Peggy: '69 2000 (Penny's sister) in Durango, CO - SRL31110613

[DAC21]

May I suggest BPR6ES as your next set of plugs.

I'd appreciate more context and justification. Thanks.

Some reading per search.

search.php?keywords=BPR6ES

[tig]

May I suggest BPR6ES as your next set of plugs.

I'd appreciate more context and justification. Thanks.

Some reading per search.

search.php?keywords=BPR6ES

Thanks!

[tig]

Temp sensor and guage are fine. I redid the wiring at the sensor and it's good.



Replaced the cap, plug wires, condenser, and ballast resistor.



Running better and better. I got it hot enough to re-adjust the valves hot.



Some head pr0n...



















I'm going to have to re-flush the tank. Clearly tons of crap in it still.



Here's a longish video of it running.

https://youtu.be/cpsgrYW4IDo

I'm going to find a timing light tomorrow, hopefully. This is the best I could get by ear. It's not bad sounding (other than the leaky exhaust).

[tig]

And here's THE FIRST DRIVE!!!!

https://youtube.com/shorts/YZfICvi6qT0

[tig]

Tons of steam coming from around fan shroud, lower radiator, and/or overflow tank. Something is leaking.

I'm slowly figuring out the carb tweaking. The high idle the PO reported can be rectified by pressing down on the throttle cable connection to force the throttle closed. It idles nicely.

A buddy is sending me a carb balancer too.

[TobyMan]

First drive - priceless! Congratulations.

[Gregs672000]

Ha, love it! Man, I go to work for a couple days and you get all this done! I was going to mention the plugs but forgot. Looks like you scored what may be a rebuilt engine, and it appears from by your "drive" that the trans and clutch work without any bad noises... awesome! Glad the temp guage all worked out.

Some general observations... 1) it has a welded up cam cover which suggests that some engine (this one?) broke a chain or the "evil L" at some point, but either a new one was fitted (most likely... I see no evidence of chain strikes) or the cam cover is not original to the engine. Regardless, the chain tensioner must be shimmed for long term safety. When you remove it I strongly suggest having a rag up under it just in case a bolt or socket decide to fall down the front of the engine. 2) I don't see any cam towers shims but they may be there... usually used when the head is surfaced depending on how much it was cut... just an observation. 3) it looks like it has one piece rocker arms (two piece have a pad the cam rides on). Nothing wrong with them but they had a surface that can wear off over time... just keep an eye on them. 4) based on the pic of the distributor it might be one tooth off on the distributor drive gear but we won't know until we have a timing light on it. If so, we can fix that.

Nice WORK! Excited for you!

[tig]

Timing light was next to useless. This dizzy's insides are just too loose. I got it close enough...

https://youtube.com/shorts/OlFE_0LMJgU

and

https://youtube.com/shorts/UnMwpd0JzX4

I drove it about 3 miles. Didn't want to risk more.

The clutch and transmission feel great.

The brakes are spongy, but work.

Steering feels tight.

Suspension is there.

Tons of parts ordered (EI dizzy, all the cooling things, exhaust, etc...). Still don't know enough about the SUs to know what to order, but will.

Just drained fuel tank. Was surprised how much fuel was in it. I assumed it was near empty when I added some. Oops. No gunk came out.

Bought two new fuel filters and will keep using them up until clean.

I need a plug set for the fuel level sender. It's AWOL.

Good input on the cam chain and stuff Greg. Thanks.

[Gregs672000]

How was the timing light useless? Did it not show the correct timing at idle? If not and you had no rotation left in the distributor, that would be what I mean by the drive gears being one tooth off. Since you have an EI distributor on the way (good choice!), we'll fix that when you're installing the new one if needed. It does require removing the pedestal it sits on to access the gear (many folks have struggled to get this right as it can require some fiddling!). If you have access to the manual you can look it up. The internals of the current distributor, namely the T, springs and weights are valuable and can be used to modify a smog distributor for your own use on another car or some one else's so don't toss it!

Congrats on the Drive!

[tig]

The internals of the dizzy are so loose, the timing moves around between 10 and 25 ish degrees. I got it close to 16. It’s the first time I’ve used one so I may be holding it wrong but it doesn’t really matter.

[Gregs672000]

The internals of the dizzy are so loose, the timing moves around between 10 and 25 ish degrees. I got it close to 16. It’s the first time I’ve used one so I may be holding it wrong but it doesn’t really matter.

Ya that would be concerning if that was with no RPM change... The reason I went to a crank-fired ignition was due to running a high compression engine on pump gas on the street with 2-3 degrees of spark scatter or more with a stock system to dead on, rock solid timing I can adjust anywhere in the curve. Otherwise, DETONATION!

[Florida Roadster]

Good choice on using the Park Tool bicycle wrenches to adjust the valves. Flat and thin. I have a few in my bicycle tool box, hopefully I have the correct sizes.

[tig]

Best SU rebuild kit?

[Gregs672000]

Best SU rebuild kit?

Might want to review the tech wiki posted by Keith for SU tuning (I'm blocking on his last name, sorry Keith!) and consult with him. I am a big fan of wideband O2 sensor set ups for tuning carbs, and while they do require some work to install even temporarily you may want to consider that after refreshing the SUs. Granted, SUs are not as easily tune able as say a Mikuni with individual jets, but from a safety and overall running standpoint it may be worth it. Overly rich conditions are a little troublesome but a very lean condition is not good for these motors and was downright dangerous to my engine given its build. There's no real power difference between a 12 to 1 air/fuel ratio vs 15.5 to 1 under most circumstances, but too lean under load can lead to detonation, increased temps and poor high speed operation/hesitation. It is so much easier to see in real time what the engine is experiencing when you're trying to figure out the direction to tune... Otherwise it's the ol "read the spark plugs," which is important too, but covers the full operating span of the engine vs specific low, midrange and high speed/under load conditions the engine sees. I'll leave that out there as I do not have nearly as much experience messing with SUs as many folks here do. I know you have a lot of other things to address so it may not be a priority at this time, but if you do install a new exhaust that would be the time to have a bung for an O2 sensor welded in just past the collector and angled upright.

Saw another YouTube video of your start up... woo hoo, I know that feeling! Enjoying your success, and thanks for bring us along. My car is hibernating right now so this is my only outlet... and ya, I can write a lot

[tig]

Some glamor shots from the drive the other day...






Today I pulled fuel tank...









Inside doesn't actually look too bad, but when I tipped it over the remaining gas had lots of gunk.

Gonna clean it with vinegar and apply a tank seal product (researching now).

Tested fuel level sender. It's fine. Found leads; they were on top of the tank where they should be.



Drained and refilled the diff. Old fluid was pretty thick and old.



Fill and drain plugs were swapped (magnet one was up high).