wait.... so a vehicle has a normal failure of the wiring harness going up in flames?

Was driving my 914 from Atlanta to Oklahoma City when speed limit was 55. It was the first weekend I had the 914. My alternator belt had broke as I passed Clarksville AR and nobody in Clarkville had one. It was 30 minutes till sunset and I decided to try to make it 60 miles to Fort Smith AR before I had to turn on the 100w/300w Halogen headlights and kill the battery in about 5 minutes.

So the speed limit is 55 and I am doing 110. Notice all the traffic is conveniently in the right lane so I just keep going. The 4th car from the front is a Arkansas State Trooper. As we blast by at 110 my nephew in the passenger seat waves at the trooper. Keep my foot planted cause if I stop I am stranded.

Keep an eye on the mirror and notice it takes time for the trooper to turn on his lights, pull into the right lane and persue. In fact, I am about 2 miles ahead and I loosing sight before he even clears the 3 cars ahead of him. Quickly do some math in my head. I'm about 15 minutes from Ft Smith, The fastest a Trooper is going to go in a cruiser is 135. It will probably take him 3 minutes to get to 135 and in that time I will be about 6 miles ahead of him. JF he does go 135 his closing speed is 25 mph which means it would take him 15 minutes to catch me and by then I would be in FT Smith.

So...I keep the pedal down. About that time I realize I just missed the exit for Ft Smith. Slow down and take the next exit. It's one of those where you have to go a few hundred yards down the side road, cross over the highway, and go back to get back on to get back to the Ft Worth junction. It was getting close to dusk and as I crossed over the bridge I could see the lights of the trooper a couple of miles back as he topped a hill. Pulled the 914 up against the guard rail where it was solid at the end of the bridge. The 914 was well hidden, but we could peek over the guard rail.

In a couple of minutes the troop comes blowing by lights on, but no siren. As soon as he goes by, I head back and take the turn to go into Ft Smith. The first exit I see with a motel, exit, pull around to the back of the motel and get a room and lay low. Tried to call family and work in OKC to let them know we were stranded, but it was during the Ma Bell operator strike and we couldn't make a long distance call.

It was a Sunday evening and there were no restaurants open. Across the street from the motel was a grocery store and an AMMCO station. Decided we would walk over to the grocery store and get some beer. The grocery store refused to sell use beer or cigarettes because it was Sunday. Walking back to the motel notice a cigarette machine in the AMMCO station. Go in and while getting smokes complained about not being able to get a belt in Clarksville. The attendant says he knows 914s, has a belt, and you just put it in 5th, hook the belt on the pulley, roll the car and it's done.

Went and got the car, got a belt put on, begged of the room we didn't really even use, and headed home. It had been well over 2 hours since the incident, but still drove very warily until across the State Line.

Wow, I forgot how heavy a SBC cast iron intake manifold can be. My FIL bought a 4bbl intake for the hotrod Camaro so I went over today and pulled the old one. The car is a cobbled up mess, though. I hate wiring/electrical problems so this be a real test for me.

I did impress him with my broken bolt in the head trick of drilling out the broken part with drill bits little by little until it is eliminated.

My back is gonna be tight tonight after leaning over the engine for several hours.

SmileWavyRick--you have my respect as I doubt I could be a pro mechanic.

Is he going for originality with the cast iron?

I thought the Fiero was the only car that it was normal to spontaneously combust.

Yugos would as well. That is one of the reasons they added the scoop on the hood, to bring in more cool air. They could also do the slalom no handed if you timed it right.

Probably got it free from his nephew who owns a jun,,,er recycling yard.

The original engine is long gone(mighty 305 cu.in.!). The seller told us the 305 in it now came out of a mid-80's truck.

He wants to put the A/C back in as well which is totally clusterfarked at this point. We need many of the parts to make it functional. He bought a parts car over the weekend that we will "borrow" from and then drive to the recycling yard.

It has a redtop Optima battery in it. I told my FIL the battery is worth more than the car. He paid $100 for the 82 Chevy Caprice so it really is!

You know, this is fun because there isn't any pressure on me. We'll get it done whenever. I'm also going to powerwash and stain their deck which means they will probably give me a gratuity for doing that. Cash is good, I like cash. :D

Seriously......I just asked for them to send me that in writing.....that's not too much to ask is it?

One of my friends had a 305 in his El Camino and he just kept getting leaks in the aluminum intake manifold. Either anti-freeze was leaking out or oil was. One of the old timers told him to fix the leaks forever, get a cast iron manifold. The old timer looked around in his junk pile and found one. My buddy took it to a machinist friend of his to be surfaced and we bolted it place. It never leaked again.

different expansion rate?

Evening Y'all,
What a funky day, I grabbed the wrong keys while heading out the door so I drove Peggy, no biggie.
I found out when I got to work I also realized I had left the house twenty mins early. Yeah lets not make that mistake again.
I would love to find a 4bbl intake for an Mopar LA, in cast iron, square bore. I have plans for Peggy and aluminum won't cut it.

He never said why, just that it was a cure. I suspect the expansion rate and overall stiffness of cast iron.

why?

Twin turbo, and with the pressures I am going to be pushing through the intake aluminum will simply not hold up. It is best to bolt cast to cast.

gotcha.

I forget--which one is Peggy?

Some of my old racer buds might have some parts for a Mopar. I'll see if I can reach them through FB and get back with you.

Wow, 120,000 posts and counting.

Some people need the apostrophe taken off their keyboard. No need for one in that picture!

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