Tag Archives: Roush

Corvette Consternation Part 2 Electrical

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So I bring the Vette home and the steering feels pretty good and although my 70 Mustang has power steering (I had been driving that all week..yeah..I know..”poor baby!!!”) there really is no comparison between the two.  I get home and park it for the night.

Next morning I’m up early going to wash both cars, so jump behind the wheel of the Vette to pull it forward a bit and…..nothing!!!   No power, nor lights, no key in the ignition buzzer, nothing.  Hey, there wasn’t even a clicking noise when turning the key.   I’m think great..what could I have left on that would kill the battery that badly.  Answer was nothing.

Now if you’ve some of my earlier entires, you’ll recall that electricity and I mix like, um….like..um…Amps and water!!!!   As long as it stays in the wire and gets from switch to device and nowhere else, I’m good.  Have that perfect universe interrupted and I’m not hanging with that.  I hate electrical work.  I hate thinking about, hearing about it and living through it.  And this isn’t limited to car, but that’s my topic here.

So I get out and raise the hood, but for I get to far I see a huge spot of fluid laying under the car.  Right about now I’m starting to get that…”all old cars should be crushed” thought running through my head and then..”I’m gonna find the guy that did that work, right now, on a Sunday and drag his happy but out of church (if such a demon would be allowed in one) and rub his noise in my…yeah…you guessed it….power steering fluid!!!    (Breath…breath..that was two weeks ago….come one now..simmer dow…………..HEY IT STILL FEELS LIKE YESTERDAY!!!!   Ok….ok…better now, it’s over and it turned out….OH>>>WHOA….don’t tell them now they won’t read the next two posts and your rating will drop below 2 reads a day!!!…Yes…Yes must get a grip!!!!)

So I started up the Mustang (they sit side by side together in the driveway nose to butt – have to back the Vette in or it won’t clear the end of the driveway) and maneuvered it over to the Vette so I can jump it with jumper cables.  I have a fairly new jump box but it never really seemed to work, and then I lost the power adapter ( stupid electricity) and it just sits in my garage.  I hook the cars together with jumper cables and allow the Mustang to run on high idle.  Get in the Vette and …nothing… not even single dash light.  The charging when on for some time before I could get the Vette to turnover and she started up, but she wasn’t happy.  I took the cables off and then for some unexplained reason I turn the vette off.

Crap!!!  So I turned the key, but I already knew how that would because there was still no key in the ignition buzzer..nope….and no click of the starter solinoid…and that would be a triple “Crap”!!!!  It took just as long to get her started again only this time I wasn’t going to turn it off.  I drove it over to the guys that put in the rack and pinion steering (of course it’s Sunday and I call and let some one know I was leaving it and to put it inside.  At this point I wasn’t happy, the power steering leak on a new system and now an electrical issue!!!!

Next day was a Monday and I called up  my friend Tim and said, “Hey..uncool to find fluid leaking and my electrical system is  f ‘ ed (short for fried….yeah right).

In the end it was just a hose that didn’t get tightened, oh and my alternator was in fact f ‘ed (short for fried).  The alternator came that afternoon and the car was ready the next day.  And that is that…end of ……………..yeah…nope…..I wish!!!!!

If you can guess what’s next, I’ll send you a DVD.

OH..here is the new rack and pinion all clean and nice looking!!!

New Rack and Pinion This was taken today 8/31/2010

Thanks for reading and yes Steve Sears..you have to wait  for tomorrow for the rest.

Auto Factoids for 8/8/2010

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8/8/55 – test of first solar car.  William Cobb  created a prototype, but it was only a 15 inch model. Basically, an electric current was produced that in turn powered a tiny motor. The motor turned the vehicle’s driveshaft, which was connected to its rear axle by a pulley. I couldn’t find a pic of this one.  However, Alan Freeman developed the solar-powered car  in 1979 that you could actually put a human in.  Here’s the pic.  (It’s really just a bike…I think.)

Alan's Solar Car.

 

8/11/66  Chevy introduced the Camaro.  There is some discussion on whether there is such an animal as a 1966 Camaro, they  were, build in 1966 but sold in 1967.   Here a  pic.

