9/11/10
Unlike last week, when the car seemed to be running out of gas as we returned hoe from Bob’s this week, about 30 degrees cooler, it ran great, after I put $20 of gas in it.
The punch list items remain the same.
I have checked into a Canadian company named Lentech regarding a beefed AOD.
I believe they will be more money than Art Carr.
Kelley and I went to Bob’s last night, had a great time, and all went well.
The rear valance took a scrape some time back, and sheared off a half dozen of the plastic retaining clips holding it to the rear crash bar, and bent to passenger side of the bracket back a bit. I just have to find some pins, and I can correct it all in three minutes.
The thermostat hosing seems to be holding with no leaks. I have to do something to see the oil level on the weenie dipstick. It’s just damn near impossible to see any fluid on it.
Perhaps coating the fill area with some color or other contrast might work.
I need to seal up the trans tunnel to stop heat and exhaust, and find the source of the errant exhaust I smell.
9/19/10
Went to Bob’s on Friday, all went well. But I discovered today that coolant was again leaking from the thermostat housing. I checked first the hose, not it. So I pulled out the housing, got some gasket goo at AutoZone, and did both the housing surface and the mating gasket surface. So far, so good.
The other day I noticed something hanging down under the gas tank. Turns out it was the s2-volt feed to the hifi. That would be a BAD place for a short circuit!
That line is tie-wrapped securely now, awaiting Rob Anderson’s allowance to bring him the car. He wants the trans repaired first, and that is WAY delaying things.
I really can’t do any work on the car until I get the Impala done and off the rack. So that’s good for at least another week.
9/24/10
Zero progress on the Impala, perhaps tomorrow.
Took the Bird out for a drive today, and it got rather high on the temp gauge. I did find that the automatic temp sensor does switch on the fans.
That’s good.
But in 97 degree temps today crawling along in stop and go street traffic it ran on the hot side of the temp gauge.
This is not good.
Perhaps a couple of fans are not working (unlikely). I will check these in a moment.
The car, despite its minor issues, is a delight. Of course AC, all circuits working, the hifi thumpin’, and the windows operable would all be good. Oh, and that trans, yes. Tomorrow’s temps are looking to be right at 100 degrees.
Not good.
I’m hoping this is the last summer heat blast before we become fall weather stable.
The crowd at Bob’s is nearly directly proportional to the temps. The higher the temps, the nicer the night, and more cars and people are there.
I’ll shoot for a leave time for Bob’s of around 7:15 PM or so.
9/25/10
Well, Bob’s went fine. Today was a different story. I drove the Bird to tennis, and on the way back, about a mile from my starting point, saw smoke pouring out the right side. I pulled over, and the right header was flaming about 2’ high!
Not good.
I shut it off, and saw what appeared to be trans fluid dripping in the area.
A tow truck ride home with the excellent Armin of AAA/United, and now I am about to go out and see what I can find. The car is NOT on the rack, and it looks like it would take a couple of people helping to roll out the Impala and roll in the Bird.
I could roll the Impala forward down below after pulling out the Buick.
I may try that.
So I DID lower the Impala, roll it forward, and thankfully had some strategically placed stops in place, and I JUST missed crunching the front cabinets. Having measured it first was helpful. It allowed me to get the front lift up and down without having to put it on the dollies to clear the Impala.
I just started the Bird and backed it on the rack. Without huge heat, there was no danger of fire. As I drive the car around 2500-3000 RPM because of the transmission bondage, the headers heat up VERY quickly.
The trans cooler hose had indeed burned against the collector. A little more attention to the tying off of those new lines will obviously be in order, and maybe wrapping them in some protection might be possible.
It also appeared there was some leakage from the cooler core itself up front. I can’t tell at this point if it was the core, or the connections, which appeared very secure. I can only replace the lines, then keep an eye on that.
I’m on the way to AutoZone for hopefully 12’ of the right hose.
The fluid itself looks foamed and pink. Really odd. This might be clutch material.
Also, since I did get it up on the rack, I will address as possible the sealing of the trans tunnel around the shifter.
