'69 Grand Prix, #s 400/4-sp, Silver over Blue

[Too Many Projects]

Originally Posted by Derek69SS

I think we're supposed to do that... makes it easier to shame the kid into helping fix it. Cale learned how to swap the transmission in our '01 Trans-Am this summer because it broke while he was driving it.


Me: "So, how hard were you beating on it when it broke?"
Cale: "Not any harder than Mom does."

I just laughed my azz off... for those that don't know, Jenna drag races that car at times and I can imagine Cale was right ...
Derek is a VERY lucky man to have a wife that supports and participates in his racing and collecting addictions.

[TimG]

I’d flip the air cleaner lid on my moms ‘72 442 and when she took it in for an oil change one time the dealer told her to keep her son away from working on the car since I didn’t even know how to put the lid on correctly. I stayed silent when my mom scolded me.

[Too Many Projects]

The summer I graduated, I had a '64 Galaxie 500 with a 390 speed. Jerry, former classmate was dating the sister of my girlfriend and he would take his dad's '69 Ford woody wagon with a 390 2 barrel on their dates. We would both go down to the St Paul loop to make noise, race a little and watch the REAL muscle cars prowl. He would flip the lid on the air cleaner when he got there and cruise the loop with that poor 390 trying to gulp enough air thru that 2 bbl with his foot stuck thru the firewall. There was a 2 block area that was walled in by brick block, steel and glass buildings, 4 stories high and the moaning noise would echo off really loud and sound like a wounded animal howling louder and higher pitched as it slowly gained rpm.
One time he forgot to flip the lid back and when his dad drove it the next time, thought there was something seriously wrong with the engine, so took it to the dealer to have it checked out... Jerry had to get his own car soon after that LOL

[grantprix]

My brother's '70 GP made it to 90K before it jumped time and left him stranded. He bought the car in the early 80's with 29K miles.

[60sStuff]

The dreaded nylon camshaft gear.

In regard to the Pontiac GTO, plus other GM models and/or manufacturers.

1964 and 1965 used a Hardened Alloy Iron gear.
1966 through 1972 used that “stupid idea” Aluminum Alloy with Nylon Covered teeth.

[Too Many Projects]

Replaced dozens of those in all GM engines but Cadillac. Might have had it, but I don't recall ever working on one.
We always quoted the customer a price to replace the gear set and another to remove the pan and clean all the crap out, that was restricting the suction screen on the oil intake tube.
99% just paid for the gear set change and then sold the car. Some came back later for LOF's in Ford's and Chrysler's. They said they didn't want to pay for that again. I reminded them that it was noted on their bill that the replacement set was steel and would outlast the rest of the engine.

[Pro Stock John]

I blew the engine in my mom's '68 Lemans. I was drag racing an '85 Olds 442 for a couple miles.

[Hotrodpaul]

I believe the Aluminum/Nylon gear was designed to reduce noise and harmonics in the valvetrain, but heat and contamination damaged the nylon very quickly, turning it brittle and hard. May have been a cost saving as well as there was little machining done to the gear, just the cam bolt area, the rest was molded. One left me stranded in my 69 Plymouth Satellite with a 318 at around 100K. At least the 340 came with a double roller timing chain with cast iron gear from the factory.