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If it’s the passenger rear tire (you said right rear so it should be the same thing) I think I may know what’s happening if it’s normal looking wear. What happens with any live axle rear drive vehicle is that when you accelerate the driveshaft spins and in turn cocks the passenger side of the axle up ever so slightly, and so the power tends to go to the passenger side of the tire. Less traction, more wear. Even though you are not peeling out, it still happens regardless. Both of my trucks do it, and when I want to burn out it’s almost always the passenger rear that lets go. It’s been happening to RWD vehicles forever.
Man, I could not be happier for you! This is gonna be so awesome. I get that you have about 3 more projects than you need going on right now, and you want to just drive it. That’s fine, and that’s probably about what I would do as well if I were in your shoes. Man, I agree that this is probably the best looking vehicle in the fleet. It’s just immaculate as well. Beautiful inside and out. I met your dad at the meet up and we actually ended up speaking for a while. We chatted lots about the 51 Chevy and this truck. I remember telling him that I would put it back to factory, simply because I love having a full size truck with a stick. I don’t have a V8 like you, but yeah, I would enjoy the Full size/350/Manual combo a lot. He told me what good shape it was in and he is a man of his word. Your dad is a good man. If only I could remember his name. His name tag had “ETCG’s Dad” on it bigger than his name. I think it was Kevin. Hope I got it right. Anyway, I am super excited for you to have this truck.
I am kind of knowledgeable about these trucks. But I didn’t know you could get one with the 5.7/Manual. I think the trans is a NV3500. The NV4500 wasn’t put in those trucks until 1991. Vortec heads are a good swap you could do. I don’t think that would be a big problem even though you would have to swap the intake. A TBI Vortec intake should be cheap/easy to do since the bolts are different for Vortec intakes than traditional SBC intakes. Throw in a mild roller cam with about .450″ lift and you have a runner. Of course then you have to change the tune around. It’s always a cascade effect. One thing affects another. V8, dual exhaust, manual, with head/intake/cam/tune work and a 3.55/3.73 posi would make that truck a riot. And the deep overdrive on the NV3500 would make it a highway champ. I know all that work is so much easier said than done, so don’t think I make light of that. I don’t.
I am super excited for you man. You are amassing a collection of cars you love. And it’s crazy to say that I love them, too. If I had to pick a favorite, it would have to be the Manual Vigor. I have been looking for one forever, but there isn’t one within 300 miles of me. That manual Vigor is the business. And I think you should keep both Vigors the way they are. The stick was a more base model, while the auto was the luxo-cruiser. I prefer the stick, though. Good luck with everything, man. I know you are at SEMA right now, and I hope you have a blast. Real happy for you man. Keep it real!
Nick
It’s such a shame that this happened, because diesel is a really decent fuel when done right. It just puts out too much NOx right now. Diesel has more stored energy in it per cubic centimeter (I think the term is CC, not sure) than gasoline. So theoretically, it should be able to make more power on the same amount of fuel. Additionally, because diesel is compression ignition (and heat, I know), they can run much leaner at cruise. We’re talking 21:1+ when it comes to air fuel ratios. Gasoline engines can only withstand about 17:1 AFR IIRC. Overall, diesel is a more efficient fuel, just not the cleanest one right now. Urea tanks on passenger cars like the Jetta/Passat/Golf are possible, but also make the car heavier, which sacrifices mileage. Guess that’s one of the many reasons they didn’t do that.
[quote=”EricTheCarGuy” post=177801] I did buy it just as a parts car and only because it had the parts I needed for my friend’s car. Once the Fairmont is done, I plan to thin the heard. I’ll likely get rid of the Mustang and one of the Vigors. Then I’ll look into building the truck and the GSR. Hopefully I won’t pick anything else up before then.
[/quote]I love both of your Vigors. If you do decide to let one go, make sure you do a video about why. I know you don’t want to do a stick swap because that’s a bit too much work. Maybe work on the manual one a bit and see if you fall as hard in love with it as you did the red one. There is nothing better than driving a stick in my book. So that would make it worth working on to me, personally. I love them both, so I don’t want you to get rid of either one.
I’m not partial to the Mustang, though.
