Let's Give This Thing A Tune-Up! - All The Little Tips And Tricks That Go With Changing The Parts
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 9 ก.พ. 2025
- Our 1965 Barracuda runs ok, but far from perfect.
The first step in making this ancient Mopar function as well as it can is to freshen all of the various Tune-Up parts.
We get started with installing a fresh distributor cap, rotor, wires and spark plugs while checking and adjusting all the various service points as we go.
#automobile #DIY #mechanic
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Don't apologize for going over the basics. Like me I am sure that a lot of the viewers don't spend all their days working on old iron and while we may know these things, they may also have slipped our minds.
Good point
Yes, agreed 👍
Great point!!
I couldn't agree more!
Well I used to spend all day every day under the hood but now I'm retired. But rather watch Uncle Tony's Garage anyway because there's nothing at all on TV. And I can reminisce 45 years ago when I would come home and and find a co-worker's Mopar sitting in front of my garage with the signed Title and a note "It's ALL your's. Especially when it's a Wagon with a 440 under the hood 😊
I once tuned up a 76 W100/318, plugs, wires, cap, and rotor. then timed it. Driving it had just a little miss, I rechecked my wires and stuff, couldn`t figure it out. drove over to an old friend who was a long time Chrysler mechanic and pulled up to his open garage door. We said hello, how ya doing, and I told him I had miss I couldn`t figure out. He said, "You have the number 5 and 7 wires wrong, I heard it when you pulled up.". Dang! He was right, and I had checked them twice! Swapped them and it was smooth as silk. Great old mechanic!
Did the same thing somehow doing a tune up on the 318 in my nephews dakota. Didn't take long to figure it out but it sure sounded weird when we started it.
That’s so awesome
It’s amazing that some of these guys can hear the problem without even seeing it.
Hi ya back in the day I did the same thing the 5 and 7 wires
If we don’t make mistakes, then we are not learning anything….
Once you fail try and try again….
Basics are everything. Go Uncle T!
Thanks Uncle Tony. I am a younger fella pret near 20. I figured out the choke myself after a lot of trial and error on my daily, grandpas squarebody with a beloved quadrajet on a 350. I got that old truck running real good after it sat a quarter decade and seized from water in a cylinder (probably my fault when I was younger I opened the hood and buckled it so it sat exposed to the elements for a few years lotta snow up here in saskatchewan). I have been watching your videos for a couple years and have learned a lot of useful things which I use very often since I have never owned a vehicle newer than 1980. Great way to unwind after a long day preparing for harvest. I like the style of these videos. None of the flashy stuff just a guy sharing some guys and the odd gal some forgotten knowledge. Keep it up that is what the internet was made for!
Over the many years of maintaining my older cars , something I've noticed , is that when people ( some of them) see you with the hood up , they immediately assume that you're having trouble with your car , and ask "what's wrong with it ? " , like that's the only possible reason for the hood being up.😏
This is so painfully true, I had the hood up at a gas station, changing points.
some gentleman in a expensive looking Mercedes pulled up, rolled down the window and asks, "What's wrong with it?" I don't know if it was a sense of superiority complex being in an expensive car "looking down" on people maintaining their cars, dunno it just felt like he was looking down on me sort of.
Anywho, people have got complacent in the cars they drive today.
Lol my neighbor stopped asking ,unless he actually saw me under the hood.
Hot summer days, id always pop the hood when I got home.
Maybe some guilt from hammering it, but in the long run it pays off by not baking anything that's not metal and making it brittle (like plastic and wiring).
@@MrTheHillfolk Iv'e often thought that the older classic cars would have benefited from some way of venting hot air out from the engine bay , in the way that a Ford Thunderbolt hood riser does, especially given that cold air intakes weren't generally a thing , and the engine is sucking on hot air, and, as you say making non metal parts brittle.
@@MrTheHillfolk This. Letting out the heat is a good practice to follow, I've been doing this also Everytime I come back from a drive.
If you have electronic parts such as a Solid state voltage regulator. It helps to keep it lasting longer.
My parents don't really like me propping up the hood though, they think it looks "ghetto"
Everyone has their differing opinions, but it is a FACT that parts not baked in heat do indeed last longer, preventative maintenance!
