Hi!

It’s the middle of October, still pretty warm here. We’ll see 30’s in the mornings, still seeing 70’s in the afternoon. Today they’re predicting the low 80’s. We’ll see. We’re still having new fires around here. Mark just had a pretty significant fire occur across the street from his house last week. Scary times! We need rain soon. O.K., Pack 9, Stage 33, Exhaust assembly.

Pack 9 Stages 33,34,35 & 36
2 Stages of exhaust assembly, 1 of drive shaft assembly, 1 of axles and differential assembly.

I’m going to start off pre tapping the parts in the first blister shown with an AP screw. The last hole shown in Stage 33.2 should be tapped with an EP screw just in case the threads are different. The chromed parts are not tapped to the bottom of the hole, so as not to deform the plastic or crack the chrome. Watch for the orientation of the tail pipes. Don’t over tighten the screws. I worked on the exhaust in pairs, 33.1, 33.2, 33.4 & 33.5 are complete. Then joined the halves as shown in 33.3 & 33.6. The rear exhaust sections are done. Left fingerprints all over the exhaust. I buffed them up and found that I had not done a very good job at joining the halves. I loosened pairs of screws to make the joins better, retightened, buffed them again, took pictures, done. Stage 33 complete.

Stage 34 Mufflers

I again worked these steps in pairs. The assembly feels much more stabile with both 34a and 34c under the pipes. I did 34.1 and 34.4 first, then attached the rear section of pipes to the mufflers. Orient the pipes so that they will be parallel at the ends. Complete Stages 34.2 and 34.5. I need to carefully assemble the other two muffler halves. Stages 34.3 & 34.6 have both muffler halves 34b and 34d supported on the work surface. Install the AP screws. Get out the engine and chassis assembly,”It’s Alive” pad up the work surface to protect the engine, chassis and exhaust assemblies. Prefit the exhaust to the headers and check fit all the way back. If no adjustments are needed, flip the chassis over and start installing the 16 AP screws to secure the exhaust to the chassis. I flipped the assembly over with the exhaust system loose, very sketchy, you may consider a little tape to secure everything. Just a thought. Put the 6AP screws in the front first. I can see chrome through all 6 holes, good to go. Be sure to support the pipes from underneath while installing the screws. Continue to support the pipes and finish with the last 10AP screws. There are parts to stash for later. Next step, Stage 35, the drive shaft.

Stage 35 Drive Shaft

This assembly is straightforward. Put the halves together with CM screws, install the two universal couplings (they are different at each end).In Stage 35.2, I had to pre tap the drive shaft with a CM screw. The GM screw was tall enough that I couldn’t get the screw to start tapping through. The pre tap for the small coupler, 35c, solved the problem. On to the large coupling, 35d. I tapped both sides of the drive shaft with a CM screw. This coupling requires 2CM screws, one from each side of the drive shaft. The Drive Shaft is complete, on to Stage 36, the axle and differential assembly.

Stage 36 Transmission (axle and differential assembly)

Again this is a straightforward assembly. Orient the axle and gear housing, 36b, correctly and insert the mounting post through the axle.Put the differential cover on and secure with 2KM screws. Set the Drive Shaft and the axle assembly aside and protect for use in Pack 10.Already looking forward to Pack 10. Springs, Axle mounting hardware, shocks and brakes. Back to 36. Get the extra parts from Stage 34, tubing, guide, and screws. Put the hand towel down again and flip the chassis assembly over. Remember that little gold brake connector. Well, now it’s buried. That’s where the tubing goes. Open up the end of the tubing with your deluxe tubing spreader (toothpick), swing the wheels to the right, and with your supplied tweezers, put the tubing on the one post that’s left. Had to get a flashlight to see the post and black tubing on black parts. Hope your weaving project from a long time ago left an accessible post headed in the right direction. Post that tubing. Mount the brake hose guide, 34f, to the chassis as shown. Feed the tubing through the suggested route to the guide, through the guide, done. I’m still excited about what is coming in Pack10. The Dodge should be up on all fours in a couple of Packs.

Till then, stay safe!

Steve