wallaby

I never figured that out; they put the weld on the head-side of the flange plate and grind some flatness to it and call it a sealing surface. Before I installed mine, I had them blasted and then brazed a nice filet between the pipes and flange on the outside of the flange plate...then had a machine shop mill the flange plate flat where it meets the head (no more welds standing proud). I use a stock chevy exhaust gasket and have zero issues. If only the header makers went to the trouble to do that! Of course I started with the cheap "painted" header, and had it coated after all the mods were done.

Not done this, but I'd guess: gasket, small plate, gasket, large plate, gasket, small plate, gasket, carb.

While we're on the topic, mine is loose at the pivot closest to the roof. Is there a way to solve this as well? It seems kinda weird that the mirror has 2 pivot points, as I just tend to grab the mirror head and adjust the lower section. So is the mirror actually 3 pieces?

My gut thinks the bars are needed to mask some other problem. I'd check the pinion angle, and the condition of the rear suspension bushings first. It's possible that the pinion is pointing downward and causing the vibration...and the axle is wrapping up on acceleration until the tires break loose then unwinding, over and over, causing the wheel hop. I'm pretty sure my stock rear has a pinion snubber on it, to prevent just that. (wish I could verify that) Remember, this is only the internet and I'm making guesses thinking that the wheel hop and vibration are related. It's possible that they are two different issues. I think most of us have traction problems, but not wheel hop. I just happened to have first-hand experience with ladder bars. I won't run them, but I think they look cool. The type of traction bars that use a rubber snubber (and a gap to the frame) aren't as restrictive to body movement and don't cause the adverse handling like ladders do.

255/60 is as close as BFG has. Here is a listing: http://www.bfgoodrichtires.com/tire-selector/tire-sizes.page

Ladder bars are pretty good for straight line driving, but suck for cornering. The design clamps the rear axles and essentially makes the entire rear axle assembly act as a giant rear sway bar. The rear axle housing is so stiff it prevents one wheel from traveling up or down without trying to take the other wheel with it. In turns, this is an issue. The added stiffness in the rear creates oversteer where the rear end wants to break traction and cause a spin-out. Excess roll stiffness in the rear can be "dangerously unstable on high-speed corners". To quote from the book "How to make your car handle": Lift bars [ladder] not only prevent wheel hop, but they also provide an upward force on the body to prevent rear-suspension squat. They also push down on the tires, increasing traction. Lift bars are great for drag racing, but are very poor for cornering. The ones using pivots at the forward end try to twist the rear-axle housing when the car leans, creating a huge amount of roll stiffness. A car with these lift bars is virtually locked in a roll, and transmits almost 100% of the lateral weight transfer through the rear suspension. This results in rear-wheel lifting and oversteer. As for the vibration or wheel hop issue, does the car have stiff springs or air shocks/air bags to raise the rear end? Having the rear sit too tall or stiff can cause driveline angle problems and cause severe vibration and traction issues. All of these problems sort of fall into the "too much of a good thing" category.

Oh wow, a set of Pro Tracs! Loved those. Racing profile or Indy profile. Kelly superchargers were also popular back in the day. I vote for the raised white letters...the outlined white are harder to clean and just look too modern to me. I like the look of what the car might have been in the 70's. Call it old school.

it's pretty interesting. The U-joints go through a process of slowing down/speeding up as they rotate when there is a bend in them. The idea is to phase the u-joint at the other end of the shaft so it does the identical thing 180 degrees from the first, thereby cancelling out any vibrations. A constant velocity u-joint does the same thing all in one package. If you stretch a line through the differential centerline forward, and a different line through the engine centerline rearward, the two lines should be parallel and not meet. (if the rear joint has to bend 2 degrees, the front should also bend 2 degrees). The same applies to the difference in up & down position when viewed from the side. I see lots of 4x4 lift setups where the rear axle has been rotated so the pinion points upward towards the trans output...that's wrong. If the trans centerline is level with the ground, the rear pinion should also be level so the u-joints will run at their smoothest. With constant-velocity u-joints, these angles are much less important: that's why CV joints are used in front-drive cars, it's there to provide a smooth rotation of the tire despite the changing angles of steering. You can mock up an assembly with a ratchet extension and a typical u-joint flex extension at each end...as you rotate it through your fingers you can feel the effect that different angles cause. If one end is straight and the other has a bend, you will feel a "kink" as the shaft goes around. Here is a constant-velocity joint:

Agreed on the float check. It's simple to do on a Holley. You have to get the engine & engine compartment darn hot to get a percolation problem. If you cruised down the freeway for an hour or more in hot weather, then pulled into a gas station and shut off the engine...you might get percolation.

Here is the page. The same part number fits both small-block or big-block. You can change the search filters to show other applications....it fits almost everything GM. LINKY The only downside to the severe-duty clutch is that it has had complaints of being noisy...especially on startup. Just a lot of wind noise when the unit is engaged. At least you know it's working! I run the heavy duty on my 454 and has been without issue for 10+ years. I'm in central CA where 100+ temps are common. Just FYI.

Severe is top-of-the-line. I just checked with Summit, and the severe is only $10 more then the heavy duty. Knowing that, I think I'd opt for the severe.

