stangeba

Drove it to the Woodward Dream cruise. Saw three other first gens. Bruce

Cool, something I suggested actually worked. Thanks for the feedback. I think I will go check the air in my spare tire now. Last time (about three years ago) it was very very low. Bruce

If you have a spare, was it tested? I would use the spare and put the bad one in the trunk ASAP. My spare is still a G 70 x 15 Goodyear OEM tire, man it's old. Bruce

First replacement I got in about 1984 was over twice the thickness (came rolled in a huge box) as the one I have now (came in a large envelope). Don't remember anything different about the edges on the original one from 1971. I can't remember that far back........... Bruce

Years ago (Mid 1970's)I was taught that a federal mandate said if the vacuum systems fail, all air will be directed to the windshield defroster for safety. Just a comment, may not help but thought it was interesting. Bruce

Still tons of cars even then and they keep crusing, instead of a parking lot.

You'll be in Michigan next Wed or Thursday?

We have a member at the GM Heritage center.

Very cool read, thanks for posting! Bruce

Happy it's running well now. What did you find to be the root cause of the problem? I found the secondary opening spring tension adjustment important in removing a slight bog when I stepped on it. The secondary was opening to far too quickly I guess. The "rebuild" industry has done so many things wrong to so many rebuilt parts so many times, what you purchase may not be correct for your application. Bruce

Chime..... Glad it was found. Bruce

Found mine in the basement. Draw-Tite brand rated at 2000 lbs Towing / 200 lbs tongue Weight. (info stamped on the hitch itself) Bruce

I have a Bumper hitch, from my 71 I used to pull a snowmobile. I can take pictures if you are interested. Bruce old pic

This device senses the air temperature inside the air cleaner. When below ?? (I don't know the temperature spec) it allows vacuum to the flapper door in the air horn of the air cleaner closing off incoming cold "un-heated" air allowing heated air from the stove pipe to enter the air cleaner. When the temperature is warmer than spec, the vacuum is shut off (or limited) then pulling in cold air so the air temperature doesn't get too hot. My vacuum door diaphragms (I actually have two, a home made dual snorkel air cleaner) both leak vacuum, so they are un-hooked and non functional. Bruce EDIT** From the shop man page 6M-20 "Thermostatically controlled air cleaner" Keeping the air entering the carburetor at 100F or more.

What has changed (or was repaired or replaced)? Did it always do this or did you replace the M/C or booster and now it acts this way? Do you have the old M/C to compair? I repaired a car one time where the cross shaft was so badly worn out the clutch and brake peddle were way out of whack. I believe you have a 4 speed with a clutch peddle so you may want to check the entire cross shaft bushing area before grinding away metal you may need. Bruce

If you have a GM Chevy or even a flat head Ply or Dodge, Tom is very knowledgeable about those inline sixes. It's more than a job for him, it's a calling. Do you get his point about converting to an overdrive trans? He has one ready for me someday out of a Buick GN V6. My wife and I have driven the route past the island that goes along the water all the way up to Port Huron many many times for almost 40 years now but have never been on the Island! I'm too cheap to pay the tool for the boat ride over I guess. Bruce

Matt, That's my brother in-law and boss, I work there. I stole it! Bruce

I have that same problem! I tried lubricating my hood hinges with silicone spray (because I thought they were binding in the fully closed position) now my hood won't safely "always" stay up so I have a safety prop rod! Nice write up and picture, it helps me allot! Bruce

I use ported, like from the factory (less TCS) for my stock 71 350 4BBL. The thing about running manifold vacuum is you have it at idle vs just off idle with ported. Some information from a retired Chevrolet engineer (My brother in-law and boss) about why you want it. He suggests trying the advance at both ported and manifold and see what your engine likes. VACUUM ADVANCE AND WHY YOU WANT IT FOR YOUR CAR An often-asked question relates to whether they really need a vacuum advance mechanism on their distributor. I think this question stems from their observation that many “high performance” distributors do not incorporate vacuum advance and the resulting implication is that it is not desirable or necessary for a “good” ignition. There are a handful of applications where vacuum advance is not of significant benefit: 1) Pure racing engines 2) Severe duty very large trucks 3) Constant speed and load applications (airplanes, generators, pumps) Other than the above, for normal automotive applications the vacuum advance will benefit the engine as follows. 1) Improved idle cooling 2) Improved idle quality 3) Improved fuel economy 4) Improved throttle response 5) Improved drivability 6) Enables improved spark knock control under full throttle accelerations 7) Enables leaner fuel jetting at light load to further improve fuel economy. The basic reason for all these improvements is that the vacuum advance mechanism allows the distributor to supply a more optimum spark timing proportional to the load and speed output. Without the vacuum advance the distributor can only vary spark timing in proportion to speed and ignores its need for approximately 20 additional degrees of spark timing (“advance”) at light loads: (idle and cruise conditions) The basic reason for the change in optimum timing at light loads is that when operating at light loads, the mixture is leaner for fuel economy and less dense because of light load. These conditions cause the charge to burn slower, and thus, to reach peak pressure at optimum point in the cycle, the spark must be initiated earlier. Failure to do this will result in “retarded” spark timing and all the aforementioned losses. All engines are different, and have different spark timing requirements, but they are all the same in that as load is decreased, additional spark timing is required for optimum combustion. Do yourself a favor – 1) make sure your distributor has a vacuum spark system and 2) experiment to find out what your engine “likes” for timing at idle, light load, and heavy load. Then change the vacuum can to achieve a result closer to the optimum."

After I almost hit a biker changing lanes, I knew I could't live with out a right side mirror any longer! I like having it but the glass still goes out of adjustment after my wife slams the door. I keep telling her, gently please gently! Bruce

Interesting, thanks for letting us know what the problem was. Glad that fixed it! Mine has outer C clips. When checking mine for a similar vibration I found one of the needles came out and got squished into the end cap. This probably happened when I removed the DS and a U Joint cap fell off dumping all the needles on the floor.

"No peddle" Do you have any sensation that the peddle will pump up or stop you at all? Is it like the rod fell out from the inside peddle to the MC? If the MC is a rebuilt unit, I would start there. Did you visually compair the two MC's and were they the same? Do you still have the old MC? Put it back on and try that. (I don't trust any rebuilt part done at a commercial re-builder) Bruce

Steve, Thanks, but it's a 4 BBL, all stock. Bruce 4 BBL carb picture

It (the solenoid on the carb) also keeps the throttle plates open a bit more than the idle screw when you let up on the gas and coast in high gear. This keeps raw gas from being sucked into the engine causing a rich mixture and higher emmisions. It also works in reverse and that is how you adjust it. Mine came off in May of 1971 but sometimes I wish I didn't toss it so the engine would look more correct. Bruce

Brake fluid leak could be top lid gasket. I would rebuild what you have rather than take a chance on new, made in China junk or anything rebuilt by who knows. Bryce