[quote=”Evil-i” post=177820][quote=”Hockeyclark” post=177775]Look to make sure your truck isn’t misfiring at low rpm on the highway. That will cause it to vibrate when you are on the accelerator, but not when you let off. Alternatively, maybe it’s a driveshaft issue. I would respectfully disagree with Evil-i on this one. While a lot of highway shakes and shimmy’s are from misbalanced tires, I would say since the vibration is accelerator related, it’s engine related as well. Have your computer checked to see if it’s throwing any codes.[/quote]
I hear you. I mentioned it because the impression I got from the OP was that the vibrations were related to road speed, not throttle position. Maybe I misunderstood. Wouldn’t be the first time.[/quote]
It’s all good, buddy. You are always helping people out here. Plus, you could be right. I have a shimmy that is intermittent on my truck but it is tire related. Life is weird.
Are you looking for just the spring or the entire strut assembly? You say you are looking for struts then ask for coil springs so it’s not really clear. In any case, try rockauto.com, they are pretty awesome for finding strange stuff you need if it’s hard to find. Just watch the shipping costs, that’s where they get you. If you shop smart you can get great deals.
And welcome to the forum!
Fill for life transmissions are a bunch of hooey! Change the ATF every 50-60k and your trans will last 200+k miles. If you halve the interval at 60k that would be ideal.
[quote=”Evil-i” post=177766]Are you a car person?
The Malibu was the top trim line in the Chevelle family, and Chevelle DNA filtered into other GM products, like the Monte Carlo and El Camino. Now, if the car is going to go to a “good home”, I’d be inclined to let it go. 2G seems like a generous offer for an empty shell.
Before you let it go, however, I’d send the VIN to one of the GM enthusiast organizations. Some organizations are able to comb through old factory records, and can supply a vehicle’s reproduction “build sheet”, which will tell you everything any particular car came with from the factory. It’s possible you might have a super-rare vehicle that was optioned-up in an unusual way.[/quote]
This.
Additionally, I love old cars. And a 65 Malibu Wagon is a pretty rare bird. I would keep it. Maybe sell something else. What I know is that small block chevy’s with TH350 transmissions are getting stacked up like cord wood, especially outside shops that are doing LS swaps. It is cheap to get something like that running and driving, and there is nothing easier to work on than an old Chevy. I know how money can be tight, but I have held on to my El Camino tight. It’s a running project, and believe me something that is running and driving is much more inspiring than something that sits.
Ultimately the decision is yours, but do what your heart tells you. If you get a chance, watch Roadkill on YouTube. They might give you some ideas about how to not always get it right, but get it running.
Good luck!
Look to make sure your truck isn’t misfiring at low rpm on the highway. That will cause it to vibrate when you are on the accelerator, but not when you let off. Alternatively, maybe it’s a driveshaft issue. I would respectfully disagree with Evil-i on this one. While a lot of highway shakes and shimmy’s are from misbalanced tires, I would say since the vibration is accelerator related, it’s engine related as well. Have your computer checked to see if it’s throwing any codes.
As much as I hate to say it, probably parts car. Let’s look at it this way. You own:
Fairmont
Vigor Auto
Vigor Stick
Element
Integra GSR
Mustang
98 RL
Chevy Truck
More maybe I forgot.If you keep this up, you’re not going to know what to drive to the shop every day. It really comes down to how much work you want to put into the RL. It already has 220+k miles on it. Face it, it won’t run forever. If you were confident you could get another 100k out of it and you could get it not to stink, then maybe sure I would fix it. You know everything about those vehicles, so yeah that’s the X factor there. Maybe there’s some repair videos in it. But you never know. It could blow up in 5k miles if you fix it because of the miles and who knows how well it was maintained. You would be the best person to make that judgment.
Also, for car smells, try putting cat litter in a tube sock and leaving it in the car. It does help. Maybe a whole drawer full of socks full of cat litter, maybe. It also helps with moisture control.
Good luck!
Your car could be getting hot and doing something called “dieseling” — which means the car runs without the ignition because the gasoline is auto igniting. Check to make sure your car isn’t overheating.
If you can get it to run on starting fluid, then whatever valve is supposed to hold pressure in the fuel system when the engine is off, isn’t. Try cycling the key 2 or 3 times, then cranking it on the 4th. That should help the fuel pump build pressure to atomize the fuel. Give that a shot and see what happens.
12.3 seems like about 50% battery at rest so it’s probably okay. I have seen batteries have the volts but no cranking amps left in them. Happened to me. Volts were fine but it wouldn’t crank, not even a little. I bring this up because the voltage may not be sufficient to trigger the computer. Unlikely, but it does happen.
Good luck!