wallaby

I like the video. They forgot to rev that demonstrator up above 3000 rpm to show how the vibrations easily destroy the table and classroom.

I used a paint from my auto-parts store and it worked pretty good for my cast iron manifolds. It was an exhaust paint with ceramic. I used the cast iron grey color and it held up quite well.

I saw some of those in a showroom, was surprised they were so small. They might look right in a 1st gen Mustang. Not much cush either, they are pretty firm.

The highway temp is a good indicator, as it pretty much eliminates issues with the fan or fan clutch. With 60mph of air passing over the radiator 210 sounds high to me. I'd start with putting in a 180 stat. Mine has a 160 in it and it runs close to that on the highway...but slow speed traffic is a killer. I ramp up to nearly 200 in traffic and start to worry; my idle mixture acts lean and it just runs poor as it gets hotter. Double check your fan clutch and ignition timing.

That is the big issue keeping me from going disc in the rear. The added width. We have such little room under the rear wells as it is, I don't know if I could live with less. The other issue is how much an improvement in braking you get. I have heard reviews that say "they work great", but is it an improvement over a properly functioning drum setup? I know that disc brakes require higher pressure to work...drums are self-energizing and work well with lower pressure requirements. Does that mean disc brakes need more down force on the pedal to work equally? One of the great benefits of disc is their fade resistance; drums heat up quickly and loose grip, while disc tend to work better the hotter they get. Going down a long grade with a travel trailer, I would prefer to have disc. But is there a real improvement for the average use we put our cars through? Maybe slowing down at the end of the dragstrip even? Disc work better for that? What about on a road course? Is the front-rear braking properly balanced, or does it require an adjustable proportioning valve to dial in? I don't want to find that the rears are touchy or lagging when I try to slow down on a wet freeway cloverleaf. I had future plans of going disc in the rear, and step one was to change out the vacuum booster for a hydroboost unit. The hydroboost alone made such a great inprovement in the braking, I put off the disc conversion probably indefinitely. I'm just thinking out loud here.

The braided straps can be found at your local parts store. Maybe in the "Help" section. There are all sizes to choose from, ranging from full-on battery cables to small ones with ring terminal ends. Here is a full kit from Jegs: (Summit has it also) Ground strap kit

Ignition timing? Idle mixture? At what speed does the engine idle in gear?

And if you add a recovery bottle, you need a different cap to allow the fluid to return to the radiator as it cools down. I think a recovery cap is like 7 lbs, and has the gasket between the cap and radiator neck. Standard non-return caps may not have that gasket.

I believe headlights are a dedicated circuit without fuses. That should be a clue. All that stuff requires a good ground, and it grounds to the body. Make sure you have a ground strap that simply connects the body to the frame. My '71 has a pigtail on the negative battery cable that bolts to the fender. Grounds seem to be a common problem with our cars, so I add extra. I have a braided cable connecting my body to the frame, and another connecting my engine to the frame. The engine rides on rubber mounts, and so does the body, so the body, frame and engine are isolated from each other by those rubber pieces.

It's not uncommon to have an internal leak past the piston seals inside the master...the result is that over time, one chamber tends to get low while the other overflows. You could also get the same result if your piston-to-pushrod clearance is too tight. (There should be a bit of slop in the pedal before it starts to push on the piston). What happens after you push on the brakes is the piston fails to return enough to uncover the tiny holes in the bottom of the reservoir. As your brakes slowly relax and push the fluid back into the reservoir (as they should), one chamber is not letting the fluid return so the fluid bypasses and returns to the other chamber. I've seen this with masters that had the return holes drilled in the wrong place, or rebuilds with the wrong seals, or just too tight of an adjustment on the pushrod clearance. Anyway, I'd bet that the master itself is the problem, and not the gasket assy. Many of us have experienced the "fluid dumps all over whenever I remove the cap" syndrome. It's that slow internal leak that causes it.