And also, on the subject of dealing with heat, I got to wondering about the wisdom of having a big plastic engine cover on my Buick 3.8 v6 engine , it had to be retaining heat around the intake manifold, I mean why bother having an air gap manifold , only to cover it with a heat trapper? , and it looks better without it too.
Even though I've done similar for 40 years as a hobby, I still like watching the basics.
Did not know about needing to oil the mechanical advance weights so I was able to learn something this video despite how simple it may seem.
I love the way you acted during this video. To explain something as you are doing takes a special skill which myself I don´t have. Love your stuff Uncle Tony!
Love NGK plugs
That`s all I use anymore. In everything.
Always good to touch on the basics . A drop of engine oil on spark plug threads helps to keep them from seizing, too.
For iron heads? Clean & dry - and something between 14 and 18 ft-lb if there's no spec. Newer coatings are a bonus compared to older black oxide threads, if possible. Aluminum heads? I use a whisper thin coat of nickel anti seize, and try to have nothing on the first two threads of the chamber side [not a problem with typical 3/4" reach]. If you get thread corrosion, its almost always starting near the outside - there ought not be any major moisture inside the engine.
And be sure to get it from the dipstick 😁
Been doing this like 20yrs on generator service ,we change em annually if needed or not , and never buggered a thread.
And oh the horror,I gap em by tapping on a hard surface😂😂
Again, never fired one up yet and had a misfire!
There's a right way to do wrong things when you've been doing a procedure forever.
Glad you hit on the importance of the choke setting and especially choke pull off adjustment. That is the breaking point of having an old car that can sit for a week, fire right up and drive off within 1 minute in the cold weather vs sitting there revving it and pumping it like a jackass for 10 minutes then have some naive people say "oh it's an old car, that's normal" hell no its not.
Thanks!
Thank you!
Not boring, and most of us don’t mind not talking, good to just watch an experienced mechanic work!
Ahh the good old days of wrenching when things weren’t so complex, so refreshing to watch especially with Tony wrenching!
Its nice to see someone go over the old stuff and stay with what the vehicle was originaly equeped with and not a bunch over priced electronics that you need to buy 15 different things to make it work.
Thanks Tony, I've been messing with the old cars for over 50 years. it was a joy to watch you do that tune up. You're right, it's a lost art.
One thing I missed is the solid lifter cam in 273's By now may not hurt to check the lash, do did say tune up. Your right on about youth. I gave my red 64 Barracuda to my niece and she could not get over how simple everything was to work with. How about soapy water and some scotch brite? A body! ANB
The 273 has been replaced with a mid 70’s 318, so no need to check the lash.
It's a 318
Lube your advance weight system, see, this is good stuff. I had a teacher in elementary school who, every year, would have her students write the famous chocolate milk instruction essay. You had to write out every detail in order, explaining how to make a glass of chocolate milk and it was very rare that anyone didn't miss something, like "unscrew the cap" for instance. There are endless details in a "simple" tune-up.
Thanks!
Thank you!
I don't know why this channel hasn't went viral. Love this guy. Hoping you do go Viral, Tony!
It has... But it's spelled.
V I R I L E 💪 🥳
Man, I love this!
Reminds me of holding the flashlight for my Dad while he was working on our cars in the driveway. Usually after he got home after a 12 hour shift...
A real American Man 👍💯😎👌
ok finally got my la 360 rebuild running right, first build ever for me made a lot of mistakes, first time setting a custom valve train, was ticking like crazy, took off intake and pushrods were rubbing on heads, aftermarket roller lifters gave a different geometry and didnt catch it putting it together, bored out pushrod holes on head and wala no more tick, and at first i couldnt get it to idle below 2000 no matter what i tried, ended up having oil pan back off and just happened to notice my oil pump wasnt all the seated against the block causing the distributor shaft to bounce around, was a nick on the input shaft of the oil pump and it didnt let it slip all the way in, thanks for all your videos and tips, cant wait to get it on a dino
Truth be told, I could sit and listen to you tell stories, share tech tips and ramble for hours at a time. Watching you wrench and do a tune up on the new awesomeness is a bonus! I have always loved the 1965 Barracuda.
Funny how us old guys take the heat better than the junk they make, today.
That was more than 13 turns.Lol!!! Great to see some new mopar contents.
Thankyou Uncle Tony for taking the time to explain and show.
