This is a 1974 Plymouth Satellite Sebring. It came factory with 1 318 V-8 and a 2-barrel carb (Carter BBD). I got it from my mother for graduation from college. The body is straight, but needs paint and some rear quarter panel rust repair.
The interior is green and the only real flaw is the driver side, which will require the seat to be recovered.
So far I have replaced the heater core in the Fall of 2005. The 2-barrel Carter is now a brand new Holley replacement (model 2778), which I replaced last Summer and runs great. Oh, and I bypassed the OSAC valve (the black cannister that hangs on the side of the air filter housing), which really smoothes out the idle on the Carter BBD carb as well. I tried to rebuild the factory Carter BBD, but it still idled very rough because of the OSAC and was not very "adjustment friendly".
Carter BBD bowl while tearing down for rebuild - Yuck!
Carter BBD after rebuild.
I am in the process of studying the Mopar Factory service Manual to learn how the engine systems operate (mainly emissions) to tune it to idle smoothly and accelerate well.
** Update 7/10/06** I have changed the Carter BBD to a new Holley acquired on eBay. It did a little better, then I did a tune-up. I found cylinder #7 had the lowest compression (25-32 psi) compared to all the other cylinders (130-140 psi). My Mom said the timing chain had broken and the man that changed it for them said a cylinder suffered a bent valve, but could not remember which one. Now I know which one it is. I found the #8 sparkplug was totally fouled and soaked with gas. Three plugs were the nice tan color as they should be and four were black with oil - bad valve seals obviously, which I already knew from some startup blue smoke. So now I must decide where to go from here - pull the heads and re-work them myself or rebuild the motor since it has over 133,000 miles on the engine. Not having much cash puts the rebuild out of the picture for now. the car is so much fun to drive. Perhaps I will change the valve seals myself and the valve or valves affected in #7 cylinder to get it on the road for enjoyment.
I am interested in re-upholstering the car myself, actually the front seat only at this time, and if I enjoy it I will consider more. The car is a blast to drive and was made when cars were made of real steel and you could sit on the hood and not worry about dings or dents, unlike the cars of today. When you drive a car this big its natural to look for lighthouses.