That's coming along well. I like it. Some thoughts: keep a raised edge around the sides to keep your stuff from sliding away in the corners. A drink holder is a handy thing. I chose a fabric that Velcro will semi-grab; a small patch of Velcro on the back of my I-pod and phone keep them where I put them. I did a somewhat similar console thing, but my main goal was to have it be an enclosure for my subwoofer. My console extends further back and is wider in the rear to do just that. The audio is much better this way than trying to blast sound through the back seat from the trunk. I also didn't want it to interfere with the heater ducting, so it stops short in the front. On long drives, I wish I had an armrest as well. In this pic, I have a cheapo drink holder sitting on top...handy, but not pretty.

You want 14ga. I bought a small roll of the wire (it's grey in color) and put my own ends on it. If you go this route, you will find that inside there is very little wire under a thick layer of insulation. I had to strip back and expose a longer length of conductor, then fold it back on itself to make it substantial enough to use a crimp terminal end. (A standard 14ga crimp terminal fits the outside diameter if the wire just fine, but there is too little wire inside for the crimp to squeeze down on). I still wasn't satisfied, so I also soldered the connection. While I was at it, I made a few extras and threw them in the glove box... you never know. My original got fried when jumper cable clamps shifted and found a ground. Here is some more info: LINKY

As I recall, the line is steel and has a funny rolled end with nipple thing at the ends. There is a tab welded to it for support, and the tab bolts under one of the bellhousing bolts. Once the steel line is installed, short lengths of rubber hose connect it to the manifold fitting up top and the modulator down below. On mine, the steel line darn near inserts into the manifold fitting, and the rubber hose is more like a sleeve than a connecting piece of hose.

There is a fusible link that runs from the positive battery terminal to the junction block hidden behind the battery on the radiator support. Check this wire for flexibility; when the link blows, it still looks intact but the conductor running through the center burns in two. If it feels stiff or rigid in places and bends easily in others, it's gone bad. Or check it with a meter. Don't replace it with a normal wire.

Ok, I've never seen a camshaft break in two. I HAVE seen a distributor gear shear the drive pin that holds it in place... the result is the drive gear rotates, but not the distributor shaft. This was a tricky diagnosis; visually the pin looked intact, and the gear was so tight on the shaft it couldn't be turned by hand. Amazing that the dist shaft put up enough resistance to shear that pin, but the distributor shaft also drives the oil pump and debris caught in the pump gears could cause that drive pin to snap. Verify that the oil pump rotates freely. Really, your guy needs to verify that the valve timing is correct to determine if the timing chain isn't the problem. I've also seen timing chains jump teeth on the sprockets, but still move the valves. Obviously, the engine won't run that way even though it LOOKS like everything is moving as it should. It's much more common to have a problem between the top of the engine and the bottom (timing chain), than to have a problem between the front & back.

Oops, too late. Summit has these, made by Proform. Just 40.00. Billet timing tab w/self-powered LED.

Hmmm...A nice "Buck Rogers" timing light would be nice. They should make something a little more retro; more ray-gun looking with modern features. I'd get one even if I didn't need it. LOL Or come to think of it, why not a permanent setup with a LED or tiny strobe mounted just above the timing tab? Never fumble with cords again! No more storage or hookup issues! Just plug & play! See your timing whenever you open the hood!

Wow, from the little I know about auto trans, I'd say it's a little early to freak out. If there is ZERO load on the output side, why would the trans think 2nd is needed? I could be wrong, but the trans looks at a bunch of different criteria (road speed, engine speed, engine load, throttle opening, etc.) to determine what gear is needed to get the job done. Right now a lot of that information is missing or misleading. I'm almost surprised it shifts at all, I'd expect it to start in high gear if it thought it could get away with it. One of the things an auto trans does is internally compare the speeds of the input shaft with the speed of the output shaft. (maybe load is a better word) If they are the same or close, the trans seeks a higher gear. Another way to look at it is the trans pump makes a given pressure and it is used to move the car...if the car is resisting that movement, some of the pressure is directed to engage bands/clutches that engage lower gearsets for more leverage to get the car going. Right now the trans thinks you are cruising downhill with little/no throttle...I'm not surprised it's trying to get to high gear as quick as it can.

