wallaby

I got headman shorties, with ball & socket flanges. Not so good. I had to modify the headers to allow access to the oil filter, and the ball & socket idea sounds good on paper, but required longer bolts, and springs under the heads of the bolts to keep them snug. They do NOT stop where the factory manifolds did, so some fab of the downpipes was required.

it seems to me the last time I was checking voltage at the fuse box, I didn't get full voltage for the instrument lights. Even at full power, they were not 12v. Anybody else with this situation? Seems the dim dash lights are a common problem

Interesting production. GM vs GM. Some of the great points made were "Monte Carlo has more simulated wood grain trim for additional luxury" Compare engines: "The standard engine for Monte Carlo is a 350 cube 250 horse V8...that's plenty enough for most prospects, and uses regular fuel for greater economy. Grand Prix's is a 400 cube 350 horsepower job that uses premium fuel." and" Contrast the elegant side marker lights with Grand Prix's hash mark reflectors...you remember reflectors; your bicycle had them" Of course the theme music at the end was not to be missed. Love this kind of stuff. LOL

Oh...Sure enough, there it is; right in front of the International Tower of Pancakes

I'm not so worried about "metallic dust" and the silt of friction material in my pan, but you have "pieces" in there as well. What is going on? I would be worried too. Something isn't right....

I used to work at a garage that would pull old cars out of the fields and get them going. Don't get too involved at first. Your intentions are good, but the more stuff you mess with, the more questions you will have if it doesn't start. (Hmm, did I do the distributor right, or maybe I messed up the carburetor work...Maybe it was a pre-existing problem...) We used an old bottle that once had gear oil in it (with the nozzle on the cap) and filled it with fresh gas, then squirt some of that fresh gas into the carb vent to fill the float bowl. You don't get as good a result if you put the gas directly into the engine. Nothing left to do but turn the key as someone stands by. Chances are good that it will run for about 20 seconds then die. Add more gas to the float bowl and you get another 30 seconds. It may take off and run on the old fuel you have in the tank, but not always. Some of the things you can expect are a stuck float in the carb, or stuck valves that don't want to close, etc. Have that friend at the ready with a heavy blanket or comforter to smother any flame if it happens. Fire extinguisher is a last resort, as they make a horrible mess. Both should be handy.

Happy it worked for you. Crud, eh? I wonder if that's what keeps killing my instrument light fuse...Hmmm

I will accept that answer. LOL

Somehow I volunteered to get involved in this. LOL So it would seem normal to show a connection from hot to ground at the fuse box when the battery is disconnected. Hmmm I wonder why that is? You would think the two sides would be separated. Maybe battery power opens a relay and disconnects the two?

Ok, I'll do some thinking out loud here: It sounds as if you have a mystery battery drain. About the only thing I can think of that is supposed to draw from the battery is the clock, and that guy has a fuse. I'm going to make a wild guess then and suspect it's a regulator or alternator issue. I have seen them work great when the engine is on, but drain the battery when the engine is off. Try disconnecting wires one at a time at the alternator, then the regulator and check the results. Your test light between battery & cable is a good method. Testing continuity can be tricky, as the test instrument often only gives a yes or no response. Remember that the test instrument can "see" through light bulbs and such and give a positive result because the other side of the light bulb is grounded. For example, if you put one test probe on the parking lamp circuit, and the other probe to a ground, and have the tester set to indicate continuity, the tester might give a YES answer. This result only verifies that the wiring eventually finds a ground...it could be a short in the wiring, or just the normal path of electricity to a ground through the light bulbs. Rather than test for continuity, try testing for resistance (ohms). This will give a clue as to how much effort the current has to expend to get to the other end. If it reads zero ohms, it is as good as a dead short, and if the ohms are higher it's probably just showing the resistance in a bulb or something. Ohm testing should be done with all power off. Also, at the fuse box, with a fuse removed, it would be normal for one side to show hot and the other to seem dead, or grounded. (if you have your test light grounded to the chassis). You may be getting a false positive with your meter checking continuity between the BAT terminal and ground, as you are essentially creating a path through the meter you are using. You have a terminal marked BAT which is electrically the same as the positive battery post, and you have a chassis ground which is the same as the negative battery post...the meter might show 12 volts, and also show continuity.

