GatorDog72

I reset the floats and adjusted fuel pressure and it's still really rich. It loads up at stop lights and it won't restart once the engine is warmed up. I have to wait about 15-20 minutes and then it fires right back up.(this might not be fuel related but probably is) I got some more info on this carb. I was reading about how to tune the intermediate circuit and found that my carb doesn't have one. There's only 8 air bleeds in the top. I guess that's the difference between the 2 and 3 circuit carbs is that intermediate circuit. Sounds like a 2 circuit Dominator is basically just a really big 4150 double pumper with no choke. Hopefully this will simplify the tuning. I ordered a bunch of jets and bleeds to get started. It has 84/94 main jets, 5.5 powervalve, and a 35 primary pump nozzle. I'll be installing a wideband o2 sensor while I wait for the jets to get here.

If the driveline angle does not match pinion angle, you will get a vibration from the U-joints. Get an angle checker like this one to check the angles of the front and rear u joints. If it's too far off, you may have to get adjustable rear suspension links to dial in the pinion angle.

I've had my car on the road a few times now since getting it together. I drove it to work this morning (about 40 miles, there and back) and got about 5 mpg. The car runs very well overall but seems a little sluggish if you stomp the gas from a standstill. I pulled the plugs and they are all black and fouled so it's definitely running very rich. Smells like fuel too. The carb is a 1050 Ultra Dominator with 2 circuits, part # 0-80902HB. It's on top of a 489 big block with a 250 duration @.050 solid roller cam, 10.5:1 compression. I was amazed at how well the car ran with this carb straight out of the box. The only thing I have touched is the idle adjustment. I had to turn it down some to get it to idle. It's at 6 psi fuel pressure, idle screws 1 1/2 turns out, and the floats are set so fuel is half way up the sight glass on the front bowl, and a little over half on the rear. I'm not sure on the main jet size or the power valve. I'll have to take it apart. So where should I start with this thing? There's lots of stuff to play around with, not sure what to do first. The engine runs pretty well, it's just drowning in fuel. I know they say you cant get these carbs to run on the street, but I'm going to try anyway. Sorry for the novel I wrote, any input and comments appreciated.

Took this thing for a test drive a couple days ago to the gas station and holy crap it's fast. I was definitely not prepared for that amount of power. It really scared the life out of me. Everything went well, didn't crash or break anything. The alignment needs work. It didn't go very straight. Its all gravy from here though, just some adjustments. I forgot to turn on the rev limiter and found valve float pretty quick. I wasn't looking at the tach, but I bet it was over 8 grand. Needs better mufflers too, I put the largest 3" cherry bomb glasspacks that they make on it and it was still like they were not even on there. Stupid loud. Got a couple decent videos of the car, but I had trouble uploading them to the site. If you want to check them out on Youtube, here's the links- choppy idle test drive

ITS ALIVE! Should be going for a test drive tomorrow

I replaced mine with an aluminum one from summit racing, part # SUM-380457. Here's the link. It wasn't a 100% perfectly identical part to original, but it fit in with no problems and it cools much better than the original.

Beautiful car, I really like the murdered out look. Cute girl too!

Wish I could have been there. Sounds like you guys had a blast!

Got some more stuff done, It steers, stops, and shifts but not quite running yet. It's almost done, I promise. The new manual rack worked out nicely. I had to fabricate the steering shaft again but this time it looks and works much better. The kit came with new steering arms too, so I had to take a bunch of stuff apart again to get those on. Got a different master cylinder for a manual set-up and stripped out my proportioning valve trying to install it like an idiot. Also had to re-string a few lines that were now too short after moving the master. After fighting with the stupid brakes for a long time, I finally won and got it bled out. At least the new driveshaft fit without issue. Everything is ready to rock and roll, just need to get it fired up again.