8/15/56 Packard no longer producing cars in Detroit.  Previously the Packard company bought Studebaker and tried to keep the Packard name a live in 1957 by reworking a Studebaker and give it the Packard name.

1956Packard

 

1957 Packard...looks alot like Studebaker

8/21/1897  Oldsmobile becomes a company. Of course the company is no longer in business another icon gone.

1897 Olds

Thank’s for reading.

Tim

MOPAR’s 318 Part II

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Before I start this next segment on the 318, I have to admit that organizing and presenting this work of art (oh..yeah..I’m laughing too!!!!) could have gone in a lot of directions.   The two that stuck out the most for me was by year (chronologically) or by brand.  Neither was a solid idea and at some point in the ’70s the only thing separating brands within most U.S. car manufacturers wasn’t much more than vinyl vs cloth seat covering.  So I decided to go with brands, Chrysler, Dodge and Plymouth, knowing that there we would be some crossover information and it might look a bit disjointed.  There’s some good stuff, and a couple of things you might know about the 318.

Chrysler began using the 318 in 1967 and carried that power plant until the late 1990s.

From 1967 to 1971 the 318 carried a 230 hp rating w/ the standard 2 barrel carb, managed 340 ft lb of torque and sported 9.2:1 compression ratio.  (that is actually a lower compression ratio than the original Ford 250 straight six I took out of my Mustang).  In 1967 the 318 engine was used in the Belvedere, Satellite, Fury, Coronet, Polara and Charger and in 1968 they added as the base option in the Dart GTS and Barracuda.

1967 Polara 4 door.

 

From 1972 to 1979 the 318 was bounced around in the horsepower arena between 150 to 140.  That’s nearly 100 hps lost from the late 1960’s.  At lower end of the new scale were the California models with the extra smog control.   It was still a mainstay, being the base engine choice for the Duster,  Cordoba, Monaco, New Port and unexpectedly the Road Runner,  just to name a few. It was never sported anything bigger than a 2 barrel carb and the compression dropped to 8.5.

It didn’t get any prettier in the 80s either, although there a bit of a bump in the high-end of the hp range to 175 hp but the company more than made up for that dropping the lowest number 120.  Interestingly, they made the California models with 155 hp and a 4 barrel carb.  The compression stayed about the same, but  in ’83 – ’90 they made a HD version of the engine that had between 165 to 175 hp, depending on the year and sported a 4 barrel carb.  This configuration managed to lay down 240 – 250 ft lb of torque, not too bad in one of the lighter cars, like the Dart, but barely power enough for the big old St. Regis. The 318 was also added to some of the most memorable cars….come on..you doesn’t remember “vooo..la rau….oh..oh…” (Volare )and the LeBaron, and Aspen.  Even some larger cars like the St. Regis, New Yorker, Gran Fury (I can’t see any car begin called grand with only 120 hp, but that’s just me.) and the Imperial.

1976 Volare

 

Oh and speaking of the Imperial something interesting happened in 1982 and 1983.  That little something was EFI.  More on that in the next segment.

Thanks for reading.

Tim

’89 318 efi intake to ’79 carbed 318 – Mopar Forums

Hello, my brother and I are thinking of taking on a project and would like to know if the throttle body injection components from the 1989 318 in his truck will work on a 1979 318 engine. The reasoning behind this is due to our …

Auto Factoids for the weeks of 7/25/2010 and 8/1/2010

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7/26/1945 Kaiser-Frazer Corp organized – it also include what was left of Graham-Paige car manufacturer. Frazer Nash was a British car making company.  In 1953 it became just Kaiser Motors. 

1946 Kaiser Nast Sedan

 

1953 Kaiser Darrin Convertible

 

7/29/1916 Nash Motor Company as founded by Charles Nash when he purchased a company called Jeffery Company which made a car called the Rambler.  I bet you can guess what came eventually  American Motors and their Rambler. 

Oh..in 1909 Buick purchased Cadillac on the 29th day.  

8/3/1900 The Firestone rubber company was founded by Harvey Firestone.  It was based in Akron, Ohio and had only 12 employees. Six years later Mr. Henry Ford contracted with Firestone to supply tires for the Model T. 

8/7/1937 the Cord company stopped production car, but of course when one to build planes etc. 