I realize I kinda blew it here as I had the car on the rack for months before two weeks ago, and did not do an apparently thorough enough check of lines, clearances, etc. I don’t know that this leak has been ongoing, but I might have caught the lines creeping toward the collector. Good lesson. Lucky break.
I have also noticed some vibration when running the car around 2500 RPM. I am hoping this is trans related and will be cured by Art Carr in the near future.
9/26/10
It’s Sunday morning, and Kelly is re-spraying the #2 unit. I am on the way out to the garage to effect the trans lines repair and again look at the tunnel sealing.
A 12’ piece of new line did the trick as two pieces, EXACTLY. I did a LOT of tie-wrapping as you can see, to insure the lines do not shift back toward the headers. This picture is looking forward along the right side of the trans and engine and shows the lines running under the starter. The edge of the collector is at the right edge of the picture, about two fingers away from the lines at the top of the photo.
I will fabricate some kind of metal shield and attach it to the bolts in the bottom of the trans pan, perhaps tomorrow.
The trans needed about 3 quarts of fluid. I ran the car for about 10 minutes, and found no leaks in the new lines. It really smoked, though, as it was burning off the residual oil and solvents off the headers.
I cannot really do much tunnel sealing from below with the trans in place. So I will have to remove the console from inside, and give that a try. I can also wait until Art Carr does his thing on the trans, but I’d rather handle it sooner. No telling when that Art Carr date will be.
The outside temp topped out at 106 at 6 PM today, and is supposed to continue through Wednesday the 29th of September. I spent as much time inside during the middle of the day as possible, watching drag racing. The Buick is washed, the Bird is UP on the rack, and the Buick is in and under, ready for a downtown trip in the morning.
10/9/10
I pulled the Bird down yesterday, cleaned it up, and went to Bob’s with JJ. All went well. However, it feels like the upper right side fan is working below par. The other three feel good. The brakes also vanished for a couple of minutes while I was parking at Bob’s. Power Brake Bob has changed his phone to NOT receive calls, and for some reason I now cannot find his email address. This would be a very good time for him to do the Hydro-Boost brake system on the car. He is apparently broke, has not collected any monies from his court actions against his parts thieves, and now is incognito. This has become a maddeningly familiar theme in my car/money/trade life.
I will go out in a moment and check that fan again. It is up on the rack. I might attempt to reinstall the rear valance clips at this point.
The shaking I previously reported is, I believe, due to the rear half of the trans not turning at around 50 MPH. The driveshaft is dragging the back half around, and apparently there is some process not occurring there, such as a pump or something.
Nick is still a ways off on detailing the paint. He has to finish the 40 Chevy, a project which is in its TENTH year, and literally a few weeks from being done. Nick has issues with that, and with his landlady, Dawn, who has breast cancer and is being treated (at 78 years old). Nick claims to have NO life, just those two things. I have been unable to pry him out for tennis, to visit here, nada.
The trial on QMP over the motor is 12/8/10. I need to get some more invoices. In particular, I need an invoice from Kenny Duttweiler. I THOUGHT I had secured that, but I find nothing in the files.
10/21/10
I filed subpenas with the Sheriff today for QMP for their docs and records. I’d hoped to get these prior to trial, but that will not happen.
DO have to get invoice from Grubbs and Duttweiler.
And I need to confirm with John Beck his witness appearance for trial.
Art Carr has agreed to take the Bird in for a grand down, and the balance from Power Brake Bob Sweeting or a couple of payments from me after completion.
PBB is also scheduled to do the Hydro-Boost install while the beast is at Carr’s.
A talented fellow named John Villegas is scheduled to do some electrical repairs on the Bird next week. I may delay going to Carr’s if Bill confirms.
10/28/10
I called Art Carr and confirmed I would deliver the car mid-week or so next week. He’s good with that. He asked I make a list of anything we discussed.
I am noting for him:
1-Be VERY careful with the throttle!
2-Investigate sealing off the shifter from engine heat and exhaust
3-Look for any exhaust leaks
4-Set the GearVendors to AUTOMATIC
I’m going to take the Bird over to Nick’s tonight and give him a ride to dinner.
