c/classic-car-maintenance

Spent $400 on a fuel pressure gauge kit and it paid for itself in one weekend

My 1972 C10 was coughing on hills and I kept swapping filters for weeks. Borrowed a buddy's gauge setup, found the pump was only pushing 3 psi instead of 6. Bought the kit from Summit, fixed the line, and now the truck pulls like new. Anyone else found a cheap tool that solved a mystery real fast?

0 comments

nathan_torres34•2d ago

Paint shop in Reno left my fender with fish eyes, watch out

Dropped my 67 Mustang off at a shop off Kietzke Lane last month for a repaint. They did the job in 5 days, but when I picked it up, the clear coat had little craters all over the door. Turns out they skipped the wax and grease wipe down. Got a refund of $400 but now I gotta find someone else to strip and redo it. Has anyone else dealt with fish eyes from a rushed paint job, and did you fix it with a re-spray or wet sand first?

1 comments

pat719•2d ago

Overheard a guy at the parts counter about valve lash and it hit me

I was picking up brake pads at Napa on Tuesday and this older guy was telling the clerk about his 1968 Mustang running rough at idle. Clerk said check the valve lash cold, not hot. I never even thought about that. I've been adjusting mine after a 20 minute warmup for years. Went home, measured at cold, all four exhaust valves were way too tight. Fired it up after and the ticking dropped right off. Anyone else been doing it hot this whole time and getting away with it?

1 comments

stella_lee•3d ago

Bought a $300 radiator for my '68 Mustang, still overheating two months later

I swapped in a cheap aluminum radiator thinking it would fix the cooling issues, but it only dropped the temp by 5 degrees at idle. The core is too thin for the stock 289, and now I keep seeing hot spots after 20 minutes of driving. Anyone else wasted cash on a budget radiator and ended up going back to a copper one?

1 comments

michael880•4d ago

Rolled 100,000 miles on my 1968 Mustang last Tuesday, odometer flipped while I was stuck in traffic on I-35 and it hit me that I never planned to keep it this long

That 6-digit number surprised me more than any breakdown ever has, because it means every bushing, hose, and seal I've swapped since 2016 has actually been worth it, but now I'm wondering if I should start over on the engine rebuild checklist or just enjoy the damn thing, anyone else hit a milestone that made them rethink their whole maintenance schedule?

1 comments

wyatta30•5d ago

Rant: NOS water pump vs cheap reman, I picked the $180 option and it lasted 2 weeks

Picked the fancy NOS AC Delco pump for my '69 Chevelle over the $90 reman from the parts store and the shaft seal blew out on the 405 in rush hour, so has anyone else had luck with the cheap remans or am I just cursed?

2 comments

terryj45•6d ago

That 30 dollar coil pack taught me a lesson about cheap parts

Last month my 66 Mustang started stuttering and dying on the freeway near Tulsa, turned out the new coil pack I'd put in three weeks prior was already junk. Has anyone else had a cheap ignition part fail that fast, or did I just get the one bad apple in the box?

1 comments

sanchez.robin•6d ago

Thought my 67 Mustang brakes were fine, until the pedal started dropping

I spent three days bleeding the system on my 67 Mustang, replacing the master cylinder twice, and it still felt soft. Turns out the original 1967 proportioning valve was sticking internally, just enough to let fluid bypass under pressure. A $45 rebuilt valve fixed it in under an hour. Has anyone else chased a brake issue that turned out to be a part you never thought to check first?

1 comments

derek_burns•6d ago

Reversed my opinion on synthetic oil for my 1972 Charger after seeing the teardown

I ran conventional for 20 years on my 383, but when my buddy in Tulsa showed me the sludge buildup in his engine that switched to synthetic at 80k miles, I did the same and my oil pressure gauge reads 10 psi higher at hot idle now, has anyone else seen that kind of result on an old big block?

1 comments

ryan_stone•7d ago

Hit 150,000 miles on my 1971 C10 and it felt like a birthday

Rolled past 150,000 on the odometer last Tuesday while driving through downtown Akron, and I had to pull over just to make sure I wasn't seeing things. That old 350 has been rebuilt once back in 2009, but the rest of the drivetrain is all original, still shifts through all 3 gears smooth as butter. The motor mounts are sagging and the speedo cable squeals under 40 mph, but hitting that number made me realize how many small fixes added up over the years. Anyone else got a truck or car that just crossed a big milestone and made you stop and check the clock?

1 comments

faith_perez•9d ago

Talking to an old mechanic changed how I think about carburetors

I was chatting with a guy named Frank at my local auto shop last Saturday. He told me I was overcomplicating my '68 Mustang's carb rebuild by chasing every tiny spec in the manual. He said 'just clean the jets, set the float level, and run it for 30 minutes' and it worked better than three full rebuilds I tried before. It hit me that sometimes the old-school advice beats the factory instructions for these older cars. Has anyone else found that listening to the older guys simplifies things compared to what the books say?

2 comments

richardrodriguez•10d ago

Found my old timing light from 1985 still works better than the new digital one

I bought one of those fancy digital timing lights last spring for my 1970 Chevelle. Spent about 120 dollars on it and the thing kept giving me inconsistent readings. Pulled my old Craftsman inductive timing light out of the garage last weekend and it nailed the timing on the first try. Has anyone else found that the old analog tools just work better for these pre-1980 engines?

2 comments

angela_park•10d ago

Still on the fence about electronic ignition for old Mopars after my buddy's swap last month

My friend Frank put a Pertronix kit in his 1970 Challenger and spent three weekends chasing a random misfire before he found out the module was bad out of the box. He lives over in Phoenix so the heat might have toasted it, but still, that's a whole month of wrenching instead of driving. Meanwhile my 1965 Dart with the rusty points and condenser has started every single time since I bought it three years ago. I know electronic ignition is supposed to be more reliable, but I've heard of four separate guys having issues just this summer alone. Anyone else sticking with points and finding modern replacements are actually decent?