These are the videos that are the best.
Yes, I did pick up something I didn't know about.
Enjoyed the choke section,I put a NOS Carter YF on my Malibu straight 6 ,starts up great but runs a little rich until warm. Going to adjust as shown,Thanks!
This is the kind of stuff I like seeing on your channel. Refreshing.
On some 60s Fords the positive battery terminal is close to the body..so if you wear a school or wedding ring be careful.
You can lose a finger if that ring fills that gap. Ring gets hundreds of amps in a fraction of a second
Turned my wedding band cherry red tightening and battery terminal in a Chevy van. Completed the circuit from a wrench and the master cylinder through the ring, it hurt like a mother, and won't do that again.
I was cringing a bit when Uncle Tony set his wrench on the battery with both cables still connected.... but maybe because all my later factory service manuals have hundreds of 'disconnect your battery' warnings, in some sections more than once per page.
But a great and useful video overall!
Check the play in the radio shims
I was putting a dab of engine oil for the distributor and was starting to think I was using the wrong oil. Now I know it was fine. Thanks Tony.👍
Great video Tony. I’ve been doing this kind of work my whole life and even watching one of your basic how to videos of yours I pick something out of it I either forgot or never thought of. every video I get something out of. Ps you can’t ever retire from TH-cam the world needs this shit lol.
Old timer showed me a trick on installing plugs. He used a short piece (6-8 inches) of rubber hose, slipped over head of plug and guided it into hole. Makes it so easy.
That might be a good trick for my 8-plug Ranger. I had been using a piece of tape.
After having a bad day, this is therapy for my 56yrs old soul. Joy to see it done after so many times it was me doing it. The best things in life are the simplest. Repairable, reliable, and rugged.
There aren't enough of these "How to" basic videos that go over step by step what to do. I really appreciate these cause it shows me what other wrench turners look at and check as they go thru their method. Appreciate the video Uncle Tony.
I’m currently working on a 78 Dodge D200, that a friend gave me. I’m a GM guy, and I find your video being very helpful for getting it running right. It runs good, but has been sitting for about 10 years. The oiling of the distributor weights was interesting, cause as you know, the GM’s are on top, and it’s so easy making sure that they operate properly, and I’m always messing with the timing on my 350 Chevy. It’s a fairly heavily modified small block. I wanna make this truck run as good as possible. So I’ve been watching your videos, cause I’ve been enjoying them for years now. You’re a Mopar guy, and that’s why I’m going through your older videos to see what I can use to help me with my project. Thanks again! 👍
1/4 inch rubber hose to start difficult to reach spark plugs. Careful not to cross thread.
I'm not a newbie but I learned something, I didn't know to lube the advance weights. Thank you Sir
Great video Tony! So much great info for younger folks and even older folks who never worked on this older iron before. Was great to see one of the rare videos of you wrenching away! Really enjoyed it!! Always look forward to your videos and live streams! 👍
This was really great! I know you hate working with a camera recording but I hope you do more of these!
Yes I agree 👍👍
Even when you go over the basics, I just feel like it reassures me in everything I do. Automotive knowledge is almost endless, I always gain things from your stories of “the guy I worked with 30 years ago”
Great video uncle Tony. Funny thing is my neighbor just gave me his old 64 Barracuda a few days after you got your 65 and this is the exact stuff I’m going to tackle. It was parked and last ran in 1991. I don’t even know if the motor’s gonna turn over. It’s a maroon slant car with an auto, and absolutely rotted out. I might make it a project if the drivetrain is good. Bare minimum it’s gonna need a driver side frame rail and floors.
Tony I’m fixing up a 68 Chrysler for use as a daily driver and the tips you give are invaluable and will definitely help to save these automobiles for generations to come. Thank you!
Thank you for going back to a 318. I had just bought a 69 satelite 318 when i started watching you a few years back. Tune up, brakes, door hinge bushings, all kinds of fun stuff.
Don't forget to rotate your muffler bearings side to side so you don't have uneven wear.
You're soothing tones calm my troubled mind & the voices like to listen 😊
Another very informative and entertaining video Uncle Tony.
I'm 72yo and can relate to everything you mentioned.
