But before I get on to an update of how things are now, thought I'd dig out some other pics & info from when we started looking at the car.These are the pics we first saw of the car, in the ad on www.cars-on-line.com
Rob & Stu's 63 Polara 500
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Rob & Stu's 63 Polara 500
Some of you will be familiar with how we got the car (May/June 05 Connected) so I wont bore you with all those details again here But before I get on to an update of how things are now, thought I'd dig out some other pics & info from when we started looking at the car.
These are the pics we first saw of the car, in the ad on www.cars-on-line.com
But before I get on to an update of how things are now, thought I'd dig out some other pics & info from when we started looking at the car.These are the pics we first saw of the car, in the ad on www.cars-on-line.com
After speaking to the owner (Eddie) & his full-time mechanic (Ken), we were sent some more pics & info. Here's what they had to say:
stuart,
i am sending you multiple e mails containing photos of the max wedge.....the car is equipped with a correct 426 max wedge engine, push button automatic transmission and a 3.91 sure grip rear end. this car also has the complete max wedge exhaust system (manifolds and capped race pipes).
i will tell you that this is not an authentic max wedge car, but......it has every correct part associated with a max wedge! this car has all original sheet metal and was sold new in california (where it stayed until 1990).
the engine,carburetors, intake manifold and ignition are all correct (date coded) to the year of the car.....
all chassis mechanicals are fresh with less than 25 miles since being refurbished.the following items are new :
brakes, shocks,rear leaf springs and bushings (superstock springs), steel brake tubing, steel fuel lines, fuel tank and sending unit,rear end rebuilt with new gears-clutches-bearings-seals, all new front suspension parts (ball joints, control arm and strut rod bushings,inner/outer tie rods, wheel bearings and seals).....the carburetors have been rebuilt and the ignition distributor is new. also, the starter and alternator were rebuilt and the radiator was recored.
the car also has a new water pump and new coolant hoses.
since these photos were taken i have installed new carpet and new tires. i might add that this car has been featured in several hard bound books relating to american musle cars.
As it turns out, some of that info was a little 'suspect', but we wouldnt know for sure till about 18 months later.
Here's some of the extra pics sent:
stuart,
i am sending you multiple e mails containing photos of the max wedge.....the car is equipped with a correct 426 max wedge engine, push button automatic transmission and a 3.91 sure grip rear end. this car also has the complete max wedge exhaust system (manifolds and capped race pipes).
i will tell you that this is not an authentic max wedge car, but......it has every correct part associated with a max wedge! this car has all original sheet metal and was sold new in california (where it stayed until 1990).
the engine,carburetors, intake manifold and ignition are all correct (date coded) to the year of the car.....
all chassis mechanicals are fresh with less than 25 miles since being refurbished.the following items are new :
brakes, shocks,rear leaf springs and bushings (superstock springs), steel brake tubing, steel fuel lines, fuel tank and sending unit,rear end rebuilt with new gears-clutches-bearings-seals, all new front suspension parts (ball joints, control arm and strut rod bushings,inner/outer tie rods, wheel bearings and seals).....the carburetors have been rebuilt and the ignition distributor is new. also, the starter and alternator were rebuilt and the radiator was recored.
the car also has a new water pump and new coolant hoses.
since these photos were taken i have installed new carpet and new tires. i might add that this car has been featured in several hard bound books relating to american musle cars.
As it turns out, some of that info was a little 'suspect', but we wouldnt know for sure till about 18 months later.
Here's some of the extra pics sent:
Included in the price of he car, the seller agreed to fit a new (3000rpm) converter and get new valve guides fitted. Although reputable companies were used (Cope Racing Transmissions & Indy Cylinder Head, respectively), both these mods would cause more problems further down the line.
One extra item we asked to be fitted was a windscreen washer bag (pre-bottle days), as we'd been advised that it was required for our MOT test. Still not convinced by that but prob best that we got one. Being a California car, it came with no heater or windscreen washers. Makes for a tidier engine bay but not very UK-friendly!
Once all the work was done and the car was ready to ship (after we'd been over to see it), we asked Eddie to send some pics of it back in one piece and light-heartedly said to send a burnout pic to prove it works! (think i also remember something about the shippers needing proof of its roadworthiness)
He kindly obliged, though not the best burnout, or photo, and the oil puddle's a little worrying:
One extra item we asked to be fitted was a windscreen washer bag (pre-bottle days), as we'd been advised that it was required for our MOT test. Still not convinced by that but prob best that we got one. Being a California car, it came with no heater or windscreen washers. Makes for a tidier engine bay but not very UK-friendly!
