What a Rush

[The Horvaths]

The boy is enjoying school. Imagine that..

I'll let him tell you what he's working on. Here's a hint:

And then there's this. Whatever this is. Guesses?

- dad

 

[max1196]

Well that's a 7.3l Diesel and the last picture is a cut up tire tred, for what not sure.

 

[The Horvaths]

Yep, the first series of pics is an IH 7.3. Its going in a buddy's F-250. The last pic isn't mine, but it's of a black Challenger.

 

[The Horvaths]

So, I got a few things done today.
I zinc-primed the trunk floor and threw a little paint on it. I just did the bare metal. Dylan can perfect it later if he is so inclined.

I bought a radiator hose sending unit adapter.

It had a narrow ID and two skinny heater-hose sections. I chucked it up in the lathe.

Then I cut off both skinny sections and opened it up to 1" ID.

Here's the new belt too. This belt is made well. It's designed to mitigate oscillations. See how the ribs are sectioned and skewed?

I wound up re-locating the alternator mount hole to get a little more tension. Next time, Dylan will probably want to look for a 32" belt.

I need to get a thread adapter for the sending unit. I'll clue y'all in to the reason for the second sending unit shortly.

- dad

 

[The Horvaths]

Hey, I tried to delete the redundant image. I digress..

I got a generic PCV valve. It's housed in an aluminum body. It had issues. I could both suck and blow air through it. That's not how a PCV valve is supposed to be designed. So, I took it apart.

It had housing (with screwed-in tube), PCV valve,

flat washer, star washer, and snap ring. There was no seal between the housing and the PCV valve. So, I created one. I used a CNG O-ring because it had a nice, skinny cross section.

I lubed the O-ring with silicone. Then I put the PCV valve into the housing and added the flat washer and snap ring. Success! It's now fully functional and air only passes one way. Imagine that.

I also used some Permatex #2 on the threads of the screwed-in tube. The vacuum hose will attach to this tube and run to the throttle body.

- dad

 

[The Horvaths]

Here's a hose clamp that I'm quite pleased with. It's strong, like bull.

-dad

 

[Wollfen]

The boy is enjoying school. Imagine that..

I'll let him tell you what he's working on. Here's a hint:

View attachment 142907

View attachment 142908

View attachment 142909

And then there's this. Whatever this is. Guesses?

View attachment 142910

- dad

Last picture is of a mirror and the tire is just poking around from the side and only a bit of it is showing and you can see the reflection of that bit of tire showing too.

 

[cantflip]

Hey, I tried to delete the redundant image. I digress..

I got a generic PCV valve. It's housed in an aluminum body. It had issues. I could both suck and blow air through it. That's not how a PCV valve is supposed to be designed. So, I took it apart.

View attachment 143491

It had housing (with screwed-in tube), PCV valve,

View attachment 143499

flat washer, star washer, and snap ring. There was no seal between the housing and the PCV valve. So, I created one. I used a CNG O-ring because it had a nice, skinny cross section.

View attachment 143494

I lubed the O-ring with silicone. Then I put the PCV valve into the housing and added the flat washer and snap ring. Success! It's now fully functional and air only passes one way. Imagine that.

View attachment 143495

I also used some Permatex #2 on the threads of the screwed-in tube. The vacuum hose will attach to this tube and run to the throttle body.

- dad

One more semi-useful or semi-useless tech tip... Be careful using silicone, you will be running O2 sensors and silicone that can draw into the combustion chambers is an easy way to kill them. I was recalling you had used silicone on the fuel cell seal as well. With slight amounts, you are likely OK, "sensor safe" RTV would also be advised... sorry, just can't seem to help myself.

Still loving the detail in this thread.

 

[The Horvaths]

One more semi-useful or semi-useless tech tip... Be careful using silicone, you will be running O2 sensors and silicone that can draw into the combustion chambers is an easy way to kill them. I was recalling you had used silicone on the fuel cell seal as well. With slight amounts, you are likely OK, "sensor safe" RTV would also be advised... sorry, just can't seem to help myself.

Still loving the detail in this thread.

I'm using "O-lube" - it's a thin film put on to allow O-rings to seal without being bitten in a pinch point.
I need to look up what it is about RTV silicones that eat O2 sensors. It's probably either the acetic acid or the silicone itself. Time to hit the internet.

Edit- from what I can derive from the internet cornucopia, it's the volatile RTVs that cause sensor contamination. But, better safe than sorry. I'll keep it to a dull roar.