I did learn one important tip from you in this video and that was, "not to put" anti-seize on the spark plug threads. I have been guilty of doing this many times over many years and strangely enough l never encountered any problems. However l will mention, l only ever applied a "light smear" on one side down the length of the thread. I knew of the problems that you mentioned but l never had any issues because l applied jus t a tiny amount on the threads.
Next time l install new plugs, l will do as you mentioned and take note if they are more resistant to remove.
Keep up with your excellent videos, as l have learnt so much from you.
Cheers mate, watching from Australia. 🇦🇺
Regards, Brian.
Great video. I like that you showed us and then explained, what you did when you were poking and proding with the choke. Its a very basic practice but lve never seen it done before. Keep up with these back to basics vids.
I mostly do body and paint and haven't done much mechanical on old rods since the 90's.
But lately I've needed to quite a few times. These simple videos are a good refresher.
I also only used to work on GM, just cause it's what was available to me at the time, but now I can adapt that knowledge to mopars, hollys, etc.
So keep em comming 👍
Thanks
Thank you for your informative videos for a relatively new classic car owner!
I like how the engine bay has a built in table top on both sides of the engine. Makes it easy to lay tools and parts on. A whole little tool box or bag even.
Somebody must make videos like this every year, fresh.
I have a 1999 50 anniversary Honda Goldwing I've put 130 km on it these are the best memories of my life enjoy it and you will just naturally love it👍
this is awesome.. basics review is always good! I remember doing all this on my 1969 Buick 225..430 with a 4bbl... loved it!! that hood and engine space were so big..I truly sat on the driver side fender well once when it started raining and I was putting in the last few plugs and cap and rotor..Accel cut to fit wires... it was great!!
This is perfect content. straightforward knowledge from a fella thats been there, done that, and is willing to teach. thank you Unc :)
Back in the day when I was turning wrenches l use to put a vacuum line on the plug to get to the hard to reach blocks that were blocked by the exhaust manifold. I learned this trick from an old mechanic back at the Ford dealer.
No pressure Uncle Tony. Just a couple hundred(s) of your closest friends watching you work. 😅
More videos like this Tony, even the little tidbits of information you throw in are so useful, this video was so helpful, the younger generation needs this info as the older generation pass on, Thanks Tony.
On my 426 hemi I had a distributer cap with fine hair line crack and engine ran fine in dry weather in humid condition it would shut off trying to find it old mechanic mentioned it. And was the damn problem!
Can't wait for part 2!
It has been about 30 years since I performed a tuneup on one of my Mopars. I used to shove a tight fitting scrap piece of vacuum hose (used as a "handle") on the metal top of the spark plugs to safely start them into the threaded holes by hand. It really made starting the spark plug safe and easy. The hose acts as an extension, and you can easily manipulate the plug into position and feel the proper engagement into the threads. And it works well on most engines.
I love when you put out videos like this!! Keep them coming.
One thing for those who don’t know a lot of aftermarket spark plugs may have a different gap than OEM plugs because of different types of metallurgy… best to double check the plug spec as well as the OEM spec
Every time you move the camera. Uncle Tony and it makes that squeak and you go hello. I absolutely giggle myself to death. Thank you sir
Love the linkage bending for the choke. It takes some tweaking to get it right but I love tinkering that way.
Thank You! I drove that engine in multiple cars for over 12 years back when some gas stations still had mechanics so I never learned those carb adjustments. Now I’ve gone and bought one because I missed it. Planned some DI Y but didn’t know I’d have to do ALL repairs and maintenance myself because shops say their techs struggle just to repair today’s cars and so they refuse to take in anything older than 25 years. Of course now I’m confident enough that I’m redoing work those techs screwed up on my newer cars
Nice video! I remember changing plugs, wires, rotor way back when. I got my first lesson when I cross threaded a plug and we had to fix the threads. My father was an engineer and didn't say a word negative, just fixed it and said you have to be careful. I've not made that mistake since and I don't over torque either.
Every single video you make teaches me something or at least I gain some insight into my mopar. This video especially because I e got the exact same engine in my 74’ Dart. I hope you keep doing what you’re doing for good long while.
Great vid Uncle T.. I take comfort in knowing the things i had to figure out for myself are the way you do it too.. keep'em coming!
More of these!
