was at or just above full.

Spent some time buffing the turn signals. Took my old headlights from the R/T and are working to clean them up (they are already REALLY clear compared to the SC's). I'm probably gonna do some test amber stained glass paint technique to alter the extra set of signals I have.

Took the crank pulley off.. it was a bitch. I have the right tool for it.. but didn't have the right length pin so I had to find one. Ended up just cutting the belts because they were pretty well rotted and cracking.. figured could just get some new ones. Few steps left til the timing belt and water pump can come off.. just a ton of side projects going on now.

Debadged looks REALLY GOOD. I should do the hood emblem as well.. I dunno about the side molding yet. I could always put it back on if I take it off.

Working on prepping the car for a new timing belt, water pump, tensioner, and idler. The wheels are STUCK.

The lug nuts were near impossible to take off. We needed to use a huge breaker bar and the impact wouldn't do it.

Now the wheels are pretty well RUSTED to the rotors. I sprayed a good amount of PB blaster and am letting it sit. I have spent a good amount of time pounding on the tires.. hope they come off soon!

Also pulled off the exhaust heat shield (took an hour!) and see that the manifold has a little crack in there. I don't think its leaking yet but we'll see what happens. Gonna do a 3.0L intake the junkyard let me have for free today.

Turns out the window frame or guide rail is snapped in 3 places. Its about a $50 part from the dealership. After that the driver side window should be fine. Also replacing some of the door panel clips so it shouldn't come off again.

I got the fog light out today. It was a pain in the ass because it has cruise control. I had to remove the vac box, to get to the bolt. But it was in there so bad.. I ended up having to air chisel the fog light.. then it took 15 minutes to get the 1 bolt back into the vac box! I would have hated to change out the foglight bulb!

Also dedaged the trunk. I wasn't a fan of the Purple Sport Coupe bading.. might remove the Dodge emblem on the hood as well. We'll see.. this car also has pinstriping.. I'll have to figure out how to get that. Might just use a big art eraser and see how that works

Its just about done.. I need to add a muffler (I'm running nearly straight off the header...) And fix a few things.. here are pics from the car show I just showed at:

Its 2:40 in the morning.. and I'm tired.

Here is what we got done today.. Cam Gears.. STILL NOT DONE.

I'll let the pictures do the talking..











Could it be going in?



Nah..