Once all the work was done and the car was ready to ship (after we'd been over to see it), we asked Eddie to send some pics of it back in one piece and light-heartedly said to send a burnout pic to prove it works! (think i also remember something about the shippers needing proof of its roadworthiness)
He kindly obliged, though not the best burnout, or photo, and the oil puddle's a little worrying:
Ever since its collection, we've been dogged by pinking/detonation problems. And when that wasnt too bad, there was still a noticeable lack of power. Remember this engine's supposed to have put out 415 horses AT THE REAR WHEELS (some say) when new, it felt like there were barely 115 in there. This was also due to a vacuum leak, we thought. All very odd, as it had only just been rebuilt by an, ahem, expert (Ken did used to work for Ronnie Sox, after all).
Another little problem we had to attend to was the wobbly rear pass-side wheel. Took the car to Southern Axle Services in Watford (recommended by AllKiller, thanks Steve) where the nice man Paul set up dial gauge to see where the wobble was. Turns out the axle flange (where the wheel bolts onto) was bent, so a new pair of shafts had to be added to the shopping list.
Despite all this we managed to get to the EuroNats 3 weeks after the car arrived, and boy, was it worth it! We always thought old blighty was short of a Maxie or two, and it seems like we werent the only ones. The Nats Committee awarded it/us the Chrysler Cup, and the staff of Classic American judged us as Heat Winners (as long as we agreed to take the car to the NEC, to which we jumped at the chance!). Tho I must admit feeling a bit guilty about importing a car then getting a trophy for it
thanks for the pic Adam!
Another little problem we had to attend to was the wobbly rear pass-side wheel. Took the car to Southern Axle Services in Watford (recommended by AllKiller, thanks Steve) where the nice man Paul set up dial gauge to see where the wobble was. Turns out the axle flange (where the wheel bolts onto) was bent, so a new pair of shafts had to be added to the shopping list.
Despite all this we managed to get to the EuroNats 3 weeks after the car arrived, and boy, was it worth it! We always thought old blighty was short of a Maxie or two, and it seems like we werent the only ones. The Nats Committee awarded it/us the Chrysler Cup, and the staff of Classic American judged us as Heat Winners (as long as we agreed to take the car to the NEC, to which we jumped at the chance!). Tho I must admit feeling a bit guilty about importing a car then getting a trophy for it
thanks for the pic Adam!
bear with me, still havin probs, rebootin between each post.... aaarrrggghhh!!!
It's a wonder, considering the problems we had with the car, that the 200 mile round trip went without a hitch.
Back home the tinkering continued, trying different combinations of octane booster/additive, even fitting a new electronic dizzy kit didnt seem to improve things.
Before we turned our attention full-time to the engine's problems we had a little matter of no brakes and the wobbly 1/2 shaft attend to. The brakes just seemed to need a bit of adjustment. Although they'd just passed an MOT a month previous? With them adjusted and set as best we could, they were still lethal! so started looking at front disc conversions... $$$ the list gets longer. But this is only the start of it.
A new pair of Moser shafts was ordered thru Geof Hauser, and arrived just into the new year, 2005. After a bit of jiggery-pokery by Geof to get the bearing in the correct position (rather than where Moser stuck it) we fitted the shafts and set about getting the engine sorted.
Still stumped and disheartened by previous attempts, we called for some professional help!
Luckily for us, someone we'd got to know thru our local MMA meets, Paul Knight www.paulknightracing.com likes a challenge, so said to take the car down to his garage in Acton, London so he could do some checks for us (compression, vacuum etc).
The plan was to leave the car with him for a few days and, with a bit of luck, take it, all fixed, to the Mid-Summer Mopar meet at the Ace, 3 days later.
As it turned out, that was a bit optimistic as we needed a bit more than a tune up.
After a few weeks of expert tinkering and a drum of 113 octane, Paul just got it running strong enough to consider a trip to the 05 Nats but all that new-found power trashed the trans!
So, trans out to give to Blue, and engine out for a proper inspection. Here's what Paul found ........
Wrong gaskets under the carbs, causing major vacuum leaks.
Inlet manifold not seated properly in valley (something else that our US friends were battling with before the car was despatched. Delayed shipping by a week or two an' all).
Pushrods different lengths.
Piston rings loose (0.009" clearance instead of 0.002"), some of the gaps lined up.
Valve seats "awful" and "hammered to hell" (to quote Paul), so valves not seating properly. More compression/vacuum leaks.
Spring retainers loose.
Worst leakage on cyl 7 (97%), best on 8 (16%)
Cyl 6 bad too, bore is 0.009" out of round, ie oval. So looks like a 30 thou re-bore's on the list too.
1 piston in a bad way cos of some back-yard fix to reduce piston-slap (centre-punched around top land).
However, valves, rods, crank, block & heads seem ok. Woo-hoo!
Although the aim is/was to keep it all as stock as poss, we decided to change the cam for hydraulic for lower maintenance (to take the pass-side rocker cover off, the exhaust manifold needs to be loosened & tilted back, so dont fancy doin the valve lash every 1000 miles, thankyou!).