2 comments

leor37•10d ago

That week my Mustang's carburetor caught fire taught me a lesson

Last August I was tuning my 1966 Mustang on a Tuesday afternoon, and I had the timing way too advanced. I went to start it up after adjusting the carb and a backfire shot a flame right through the air cleaner. Melted the plastic housing and singed my eyebrows off in about two seconds flat. My buddy Mike from the next garage over came running with his fire extinguisher and we got it out quick, but the smell of burnt fuel and plastic hung around for days. The carburetor itself was toast, a Holley 600 CFM that cost me $320 new. What made that week stand out was I had to take the bus to work for three days while I waited for a replacement to ship. Had to explain to my crew why I showed up with a red face and no eyelashes for a whole week. Ever had a carb fire scare you straight about timing adjustments?

2 comments

avery_walker30•12d ago

Found a trick for old carburetor gaskets using a freezer

Last week I was rebuilding the carb on my '65 Mustang and the new gasket kept shifting out of place while I tried to bolt it back on. My buddy who restores old farm tractors told me to pop the gasket in the freezer for about 15 minutes before installing. It stiffened up just enough to stay put and I got the carb back together without any leaks for the first time in months. Has anyone else used cold temps to help with finicky gaskets or is that just a tractor guy thing?

1 comments

the_robin•13d ago

Shoutout to the guy who told me to check my timing chain slack

Had a '67 Mustang that was running rough and I kept chasing carburetor issues for months. This older mechanic at a shop in Dayton told me to look at the timing chain first before spending another dime on jets and gaskets. Sure enough there was almost 10 degrees of slop in the chain that was throwing everything off. Has anyone else had a simple check like that save them from throwing parts at a problem they didn't have?

1 comments

jason562•16d ago

Went to a car meet last week and noticed something weird about the engine bays

I was at a local meet in Cleveland and half the guys had these shiny new aluminum radiators in their old Chevelles and Mustangs. Not a single copper or brass radiator in sight. Has anyone else noticed the old-school parts are getting harder to find for 60s muscle cars?

2 comments

ivangrant•17d ago

Tried both points and electronic ignition on my '65 Mustang this weekend

Honestly, I spent all Saturday swapping between a Pertronix kit and the old points setup on my 289, and the electronic ignition just ran smoother. The points kept needing gaps checked after every 50 miles, while the Pertronix fired up cold and idled steady without touching it. Has anyone else found a reliable way to make points work long term, or is electronic the only way to go?

2 comments

tessa_kim3•18d ago

Pro tip: Found my '58 Chevy's vacuum leak with a dollar bill at a gas station

Was filling up at Shell on Route 9 last Saturday and the idle was all over the place. Stuck a dollar bill along the vacuum line connections and watched it flutter til I found the crack near the intake. Anyone else use weird tricks to find vacuum leaks?

2 comments

xena_taylor64•19d ago

My 72 C10's brake line blew while I was pulling into my own driveway last Sunday

Pedal went straight to the floor and I smelled brake fluid before I even shut it off. Turns out the line rubbed through where it was clipped to the frame rail, anyone else had this happen with aftermarket pre-bent lines?

1 comments

spencerw72•19d ago

That $400 electronic ignition kit was a complete waste on my 67 Mustang

I fell for the hype about upgrading from points to electronic ignition on my 1967 Mustang. Spent a solid $400 on a fancy Pertronix kit and a new coil, then spent 6 hours ripping out the perfectly good points system. The car ran fine before, maybe a little rough at idle but nothing terrible. After the swap, it started fine but then died twice on the highway near Cleveland. Took it to my buddy's shop and he traced it to a bad module in the kit. Went back to points for $20 and the car runs better than ever. Anyone else go through this same headache with these conversion kits?

1 comments

spencerw72•21d ago

Read one article about ethanol gas and immediately changed my fueling habits

I used to just grab whatever regular gas was cheapest for my 1972 Chevelle, never thought twice about it. Then I stumbled on an article from Hagerty last week that said 10% ethanol gas can actually absorb water from the air and cause corrosion in carburetors that sit for more than a few weeks. I had no idea ethanol was that bad for older fuel systems, especially the rubber seals. Now I'm only running ethanol free gas from the Shell station across town, even if it costs 50 cents more a gallon. Has anyone else switched and noticed their carburetor floats lasting longer?

2 comments

sandraf84•24d ago

Threw $150 at a vintage carb rebuild kit and got burned bad

Picked up a supposed OEM-spec rebuild kit for my '72 Mustang 302 from some online store called Carb Kings USA. Thought I was saving money but the accelerator pump gasket disintegrated after 2 weeks. Anyone else get hosed by reproduction parts that just don't hold up like the originals?

2 comments

richard_mason•26d ago

Rant: Heard some young kid at the parts store say synthetic oil is a waste in old engines

I was standing right there and wanted to ask him how many flat tappet cams he's wiped out running conventional on a 1969 350 before I just paid and walked away, anyone else had to bite their tongue lately?

2 comments

jordanc68•28d ago

Old guy at the parts store told me to ditch synthetic oil in my '66 Mustang

I've been running synthetic for years cause everyone says it's better but he said these old engines need the zinc and seal swellers in conventional. Swapped to a high-zinc 10W-30 last month and the lifter tick I've had for 2 years is completely gone now. Anybody else been told to go backwards on oil choice?

2 comments