I had excellent results on the dually with RainX coating. I will do the same on the Bird, perhaps tomorrow.
11/2/10
John Villegas turned out to be ill. SO I shipped the Bird to Art Carr today, including a grand in cash in the console, and a two-page instruction sheet and list of things about which to pay attention.
What I did NOT note was the driveshaft might be out of balance. I’ll call Art tomorrow and note that for him.
So Art has $1500 in cash total from Bob and me, and the balance due from Bob.
I’ hoping (one of the MOST used words in my numerous diaries) that the car will be ready for pickup around the 13th of November, new brakes and all. That presumes Bob will get RIGHT on it when he returns from SEMA.
11/5/10
The car is at Carr’s. Art found several odd things:
1-A couple of exhaust hangers were defective. This is ODD.
2-There was water in the trans, and the fluid was pink. This is REALLY odd.
3-The exhaust was leaking from some non-welded areas. This is a good find on his part (I had asked, of course).
4-Art said the floor looked hacked up, so he is putting expanding foam around the shifter opening to seal it up.
ALL good stuff.
11/12/10
Art Carr called and told me the job ran another $500. I’m not shocked or dismayed. He said PBB was working on the car’s brakes at this moment, and it should be done around Monday afternoon.
PBB has no $ to pay off Carr right now, so I will step up for $800 of the now-remaining $1500 due, and hopefully PBB will handle the balance. I will work out the $800 with PBB down the road.
So perhaps Monday I’ll have the car.
11/28/10
For a variety of reasons, PBB has not finished the brakes. He SHOULD be done Monday afternoon, a full two-plus weeks overdue.
Whatever.
12/4/10
Well it turned out to be more than three more weeks, and Bob had some technical challenges, old sludge being stirred up by messing with the hydraulic system, and sticking check valves. I got the car towed back last night (it arrived at 7:38 PM), washed it in the dark, and motored over to Bob’s at about 8:30 PM. It was still crowded, but I did land a perfect corner spot. MANY people crowded around the car for the next hour. I met with Sam Rivera, chatted, got a little Starbuck’s chocolate and some gingerbread, and made conversation with onlookers. The car runs VERY quiet, smooth, effortless. I did not even begin to get my foot in it, as it just drives so NORMAL. WOW!
The exhaust leaking is about 90% contained, only the slightest whisp here and there. It still sounds nasty out the back, but nearly silent inside. PERFECT.
I have yet to reach John Villegas regarding the electrical corrections.
I sent Art Carr $700, and there remains $200 due him from PBB.
Bob had to replace the power steering pump in order to get a new pressure relief valve (he dropped it and lost it). The brakes work GREAT. Serious pedal now, stops wonderfully.
As I left Bob’s and pulled up on the freeway (at the exact spot the former trans broke) the car appeared to be running out of gas. I did some serious wiggling, kept it running to Laurel Canyon, and got into the 76 station just off the ramp there. I put 15 gallons in it, and will go to the corner 76 in a bit and see if it takes another 10 gallons. If so, then I WAS out.
I’ll be getting over to AirMec hopefully late Monday afternoon with it to get the AC fittings in place.
12/11/10
It took another 5 gallons, so it appears the funniness occurred with 5 gallons still in it.
But the fun was only beginning: the trans went south within 18 hours of getting the car. It started hanging shifts (not shifting up from first to second), until about 4500 RPM, or not at all.
I sent the car by tow back to Carr on Monday, with a check for the balance in the console. It is now Saturday, 5 days later, and the following stories were offered:
1-Who was f—n’ with the TV cable? NO ONE. Carr put a return spring on the lever on the trans.
2-Still acting up, cleaned the valve body, and Carr claimed junk from the trans cooler (metal particles) was clogging the valve body.
3-Replaced the governor THREE times.
4-Now taking the trans OUT on Monday 12/13/10 and starting over.
Whew!
This is the second car I have had to return to Carr for redo. Randy Laur claims SEVERAL of his car club buddies report the same comeback scenarios. Art clearly needs some improvement in his procedures and/or personnel.
12/18/10
Spoke with Randy today, who added yet another Bad-Carr story. So that makes about 5 fumbling-the-ball stories about Art. I guess whatever he did, he is no longer doing.
