Type of oil

[Clare Snyder]

Had one out in 20 minutes with the back end hanging out over a loading dock. That was in a 1500 "variant" wagon - the "suitcase" engine - a swing-axle, not u-jointed suspension.

[Ed Pawlowski]

I had a '64 Karmann Ghia convertible. The body was rusted out and it was hit when parked so I sold the engine. It was rebuilt and in great shape.

The guy I sold it to cut a couple of wires for a short cut but had it out in less than 15 minutes.

[gfretwell]

I was taking it out, planning on putting it back so I was labeling wires, hoses and such. I also had not bought my "complete idiot" book yet so I was just looking for what was holding it up there. I still have the cylinder hone I bought and the 36MM socket you need to get that big nut loose. It also fits the swing axle. You had to back off on the torsion rods to get the wheels straight up again when you put the dune buggy chassis on it. If you see a dune buggy or kit car with a serious negative camber problem, they missed that step ;-)

[rbowman]

Might have been an urban legend but I remember stories about people repowering their burned out transporters with the midnight auto supply technique.

[gfretwell]

These days with battery operated impact wrenches, that might be a thing. I imagine 2 or three guys could lift the back of a beetle up to lift it over the fan housing so you might not even need a jack. Take out the bolts, pull it back, let it drop, cut anything in your way, lift the car up and roll it forward a couple feet and your motor is sitting there.

[Clare Snyder]

That's a serious POSITIVE caster - and a good chance of doing a "scorpion" turn!!

[Clare Snyder]

Definitely happened more than once

[gfretwell]

Camber is the tilt from top to bottom, Caster is the tilt of the steering knuckle that causes the steering to center, just like the way a caster works on a tea cart. I agree if they are tilted in at the bottom, that just makes the "tuck a wheel and roll" problem on a swing axle much worse. Dune buggy guys used to put a spacer on the strut to limit the amount the wheel could tuck in.

[Wade Garrett]

I had a 79 Rabbit that was really fun to drive. Good handling, not bad acceleration, roomy enough for me and I'm a big guy.. After a lot of years and miles, it started to eat spark plugs. I'd have to change them every 1000 to 1500 miles. Apart from that, it ran fine. I don't recall the cause of the problem- only that the dealer quoting a way too big number to fix it.

Back then, plugs cost maybe 69 cents. if that. And since the Rabbit's plugs sat right at the top of the engine, you could install a new set in less than five minutes without getting your hands dirty. Did that for many times!

[Clare Snyder]

You were lucky it was only #5.

The years when they first started using chrome rings many of them just would NOT break in. A quart in 500 miles at 3000 miles was not out of the ordinary. Someone came up with a REALLY simple fix.

2000 RPM, aircleaner off, and sift a few tablespoons of Bon Ami cleanser down the carb throat.

Went from a quart in 500 to a quart in 1500 almost immediately - if you did it early enough. If you waited for the rings to carbon up it didn't work.

Usually did it just before an oil change. I worked at an AMC dealership in '72

[Vic Smith]

The '79 Rabbit was an oil burner. A friend had one. I think there was a class action lawsuit about them.

[rbowman]

My father bought a '62 Rambler Classic in part because he was a firm believer in 15" wheels but it had the 195. I don't recall engine problems but staying in alignment wasn't its strong suit. He traded it in on a '65 Dodge which was a short turnaround. Usually it was 5 or 6 years between cars.

I learned to drive on the thing as well as developing a dislike for Romneys... At least it wasn't an American.

[gfretwell]

This wasn't oil fouling it was lead (or whatever that white crusty stuff is). This was always just #5. I could put that plug in #4 and it would work for years. A brand new one in 5 would foul in a month or two. This was a throw away 71 Gremlin I got for free but I couldn't kill it. I just needed to keep cleaning #5. My buddy had an Ambassador with exactly the same problem. I used to clean plugs for him too.

[gfretwell]

For some strange reason I had 2 AMCs at the same time, the Gremlin and a 72 Jeep with the 304 that had a weak timing chain and a known problem with the main shaft bearing in the transmission (you know the first thing they put in the case when they build one). I learned all about B/W T 10 transmissions. ;-) The problem was so bad, every bearing at the dealer was bad too. I ended up at a real bearing store to get a good bearing. The guy at the bearing store knew about the bad batch too.

I have to say the 2 AMCs I had lived a hard life and were sold for a decent buck ($500 for the Gremlin and $1500 for the Jeep) but they did have problems.

[rbowman]

AMC had their moments. I had a second gen Javelin rental that made Minnesota miles go by faster. I knew a minister that had a Marlin. He was a young guy and pretty hip as ministers go. I don't know what his flock thought about his choice of rides. I think both had a little American DNA but Romney's exit into politics improved the breed.

Then there was the Pacer. I had one of those as a rental. It was a nice enough car but given a puddle in the road it had the unique ability to throw all of it on the windshield. Another rental was an Alliance. That was a fun little car to throw around on Mount Tam.

[Clare Snyder]

It was ASH.

From oil that was not "ashless disperant" oil Perhaps used a bit of ATF too? The vac modulator valve fed into the #5 intake lef IIRC.

[Clare Snyder]

Which hemi, what year, which vehicles?

[gfretwell]