 Thanks for reading 

Tim

Auto Factoids for the Week of 7/4/2010

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Here ya go, enjoy. 

7/6/1946…..U.S. began producing car again after World War II.  It is a bit misleading but some cars companies did continue to produce cars.  At the very onset of the war (1942 thereabout), some of the first effort were to build the cars without all the chrome, painting the trim instead, the first “blacked out” (they were actually called “blackout specials or models” ) which became popular with the grilles in muscle cars later on.  Washington dictated that stainless-steel and chrome would not be allowed on cars except on of bumpers, bumper guards, and windshield wipers. 

1942 Chevy Front.

 

1942 Chevy Backside

 

I think it looks great!!! 

7/8/1909  The first Hudson was built. 

Hudson Roadster from 1909

 

Thanks for reading 

Tim

1970 Mustang – Replacing my Pillar Post Moldings Part II

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I’ve the pillar post moldings painted and ready to installed. 

Just treated with the painting prep spray and wiped down.

 

First coat of paint.

 

I put on 3 coats of paint. 

With the final coat.

 

Now I have to remove the dash pad (again) and install.  That will be later this week, my Corvette is still in shop and the Mustang is my back up car. 

Thanks for reading more to come. 

Tim

Wrenchin’ Tip – Priming a Holley 6/16/2010

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YEAH!!!!  I know!! Where have these been…right?  Sorry, but I think I’m back on track. 

My Mustang has an old school 4 barrel Holley and although it starts pretty quick after a few pumps of pedal to get the mechanical fuel pump to push gas where it needs to be.  But if your old school muscle car or race rod sits for a while or you swap carbs often, you can spend some considerable time cranking on the engine.  This might seem like no biggie, but it can cause lobe failure on a flat-tappet cam. 

For my Holley there’s a better way.  

You need to locate your float-level sight plugs.  

Holley - image not from my mustang

 

A different configuration

 

Take a plastic squeeze bottle….  (Do you really need a pic of a squeeze bottle?)  Well just in case… 

Bottle Pic you don't need!!!

 

this type works the best…. and fill the float bowls with fuel until it trickles…(very little trickle…no fires…please.)  

Float Bowls

 

 This should be enough fuel to allow the fuel line to fill from the tank.  According to the specs a Holley can run 45- 60 seconds on full bowls. 

Keep your cam safe!!! 

Thanks for Reading 

Tim

Hanging in Chi-town

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Coming to you live from The Witt in downtown Chicago, it’s me typing on my laptop.   Three more days to enjoy relaxing and seeing the sights.

Speaking of sights..what I don’t see is a lot of muscle cars now or old…errrk… let me explain “lot” in this context it means…. “almost none”.  I’ve actual only seen one newish corvette (C6 – convertible) and a 1968 Mustang.  The Vette was on the street and the Mustang was parked in an alley.  That’s it!!!.

Muscle Car Drought..the only Vette I've seen!!

Ok…hang on,  if you think I just sit and type uninterrupted..nope…not much chance of that.

 My better half is here in the Windy City, at an international interior design event, where she’ll be giving a talk on….um…some interior design subject….um….yeah…I pretty sure that’s right and I tagged along. Nice little vacation where I can tool around a big city, which I enjoy doing from time to time.  What’s my point…umm…oh yeah….so I just ran out to get pick her up a couple of items while she is practicing her presentation.   On my return trip back to our hotel I spied  a beautiful custom 2010 Mustang..so..that makes three!!!

 Would you drive  your vintage or newish muscle car around a large city?  Let me say that I’ve been walking and taking cabs and even ridding on top of the double-decker tour bus and I’ve seen how these Windy City dwellers drive….I’d have to day…..I don’t think I would.  These folks drive 50 miles an hour between stop lights…but..still I might consider it early on a Sunday morning!!!

Oh…bTW…I know these guys!!!

My Parts Guy.

Oh and in the category of hanging 1930 Chevy’s….here ya go…a 4 door sedan at Portillo’s.

1930 Chevy..hanging in an eating establishment.

And up close:

1930 4 Door Sedan.

Engine and all are there for you to see.

Thanks reading.

Tim

Mustang Hose Woes

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I was about to start the pillar moldings mini project when I ran into a couple mechanical issues.

