Jake Dykstra's 1962 409/409 Impala!

[Pro Stock John]

I saw the car at MCACN and said to myself, I should read the build thread.

...a few hours later...

A great read!!!

A local Chicago friend owns this 409 convertible, his aunt bought it new. Its auto and it left the family for a while and was bought back. I'll ask Bill for the history on the car the next time I bump into him.

[RPOLS3]

So.......last Saturday was a rainy/snowy January day here and I had some spare time to swap out the fuel pump. Got everything swapped over in an hour or so and started the car up to make sure everything is OK for the spring. Car started and ran fine. Only issue was a seemingly small leak on the inlet fitting. I tightened the fitting as most as I felt comfortable with and it still was seeping a bit. OK - figured I let it cool of and deal with it on Sunday. Sunday evening I was hoping to end the weekend with a succesful 30 minute task..........then the two steps forward/one step back demons appeared again.

Everything started out fine. Dad was even looking over my shoulder as I looked through an old cigar box of fuel/carb parts he gave me years ago and a brand new inlet fitting was staring at me to replace the slightly boogered up one on the car. When I went to install the new fitting (this time with some sealant tape) it never seemed to get tight enough - so I kept at it and when the threads bottomed out I heard the housing crack.............ugh.

I have a couple folks looking for the correct 4657 replacement housing piece, if no luck I will probably swap out one from a non-AC Delco spare I have and see how that goes until I can find a proper replacement.

Always something.......

[olredalert]

----Bummer, Jake! I guess "no pain no gain" as I have been there so many times.....Bill S

[napa68]

It sucks buddy. I forgot to look today.........1st am I'll dig around tomorrow

[Xplantdad]

Hope that you get it fixed soon, Jake!

[Arrowsmith]

Oh crap. But you’re certainly not alone. I’ll bet every one of us here has had that sick feeling when a wrench goes “soft” or something goes “pop”. That’s when I turn off the lights and go back in the house .

[RPOLS3]

Originally Posted by Arrowsmith

That’s when I turn off the lights and go back in the house .

After contemplating a few fixes I realized there was really nothing else I could do to fix it at that moment - so that's exactly what i did.......start with a clear head in the morning.

[dykstra]

If you have to use anything at all, I believe you should use thread sealant and not the tape?
I realize this isn't what made the housing crack, but for when you put it back together.
Anybody else hear that? Tape vs sealant?

[Arrowsmith]

Originally Posted by dykstra

If you have to use anything at all, I believe you should use thread sealant and not the tape?
I realize this isn't what made the housing crack, but for when you put it back together.
Anybody else hear that? Tape vs sealant?

I haven’t used Teflon tape in a long, long time (can’t remember when). At least for me in my applications, the Teflon paste style sealants do a very good job. W

[RPOLS3]

Originally Posted by dykstra

If you have to use anything at all, I believe you should use thread sealant and not the tape?

Anybody else hear that? Tape vs sealant?

Brad told me the same thing the other day - so yes.