I did not get the Bird back this week. So this makes two weeks on the second go-round, much like the Dodge some time back.
I guess I’ll be crossing him off my preferred vendor list.
12/21/10
I’ve called every day, and today brought: “It’s back in the car and we’re changing valve bodies…we’ll take it for a drive in a while.” Why in the WORLD would they need AGAIN to change valve bodies? I mean they took it ALL apart, put a different case on it, and SHOULD have dyno-tested it. Maybe it’s DUNNO-testing.
Man, there’s stuff here that completely eludes me.
I finally was able to reach Power Brake Bob in 2.5 weeks, attempting to compliment him on the brake system. Bob says it needs new pads. He says the E-brake has a function that adjusts the brake.
Bob says Art is the best excuser in the business.
Bob says he did NOT refill the intercooler reservoir.
12/22/10
No call from Carr today. They shut the doors about 4:35 PM Promptly, so I’ll try again tomorrow morning.
I don’t want this thing sitting there over Christmas.
12/23/10
Carr called, and NO luck. The trans works perfectly in drive, but in overdrive it slips on all gears. Sal (the employee who is doing the work on the trans at Carr’s place) will pull the unit out on Monday, and start with a completely different core, using the input shaft and extra clutches from this one. WOW! Carr is closing down until Monday.
12/29/10
After several calls I reached Art this afternoon. The car APPEARS to be OK. Sal was followed around by a cop on his latter rive of the day, so just pulled back in the shop. Sal will do a test drive tomorrow, and if good, it’s mine again.
Here’s hoping……….
12/30/10
Well, there’s good news, good news, bad news, confusion, and good news.
1-GOOD NEWS
The car DID arrive mid-afternoon, at a cost of $20 additional to my Allstate coverage for towing. I have apparently exceeded the DOLLAR amount allotted per year ($250?), and they charge over that. There needs to be some clarification on this with Allstate, as I was not told this during my last inquiry prior to this tow.
2-GOOD NEWS
I it drove down and filled it up, a little over 19 gallons to the first shutoff. I left it at that, so there’s about 24.2 gallons in the tank if Art did indeed put in 5 gallons. I then took Ralph for a carp-in-your-pants squirt down the street, and
3-BAD NEWS
It just SHUT OFF. DEAD. No fuel pumps, no starting (cranking, though). I stopped two doors down and Eric happened to be outside. We messed with it for about 15 minutes, then we all three pushed it back into the driveway. Ralph departed, and Eric and I spent about 90 minutes checking all manners of things.
We found:
CONFUSION
A- No signal going to the fuel pumps (grounding) to turn them on. I jumpered a ground to the relays off the right rear battery, and the pumps whirred up
B- No power to the left front fuse block/terminal strip.
C- The wires on the bottom of what I thought was the fuel pump switch turn out to be grounding the relay which powers the left front terminal strip and BOTH wires broke off
D- The 2-pin connector for this line ALSO broke, so I bypassed it with a solid soldered connection.
STILL no power to the terminal strip
E- I jumpered power to the block and it started, as well as revved up the fuel pumps. So that terminal strip powers the computer, which turns on the fuel pumps by grounding the two relays at the back. The switch on the console does NOT ground those relays, hence I was having a problem finding a wire run from the switch back to those relays which did not exist. Remember, I was the one who wired all this up! It is actually the Big Stuff 3 computer which grounds that grounding wire run to the pump relays (and that wire runs along the right side of the car, whereas the console wiring runs up to the left side under the dash).
F-GOOD NEWS
We have determined the 30-amp relay which is grounded by that console switch has failed. I’ll get a couple more tomorrow at LC Electronics and we should see it start right up. I think I have one or two around here somewhere. But perhaps I have already used up my stock.
It is beyond comprehensible how these FOUR things could all happen at once, and only when I squeezed the throttle a little bit down the street.
AMAZING!
The car runs just great. Quiet, smooth, and yes, it just keeps wanting to spin the tires at any speed so far. It is quite nice to be able to drive it through the gears (automatic) and just keep trying to squeeze the throttle a little bit, finding the edge of traction. As noted ad nauseum: HUGE TICKLE FACTOR.