There are several options for a fan clutch. The original unit is a heavy-duty thermal clutch. There is also a standard-duty thermal, and a severe-duty thermal. There is even a "non-thermal" clutch, but it senses engine speed instead of temperature and is used only for light duty applications. The standard duty thermal is a simple budget-friendly unit that costs less, but allows some slippage...the engaged fan runs about 60% of shaft speed. (robs less HP from the engine, but pulls less air). The heavy-duty thermal is more robust and allows less slippage; The engaged fan turns at about 80% of shaft speed. (requires more engine power to rotate, but pulls much more air). The heavy-duty is recommended for large displacement vehicles with AC. Lastly is the severe-duty thermal which has the same operating specs as the heavy-duty, but is much larger and uses ball bearings instead of bushings internally. These are designed primarily for trucks. Here is some further info: Hayden clutch page

Now you just need one that reads: "WARNING! Adults Only"

I tried some engine clear rattle can paint on mine before I installed it, with the thought of keeping it looking factory-fresh or at least easier to clean. Don't do it. Mine has yellowed in areas that maybe received a thicker layer (it's near impossible to tell as you do it) and can't be cleaned off. Big mistake. If I ever have that intake off again, I might go with a clear or silver powdercoat...or that pretty orange color.

There was also a period of time here recently when Edelbrock was making them as well. I think those may have some engineering "improvements", but were manufactured using the original tooling. The Edelbrock Q-jet was meant to be an aftermarket performance upgrade for people looking to replace their tired original carb. I find it interesting how long the design was in use.

Ditto the above. Most thermostats will let a small amount of flow happen even when closed, but I add a small hole to hasten the process and make sure the system can let air escape as water fills from below. It just makes me feel better knowing that there isn't a big air pocket trapped in there. it's important to recognize that the thermostat reacts to water temperature, and not to air temp...if there isn't water against the thermostat it won't open until the water gets super heated. I was surprised that the "upside-down" thermostat issue didn't come up earlier in this thread. It's a real common mistake and the thermostat seems to fit perfectly in either position. The sensor of the thermostat is the large copper pellet...that copper pellet needs to face the engine side so it sees the engine temp. There are several different types of thermostats for our engines, but they all have the copper pellet, usually with the temperature rating stamped on the end. That pellet end goes down into the manifold. Here's a pic. This shows the pellet side down as it should be:

Wow. That took guts to admit. Funny; nobody asked if you had the car facing uphill.

That all makes sense except when you run under heavy load or full throttle.. you loose engine vacuum and pressures increase in the crankcase. That's when the breathers start acting in reverse and vapors are allowed to escape. ( I can smell the fumes after I've romped on it with my open element breathers)The trick is to let the breathers vent without passing fluid as well... that's the job of the baffles. I used a baffled fill cap with integral PCV valve and it solved the problem: there is no need for the baffle inside the valve cover. I'd remove a portion of your existing baffle on the downhill side to let oil pour in, while retaining as much of the baffle as possible for good measure against oil being pulled or pushed back out. The cap I used is something like this: http://www.summitracing.com/parts/spe-42845/overview/

Q-jet carbs are renowned for going dry after sitting for a spell. You will find that even when the cars were new, there was a different starting procedure when the engine was cold VS when it was warm. I don't consider this a problem... the extra cranking when cold makes sure you have oil pressure before it starts. The slow cranking when warm sounds like "heat soak" as mentioned above. When electrical parts get hot they expand, and the current has a much harder time getting through to get the job done. Make sure all your connections are clean, and your cables are in good shape. Those clamp-on battery terminals don't work well. Solder them or get some real pre-terminated cables in #1 or zero gauge. That makes sure your starter gets all it can. If it still seems sluggish, the starter itself is suspect. The starter requires a good ground to the block for a ground, and the current has to flow through the starter brushes first. Clean any paint off of the starter mounting pad of the engine block...otherwise all the current has to travel through the starter bolts. Make sure you have a good cable on the ground side of the battery hooked to a clean spot on the engine block. An extra cable from the engine to the frame of the car is also a good idea... sometimes the alternator has trouble sending current through the rubber motor mounts. I have a braided ground cable mounted under one of my fuel pump bolts running to a nearby unpainted hole in my frame. After all that, you should get some improvement. Your starter should work better, and your headlights be brighter.

Been there, done that. I had Hyper pistons in my first build and that (like yours) was the weak link in the assembly. There really isn't anywhere to go once that decision was made. I ended up getting an engine built by Mark Jones as linked above. I started with one of his street-friendly builds and had him upgrade with roller cam and Mahle pistons. I have been real happy with what he put together. At the time I was limited by a stock vacuum brake booster, and required an engine with good idle vacuum... most of his engine combos didn't have that. I since changed the vacuum brake system to a hydroboost type, so idle vacuum isn't a concern anymore...now I wish I'd opted for a more powerful engine package. What I got however has worked without issue and is probably the most flexible engine I have run. She dyno'd at 560hp, 600tq...at 4000rpm.

Mine has the Morel lifters also, and it makes a racket until it's fully warmed up. I don't notice any noise once that happens. On a warm day even, it takes 15-20 minutes. If I remember right, you are running cast iron exhaust manifolds? Most of us use exhaust gaskets now, but a lot of the big blocks back in the day just didn't have them. For some reason I want to think that your noise is exhaust related because it changes with load and valvetrain really doesn't see anything but speed changes. Tiny exhaust leaks make a sound very similar to lifter noise, but usually only when the engine is under a load. Headers are famous for this, and their thin tubes can resonate noise even when there aren't any leaks. You can try listening to your running engine with a long screwdriver or metal rod: put one end against the engine and the other against your ear...you can find bad or noisy alternator bearings and water pump noises this way.(you hear all kinds of machinery in motion this way; it's a new perspective). For exhaust leaks, a piece of heater hose used in a similar way may work better to isolate external noises. I wouldn't recommend revving the engine up to 5000 rpm for any of this listening, but it may help narrow down where the noise ISN'T.

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I also had to modify my radiator support to allow the deeper radiator. Not too bad, just need to make some room where the tank seams are. My old rubber isolators didn't fit: they were too short. Other than that, it went right in.