About a week ago the Mustang began squealing when pushed to high revs.  That normally indicates one of several problems.

1. It could be a water pump

2.  It could be the power steering pump

3.  It could be a pulley

4. It could be a bolt that was holding the alternator bracket to the engine worked itself out and was in contact with the fan belt.

5. It could be a combination of the any of these.

Now the Mustang did, every once in a while, drip some fluid from the power steering control value but it wasn’t a huge deal.

Well, Saturday I went to start her and the battery was dead.  It’s over 3 years old and I had left the lights on the day before and had to have it jump started.  So off to the auto parts store I went and pick up a new 3 year battery and stuck it. When I started the engine up, it made the squeal and I decided I needed to fix this, before the pillar molding.

So with a neighbor revving the engine I noticed the bolt protruding from the water pump/block ( it passes through left side water pump housing in to the block).  With the revs the fan belt would flex and briefly hit the bolt.   This bolt was “custom” made when we were fitting everything up to reman’ed long block and was about 7 or 8 inches long.

It took a bit to get that back in place, had to loosen up the alternator’s other two supports and toss a little loctite on the threads and she was good to go…..almost…..

Yeah….option #5 above was the correct answer BTW.

Started it up and there was still a squeal – not the same squeal but clearly an ‘accompaning’ squeal.  Shortly after that a power steering hose let go and well liquid does what gravity  make it do and I spent the afternoon cleaning the driveway.  So there went my allotted time for Saturday.   So replacing both hoses seem the best way to go and they’ll  be in today.  Right now it’s at the shop down the street, I had no time to undertake this task at the moment, will be traveling the next couple weeks.

One of my travels takes me to the National Corvette Museum.  I’ll spend an entire day there which include the assembly plant tour.

Thanks for reading.

Tim

SCCA Event 4/25/2010 Auto Cross Part III

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So let’s get to my runs.  As I mentioned, there were 2 sets of runs, one for time and points and one for just time.  Each was five trips on the course.

One thing they have you do is of course walk the track which is to get you someone familiar with the corners.  I walked it twice.  Once on my own and once with the novice “coach”.

This is my second auto cross.  If you’ve been a constant reader you might recall that was on Jan 25 2010 and it was mainly corvettes. We rented the area and set up our course.  I did fairly well there for my first time.  But this course was different.  A lot tighter corners in a row and two sets of very tight slalom.  Nothing a vette couldn’t handle with the proper speed and a good surface..this was not a good surface, however.

My first run was a darn right awful.  I look like some crazed speed demon with a severe hatred for orange cones. I over drove every tight corner.  My second run wasn’t much better, I didn’t even hit the first corner and then a took a cone for a ride under the vette. 

So now I feeling like a knucklehead.  I had the oldest car there and maybe the one with the most torque, but certainly not the most horse power.  My third run was better and I took along one of the novice coaches but I still had a CD (course deviation) on the backside by missing the second slalom set of cones.  I dropped off the novice coach and my 4th and fifth runs were clean as far as CD’s go but I still got a cone on each run.

So here is how it end up in the first set of 5 runs.

 84 Chevy/Corvette BS
1. DNF
2. DNF
3. DNF
4. 56.355
5. 54.616

My next runs were much better.  I did have on CD and I did get a cone, but the times were getting better. The 5th run below I took a cone and spun on the back side of the course.

1. 51.643
2. 53.146
3. 52.622
4. 51.645
5. 54.188

So I ended the day with the following times and points.

PAX Time         Points

46.260              753
43.575                  796

PAX time is like a handicap in golf, it takes the class of your car and the skill level reduces your time to keep you somewhat competitive.

Not bad for my first real “formal” event.

By the end of the I was worn out.  That is a lot of driving, in the heat (ok..only 88 degree..little hotter on the course). 

The vette performed perfectly, no over heating issues (one of my biggest fears) and nothing broken, did have to rub out a few cone marks….but I showed them whose boss!!!!

You’ll notice a lack of pic or vids on this one, didn’t have my son along as a camera man, and when I wasn’t running they put you to work resetting cones.

If you want to see the scores go to  http://www.azbrscca.org/results/index.php and you can review the results.

Thanks for reading.

Tim