Hemmings Speedster spruce up

We figured while the weather is keeping the Speedster in the garage, it would be a good time to do a little freshening up of the engine and drivetrain. Although April seems a long way off, we want to get an early start and makes sure it is all back together for Rally season.

Our first concern was the engine itself. Steve Adams, our resident hot rod enthusiast and mechanic found the remains of several cotter pins in the oil pan when he did the last oil change. Although we were able to account for where all of them came from (connecting rod nuts) we want to be sure there isn’t more hidden damage inside the crankcase.  Driver Jim Menneto also reported a bit of blue smoke while on the Pumpkin Run in October so we decided to just pull the engine and have it thoroughly checked out.  More on the engine refurbishing in future posts.

Another reason we wanted to pull the engine was to get at the transmission and the Mitchell 1000 overdrive unit. Both had nagging drips that were marking up our nice clean floor in the museum. Because the rear emergency brake yoke under the chassis was such a huge job to remove, we decided the easiest way to remove everything was to slide them all forward while the engine was out. After the transmission was pulled, we unbolted the front and rear torque tubes and the rear driveshaft on the Mitchell unit and slid it forward as well.

The 9-inch clutch disc will need some R&R work as will the pull-type pressure plate. We sent them both off to Fort Wayne Clutch, where they will check the springs on the pressure plate for proper tension and reline the disc with ceramic-button facing on the pressure plate side and kevlar facing on the flywheel side. This will make the disc last longer but not be so rigid that it gets grabby.

Both the front and rear seals will be replaced on the Mitchell, along with a couple of Forties Dodge axle flange gaskets to help seal the torque tubes back onto the case, better than the existing RTV silicone did.

We’ll be cracking open the differential in the near future, to check ring and pinion wear and to change the left rear axle bearing (again). It is possible the axle tube on the driver’s side was warped by heat when shock mounts were welded onto it in the past.