My Latest Toy

[jhkaster]

Hi All,

It's not a GMV, but I added a 5th car to my collection: 1982 Chrysler LeBaron Medallion Mark Cross Convertible. I picked it up in Indy and drove it back to Charlotte on Friday. It was a blast driving with the top down through the mountains of WV. The car hit 40k miles on the trip home. I spent Saturday replacing plugs, wires, PCV valve, air filter, wiper blades and cleaning the engine bay. Today I'll start detailing the exterior and interior. Here are some pics.









Not sure if the pics posted properly... so, here's the link to my site with my cars:
www.lincolnversailles.com/collection.htm

[Jeff Roblin]

Nice looking car - one of my favourite personal convertibles. I think I might have a few NOS nicknacks for that car including a piece of convertible top weatherstripping. They're in my Ebay Store. Some under Chrysler and some under Mopar Multi-Application.

stores.ebay.com/Roblins-Classic-Auto-Salvage

[robic58]

James-
That's a classic & classy beauty... Just goes to show what can be done, even with a K-Car.
I had a '85 Plymouth Caravelle, same general lines in appearance, as a daily use vehicle. kept it nine years. it was a
remarkable ,trouble free, and comfortable car.
Enjoy your new toy, it looks great.
Ralph

[jhkaster]

There are two things that are incorrect about the car. It had some front-end damage a couple of years ago by the first owner.

• He replaced the hood with a turbo hood from '85. (This is not a turbo car, but rather a Mitsubishi 2.6.)
  
• The grill and chrome trim on the front-end is from a New Yorker, not a LeBaron.
  

So, I will replace these and get it back to original specs. Other cosmetics include the leather. The leather is faded a bit (but in great shape) and needs to be re-dyed back to it's original "Saddle" color (orangish). No rush to do this, if at all.

Mechanically, the only repairs are replacing the master cylinder and converting the a/c to the new refrigerant.

Everything works on the car. She's almost ready to show.

[robic58]

James , I had noticed the scooped/grilled hood but not the grille.
That 2.6 Mitsu is a powerful and peppy Four- banger.I loved it.
Cheers, Ralph

[jhkaster]

I need an opinion on a vacuum question... I least I think it's a
vacuum question. First of all, the car always starts very very easily. (Not sure that that matters, but it tickles me.) When the engine is cold, the brake pedal can be pressed to the floor. When you do so, you can hear a hiss, like a vacuum leak. But, after a minute or two of running, when the engine warms up, the brake pedal is strong and doesn't go to the floor and you never hear that hiss again. This is very consistent, 100% of the time. I traced vacuum lines under the hood and everything looks good. Car has a pinch under 41k original miles. Any thoughts or theories on what it can be or where I should be looking?

[Jeff Roblin]

I wonder if your brake booster has a small leak.........not enough to not hold pressure but enough for the pressure to leak out overnight. I wonder if you could hook a some sort of pressure gauge to the booster.

[jhkaster]

I'll have to borrow a friend's vacuum gauge to test it. That was my thought too that the booster is the culprit. But, the puzzling part is that it takes a couple of minutes before it feels fine. It seems to align with the temp of the engine rising. I would think that it would otherwise have full vacuum within like 15 seconds of starting to fill the booster.

[Jeff Roblin]

I assume that's a 2.2L in that car, being an '82 right? Maybe these small motors do not build the vacuum up as quick. On the other hand, maybe your booster is not your only vacuum leak.

[robic58]

Jeff- Minor correction- I believethe motor is the famous 2.6 Mitsubishi- very zippy.
James- I may be all wrong in my diagnosis, but here it is-
I believe a new brake master cylinder will cure your problem.Sounds to me that master cylinder piston seal is allowing a back flow of brake fluid. Normally with the engine off, the reserve pressure in the booster is roughly equal to the pressure in the brake fluid sytem(master cylinder, lines, calipers,wheel cylinders) , Now if piston seal allows "flow pass",
the booster pressure will drive (eventually) the piston to its full
length of travel, hence when you first apply the brake pedal it goes to the floor (i.e very little resistance on line brake fluid).
Since,system is sealed, the hiss you hear is fluid being sucked back on the proper side of the master cylinder piston.
On these Chryco, productsreplace rather than repair,
That's my thinking, let us know what you find in the end.
Good luck, Cheers, Ralph

[jhkaster]

Ralph,

You may be right. A buddy who is an engineer provided a response just about the same time as yours. And he said the same thing. He thinks it's the seal in the master cylinder. I hope it's the master cylinder since that's easier to swap out than the booster. I'll try replacing that first.

Thanks All for the Advice,
---James

[robic58]

James-
Did you resolve your sinking brake pedal problem on your Lebaron ragtop?
Just curious?
Ralph

[jhkaster]

It was the master cylinder. Just a bad seal in it that created a slow leak like you stated.

In other news on the car, on the 20th, I'm taking the car to have the rear curtain replaced. It's all cloudy. Then all it needs is a good wax job.

Also, I have spent the past couple of months working on the Mark III. Almost done with it. For now, I had to bypass vacuums to the ACC's brain to get cold air going through the dash vents. Still tracking this issue down.

But, I do have a question for you all... do you know of any business that restores and repolishes aluminum door sills? Mine are pretty scuffed up and dinged.