Not sure how American does their system. You have a big cable from the battery to the starter to feed the starter when it's being used. The stock system then branches off from that same terminal on the starter with another wire that is used to feed the rest of the car. The wire used to feed the car could be connected there at the starter, or at the other end of the cable at the battery..either way is correct electrically. And yes, the circuit is protected with a fusible link to prevent a meltdown if a direct short should occur. I would guess that you blew the fusible link. You probably have electricity down to the starter, but then it goes no further. A fusible link is very flexible with a rubber insulation, and it will burn the conductor inside when it blows, without burning through the insulation. So what you end up with is a wire that LOOKS ok, but won't pass any electricity through it anymore. You can stab it with a test probe to verify it's blown, or sometimes you can feel it with your fingers as you try to bend it...if its blown you may feel an area along its length that feels stiff or rigid where the conductors have welded themselves together near the place where it eventually burned in two. The flex test with your fingers doesn't always reveal anything, but it might. To replace the link, you need to cut out the entire old link back to the regular wire, and replace it with a same length piece of fusible link wire of the same color. The auto parts store has fusible link wire in like 2 foot coils available in different colors. The color of the wire indicates the amperage of the fuse. Don't try to repair a blown fusible link with a splice in the middle somewhere. You will find that inside the fusible wire there are only a few strands of wire, and butt connectors that fit the surrounding wires are too big to secure to the tiny fuse link wire. I make fusible links on the bench and solder non-insulated butt connectors (or ring terminals as required) to each end of the link, then take it to the car where it can be crimped in place then wrapped with tape, or shrink tube. Once you fix it, it will probably never give you trouble again, but while I'm at the bench and have extra wire I make a spare and chuck it in my glovebox. I'm not sure if newer cars use fusible links any more. They use standard wire to hook up a maxi fuse to protect the circuit instead. The maxi fuse is much easier to diagnose and replace. The neat thing about a fusible link is that they can handle power surges without blowing...kind of like a "slow blow" fuse. Perfect for an electric fan perhaps, where high current at startup would blow a standard fuse.

Some amazing technology there. I just don't care for the pointy corners and the brown color.

I have headman shorty style with the conical flanges. I had to cut a wedge out of my collector, bend it, then re-weld it to get it to clear my oil filter. At that moment, I was SO glad I didn't opt for the coated version, and had only bought the painted ones. What is it with these header people that can't even make it fit the engine assembly...let alone the chassis?

Mine doesn't look stock but works real well. Your local welding supply place has all kinds of large copper cables and ends. I went with zero gauge and crimped my ends, then soldered them. They are oversize and will last forever.

LOL! This reminds me of an old episode of the TV show "Get Smart". Secret agents Maxwell Smart from Control, and Sigfreid from KAOS meet for a peace talk. They put aside all their weapons; the guns, knives, brass knuckles, etc. Sigfreid says "that's everything...except my suicide ring". Max is surprised and says "A suicide ring? We don't get those...how does it work"? Sigfreid says " It's simple...If I take it off, my wife will kill me".

I posted a bit premature...I have had this engine for 8 years and was underwhelmed. I rechecked the ignition timing and it was way advanced. I reset it as was specified on my dyno sheet and this engine rocks. Buy a great engine, and you still have final tune at your own hands. Mine is much better than I thought

Ok, I got in there today and checked it out with a real timing light. Honestly, I thought your scenario was unlikely.. I didn't expect the timing to be so far off it would cause the issue I was having. I have to give credit where credit is due, and admit I was wrong. Somehow I had the timing way advanced. I unhooked the vacuum, then idled it down to 500 or so RPM so the centrifugal wasn't in play and took a look. I was at about 35-40 initial! Now came the hard part....retarding the timing in hope of more power. I twisted the distributor a lot. lol. I set the initial at 15, because the centrifugal adds 20, giving me the total of 35 specified on my dyno sheet. After a carb adjustment (raising the idle and leaning the mixture) my idle was good and my A/F gauge showed I was out of the 12's and into the 13's.. Otherwise it seemed the engine was the same as before. Then came the test drive. I was stunned. The engine seemed much more responsive and the car felt 1,000 lbs lighter. Still no ping (never did) and it breaks the tires loose going into 3rd. At cruise the A/F gauge shows low 13's, but have to take a long drive yet to see if mileage improved. Even if the MPG is the same I am getting much more power to the ground, and have been rejuvenated in my love for the car. Happy guy right now!

usually, a good PCV system will clear out any condensation. My old project motor has a a road draft tube, and it likes to create sludge. I have a set of silicone rubber reusable valve cover gaskets and thye have sealed well time and time again, even with the flimsy Moroso covers I use,

I have a roller in mine. The roller will improve your bottom-end torque, but it idles smoother than a flat tappet type. You get the benefits, but it doesn't sound as mean. My local NAPA auto parts sells a motor oil for "classic cars" that has the required zinc for flat tappets. I think Lucas makes it.

oh crud, those are close. I had to modify my shorty headers to let me remove the oil filter. I wish there was a good answer.