I have a video I'd like to share, but photobucket is making it difficult. I can upload it ok, and it shows a thumbnail... but when you hit the play button it runs audio but no picture. I found that I can scroll down and hit the full screen button, and then the picture shows, but in a giant unclear pixelated sort of version. I tried to choose the download size before loading, but whether I choose 1024x468, or down to 100x75, I get the same result. The video runs; I can hear it, but I have to engage the full screen view to see anything and then its magnified and looks awful. Anyone here have a solution?

Yes, your photo shows it in the locked position. That's normal until the choke reaches the full open position.

The choke operation is important on the Q-jet. It should fully close when the throttle is applied before starting; that's part of the starting ritual. (engine stone cold). The choke coil on the manifold pulls the choke closed. Once you hit the throttle prior to starting, the choke should snap closed and the fast idle cam will rotate into position to raise the idle speed. As soon as the engine starts, engine vacuum is applied to the "choke pull-off" vacuum can and the can will try to open the choke. At this point, the choke coil is trying to CLOSE the choke and the pull-off is trying to OPEN the choke. These two items have something of a balanced tug of war until the choke coil warms up and relaxes its pull...as this happens the pull-off slowly gains ground and begins opening up the choke. Eventually the coil gets warm enough and stops trying to close the choke, and the pull-off holds it fully open. The choke pull-off also holds the secondary air valves closed. Those are the big plates over the rear barrels of the carb. When you apply full throttle, engine vacuum drops to zero and the pull-off looses suction and can't hold those plates closed any more. As the pull-off slowly releases its pull, the plates begin to open depending on engine demand. (you need a load on the engine to do this, it can't be seen by revving the engine) The Q-jet also has a lock-out mechanism to prevent the secondaries from opening until the engine is fully warm (to prevent backfiring, stalling, etc) and that lock-out is tied to the choke mechanism. The choke must be FULLY open to move the lock-out and let the secondaries function. Here is the lock-out (passenger side, rear of carb) The picture shows the lockout in the unlocked position. In the locked position the plate where the pencil tip is would rotate clockwise and interfere with the cross pin seen on the left. It jams against the cross pin and prevents the secondary shaft from rotating. So, yea, the choke is pretty important. It can make the car hard to start and also affect performance. If it doesn't open fully, it can give terrible gas mileage and lack of power. That choke pull-off gizmo is the key to making the whole carb work, not just when the engine is cold. I know I tend to ramble and get long-winded on some of this technical crap, but I hope someone can glean some useful info from it.

stone cold, that flap should fully close when the throttle is pressed. When the throttle moves it lets the choke close and the fast idle becomes engaged. If that photo was taken before you touched the throttle, it looks about normal.

I'm trying to figure why it doesn't do the fast idle the second time around. If the intake was plugged and not heating the coil, you'd think the coil would respond as if the engine were cold and set the choke/fast idle and be reluctant to let the choke OPEN. Then there's the possibility that it used to do just that, and someone relaxed the tension on the choke coil so it would open quickly. I've even seen the tension set the opposite way so the manifold coil pushes the choke full open all the time. Hard to start that way, but works fine after you get it warmed up.

I forgot to say: "Your results may vary"

One of the great things about the Q-jet is it doesn't care what size engine its on. If it's dialed for a 350, it will be dialed for a 454. The only difference is that one engine combo might be happier with a richer mixture than the other under power. Most engines live in a narrow happy band at cruise, so if the 350 was good at cruise, the 454 will most likely be happy with that same carb at cruise. You could go with a 72 and use a fatter rod; it will still hold the lean part-throttle mixture, but richen up more on hard throttle. It's pretty complicated just messing around trying to find what's best. Changing just the jet will alter everything, as stated above...changing just the rod will affect cruise and idle, but not WOT. I have found that throttle response is better with a leaner mixture, but you need the carb to richen up quickly to avoid pinging. Don't automatically think that bigger is better.