And as no one makes .30 over pistons for the 426 wedge, gettin custom replacements allowed us to set the comp ratio a bit lower than the stock 11:1. Gone for just over 10:1 so should be good for pump gas. At last. We hope.
Back in September we checked out the progress and Stu got these pics....
It's a wonder, considering the problems we had with the car, that the 200 mile round trip went without a hitch.
Back home the tinkering continued, trying different combinations of octane booster/additive, even fitting a new electronic dizzy kit didnt seem to improve things.
Before we turned our attention full-time to the engine's problems we had a little matter of no brakes and the wobbly 1/2 shaft attend to. The brakes just seemed to need a bit of adjustment. Although they'd just passed an MOT a month previous? With them adjusted and set as best we could, they were still lethal! so started looking at front disc conversions... $$$ the list gets longer. But this is only the start of it.
A new pair of Moser shafts was ordered thru Geof Hauser, and arrived just into the new year, 2005. After a bit of jiggery-pokery by Geof to get the bearing in the correct position (rather than where Moser stuck it) we fitted the shafts and set about getting the engine sorted.
Still stumped and disheartened by previous attempts, we called for some professional help!
Luckily for us, someone we'd got to know thru our local MMA meets, Paul Knight www.paulknightracing.com likes a challenge, so said to take the car down to his garage in Acton, London so he could do some checks for us (compression, vacuum etc).
The plan was to leave the car with him for a few days and, with a bit of luck, take it, all fixed, to the Mid-Summer Mopar meet at the Ace, 3 days later.
As it turned out, that was a bit optimistic as we needed a bit more than a tune up.
After a few weeks of expert tinkering and a drum of 113 octane, Paul just got it running strong enough to consider a trip to the 05 Nats but all that new-found power trashed the trans!
So, trans out to give to Blue, and engine out for a proper inspection. Here's what Paul found
........Wrong gaskets under the carbs, causing major vacuum leaks.
Inlet manifold not seated properly in valley (something else that our US friends were battling with before the car was despatched. Delayed shipping by a week or two an' all).
Pushrods different lengths.
Piston rings loose (0.009" clearance instead of 0.002"), some of the gaps lined up.
Valve seats "awful" and "hammered to hell" (to quote Paul), so valves not seating properly. More compression/vacuum leaks.
Spring retainers loose.
Worst leakage on cyl 7 (97%), best on 8 (16%)
Cyl 6 bad too, bore is 0.009" out of round, ie oval. So looks like a 30 thou re-bore's on the list too.
1 piston in a bad way cos of some back-yard fix to reduce piston-slap (centre-punched around top land).
However, valves, rods, crank, block & heads seem ok. Woo-hoo!
Although the aim is/was to keep it all as stock as poss, we decided to change the cam for hydraulic for lower maintenance (to take the pass-side rocker cover off, the exhaust manifold needs to be loosened & tilted back, so dont fancy doin the valve lash every 1000 miles, thankyou!).
And as no one makes .30 over pistons for the 426 wedge, gettin custom replacements allowed us to set the comp ratio a bit lower than the stock 11:1. Gone for just over 10:1 so should be good for pump gas. At last. We hope.
Back in September we checked out the progress and Stu got these pics....
After that, the heads went off for new seats and guides, and the new parts that Paul spec'd (cam & pistons) were ordered along with a few other goodies like balancer, deeper sump, bolts etc etc.
During our trip to Florida (World Street Finals) & North Carolina (IHRA Finals -rained off
) in October, we picked up the front disc kit and brought it back as hand luggage. Saved a pretty penny on shipping & duty, i reckon ( 
)
Next news came in the new year when the new parts had arrived, so any excuse to go and see the car......
During our trip to Florida (World Street Finals) & North Carolina (IHRA Finals -rained off
) in October, we picked up the front disc kit and brought it back as hand luggage. Saved a pretty penny on shipping & duty, i reckon ( )Next news came in the new year when the new parts had arrived, so any excuse to go and see the car......
Strangely familiar to the first time we'd seen it in North Carolina!
Havent been able to talk to Paul for a few weeks (damn work!) but at time of writing, the heads should be done and the block should be well on the way to having the bores matched to the pistons.
I'll get an update this week.
All this wasnt quite what we had planned when we 1st got the car. A lick of paint was what we'd braced ourselves for, once we'd seen the car in the flesh. But priority has to be to get the old girl running as intended. The repaint will just have to wait a while....
Thanks for listening
More to follow as and when !!
Havent been able to talk to Paul for a few weeks (damn work!) but at time of writing, the heads should be done and the block should be well on the way to having the bores matched to the pistons.
I'll get an update this week.
All this wasnt quite what we had planned when we 1st got the car. A lick of paint was what we'd braced ourselves for, once we'd seen the car in the flesh. But priority has to be to get the old girl running as intended. The repaint will just have to wait a while....
Thanks for listening
More to follow as and when !!