As long as those glass filters are secured properly and not shaking around against other things, same with the plastic fuse holder's, if their secured no problems, thanks for sharing, all the best to you and your loved ones
When I worked at Napa I noticed that an early 90's 454 wire set has a groove in the plug Boot that gives you the option for straight or 90 degree.
Handy for headers. The brand was belden.
My '69 AMX's 390 has the same firing order. It has an Edelbrock 1405 carb with a hand choke.
These are the videos I've been subscribed to you since throwing car parts was your shtick for. My stock 318 barracuda thanks you too.
How's your back Tony? Training is hard!
Great content and knowledge Tony. Thanks again. Love that old barrucuda. My mom had an old valiant with that front end. Think it was a 65 as well. Lol had a 170 slant. Real racecar.
You are doing a good job on the explanation of the basic process, only tip I have is if you are in a jam miles away from spares,a little marine two stroke oil will clean plugs.
Find it hilarious when you laugh off the GoPro issues when they have got to be absolutely maddening 😂😂😂😂 I woulda thrown one and continued videoing with a potato or something 😅
I thought I was just going to enjoy that video (which I really did), but I also learned something quite valuable that just never occurred to me)
This was a great refresher. Thank you for making it.
I love videos like this, even though ive done alot of what you done many times.
I don't like drag racing and dont understand any of that highfalutin techy stuff.
Thanks Tony, you always inspire me to lay over my fender and get some work done.
When I first started working on cars, I always verified the gaps before installing the plugs. I went years without finding one out of spec. After moving to another state, I got a set that was obviously dropped. Every ground strap was touching the electrode. Every plug I bought from that place was out of spec, nothing broke, each one worked, but I needed to adjust every one.
So your results may vary.
It's not boring even for me kind of like muscle memory when you've been a couple decades in the industry. I enjoyed every minute. And it is super helpful for someone they wants to make their Classic car run good. And all the Magnum Chrysler stuff is basically the same. So is vortex Chevrolet stuff. Cap rotor and plugs doesn't change Tuna stays the same to about the early 2000
We need more od these videos!!! Where have the car videos been. Don't apologize, keep em coming
Hey Tony now you're on to something to bring young viewers in man !!! I'm 66 been a wrench 🔧 all my life including when I was in the military !! Cool show !!
Like most older engines, this 318 is missing the factory exhaust manifold heat shields that also serve as gaskets. The Mopar small block must have the easiest spark plug access of any American production vehicle!
I consider myself lucky to get all the plug wires when buying plug wires. Wire separators are out of the question in this day and age of quality auto parts and fast service.
Thank you for putting out another educational video, whether it helps a newbie or gives the rest of us a refresher course. My question is about the sparkplugs, what is the lowdown and application of "hot" or "cold" plugs, and your thoughts on the myth of clocking your sparkplug so the front of the gap is pointing directly at the intake valve for better performance... keep up the great work!
I ALWAYS learn something from your "basics" videos!!!
I grew up in California and while I did mess with carburetors the choke was more of an afterthought. We would either wire them completely open when we had issues with them. In the Central Valley where I grew up it never really got cold enough where you needed one. You could pump it start it and it would stumble a bit while cold but it would warm up quick.
I practice what your preaching Uncle Tony, I do this exact move every time a buy a used cars, that way you know everything is good and you know its done. Later you check braking system, suspension. No one talks about this.
Good video. Thanks for bearing the heat to make it.
This is the kind of video that people will be watching and learning from long after us old timers are gone.
The "old school" way that we told rookies to use, to change plug wires/cap, was to pull the old cap to the side, put the new cap on, and replace one wire at a time, using the cap mounting screws, clips, etc. as an index. Some people just never comprehend firing order.....
Im changing spark plugs this week on my car, great refresher course!
The "basics" is what we want. Great old school VDO
Wow that was great I'm an old school car man. I never realized the oiling of the mechanical advance on the distributor, I will do that. I am in the middle if tuning my 1973 satellite, has a 340. I didn't know about using chevy wires, it has Taylor spiral wraps on it. I just got done with choke pull off on the edelbrock carb, I like one pump and running. So yep great video, are we really getting old, huh. Points, carbs, 3 vacuum lines and raise the hood and there is a motor.
This video is perfect. Like someone else said, no apologies needed for going over the basics. Love your channel l.
....the right person will drive this car....all tuned up.....and find out...what a real car is........