1968notch
Too many projects, not enough time/$$$
Hi all,
I have a 1968 notchback with a fairly tired 318/904/7.25 with what, maybe 2.73? gears. Dual exhaust with turbo mufflers no H-pipe or headers. I'm trying to get the car back on the road after sitting for a couple yrs. Was my daily driver for over 20 years and I drove the freakin wheels off it, literally with little to no respect to its overall well being. Fixing and tweaking only what was necessary to keep it moving. It's on it's 3rd 7.25. No surprise there. Odd thing is, I wasn't getting on it either time it broke. :???:
Recent mods since I started reviving it:
1,) New and reasonably priced OEM style elec. ign. dist. that came with a new cap and rotor and I also installed a blue streak LX-101 ignition module (made in USA, says right on it). System fed by aftermarket relay with a direct battery feed to system side of ballast resistor and the ign. switch controlling the relay Also, new Taylor blue wires.
2.) New MSD blaster II coil.
3.) New plugs. researched. Don't remember brand and number off hand but advice was taken from here and was consensus based, including new coil consideration for the gap.
4.) New drop in replacement solid state Echelin VR replacing mechanical VR. However, there's still a problem in the circuitry there somewhere as it is overcharging (15.1 v) and the headlights flicker, but that's not what I'm writing about. The headlights flickered before swap as well. The flickering is in time with changes in the field output of v-reg. There's just under a .5v difference when using neg term of batt for both measurements at batt pos term and regualtor sense wire. Or when measuring v-drop from + batt term to reg sense wire. I thinks it's the sh*tty shucks reman alternator I put in a number of years back.
5.) Installed a used Eddy performer 2176 intake with original sized ports that match fairly close to the 318 head ports and verified by me with digi caliper on both manifold and heads.
6.) 9034S TQ. Book says it's a 1974 truck 440 carb MT. non-smogger that was just freshly rebuilt by me (more on the setup later). I'm using a non-electric assist well type choke actuator that sits in the well built into the eddy. Works like a champ after shimming under top part of cover with a couple of flat washers so the spring would clear the bottom of the well. 20 bucks from auto-zone shipping not included and days of research to find it.
7.) Replaced 2 bent pushrods (#3 and #6 intake) and all the valve stem seals with stock umbrella's. Also cleaned out fully stuffed (with carbon) crossover ports to aid the well choke.
8.) Had previous lifter noise on occasion before parking it, so I pulled all the lifters one by one and cleaned off varnish on the outside, disassembled and cleaned lifter internals and replaced in same holes with lots of assy lube on lifter bottom and the cam lobes as far as I could reach. Side note, when doing the stem seals I used a compressor to hold the valves up and I didn't hear any air whistling out the intake ports of the valves with the bent pushrods so I think I dodged a bullet there and the valves are still seating and didn't get bent. Also a quick and not entirely proper (didn't open throttle) compression test showed no anomalies between cylinders.
9). 904 to 904 trans. swap. No 3rd or reverse in the one removed (front clutch not engaging) and the JY one I put in is on it's way to the same problem with a sluggish shift to 3rd. Bummer. But I got to keep the core so I have one in trunk to work with.
10.) Bought an OEM style (for a 340) throttle cable bracket and kickdown pivot anchor (all one piece) from Mancini it was like 40 bucks incl. shipping and that solved most of my TQ throttle/kickdown linkage issues. Still not perfect yet, but getting very close.
I'm currently test driving car with dash fully removed because it's still waiting for a cheap resto with chrome and black paint and an aftermarket tach install into the delete hole which I think I've got all worked out. Will post my cheap and easy solution when I get it done. The amp meter wires are pinched together with small vise grips with latex gloves wrapped around them to allow car to run.
This car, for the most part, runs and idles great. When revving in the driveway and warmed up, that secondary air door pops right open with no bog or hesitation at all and when in gear and accelerator is pressed anywhere from 1/8 to full throttle, the response is faster than instant again with no bog. It sounds mean and for a 318 with what I'm sure is a stock cam, it is mean. It's faster than I remember even with the choke on and the secondaries locked out. The dang thing seems so fast that it scares the crap outta me under heavy acceleration combined with that loose mopar power steering just trying to keep it in the lane. Not used to it anymore. And no, the front end isn't wishy washy, it has a full PST polygraphite setup incl. torsion bar bushings with all new idler, and tie rod ends/upper and lower ball joints as of maybe 11 years ago with not so many miles on them. Front end lays as nice as a granite flatstone in a corner.
