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You Am I
May 20, 2001

Me @ your poasting

Ansith posted:

It's not really something that only happens on corners, more of a whenever it feels like ruining my day sort of thing.

I'd say you're right about the accelerator pump, that's pretty much the answer I'm getting from everyone I've asked. I'm going to rebuild the carby and pick up another inlet manifold from the wreckers, I might as well replace that while I'm doing it, I don't really trust the temporary fix. I'm also going to replace the fuel pump as well just to be sure.

I really hope that does it for a while, though I'm sensing a problem with the electronics in the car. While I had my wipers, lights and indicators on the other day the indicators delay got longer and longer and eventually turned off by themselves. I don't even want to think what will happen if I throw a stereo in, which I sort of want to do after it's working.

Sounds like a dodgey earth behind the instrument panel. Worth sticking your head under the dashboard, especially around the steering column area, and see if there are any loose/broken cables.

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randomidiot
May 12, 2006

by Fluffdaddy

(and can't post for 11 years!)

That really sounds like a weak alternator to me; the older mechanical flashers get really picky when the voltage drops below a certain point (slow flashing, eventually no flashing).

Ansith
Nov 8, 2010

Elongated Baked Bean
All of my fuel issues seem to be fixed! We replaced the fuel pump and rebuilt the carby. Drove it home down the highway with no troubles. Wasted $88 on the manifold though, picked one that was dirty but didn't seem to have any damage, cleaned it up and holes everywhere. Left the old one in.

The electronics problem is a little bit more obvious now though too, driving home at night with my lights stopped the indicators from working at all until I parked for a while with the lights off. I had the alternator warning light flash at me when I tried to use the indicators before stopping.

Ansith
Nov 8, 2010

Elongated Baked Bean
Going to be doing the fuel sender unit tomorrow. I have no idea how much petrol is in the tank at the moment so it'll be a lot of fun emptying it out. I've got 3 10L cans that I can fill, hopefully it's close to that.

As for the problems with the electronics, Chris still isn't convinced that it's the alternator so I just went ahead and got the flasher can. Who knows, it might just fix it. If not, I'll just have to keep my night driving to a minimum.

Getting the right oil was a bitch, in the end I didn't even get the grade the manual wanted me to get (though it is 34 years old). I hope I ended up getting the right poo poo, after buying it and having the wheel alignment done I'm running out of money very quickly. Taking time off work is no fun when you've got no money.

And to break up the text, here's a couple of pictures from when I was doing the front end.




Just after these pictures were taken we bled the brakes 5 times because there was a leak. Replaced the master cylinder, no better. We narrowed it down to it being the hoses on the front discs, nope. One quick look at the rear drums and it was obvious the wheel cylinders had been gone for a long time. Replaced and what do you know? Fixed.

That was the only real trouble we had when doing the whole front end, spent a lot of money sorting out the problem with the brakes, a lot of it for no reason.

randomidiot
May 12, 2006

by Fluffdaddy

(and can't post for 11 years!)

Ansith posted:

As for the problems with the electronics, Chris still isn't convinced that it's the alternator so I just went ahead and got the flasher can. Who knows, it might just fix it. If not, I'll just have to keep my night driving to a minimum.

Get a multimeter, set it to DC volts. Take a few readings, both before and after driving with the lights on for awhile, with the engine running. I'm gonna guess the "after" will be around 10-11 volts instead of 13.5.

edit: vvvvvv Good thing I don't do this for a living then! :v: Glad it was just the flasher.

randomidiot fucked around with this message at 04:28 on Oct 6, 2012

Ansith
Nov 8, 2010

Elongated Baked Bean
The flasher can did it, we checked it before and after with a multimeter, I get around 13.8 off the battery and off the alternator, but I lose a bit through the old wires. I still get enough to power everything so it was just the old can being useless.

Changed the fuel sender unit as well, working fine now. Had an issue with the repro parts and ended up with a leak but the old seals fixed that.

I can actually use the car now and not have to worry about too much, right in time for summer! :suicide:

edit: I've been convinced to take it to All Ford day Kedron. If anyone was planning to be there, which I know there's only a slim chance but anyway, look out for it!

Ansith fucked around with this message at 04:23 on Oct 6, 2012

Bobby_Wokkerfella
Apr 16, 2007

i am a black female myself and i am not good of can't sporting another black person who doesn't look black,like other brothas and sistas

Ansith posted:

The flasher can did it, we checked it before and after with a multimeter, I get around 13.8 off the battery and off the alternator, but I lose a bit through the old wires. I still get enough to power everything so it was just the old can being useless.