I have the dyno results in my hand. He provided two. One is labeled "4 hole 1 inch 35 degrees". I assume this is referring to a spacer under the carb, and the total timing. The other sheet provided is labeled "770 no spacer 35 degrees". The 770 I assume is my carb cfm. The two sheets are very close regarding output. The spacer gave about 4 hp and 5 lbft, but I don't have room under the hood for that. For the results without the spacer, the dyno starts recording at 4000 rpm. It is at 448hp and 589lbft at that point. This is where my max recorded torque happens. As the rpms go up my torque falls off, but HP grows. The rev limit is 5800 rpm, and at that point is shows 560 hp, with 507 lbft. The setup sheet has fields that are then filled in by hand: he specifies the oil, then the spark plugs, ignition timing, and thermostat temp. It is all as he specified, except for the ignition timing. The engine was supposed to be dyno'd with MY carb and distributor, but they were packaged seperately. His specs call for timing of 35 degrees total and NO distributor vacuum advance. I have never run a street motor without vacuum advance. Isn't my mileage going to suffer from that change alone? I will have to get in there and check what my total advance is ...it might be well above that. I am currently running manifold vacuum to my distributor so advance falls off as throttle is applied. I am getting full centrifugal and full vacuum at cruise. His dyno sheet also shows an A/F ratio as rich as 13.35, and as lean as 15.03. My A/F gauge shows I'm in the 12's all the time except at highway cruise when I show I'm in the high 13's. I have never heard a hint of pre-igniton or ping, even with regular grade fuel. Thoughts?

Hmm. Yes, its a vortec pro engine. Throttle response is kinda lacking now that I think about it. You think a smaller carb might work better? I have a new AVS2 on my small block, maybe a quick try-out with that will give me some answers. It's pretty tiny, though...I think its like 500 cfm. The distributor is a billet HEI. I have to dig out my dyno sheet and see about the timing. I think he had a spec with a number, then noted it was locked with no advance and no vacuum. I figured that was a spec for best dyno performance, but wasn't going to be street friendly. Again, I have to verify that.

Yes, they are just as you describe. Oval port intake feeding tiny peanut port heads. To be fair, the heads were ported and give good flow numbers, but there was no effort that I can see to deal with the transition issue. The engine has good dyno numbers, and it feels strong on the street, but it starts laying down at about 4500 so it's not good at the dragstrip. It tends to get around by using its cubic inches and torque. Dyno sheet gives 530hp/ 600tq @ 3000 rpm. I'm trying to figure out how to maximize the combo without having to swap out the heads. I figured that going back to my stock intake and a Q-jet might boost the bottom end even more and give some better fuel efficiency. It's an easy swap and I have the parts already. My question about the Quadrajet power guys was just me looking into the future. I had this engine built and tried to let the builder do what he does. I specified the cam be a roller, but let him choose. I have been running the engine as it is, and it's ok...but it feels kind of labored. Even at cruise, it doesn't sound happy...it sounds a bit like it's running under water. On the street It feels strong, but you wouldn't use the word brutal. I would like it to come alive when I open it up, but instead it simply accelerates strong and without drama. The engine was expensive. I bought it complete, with carb, distributor, and all. I have been hesitant to take it apart and start changing stuff at additional expense. I am in denial, as I think it should be as good as the dyno sheet would indicate. Here are the numbers you asked for: Engine is now 468 cubic inch. Holley 750 avenger, Not sure about the timing...it likes a lot, it seems. I want to say 19 initial. (might be wrong with that number). I set the timing at 3000 rpm and simply dialed in the smoothest sound and locked it down. The camshaft is an Isky roller; unknown specs..it has good idle, with a hint of lope. Converter is a Coan with 2500 stall. 3.31 gears.

Sorry, I typed the wrong name on the subject line; It has been corrected. My builder set me up with a Holley street avenger, a Performer RPM intake, and peanut port heads. It works ok, but is a pig on fuel. I still have my old q-jet intakes, and thought I'd go that direction with a fresh Q-jet to see if that works any better.

I looked over their site, and they seem competent. Pricing isn't too bad, after all, these carbs are getting rare. I'm not happy with the Holley my builder recommended, and want to try a good Q-jet...plus I hope it has that SOUND