It's also looking like MMT octane booster and leaded fuels are out.

Dylan- don't use octane boosters on modern cars with catalytic converters and oxygen sensors.

- dad

 

[The Horvaths]

The senior scientist that I work with says that it's the acetic acid (vinegar) in many RTV silicones that messes up oxygen sensors.

I pulled the old fuel pump and replaced the body plug that it was mounted through.

The ground point was rusty. I hit it with some cold galvanizing spray.

My buddy helped me remove the old aluminum fuel line. It's day had come.

I also put locking fasteners on the headers. These are Stage 8 brand. Once I tried them, I never looked back. They are nickel plated and I added nickel anti-seize just to make certain that they don't pull the threads from the aluminum heads. Nickel does really well in hot applications.

The fasteners go in, then an anti-rotation clip goes on. It's oriented to prevent loosening.

Then there's a C-clip that holds on the anti-rotation clip. It's not going to fall off.

I had to narrow one of the anti-rotation clips on each side (each was the second from front) to allow them to slip past the header tubes.

- dad

 

[The Horvaths]

Not quite sure why I've been getting redundant photos. Oh, well. It's possible that it's a cellphone thing.

 

[The Horvaths]

Oh em gee. Who'd a thunk that a Hugh Jass tire like this would fit in a little old C-body?

Yes. It's wedged into the wheel well. Time to lift the beast. Remove the valve core. Lift the axle. Lift the body off the axle. Get the freaking tractor warmed up. Call stuporman. Otherwise it's an exercise in futility.

This is a race-specific setup. Notice how deep the wheel and lug nut are.

Hoosier Daddy?!

Good thing it's a Caltrac setup. Otherwise, this would be a cut tire waiting to happen.

More to follow. I'm whooped.

- dad

 

[The Horvaths]

We're all tingling with antici-

...pation!

 

[300rag]

Can't wait for you to fire it up and lay a patch for the neighbours.

 

[Fratzog]

We're all tingling with antici-

Comment brings to mind..."So come up to the lab and see what's on the slab. I see you shiver with antic..." Dr. Frank N'Furter

 

[The Horvaths]

"Mary from Canoga Park" would be so proud.

 

[The Horvaths]

Sigh. It's been a long long day.
I carefully read, and re-read, FItech's instructions regarding rotor phasing. They make a blanket statement that one should get the Pro Comp distributor, use the phase-adjustable rotor, and set it to two long lines ahead of the stock position. Bull oh knee.
Do the math. As I was reading these instructions, I said to myself "they're quoting crank degrees and adjusting camshaft degrees." Sure enough, I actually have a clue on this one. They are just not right. Bear with me, this is a bit intricate. Here's my proof:

I turned the engine to 16 degrees BTDC on the #1 cylinder compression stroke. That's going to be our base timing. I lined up the distributor so that the inductive pickup met the star wheel at a point.

I marked the distributor housing with a black pen to indicate the position of the #1 plug position. Then I placed the stock rotor on the distributor.

So, at 16 degrees BTDC, they line up perfectly. What happens when the engine is at high RPM, and needs to fire at ~36 degrees BTDC, would not be so pretty. Basically, it would be a contest as to which cylinder actually gets the spark.


What to do? We try the suggested adjustment on the phaseable rotor. "Two long lines"

At 16 degrees BTDC:

Checking it at 36 degrees BTDC:

Oops. What to do? How about we try adjusting for cam degrees instead of crank degrees?

At 16 degrees BTDC the rotor's position, as related to the spark plug wire, is reasonable.

Now, at 36 degrees BTDC, the rotor is just on the other side of the spark plug contact. Success.
This picture is upside down. However, look at it regarding the counter-clockwise rotation of the rotor. It's spot on.

Now, the rotor will be directly adjacent to each spark plug contact all throughout the advance curve.

It's these little things that add up to successful project.

More to follow


- dad

 

[The Horvaths]

Dadgummit. I tried to get the pictures right. I've missed AT LEAST one. I'll let you guess which one(s).

Hint: the rotor turns counterclockwise as the engine turns clockwise.

- dad

 

[The Horvaths]

So. I bought a nice 1.25" elbow for the radiator plumbing. It was too long and I cut it to fit. Now, it doesn't have any bead to help hold the hose on. It also doesn't fit the wheels of my bead roller. So, I have a plan. Can you guess what I have in mind by looking at this picture?

 

[Fratzog]

Is that a welding rod? Weld a bead?