Was finally able to upload the pictures and get this thread updated. After my last post, I finished up the exhaust hanger and buttoned up the rest of the car to get it out to see if the new converter made any difference. I thought on how I wanted to built the exhaust hanger for quite a while. I bought a kit with the rods like I welded to the tailpipe, but wasn't happy with how much slack there was. The isolator hole was about twice the diameter of the rod, so I found a bolt in my bin that had a tighter fit in the isolator, then turned it down to make a shoulder bolt that would tighten down on a factory exhaust hanger.
Then after a bunch of test fits, I got the curvature right on the rod and welded it to the tail pipe. I had some high temp aluminum paint that matched almost perfectly with the aluminized coating on the tail pipe.
It's got a nice snug fit with the slightest amount of upward pre-load to take the pressure off the manifolds. Really happy with how it turned out.
The new transmission pan hangs a bit lower than I would have liked, but my car isn't slammed, so it should be fine. I'm just more aware of it now over bumps and whatnot.
After the tailpipe was finished, the car was ready to get off of the wheel stands and out for a test drive. I topped the transmission off with 10 quarts, but it wanted another 2 to get to the hot full line. I let the car idle in the driveway for a little while at first making sure to be in each gear for about 30 seconds so that the fluid could get all throughout the trans. Put it back in park and it was down about 2 quarts, so I topped it off and took the car out. The engine ran the same, but what I noticed immediately is that the throttle response was much better and the trans wasn't lazy going from forward to reverse. Took it down the road and when I was easy on the throttle, it drove pretty much the same. However, when I got on the throttle it was significantly more responsive and drove like a car instead of a truck! The car is way more fun to drive and feels much faster when you go WOT. It was a lot of work to get that transmission in and out, but it was worth it once I got behind the wheel. One other thing worth mentioning is that when I put the new transmission pan back on I used a Lube-Locker gasket. I've heard good things about them, and wanted to give it a try myself because my old pan wept fluid on my new concrete floor which irritated me. I'm happy to report after putting a few hundred miles on it, there isn't a drop on the cardboard I put under it.
My in-laws were coming in town shortly after I got the car back up and running and they wanted to go on a few rides. We went to a really nice winery up the road from us, Barboursville Vineyards, and had a great time.
While we were driving around though, I started to smell gas fumes faintly. I wasn't sure what was going on because it was running so well. But after troubleshooting for a while, I think I found the cause. I was getting a significant amount of oil pooling in the intake, and the #8 cylinder looked to be fouled out. I'm not sure if the oil fouled it out, but it's certainly not great. I had another spare set of plugs so I swapped them in and it ran better without the fumes. I'm now in the market for a catch can and leaning towards an Elite Engineering unit.
While my father-in-law was here we decided to tackle the rear wood floor for the wagon. I found a template online and we got to work.
I got busy and didn't take many pictures of the during process, but here's how it turned out. I'm very happy with how it turned out.
Looks great, but really highlights the need for me to replace the carpet pieces on the upper and lower seats. The carpet kit I bought came with those pieces just need to find the time to replace them.
Feels good to have the car a little more complete, and up and running again. Hoping to figure out the PCV/oil issue, but I think that will be solved by adding a catch can.
Cheers,
Ryan