Changed the fuel sender unit as well, working fine now. Had an issue with the repro parts and ended up with a leak but the old seals fixed that.

I can actually use the car now and not have to worry about too much, right in time for summer! :suicide:

edit: I've been convinced to take it to All Ford day Kedron. If anyone was planning to be there, which I know there's only a slim chance but anyway, look out for it!

I'd totally come, but have a statistics assignment due on the 14th at 5pm :unsmigghh:

(I can't make it either, but the QLD Chrysler expo is on tomorrow at Mueller College Rothwell if you're keen)

Bobby_Wokkerfella fucked around with this message at 04:50 on Oct 6, 2012

Granite Octopus
Jun 24, 2008

I would have loved to, but going to be o/s for a bit :(

Ansith
Nov 8, 2010

Elongated Baked Bean
First thing I get as I hop out of my car is "Don't bump your door on my car". From that point on it was clear how well the day would go. I had a fair few people say "Look at this piece of poo poo" as they were looking around at it while I was sitting in the car.

I don't think I'll be going to one of those events again, at least not with my car.

On the bright side I had a chat with 3 or so people about the car, all of them people who had previously owned one, they were surprised at how well it held up over the years. I even gave my original front springs away to one of them because he'd just bought himself a Falcon of the same year but the previous owner had cut the springs in it.

Ignoring the people though, there were some really nice cars. I didn't grab any photos because all I had was a phone but some guys I know grabbed some so when they upload them I'll post a few here. I did intend to at least take a photo of my XC but by 11:40 I just wanted to leave and forgot to do it.

About 50% of the cars were mustangs as well which I found really odd, I was expecting a lot more X-series cars.

Bobby_Wokkerfella
Apr 16, 2007

i am a black female myself and i am not good of can't sporting another black person who doesn't look black,like other brothas and sistas

Ansith posted:

First thing I get as I hop out of my car is "Don't bump your door on my car". From that point on it was clear how well the day would go. I had a fair few people say "Look at this piece of poo poo" as they were looking around at it while I was sitting in the car.

I don't think I'll be going to one of those events again, at least not with my car.

On the bright side I had a chat with 3 or so people about the car, all of them people who had previously owned one, they were surprised at how well it held up over the years. I even gave my original front springs away to one of them because he'd just bought himself a Falcon of the same year but the previous owner had cut the springs in it.

Ignoring the people though, there were some really nice cars. I didn't grab any photos because all I had was a phone but some guys I know grabbed some so when they upload them I'll post a few here. I did intend to at least take a photo of my XC but by 11:40 I just wanted to leave and forgot to do it.

About 50% of the cars were mustangs as well which I found really odd, I was expecting a lot more X-series cars.

Aw man, some people are dicks. A lot of the car show/trailer queen type owners can be absolute cockheads, don't let them get you down, you've made some great progress and have been doing the work yourself, which is more than what most of them can say.

Seat Safety Switch
May 27, 2008

MY RELIGION IS THE SMALL BLOCK V8 AND COMMANDMENTS ONE THROUGH TEN ARE NEVER LIFT.

Pillbug

Ansith posted:

First thing I get as I hop out of my car is "Don't bump your door on my car". From that point on it was clear how well the day would go. I had a fair few people say "Look at this piece of poo poo" as they were looking around at it while I was sitting in the car.
If it helps, if you brought your car to any show in North America it would be the star of the show. You've done so much difficult work to bring it back from the dead.

What's important is that you like it. :) Maybe take it to a less "serious" show next time?

Ansith
Nov 8, 2010

Elongated Baked Bean
I'm still perfectly happy with the car and love every bit of it, the comments did put me in a lovely mood though but as I said, there were a few people who stopped for a chat and had some good things to say, I also saw a few people I met while I was fixing it up and they were happy to see it on the road.

As for taking it to less serious shows, I honestly thought this would have been the one that just an average car would be pretty widely accepted but you know at an All Ford day some people only expect show cars.

I'm sure I'll end up taking it to more shows next year, I'll just avoid them for a while.

CAT INTERCEPTOR
Nov 9, 2004

Basically a male Margaret Thatcher

Ansith posted:

First thing I get as I hop out of my car is "Don't bump your door on my car". From that point on it was clear how well the day would go. I had a fair few people say "Look at this piece of poo poo" as they were looking around at it while I was sitting in the car.