Don't buy cheap tubular control arms, the stock ones are better. I bought some cheap ($379 for uppers and lowers) front control arms to try and save some money and the ball joint boots are already torn. I haven't even driven the car yet. The welds were terrible too and I worry about cracking. If you get tubular arms, go with a well known company. Bottom line is you get what you pay for.

I use gunk engine degreaser. Just spray it on everything, scrub the bad areas with a brush and hose it off. Put a bag over the distributor and the carb to keep from getting it wet.

Heres the dash, about 90%. I still have to add a few switches and lights, but its pretty much done. I might polish the face, or put some kind of design in it later. I have a new top pad to put on it too, I wanted to cut up my old ragged one first in case I made a mistake, which I did. I cut the slots a bit too wide and it looks like crap around the bars, but now I can make a template for that and cut it nicely on the new pad.

Just trying to figure out how I'm mounting this fuel cell in my trunk. I would just strap it in there but I know its a tech item at tracks. I'm not sure what is considered acceptable. I was just going to weld some angle iron to the trunk floor and bolt some straps onto the angle to hold the fuel cell down. Here's a basic drawing of what I want to do. Will this pass tech inspection?

I think I might see a little light coming from the end of the tunnel. You can actually tell it's a Monte Carlo now! It's not done yet but its getting closer... Right now I'm in the process of rewiring everything in the car. Most of it is already done, I had wired in the essentials last fall to fire the engine, but I pulled it all back out to get the cage welded. I didn't want the wires to get all burned up and ruin a brand new harness. I'm also chopping up my factory dash to re-use. I had to cut some pieces out to get it to fit around the bars, mostly just notching stuff to make room. My dad is helping me fit up a new Racepak digital display. We just cut the plastic out from between the original gauges and made a bracket that attaches to the mounting points that were used for the stock cluster. We made a template from construction paper that will be cut out in aluminum to finish the face of the dash. I found a different rack and pinion setup thats manual and the input shaft is at a different angle so it looks like it might work. I talked to the tech on the phone and he said it will fit, so I'm gonna give the r&p another try. Here's some more pics

That color combo is gonna look real nice on that car, can't wait to see it!

Nice run! 1.44 60ft, now that's haulin' the mail! How many cubes in that SBC?

Do you have a specific HP goal in mind or are you just looking for a little extra power?

Thanks guys! I was wondering the same exact thing. I only counted ten, but when I google searched "12 point cage" the same cage comes up. I think like Bill said, the door bars count as an extra 2 points. Not sure though. As long as it's safe in the event of a really bad crash, that's all that matters.

That engine will look awesome in your car! Very nice work!

Here it is, all caged up! It's a 12 point cage with chromoly steel tubing and will be certified to 8.50 at NHRA tracks. I still have to paint it and make some seat mounts to get the seats bolted in. There's loads of other work to do before I will be able to drive it. I will keep updating as I go. You're right Steve, the race is on! Would love to have it there.

Ok, well it took a little longer than expected, (doesn't everything?) but the roll cage is done. I am without a trailer at the moment so the car is stuck at the shop. Once I get it back, the mad rush is on to get it completed. I'm changing a couple things on the car, the rack and pinion is coming back out. I couldn't get the steering shaft to work properly with headers in the way. It was a cool idea and with enough effort I'm sure would work but I don't have time to mess with it right now. A manual box will be used instead. The hydroboost is also coming out. I wont have to mess around with any power steering lines or pump that way. No pictures of the cage completed yet, but I have some of the main hoop and halo bar being fit up. More to come once I get it back.

I put mine together with .0018" to .0020 clearance on the mains and it was a bit tight turning over. I might be replacing the bearings with a custom size, seems like the easiest route to go.

I pulled them together out of my car, but it wasn't easy. My engine hoist didn't have a long enough boom to reach in far enough, so I took the fender off for easier access.

Sounds like what my Nova was doing when the fuel pump went bad. Is your fuel pump electric or mechanical?

Sweet! Looks like fun, Sam. What kind of intake and carb are you planning to run with this combo?