1/1/11
JJ and I went for a massage and then to Bob’s. Our last bit of work earlier in the day on the car was to tighten the serpentine belt lower adjuster. We did not start the motor thereafter. When I went to get JJ, there was such a bearing/scraping noise. I thought I knew, so I went to John’s and I saw after about 5 minutes of staring at it, that the lower idler had hit the head of a bolt in its travel, and finally just wore itself clear.
BUT THEN
JJ and I had a lovely drive (so quiet) to Bob’s which was empty. We stopped up the street for two minutes, and when I started it back up it was hanging in first gear. Very much talk deprecating Art Carr and what other people are the alternative?
I managed to discover that gunning it up to 4500 RPM in gear usually snapped it into second, and thereafter I’d have to hit it again to get it shift to 3rd. At that point, and in GV Overdrive, it was manageable to get home. This required a somewhat aggressive manner of driving, if for very brief moments. This morning I took it for a test, and it hung in first right away, but the moment it got in second, it acted normally. I then tried manually shifting from L to D then back to L to hold second, then popped it forward to D or OD and that worked fine. Then later, it just works.
WHAT THE F—K!
It ran missing badly, then cleared right up after it cooled down.
More WHAT THE F—K!
I guess this is why we count in years……
1/3/11
Drove to Santa Monica and back, and it ran perfectly, no misses. The trans hung a few times to around 3-4K, but on the whole it worked all right. I think it is either downshifting or the torque converter is slipping. I’ll give it a test tomorrow if it continues to run well.
It drove like a dream, stops like a parachute, and is comfy.
1/6/11
So I called Carr today and told him about the trans goofiness, what I had done and tested today. Basically the trans downshifts too easily on the freeway from 4th to 3rd, doesn’t upshift to 4th even at 6500 RPM (!!!!!!!), and slips in overdrive (not GearVendors).
“Oh, that trans doesn’t lock up at full power going into OD. Sal must have forgotten to put the TransGo kit in it on the last rebuild.”
Are you F---N kidding me???
THIS was the WHOLE point of the trans.
Holy crap.
So I will get it down to Art come Monday and who the hell knows what will happen next.
Randy went ballistic, as did Nick at Hamrick’s.
I called Kenny Duttweiler’s and talked with Nick in his shop, and found they now use Rossler Trans in Ohio. I have a call waiting to be made in the AM to them.
I guess I would just have to get someone else to do this and charge it back to Art, just as I did with Salim when Art “corrected” that debacle.
Man oh man………..
JJ and I moved cars around on the rack (Impala down and in front, Condor up, Buick below). We found the source of exhaust rattling. Art had removed 2 sets of hangers from the exhaust system, and put two at the back instead. This shifted the system about ¼” to the drier’s side, hitting the Jay-tubes again. I further clearanced these and took care of that. I found a little squeak in the exhaust, which turned out to be two left side header pipes rubbing at the collector. I clearanced that probably enough for now.
The belt adjustment has removed the squeaking and the pulley/bolt clearanced themselves.
There is some oil leaking still from around the front drain hole, and some at the rear of the pan. I cleaned up the underside, and we’ll take a look after the next ride or two and see what gives.
The electrical gremlins still are at play. The windows work (individually), the left door lock does not latch (electrically), and the shoulder restraints work occasionally.
JJ and I will glue up the rear valance which has broken two of its hanger pieces (plastic).
I found a breather for the left rocker cover, and we determined that the oil pressure sender is connected at the motor end. We need to find a way to monitor its output (or resistance). I ordered to A-pillar gauge pods, and we’re hoping to be able to mount 4 gauges on the drier’s A-post. I don’t have an electric oil pressure gauge. We will mount what we have: Trans temp, voltage, oil temp. I do not have boost pressure connected to the factory gauge, nor does the fuel tank read, nor does the oil pressure gauge give any reading.
I don’t think I have a voltmeter in the car.
I could use more gauges, certainly. We might mount 4 more gauges in the upper glove box area.