The current problem I'm trying to resolve is that at very light throttle pressure (we're talking less then a half inch of pedal travel, maybe even only a quarter inch), the car seems to mis-fire and it surges somewhat. The nice resonance I hear from behind me in the turbo mufflers is broken up when driving at light throttle. If I push it down just a little more, the problem goes away completely and the car just scoots away.
Troubleshooting I've done so far: Enriched both idle and primary metering rod mixture settings. Taking idle mixture screws out as far as 3 full turns and the metering rod tower up from the 1.5 turns from initial movement listed in instructions to 3 full turns. I think it helped a little, but I set them back so when I do find problem it will be easier to spot. I messed with idle mixture because it seemed logical to me that at very light throttle they would still be much more in play and become exponentially less important once the primary metering circuit takes over and as the throttle bores are opened further. I have no way of measuring mixture performance but would like it if someone could point me to a method of doing so in a dynamic situation, as in driving down the road.
I removed the 1/4 inch thick open gasket under TQ. It's my understanding that having a more open plenum can hurt low RPM's somewhat and it was easy to do. No change and in fact the car seemed flat and less responsive. Spaced gasket has been re-installed. Carb hold down nuts were loose and only after a few miles. Added lockwashers to the flats and tightened down. I think it was that thick gasket compressing that caused them to be loose. No change from tightening the nuts.
Timing: The dist. is stock OEM reluctor type and hasn't been curved and looks to be a bit difficult to do anyway. The car has never seen a timing light since I've owned it. Can't see the dang indicator on TC cover. Power steering pump blocks it. I time it by ear. I set initial advance forward, then forward a little more and finally forward so that it took a few extra turns of the starter to start it all with no difference. Will try going the other direction tomorrow. Vacuum advance is hooked up and the port has vacuum and I think it's most likely working OK. The advance dashpot is new and came with dizzy. RPM's seem to cause little change to this condition as long as only slight throttle pressure is maintained. Of course with the throttle only slightly depressed, the RPM level doesn't get way up there, but certainly far enough to cause dizzy weights to come into play.
I had 2 pre smog TQ's to work with. The 9034s had an epoxied fuel bowl and the 9014 had a bent primary shaft but a good bowl. I studied the specs at the tomco website for both bowls and the ONLY diff was the EGR port in the 9034S repaired bowl. Bowls swapped. I'm pretty sure they are a source for fuel bowls if anyone needs one. I could have ordered one if I wanted to. But NEVER buy a tomco reman carb, Never. Parts yes, carb no (ask me how I know). I used the smallest jets from both carbs. The primaries are 4096 (.096) and the secondaries are 5137 (.137) The initial metering rods I installed were 2024's. I had a set of 1930's but couldn't find specs on them so I didn't use them. I swapped in the 1930's earlier today, no change. I also have a set of .098 primaries and a set of .143 secondaries as spares. I'm using the old top gasket (because the guy who sold me carb said it was fairly fresh and it appeared to be true because it looked great) and reserving new one from the kit till set-up is complete so swapping jets is really no problem but want advice on other possible problems first.
One thing I did notice was that the 9034 had solid primary butterflies while the 9014 had a small hole drilled (looks factory) in each, I read somewhere that this hole helps in part/low throttle driveability, and I'm wondering if this may be the issue. the screws holding either set in are staked so it will be a pain in the a** to swap them. If I do swap them, I'll take a swipe at fixing that bent primary shaft and have another good TQ with a repaired bowl. Maybe get a new bowl from tomco to test that availability theory.
Well, that's my setup, my observations and troubleshooting to date. I wrote a book, I know, bad habit of mine. However, I can't expect anyone to have a reasonable chance at assisting me without enough detail to do so. I see threads here all the time that seem like nothing but a game of 20 questions with poor results due to lack of info or not following given instructions. That will not happen here.
I've been a gearhead all my life but I can't hold a candle to probably more than 3/4ths of the members in FABO (with the exception of probably electronics in a general sense), especially when it comes to mopars and that fact and the willingness to help fellow mopar owners impresses the crap outta me. I want to thank each and every poster here for the mountains of info I've obtained just by lurking in this forum. Best auto forum on the web, bar none. I'm gonna hafta get a t-shirt. Rusty rat and 67dart's posts have helped me immensely. A special thanks to both of you.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Paul.