Lots of car show types are utter dicks.

Actually plenty of car club guys for some reason are just dicks in general. So basically, gently caress em.

IPCRESS
May 27, 2012

Cat Terrist posted:

Lots of car show types are utter dicks.

Actually plenty of car club guys for some reason are just dicks in general. So basically, gently caress em.

All time favourite comment from an entrant: "Yes, it's street driven, last year it got 1000 km on it". So basically one charity drive.

Ansith
Nov 8, 2010

Elongated Baked Bean
Someone uploaded pictures of all the XA-XC cars there, obviously that means mine was one of them. The picture makes it look pretty good. I showed my friend the picture who was surprised at how nice the car looks. Five minutes later he says "Wait... is that your car?".



Here's a few of my favourites from the day, photos not taken by me.







Project M.A.M.I.L.
Apr 30, 2007

Older, balder, fatter...

Ansith posted:

First thing I get as I hop out of my car is "Don't bump your door on my car". From that point on it was clear how well the day would go. I had a fair few people say "Look at this piece of poo poo" as they were looking around at it while I was sitting in the car.

I used to have a '75 Holden HJ Premier, which I had had repainted and all the rust taken out of it and everything. It was my daily driver for quite a long time too, so it was seen all over town. Anyway, this one guy who restores older cars and shows them saw me at a petrol station once, and proceeded to pick the whole car apart, as the upholstery still hadn't been done and some of the trim needed replacing (but was hard to find.)
Nevermind that the car was in great shape for a 35 year old daily driver, and the fact that I was actually loving driving it, not leaving it in a shed 364 days a year. No, he didn't care and gave me a total rundown on all the things I was doing wrong.
Good thing I was happy with what I was doing and didn't care what he thought, but I can only imagine what a whole car show full of people like that would feel like, and fully sympathise with you. gently caress 'em.

Love this thread and all the glorious Aussie/Kiwi cars:)

Ansith
Nov 8, 2010

Elongated Baked Bean
How anyone could fault that car is insane, that paint looks great. I love old cars painted in gold, it's just the perfect colour for them. Coming up to you at a petrol station and doing that is much worse than I got too, I mean I didn't have to deal with someone going over everything I've done 'wrong' (Which I'm sure if they did they'd find a whole lot to cry over).

You're right though, restoring a car to factory spec is nice and all but using these cars as daily drivers really is taking it up a level. You have to juggle keeping it running, looking presentable and making it comfortable for the daily drive. Also with the amount of the people on the roads, especially with how many don't seem to be able to drive doesn't make driving big old cars easy.

Fo3
Feb 14, 2004

RAAAAARGH!!!! GIFT CARDS ARE FUCKING RETARDED!!!!

(I need a hug)
You've done really well, great to see the project and you put all the pics up here.
Don't let the snobs pull you down.
Hell, it just dawned on me that 20 years ago when me and my mates were running cars of that vintage, they were cheap, parts cheap and easy to get and we just had fun, and the cars were about 20 years old back then. These cars are OLD now, and much harder to run and restore.
Also, and I am old. I just sold my EL falcon because it was too 'old'.
edit: Keep up the good work.

Fo3 fucked around with this message at 13:47 on Oct 16, 2012

Ansith
Nov 8, 2010

Elongated Baked Bean
A couple of hours ago my friend smashed my reverse light while putting a bike into the boot. I think the message is clear, don't let my friends touch the car at all.



I do have a spare so it's not the end of the world. I'm not mad at my friend but it's still pretty annoying that it happened. It looks like I'll be trying to get that sorted out this weekend and after that I'll try and get another assembly because the one that I'm using is butchered.

I also scored myself a free Electronic ignition kit, I'm not sure if I mentioned it before. Came out of a wreaked XB, the guy just held onto the kit because it was worth close to $250 in the 80s. He saw my project and offered it to me, along with some ignition leads for an XF (Which wouldn't fit, different length and the distributor ends were different, I was going to try and put the old ends from the set that I was using on but decided to just get another set). New leads really helped with starting the car, most of the time it'll fire up instantly. I'm eager to see how well the Electronic ignition will go, not sure when I'll put that in though.

