Hello Brickboard members! My first time to the site.
I purchased a 1966 2dr 122 back in November, and for a 40 year old car, it seems to be in pretty good shape. So far I have replaced the front brake calipers, the upper control arm bushings, with poly: The engine mounts, the clutch master and the brake master.
I also bought a new muffler and tail pipe from Skandix and after about 3 weeks I noticed I was getting a little dizzy on long trips! I checked the fittings and noticed that there was indeed a leak right at the muffler, I tightened them up the best I could as Mathias at Skandix suggested and still I noticed it was leaking a bit. I took it back the the mechanic who installed it and he said that the original fittings were not the u bolts but surrounded the entire pipe and made a better seal. Has anyone ever heard of this? And do you know where I can find them? Has anyone ever had this problem with a stock Muffler for a 122? One person suggested muffler paste but my Mechanic said that will blow right out. Almost everyone says that with a new muffler that this should not be doing this.
I am also getting a rattling when traveling at high speeds when I let up on the accelerator ( Above 55). At first I thought it might be the old muffler but now that I have that all secure and new engine mounts I suspect the drive shaft. When it was up on the lift My mechanic inspected it. The center seal and the u joints appeared to be in good shape, he thought if anything it might be out of balance. The rear axle was replaced with a good used one and is dry.
One last question. It seems all of the lower bushings in the front need to replaced at some point too, and since the springs need to be let down for that I was thinking of putting in new shocks. I read in a thread a few months back that the Blisteens are not correctly set for the 122, and they seem mighty expensive. Is there another set of performance shocks that are good, and does it really matter that much with a car that has 90 hrp? Most of my driving is either over or around the potholes on the NYC streets or long drives down the high way.
And if anyone could suggest a good mechanic who is happy to work on these cars and is in the NYC area, and does not charge 90 hour, that would be a blessing. I do enjoy the simplicity of the car and the fact that I can install a new windshield washer pump, weather stripping, and fix little things here and there, but I have no access to a lift, and its difficult to change bushings parked on the street with limited mechanical skills (although I am learning).

I love My 122 and driving it around NYC it gets a lot of attention, mostly " Hey, Yo, what yeariz Dat?" I have thought about printing up a sign on a stick to have handy. Of course, I don't mind at all when a cute girl asks me about it.

Thanks for any help,

Patrick from Park Slope

Hey Patrick- welcome to the site. We've got some interesting similarities- I'm also in NYC and bought a '66 two-door Amazon last November! (and hey, '66 IS NOT 40 years old, at least not yet! I like having a car that's the same age as I am, but don't go adding years on!). Yes, every single time I drive the car in the city I get into at least one conversation about it- many times someone wanting to reminisce about the 122 they had years ago, how much they loved it, etc.

NYC streets are murderous, as you of course know. When I bought my 122 it had IPD lowered springs (you have the IPD catalog, don't you?) and KYB shocks, which is not a good combo. Bilstiens are pricey, but good shocks for an Amazon, and you don't need to drop the front springs to put them in. Replacing the KYBs with the bilstiens made some difference in the pothole surfing, but not a huge amount. I've decided to try out a pair of John Parker's progressive springs in the front and see how that works out. If you have stock springs on your car I'd keep 'em and put on a set of the Bilstiens.

I too like to do as much as I can on my car, though as you said, curb-side wrenching in NYC can be problematic! Especially when it's cold. Email me off the board and I'll give you a mechanic recommendation that was given to me by another 'Amazonian.'

I keep my 122 garaged in Queens and don't use it too much around the city, mostly for trips out of town. What color is your 122? I'll be on the lookout for it!

Tom

Try this link. I believe this is what you are looking for.

http://www.swedishpartswholesale.com/VO_Exhaust~Clamp_list.html