I have a 1968 notchback with a fairly tired 318/904/7.25 with what, maybe 2.73? gears. Dual exhaust with turbo mufflers no H-pipe or headers. I'm trying to get the car back on the road after sitting for a couple yrs. Was my daily driver for over 20 years and I drove the freakin wheels off it, literally with little to no respect to its overall well being. Fixing and tweaking only what was necessary to keep it moving. It's on it's 3rd 7.25. No surprise there. Odd thing is, I wasn't getting on it either time it broke. :???:
Recent mods since I started reviving it:
1,) New and reasonably priced OEM style elec. ign. dist. that came with a new cap and rotor and I also installed a blue streak LX-101 ignition module (made in USA, says right on it). System fed by aftermarket relay with a direct battery feed to system side of ballast resistor and the ign. switch controlling the relay Also, new Taylor blue wires.
2.) New MSD blaster II coil.
3.) New plugs. researched. Don't remember brand and number off hand but advice was taken from here and was consensus based, including new coil consideration for the gap.
4.) New drop in replacement solid state Echelin VR replacing mechanical VR. However, there's still a problem in the circuitry there somewhere as it is overcharging (15.1 v) and the headlights flicker, but that's not what I'm writing about. The headlights flickered before swap as well. The flickering is in time with changes in the field output of v-reg. There's just under a .5v difference when using neg term of batt for both measurements at batt pos term and regualtor sense wire. Or when measuring v-drop from + batt term to reg sense wire. I thinks it's the sh*tty shucks reman alternator I put in a number of years back.
5.) Installed a used Eddy performer 2176 intake with original sized ports that match fairly close to the 318 head ports and verified by me with digi caliper on both manifold and heads.
6.) 9034S TQ. Book says it's a 1974 truck 440 carb MT. non-smogger that was just freshly rebuilt by me (more on the setup later). I'm using a non-electric assist well type choke actuator that sits in the well built into the eddy. Works like a champ after shimming under top part of cover with a couple of flat washers so the spring would clear the bottom of the well. 20 bucks from auto-zone shipping not included and days of research to find it.
7.) Replaced 2 bent pushrods (#3 and #6 intake) and all the valve stem seals with stock umbrella's. Also cleaned out fully stuffed (with carbon) crossover ports to aid the well choke.
8.) Had previous lifter noise on occasion before parking it, so I pulled all the lifters one by one and cleaned off varnish on the outside, disassembled and cleaned lifter internals and replaced in same holes with lots of assy lube on lifter bottom and the cam lobes as far as I could reach. Side note, when doing the stem seals I used a compressor to hold the valves up and I didn't hear any air whistling out the intake ports of the valves with the bent pushrods so I think I dodged a bullet there and the valves are still seating and didn't get bent. Also a quick and not entirely proper (didn't open throttle) compression test showed no anomalies between cylinders.
9). 904 to 904 trans. swap. No 3rd or reverse in the one removed (front clutch not engaging) and the JY one I put in is on it's way to the same problem with a sluggish shift to 3rd. Bummer. But I got to keep the core so I have one in trunk to work with.
10.) Bought an OEM style (for a 340) throttle cable bracket and kickdown pivot anchor (all one piece) from Mancini it was like 40 bucks incl. shipping and that solved most of my TQ throttle/kickdown linkage issues. Still not perfect yet, but getting very close.
I'm currently test driving car with dash fully removed because it's still waiting for a cheap resto with chrome and black paint and an aftermarket tach install into the delete hole which I think I've got all worked out. Will post my cheap and easy solution when I get it done. The amp meter wires are pinched together with small vise grips with latex gloves wrapped around them to allow car to run.
This car, for the most part, runs and idles great. When revving in the driveway and warmed up, that secondary air door pops right open with no bog or hesitation at all and when in gear and accelerator is pressed anywhere from 1/8 to full throttle, the response is faster than instant again with no bog. It sounds mean and for a 318 with what I'm sure is a stock cam, it is mean. It's faster than I remember even with the choke on and the secondaries locked out. The dang thing seems so fast that it scares the crap outta me under heavy acceleration combined with that loose mopar power steering just trying to keep it in the lane. Not used to it anymore. And no, the front end isn't wishy washy, it has a full PST polygraphite setup incl. torsion bar bushings with all new idler, and tie rod ends/upper and lower ball joints as of maybe 11 years ago with not so many miles on them. Front end lays as nice as a granite flatstone in a corner.