I have given up on John Villegas, so I’ll look to myself to cure the electrical stuff.
1/10/11
The car went by flatbed back to Carr today. I talked with several builders about the trans situation. Several say the AOD CANNOT be made to work in automatic mode. Mike’s Trans suggested a 400 with the GV behind, around $4K.
B&M does not make any Ford-based trans to handle it, and Mike there suggested two builders. Craig at CRC Trans in Thousand Oaks was VERY helpful. He spent nearly an hour on the phone, talked about all sorts of possibilities, and settled on a C-6 using my existing GV unit.
I called GV, and the parts for the swap are about $650.
The whole ting, with Craig installing, would be around $4K.
I will call Art today, and suggest he build be a C-6 using the 6-gear setup.
1/11/11
Called Art this morning. He has not taken the trans out yet, but claims he knows I have smoked the 4th gear band. He says the hanging shifts are from the debris from the band.
He says he wants $225 to put in the TransGo parts to make it possible to make the 3-4 shift at full throttle. He claims to have not known I would drive it making a full throttle shift to 4th.
WOW!
His story has changed from “Sal must have forgotten to put the TransGo kit back in…” to he never charged me for it, never put it in, never knew I would need it.
Oh boy.
So I will pay him the $225, and we’ll give it this one last shot.
I fear I will end up suing him, taking the trans to CRC and going with a C-6 when all the (4th gear band) smoke clears.
I three times specifically asked Art in this conversation if this TransGo kit would then allow for full throttle shifting. He confirmed yes each time.
I said perhaps we should just go to a C-6?
“Well, that’s a lot more money.”
I said I wouldn’t be paying anything on that.
I said so I should have years of trouble-free driving now?
Oh, we can’t guarantee that, and changed the conversation….
Art also claims Power Brake Bob still owes him $200. I was SURE I paid that $200 myself, but Art says no, and hung up.
I spoke with PBB and I’ll just pay the $200, plus the $225, and get the car back I think I’ll probably just get it home and either drive it to CRC or just pull the trans right out of it and sell it off.
Outlaw/Mad Dog Trans 7707810949-LOU/ELLIOTT…I spoke at length with Lou about all sorts of possibilities. LOU RECOMMENDS an E4-OD WITH COMPUTER-$4300 READY TO INSTALL.
I called Craig at CRC and am awaiting his return call. Randy has a fresh C-6 for $300 with converter. I might just go that way, and get around to changing the rear end gears down the road.
As I JUST sold the Regal today, I do have a little cash available to make it happen.
Mike at Bowler will call me shortly, and we’ll see what his opinion is.
TCI emailed back noting they don’t have an AOD that can handle 800 HP.
I spoke at length again today with Craig, and we’ve decided to go with the E40-D. This is basically a C-6 with overdrive, the Ford equivalent to the GM 4L-80E, a 400 with overdrive. This is a computerized unit.
Cost will be around $4K.
I will change out the rear end to about 3.73 once the trans is in.
I have put my Art Carr AOD up for sale already on Craig’s List, and will put it on Ebay once I get the car back.
I will list the GearVendor shortly.
I will lose at least $1500 (or more) on the Carr unit plus whatever I lose on the GV. I’ll probably get around $800-$1000 for the overdrive. So the Carr/GV setup will have cost me about $3K NOT to use.
Never a step back.
1/12/11
I will call Art again tomorrow. I left a message today but heard nothing from him. I’m pretty much set on Craig. I’ll take a run out there tomorrow and visit, see what his shop and operation look like and get a final impression. I SERIOUSLY don’t want to drive the car any further than necessary. I want that trans perfect for a new buyer. I MIGHT file a small claims suit to recover net losses after sale. I’ll give Art first shot at the trans.
1/13/11
Talked with Art. Contrary to what Richie said the day before, Art said they had not gotten their parts in, and had not assembled the trans yet.
I had him send me his invoice and warranty. I will clarify before sending the tow truck that the car will NOT be driven AT ALL once it is loaded up, but will rather go DIRECTLY to CRC Trans and have the AOD removed for sale.
I will visit Craig tomorrow (Friday with John).
