Forum Slant Six Forum

What is the length of your dipstick tube? I probably have what you need.

What causes a dead spot on the starter? Sometimes the old Chrysler starter on my '77 318 does not turn over now (about 1 in 25 times) The relay and battery are good. I was wondering whether I can fix it myself with a new brush set, or if the issue is more internal to the motor. I would rather rebuild it myself if possible! Cheers! Greg

Justin, is your '68 all stock in the electrical department? I have found that sometimes the soldered wires to the diodes in the back of the alt become cracked and provide lots of voltage, except when at a stoplight. I re-didoed' my round-back alternator and soldered in new wires, and it worked correctly again. Dan also recommends an adjustable regulator for those mechanical / roundback cars if you are keeping things stock. I will see if I can dig up the post. I had a bunch of problems with my '69, and it is all stock in the electrics dept. Greg

That will be fine Rob! Thanks so much for all your work! And Angie too!

Yup, I was trying them the wrong way around. Thank you. I will try the screw driver tool when I do the back. / Again, thanks, I had not seen these before...

It sounds like you are not installing them properly. The small end of the spring goes thru the web of the brake shoe. The larger dia will not fit thru the hole. The retainer goes on the back of the backing plate, and the hook on the spring connects to that. I have a "homemade" tool to hook the spring to the retainer. It is a screw driver with a round shaft that will fit down inside the spring. The end is cut off to make the end flat. The a cut a small groove in the flat end, that will engage the bottom of the spring. Push the tool thru the spring and streach the spring untill it can be attached to the retainer https://www.youtube.com/shorts/5uRkTgz_ADs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnGqiX3nti4 At time 7.20 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_n-UYIwUJI tool at time 13.30

I just got off the phone with Adam at Wiseco Pistons. Pistons are ready to ship. Angie will ship them when they get there. Postage to PA with $600 insurance will be about $30-35. I’ll let you know when they are on the way.

The smaller OD of the spring fits very nicely through the hole in the backer plate. The larger end will hold very nicely. The problem is not fitting; it is the stretching the spring out enough to install it / get the retainer on the end.

Id bet even the smaller diameter shank won't pass thru the hole for the pin either

Correct. The larger end of the spring will not go through the backer plate, which anchors it. I think these will work but I cannot figure out how to pull the hook end of the spring spring through the brake shoe to put the anchor tab on. I thought there might be a special tool. I didn't use these but though it would be interesting to know how to install them. The seller told me these are the 'new' version of retainers but, thankfully the old style pin-and-cap retainer are still available.

The rest of the spring looks too fat to go through the backing plate too

Yup. Been seeing a bunch of problems with those things at work too. Ones that weren't put in very long before