The current problem I'm trying to resolve is that at very light throttle pressure (we're talking less then a half inch of pedal travel, maybe even only a quarter inch), the car seems to mis-fire and it surges somewhat. The nice resonance I hear from behind me in the turbo mufflers is broken up when driving at light throttle. If I push it down just a little more, the problem goes away completely and the car just scoots away.
Troubleshooting I've done so far: Enriched both idle and primary metering rod mixture settings. Taking idle mixture screws out as far as 3 full turns and the metering rod tower up from the 1.5 turns from initial movement listed in instructions to 3 full turns. I think it helped a little, but I set them back so when I do find problem it will be easier to spot. I messed with idle mixture because it seemed logical to me that at very light throttle they would still be much more in play and become exponentially less important once the primary metering circuit takes over and as the throttle bores are opened further. I have no way of measuring mixture performance but would like it if someone could point me to a method of doing so in a dynamic situation, as in driving down the road.
I removed the 1/4 inch thick open gasket under TQ. It's my understanding that having a more open plenum can hurt low RPM's somewhat and it was easy to do. No change and in fact the car seemed flat and less responsive. Spaced gasket has been re-installed. Carb hold down nuts were loose and only after a few miles. Added lockwashers to the flats and tightened down. I think it was that thick gasket compressing that caused them to be loose. No change from tightening the nuts.
Timing: The dist. is stock OEM reluctor type and hasn't been curved and looks to be a bit difficult to do anyway. The car has never seen a timing light since I've owned it. Can't see the dang indicator on TC cover. Power steering pump blocks it. I time it by ear. I set initial advance forward, then forward a little more and finally forward so that it took a few extra turns of the starter to start it all with no difference. Will try going the other direction tomorrow. Vacuum advance is hooked up and the port has vacuum and I think it's most likely working OK. The advance dashpot is new and came with dizzy. RPM's seem to cause little change to this condition as long as only slight throttle pressure is maintained. Of course with the throttle only slightly depressed, the RPM level doesn't get way up there, but certainly far enough to cause dizzy weights to come into play.
I had 2 pre smog TQ's to work with. The 9034s had an epoxied fuel bowl and the 9014 had a bent primary shaft but a good bowl. I studied the specs at the tomco website for both bowls and the ONLY diff was the EGR port in the 9034S repaired bowl. Bowls swapped. I'm pretty sure they are a source for fuel bowls if anyone needs one. I could have ordered one if I wanted to. But NEVER buy a tomco reman carb, Never. Parts yes, carb no (ask me how I know). I used the smallest jets from both carbs. The primaries are 4096 (.096) and the secondaries are 5137 (.137) The initial metering rods I installed were 2024's. I had a set of 1930's but couldn't find specs on them so I didn't use them. I swapped in the 1930's earlier today, no change. I also have a set of .098 primaries and a set of .143 secondaries as spares. I'm using the old top gasket (because the guy who sold me carb said it was fairly fresh and it appeared to be true because it looked great) and reserving new one from the kit till set-up is complete so swapping jets is really no problem but want advice on other possible problems first.
One thing I did notice was that the 9034 had solid primary butterflies while the 9014 had a small hole drilled (looks factory) in each, I read somewhere that this hole helps in part/low throttle driveability, and I'm wondering if this may be the issue. the screws holding either set in are staked so it will be a pain in the a** to swap them. If I do swap them, I'll take a swipe at fixing that bent primary shaft and have another good TQ with a repaired bowl. Maybe get a new bowl from tomco to test that availability theory.
Well, that's my setup, my observations and troubleshooting to date. I wrote a book, I know, bad habit of mine. However, I can't expect anyone to have a reasonable chance at assisting me without enough detail to do so. I see threads here all the time that seem like nothing but a game of 20 questions with poor results due to lack of info or not following given instructions. That will not happen here.
I've been a gearhead all my life but I can't hold a candle to probably more than 3/4ths of the members in FABO (with the exception of probably electronics in a general sense), especially when it comes to mopars and that fact and the willingness to help fellow mopar owners impresses the crap outta me. I want to thank each and every poster here for the mountains of info I've obtained just by lurking in this forum. Best auto forum on the web, bar none. I'm gonna hafta get a t-shirt. Rusty rat and 67dart's posts have helped me immensely. A special thanks to both of you.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Paul.
