49 Dodge well darn, here we go again!

[Gene]

Is there anyone out there?

Yesterday I got the windows in both doors. They roll up and down, but the new weatherstripping make it a little harder to roll either way. I suspect it will get better with more use.

Today was one of those days on the other end of the spectrum. I thought this would be a nice day to figure out how to do my wiper motor location. I came up with a plan I thought would work. I made a cardboard pattern and it looked great. Made a steel version, it looked great. Clamped it in place, with the motor attached, made a few measurements, and it looked like it was going to clear the defrosted duct work perfectly. I removed the motor from the bracket and welded the bracket to the pinch weld under the windshield. I even put a piece of metal between where I was welding and the glass so I didn't hurt the glass. It went great. I had the bracket welded to the truck, and bolted the motor to the bracket, still going good. Then I installed the defroster duct work.

The duct work wouldn't line up with the mounting holes it was mounted in. With the motor mounted on the bracket, it was lifting the duct work about 1/4" too high, and held it about a 1/4" too far out from where it needed to be. Unfortunately, I welded the bolts that held the motor to the bracket because getting access to the back side to tighten the bolts would have been very hard. Of course, removing the bolts is not something that can be done while the bracket is welded to the cab. The motor is bolted to the bracket with three bolts, two bolts on the right side of the bracket, one at the top, and one at the bottom. The third bolt matches the height of the lower bolt and is on the left side of the bracket. I ended up cutting the bracket in 1/2, about midway between the top and the bottom bolts. That left me with the one top bolt on the one side, and a 1 1/2" high top 1/2 of the bracket still welded in the cab, and the lower 1/2 of the bracket with the two lower bolts welded to it. I quit for the day at that point.

I believe if I lower the wiper motor bracket 2" and shift it towards the passenger side about an inch, the entire motor will fit under the defroster duct work and it will make removing and installing the motor, and making the wiper linkage easier. I can add a new top 1/2 to my bracket, and then I can drill another hole and bolt the lower section to the upper section. I will probably need to add a brace off the bottom of the dash as well for support.

I only had about 6 hours in designing, building the bracket, then welding it into a precarious position a couple inches from the new windshield and rubber gasket, only to cut it in 1/2 so I can modify it. Sometimes you have those days. At least I know one thing that won't work, tomorrow is another chance to get it right. Gene

[Old Stuff]

LOL. "You know, that was my idea and now I don't think so much of it" Mo- The Three Stooges

LOL x 2 That is one of my top three favorite quotes ever! Ain't it funny how things like that happen? It...is.....inevitable. Ha.

This is not a super active forum though likely lots looking in. I've been staying in touch from a distance over the last couple of months for "common" reasons. (and it feels weird.) Hope to get rolling good again shortly!

[Gene]

Well the truck got drove out of the shop yesterday.
My grandson's buddy crashed his Jeep over the holidays, he was OK, but the Jeep, which was pretty rough before the mishap, is now an engine donor. Last week the young man bought a pair of Jeep Cherokees, one with a really nice body, the other for parts. Th kid wanted to use my driveway and engine hoist to pull the motor (with a hole in the block) out of the Jeep with the good body. He/we did that last Sunday, outside in the cold. Friday night they were suppose to bring the parts Jeep over to put in the shop so they could pull that motor in my heated garage. On the way to my house, that motor started knocking. The next plan was to pull the motor out of his wrecked Jeep to put in the one with the good body. They hauled that Jeep in this morning, it took until almost 6 pm to get the motor out of this Jeep (would have been longer if I hadn't helped).
The wrecked Jeep is in my shop, with the motor out of it. The kid has to work tomorrow, so it will be after 5 tomorrow afternoon before they even start on it. They have a few parts to swap from one motor to the other (both are 4.0 EFI, but the ventilated motor is an 01 and the "new" motor is a 96. I'm hoping this works for him.

Its likely to be Wed or Thursday before the 49 gets back in the shop, but al least it has all the glass in it now.
I do believe I have the wipers and the cowl vent linkage figured out! If they wok, there are a couple big milestones out of the way. Gene

[Old Stuff]

Good on the linkage- eating the elephant one victory at a time...

It's cool that you're helping that young'un out. Hopefully he learns something through the adventure. Did your grandson catch the "hot rod/car bug" coming up or no?

[Gene]

Yes, my daughter (his mom) and the rest of my family infected my grandson with the Hot Rod bug. His 1st car, that he got when he was 14, was a 64 Chrysler 4 door sedan his uncle found for him. He started driving it as soon as he got his license. He had that Chrysler up until last fall when he sold it. It needed more work then he was able to give it (broke 20 YO). In addition to the 64, he has had several pre mid 90s cars and trucks. His current rides are a 90s Stealth V6 5 speed car, and a mid 70s Dodge 4x4 pickup with a broken trans sitting in my yard (wonder why he is broke?)

He has nearly completed the classes for his certificate for auto mechanics and is working at the local Chevy dealership. He was a month and a half from finishing the class (he needs the hands on lab) when they shut down the local college for Covid. The college classes have resumed, but he (and 8 other classmates) have to wait until the current class gets to go into the shop. Then he (they) pick up at the point the class was at when they closed the class down, before he (they) can finish the class and get the cert papers. His buddy with the Jeep just started in the current 2 year mechanics class that just started up.

Last Aug, me in our coupe, my son in his 57 Dodge, my grandson in his 64 Chrysler, and his buddy in the now wrecked Jeep all went to Iowa for a Mopar show and we all trophied in our perspective class (I think we all got 3rd place trophies, there weren't many cars there. LOL!)

We are doing our best to infect the next generation, my son and the rest of our family are well into ruining his 15 yo daughter and 5 yo son with the car bug as well. Gene

[Gene]

Well, my frustration grows! We are at the end of week #1 and the Jeep is still sitting in my shop, and my 49 is sitting outside getting snowed on. It takes a long time to swap a motor when you only work on it about an hour and a half a day.

By Sunday evening, we had the motor Dan was going to use pulled out of the wrecked Jeep, and we had the "new Jeep" and the new to it motor both in the garage, ready to prepare the new motor for its new home. All it needed was to have the intake and exhaust manifolds swapped over (same motor). He finally got the intake and exhaust bolted onto the motor tonight. I have no idea what they have been doing all week!

Tomorrow they plan to install the motor, and drive the Jeep away, but they are not starting until after noon. I'm not holding my breath that they get done tomorrow.

I did tell them tonight that Sunday afternoon I was dragging the Jeep out and was reclaiming my garage. At this point, I'm having a hard time feeling sorry for them. Gene

[Old Stuff]

Kids these days........ LMAO x 43!

[Gene]

A miracle happened today!

The boys arrived a couple minutes after noon and got right to work. I told them about putting the dowel pins on the motor into the holes in the trans, then securing the bottom two bolts, then the special top 2 bolts, then install the motor mounts.
Then me and the wife left to go to the store to pick up a few things and get some Ice Cream. When we returned, the guys were installing the last motor mount.
Then I went in the house and took a nap.
They came in the house around 4 pm and told me they were making a parts run.
My wife and I went out for supper, and then went to Church. When we returned from Church, the Jeep was outside running!
They cleaned up the garage (actually did a pretty good job at it) and the Jeep left my driveway about 7:30 pm tonight.
My 49 is now back in the garage.

I guess maybe those darned kids aren't so bad after all.... LOL!
I got something I have to get done in the house Monday, but I'll be working on the truck Tuesday. Gene