You Am I
May 20, 2001

Me @ your poasting

Wouldn't the leads off a XD be more acceptable for your car? They also ran electronic ignition

goodnight mooned
Aug 2, 2007

Just chiming in with reply #100 to say that car is fuckin sweet. For my first car I wanted to buy and fix up an old MKII escort. I was talked out of it of course but, one day.. one day..

Ansith
Nov 8, 2010

Elongated Baked Bean

You Am I posted:

Wouldn't the leads off a XD be more acceptable for your car? They also ran electronic ignition

I think leads from an XD might fit, I'm not sure if they ran a different distributor or not though but I know for sure they had the same 4.1 with the cast iron heads. Didn't electronic ignition come in with the XEs? I might just be thinking of EFI.

The kit that I've got doesn't replace the distributor, it replaces the points, rotor button, and condenser. The only thing that I think I need to mess with is by-passing the resistor because it was made for an XB.


ammo mammal posted:

Just chiming in with reply #100 to say that car is fuckin sweet. For my first car I wanted to buy and fix up an old MKII escort. I was talked out of it of course but, one day.. one day..

Thanks! I was talked out of getting this as well and then I hit a point where I decided I hated my job and really wanted something to make my days a bit more enjoyable.

Ansith
Nov 8, 2010

Elongated Baked Bean
More troubles, woo!

I'll need some advice for the first one, same sort of issue I was having after I got it registered though this time it's not as random. I'm getting the pause in acceleration when I put my foot down after the car gets up to higher temps, usually about 30-45 minutes of driving in stop-start traffic. I only get the pause if I put my foot down quickly, easing onto it works out fine. This happens both when taking off from a complete stop and if I take my foot off the accelerator and then put it back down while still in motion.

Sorry if this thread is turning into too many stupid questions from me, I'm still very bad at this.

The other issue I'm having is water leaking through into the driver's side foot well, it was raining Friday and Saturday, I assumed leaving the car outside of a friend's place would be all good but then I discovered the floor was damp and it was dripping from above (where all the wires and fuses are :( ). Pulled it straight out of the rain and then dried it all out on Sunday. The day after, the fuel gauge stops working but as I'm driving home I hear some metal bang together and it starts working again. I really have no clue what happened there but I'm taking it back to my friend's place to go over it all on Saturday, check where it's leaking, check for damage and look at what the problem with the gauge was.

I got a chance to grab some new pictures on Sunday while I had it drying out, so it's not all bad.

Drying it out, not pictured is the door that doesn't open that I really hope has no rust under it.


From the side, a shot that I've wanted to get for a while. The front on the new lowered springs and the rear leaf springs almost sagging down to match that height.





A sticker left from when the full respray was done.


Here's a few pictures of the poo poo that I hope to sort out once I have the money to do so.

Bypassing the heater core to stop coolant leaking onto the passenger's side floor.

Jammed in there, couldn't figure out how to actually secure it. I have trouble pulling it out though so it works for now.

My favourite one, but not my work. The automatic valve saver system. Some of the emissions gear was removed to make a place for this to be connected up.

The old vacuum line connects up to the white thing under the air filter. The line from the valve saver bottle likes to pop loose after driving sometimes.

Quick bit of rust repair done right before the roadworthy.

You Am I
May 20, 2001

Me @ your poasting

Ansith posted:

I think leads from an XD might fit, I'm not sure if they ran a different distributor or not though but I know for sure they had the same 4.1 with the cast iron heads. Didn't electronic ignition come in with the XEs? I might just be thinking of EFI.
I think electronic ignition was introduced with the alloy head XD (mid model change over) but I am sure it wont be hard to retrofit that to an iron head.

With the carby issues, it still sounds like accelerator pump issue. Also check the gaskets on the carby, especially where it mounts on the manifold.

Fo3
Feb 14, 2004

RAAAAARGH!!!! GIFT CARDS ARE FUCKING RETARDED!!!!

(I need a hug)
If you had rust on the a pillar, you might have it under the scuttle panel, so rust holes behind the dash or the air vent causing water leaks.
The problem with rough acceleration sounds like either a faulty accelerator pump as mentioned, or could be even vapour lock, (it's got a mechanical fuel pump right?)

