93 LX project

[Guest]

[servo765]

Haha no I guess I should have written 8/9.  I roasted the #4 plug wire on the header and have one junk one on there.  I do like the cheaper wire's 45 deg plug boots a lot better though.

I made up a JuicedCoupe brand 6A and the car started and ran well but thats as far as my diagnosis made it tonight.  As I was pulling back into my driveway to attempt a home-terf hot engine start my neighbor's son came to the door so I figured it was time to call it quits.

Also, yesterday I had a local exhaust guy weld in an 18mm? bung for my WBO2.  Things are coming along one project at a time.  Some days I move closer to the goal and some days farther but I'll get there.

As always I appreciate the input!

Adam

[servo765]

Ya, starts just fine on the homemade HEI gizmo after getting fully warmed up.  Time to send in my old 6AL, and/or purchase a new one.

[servo765]

I installed my wideband this morning.  Turns out I haven't done enough research to be able to interpret it, so it wasn't the tuning epiphany I somehow thought it was gonna be.  I have a part throttle misfire which causes my A/F Ratio to show mega-lean.  I am gonna check vacuum leaks and throw a vacuum gauge on and see where I stand vacuum wise.  My brakes get real mushy after being at idle for a bit (car has always done this) so I wonder if my weak vacuum is causing some power valve issues. 

Also, an interesting coincidence.  My driver's side window motor finally bit the dust so I emailed LRS about their window motor/door lock actuator kit with some part numbers from various other websites trying to figure out why their "combo kit" was 80-90 bucks over priced.  Two days later the kit came down 50 bucks in price, so I grabbed one of those and that's my project for today.

Also, quick question:  when pulling the intake manifold off, after draining the coolant, is there a graceful way to keep the remaining coolant out of the lifter valley?  Or does it not pose a concern?

[servo765]

So at idle my car is pulling 11 ish inches of vacuum, which according to holley's tech means I should drop down a size in power valve from a 6.5.  I am going to do that just for my own curiosity to see if it helps my part throttle misfire issues.  I am curious to see what this set of plugs looks like though, as this misfire didnt crop up immediately so I suspect the plugs have been soiled a bit and the power valve change wont do much for me.  I figure if the 6.5 was too high, i would see the wideband go overly rich from opening too soon until the misfiring began at which point it would show lean were the power valve the actual issue.

The breathers are belching out what I would consider "a lot of smoke" even at idle now so I am glad my 347 is going under the knife at Fordstrokers soon.

I am also beginning to flesh out a final build sheet that I will be posting up soon for critiques and some much needed advice.  My short is paid in full and a deposit is down on the heads.  Getting excited!

[juiced coupe]

You can try, but I'd bet that you wind up back with the 6.5" PV. You likely need to tune other aspects of the carb and engine.

[69 Merc]

So at idle my car is pulling 11 ish inches of vacuum, which according to holley's tech means I should drop down a size in power valve from a 6.5.  I am going to do that just for my own curiosity to see if it helps my part throttle misfire issues.  I am curious to see what this set of plugs looks like though, as this misfire didnt crop up immediately so I suspect the plugs have been soiled a bit and the power valve change wont do much for me.  I figure if the 6.5 was too high, i would see the wideband go overly rich from opening too soon until the misfiring began at which point it would show lean were the power valve the actual issue.

For what ever reason (probably tight wads corporate Holley not paying their tech enough to attract ones who know their ass from a hole in the ground) Holley tech is so far behind in the truth and the times ... Holley says your PV should be half of your idle vacuum reading and I've found personally that is a load of horseshit!

If at idle you are getting a solid verified 11" of vacuum then that is far enough away from a 6.5" PV that it will never open when it's not supposed to as long as it is not defective.

My 408W has 6-7" of vacuum at idle and it's 4.5" PV works fine opening only when I get wild with the gas pedal under a load of the road.

I've found that making my A/F mixture screws a little bit richer (as in adjust only one screw 1/4" CCW -- and yes they all do NOT need to be adjusted the same amount as long as you are not using a DP manifold that completely separates the cylinders!) helps with part throttle lean issues.  If you are having that lean of a condition you MIGHT want to also look into enriching your primary jets 2 sizes up ...

[HIGHVOLTJ]

Yeah, that doesn't sound right at all.  2" below your lowest cruise vacuum is what I've always used for power valve rating.

Although I'm rusty at this carb stuff, it's been a while.  Trying to find my damn Holley tuning book right now actually!

[servo765]

well, for what its worth, everything I know about tuning carbs came from the 'super tuning and modifying holley carburetors' book by Dave Emmanuel.  I am in the trial and error phase right now, and getting real familiar with changing out spark plugs.

Using a fixed vacuum below cruise vacuum makes a hell of a lot more sense to me than 'half your idle vacuum' based on what the PV is supposed to do though.

[HIGHVOLTJ]

Yeah, (same book I have) You don't want the power valve open unless you are accelerating.  Some people do weird shit where they run lean jets and a larger power valve, or richer jets and a very low rating power valve, but not for me.

[servo765]

Well,

     I closed out the balance on my DIY 347 and TW205s today, and its supposed to ship tomorrow.  I am so excited!  Anyway, I have a handful of questions, particularly regarding valvetrain to purchase, as well as engine building tools that I will be posting shortly after i watch the rest of the sbfbuilding videos and troll some forums- I currently don't even know what I do not know so I gotta get smart on some of that stuff first.

[69 Merc]

Well,

     I closed out the balance on my DIY 347 and TW205s today, and its supposed to ship tomorrow.  I am so excited! 

Congrats!     

[servo765]

My mic and bore gauge arrived last week, so I pulled open all my goodies and started taking measurements and doing pre-assembly steps.  So far so good on that front.

I have been rubbing machined surfaces with WD-40 every few days since I opened up the boxes, and have rubbed a fine coat of ATF in the bores, but they all look spotless.

However, I stumbled across a pencil-point sized area of spot rust on the #1 main journal while mic'ing the crank.  If I drag the pad of my finger over it I can barely feel that its there, and if I use my left hand I can't feel it at all due to calluses from playing guitar, if that gives any indication to the severity.  I did some searching and someone suggested wet sanding with 2000 grit sandpaper and then finishing with a polishing cream using a 'shoe-polishing method' with a strop.

Does this sound reasonable?  Or does this need to go out for polishing?

[servo765]

It has been a long time since I have posted.  I had some things come up which re-aligned my priorities in my personal life, but I am cleaning my garage and prepping it for surgery again.  Time to start moving forward again on my DIY 347 with renewed vigor!

I look forward to browsing the forums again and badgering the thinktank with questions.

Adam

[servo765]

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

I have picked up my 347 project and this time have some momentum going.  I made it through pre-assembly, finished up the short, and started installing my cam and timing set.

How hard are the cam dowel pins to insert?  I tried tapping mine in and didnt know how hard to whale on it.  I pulled it back out, chucked it into my drill press, and rounded the leading edge real well, and it still wont go in.  I was going to get a BFH out and force it in there, but online videos show people just inserting them with their fingers.

the cam in question is a Comp Cams custom grind on a billet core.

thanks!

[servo765]

need a cam bolt, but coming along