Bobby_Wokkerfella
Apr 16, 2007

i am a black female myself and i am not good of can't sporting another black person who doesn't look black,like other brothas and sistas

quote:

The other issue I'm having is water leaking through into the driver's side foot well, it was raining Friday and Saturday, I assumed leaving the car outside of a friend's place would be all good but then I discovered the floor was damp and it was dripping from above (where all the wires and fuses are)

My Regal also leaks when it gets wet, in my case it's thanks to a dodgy windscreen fitment, so that's something you may want to check out. I ended up losing my front carpet after going away for a week and having the summer rain and heat get my poo poo all nice and mouldy.

Now my exams are over, I'm planning to put my Regal back together this weekend and maybe even start it up so I can wash it and take it down the road to re-inflate the tyres.

If you're not up to much, me and my mate (also a goon) will be doing stuff on it all weekend if you wanna bring the Fairmont around and compare late 70's Australian Luxury Sedans :chord:

Ansith
Nov 8, 2010

Elongated Baked Bean

You Am I posted:

I think electronic ignition was introduced with the alloy head XD (mid model change over) but I am sure it wont be hard to retrofit that to an iron head.

With the carby issues, it still sounds like accelerator pump issue. Also check the gaskets on the carby, especially where it mounts on the manifold.

Didn't know that XDs got alloy heads mid model, good to know for when I start looking for some.

The carby was just cleaned out and rebuilt, we weren't even sure if it was the cause of the problems I was having earlier because everything was working fine. Would there be any reason that it only does it when it gets to higher temps?


Fo3 posted:

If you had rust on the a pillar, you might have it under the scuttle panel, so rust holes behind the dash or the air vent causing water leaks.
The problem with rough acceleration sounds like either a faulty accelerator pump as mentioned, or could be even vapour lock, (it's got a mechanical fuel pump right?)

That sounds like it could be the cause of the leak. I haven't taken off any of the panels yet so I'm yet to see what it looks like under there, no doubt I'll find some rust.
Mechanical fuel pump, yep. A friend actually suggested this to me when I was having the earlier problems. Nothing much I can do about it though is there?


Bobby_Wokkerfella posted:

My Regal also leaks when it gets wet, in my case it's thanks to a dodgy windscreen fitment, so that's something you may want to check out. I ended up losing my front carpet after going away for a week and having the summer rain and heat get my poo poo all nice and mouldy.

Now my exams are over, I'm planning to put my Regal back together this weekend and maybe even start it up so I can wash it and take it down the road to re-inflate the tyres.

If you're not up to much, me and my mate (also a goon) will be doing stuff on it all weekend if you wanna bring the Fairmont around and compare late 70's Australian Luxury Sedans :chord:

I actually had water coming through some of the plastic on the A pillar where the screws are (and now have cracks around them). Not as serious but that might cause of that, I'll have a look into it.

Good to hear that you're getting back into it! I'd definitely be up for stopping by, my weekend is pretty much free apart from looking for this leak at a friend's place and fixing the tail light. Let me know over PM where and when would be the best time.

Fo3
Feb 14, 2004

RAAAAARGH!!!! GIFT CARDS ARE FUCKING RETARDED!!!!

(I need a hug)

Ansith posted:

That sounds like it could be the cause of the leak. I haven't taken off any of the panels yet so I'm yet to see what it looks like under there, no doubt I'll find some rust.
Mechanical fuel pump, yep. A friend actually suggested this to me when I was having the earlier problems. Nothing much I can do about it though is there?
Not sure, all my old cars had electric pumps and return lines, so constant flow to prevent vapour lock out.
Even with them, they still had phenolic spacers between the carb and manifold.
Does the falcon have that? (basically a resin/plasticy spacer)
Other wise maybe under bonnet temps might be too high due to dodgey rad/fan/t-stat. edit: also ignition timing.

It would be hard to believe that falcons always had vapour lock in stop start traffic, must be something wrong even if it's a bad connection to fuel pump or there's a return line no hooked up right.
Not sure as the only guy I knew with an XC put in a 460ci v8 so I have never even seen the set up of a 250ci in an XC; and my girlfriend had a 1982 mazda 323 with mech fuel pump that never had vapour lock, so it can be done without that problem somehow...

Fo3 fucked around with this message at 20:20 on Nov 14, 2012

You Am I
May 20, 2001

Me @ your poasting

Ansith posted:

Didn't know that XDs got alloy heads mid model, good to know for when I start looking for some.

The carby was just cleaned out and rebuilt, we weren't even sure if it was the cause of the problems I was having earlier because everything was working fine. Would there be any reason that it only does it when it gets to higher temps?
Metal expanding with heat causing air gaps, allowing the mixture to lean off a bit too much thus causing it to hesitate. It is a bit of a long shot.

IPCRESS
May 27, 2012

Bobby_Wokkerfella posted:

My Regal also leaks when it gets wet, in my case it's thanks to a dodgy windscreen fitment, so that's something you may want to check out. I ended up losing my front carpet after going away for a week and having the summer rain and heat get my poo poo all nice and mouldy.

Having owned a VK valiant, I suspect your problem may actually be the drain for the external vent at the bottom of the windscreen (I don't know what the panel's called, sorry).

The drains run into the front wings; when they get blocked, water rises in the compartment until it runs down the drivers side (usually) windshield wiper penetration and from there onto your feet. Because the leaves (in my case) would allow water to weep through them, the panel would drain over time and would be empty again by the time you looked when the weather had cleared.

Ansith posted:

The carby was just cleaned out and rebuilt, we weren't even sure if it was the cause of the problems I was having earlier because everything was working fine. Would there be any reason that it only does it when it gets to higher temps?

Do you have an exhaust stove? It's possible that the vacuum motor that drives the shutter is misbehaving and opening when it ought not. How is your fuel line routed; if it's running past anything that's hot you might be getting vapour pockets which your pump can't handle.

Have you changed the fuel filter or pumped out the tank?

Ansith
Nov 8, 2010

Elongated Baked Bean
I've been trying to hunt down the issues over the past few days but really hadn't been able to pin down the cause, today I got a step closer to pinning it down. Went to Morayfield to fix my tail light and try and sort the leak out then on my way back it started happening. It was raining and the car was off for a little bit so I closed the choke half way, after the engine warmed up a bit I opened it back up. Same issue back again. Closed the choke half way and it was gone again.

I left it half closed most of the way home and opened it a few times to see if it was still playing up. Every single time I opened the choke it was still hesitating. I guess that points to the carby being the problem again. Other than trying to find a better one out of a wreck I'm not sure what else I can do about it, having this one rebuilt obviously didn't help.

You Am I
May 20, 2001

Me @ your poasting

Sounds like the car is running way too lean. Better get it fixed before it does something like over heat or (in extreme) melt pistons

Fo3
Feb 14, 2004

RAAAAARGH!!!! GIFT CARDS ARE FUCKING RETARDED!!!!

(I need a hug)
Air leaks in the inlet?
Check vacuum hoses for leaks, manifold gaskets for leaks, and the carby itself (edit: eg worn butterfly shaft/seals, wrong vacuum line connections etc).
Either too much air, or not enough fuel I guess, maybe also clogged jets in the carb.
Even though it was 'rebuilt', could be dirt in there or a stuffed up strainer, or re-assembled incorrectly.

Basically, if it had normal power with the choke on, I think air leaks. If it ran smoother but down on power overall, still could be fuel starvation.

Fo3 fucked around with this message at 13:59 on Nov 18, 2012

General_Failure
Apr 17, 2005

Fo3 posted:

Air leaks in the inlet?
Check vacuum hoses for leaks, manifold gaskets for leaks, and the carby itself (edit: eg worn butterfly shaft/seals, wrong vacuum line connections etc).
Either too much air, or not enough fuel I guess, maybe also clogged jets in the carb.
Even though it was 'rebuilt', could be dirt in there or a stuffed up strainer, or re-assembled incorrectly.

Basically, if it had normal power with the choke on, I think air leaks. If it ran smoother but down on power overall, still could be fuel starvation.

You know, reading what you said makes perfect sense. But the point I italicised got me thinking. Has the timing been re-checked?

If I wasn't feeling so crap I could help with this. It's like the beginnings of the Holley in my project all over again.

Ansith
Nov 8, 2010

Elongated Baked Bean
I know this is just adding to the pile here but I really didn't think about it until earlier today. After I drove to Morayfield we had a look at the engine, and I pointed out that the ignition lead end which connects to the coil wasn't secured on there completely (It sort of just sits on there, unlike the old one which snapped on). We put the old one back on and it's obvious to me now that it made the problem a lot worse, I tested both today and it's gone back to how it was before with the newer lead on, the problem only appears after 30-45 minutes of driving.

It's possible that it's something to do with the inlet manifold. As I mentioned earlier in the thread there was a hole that we patched up. I picked up the spare which turned out to be a lot worse, most of the cast iron manifolds are rusted out. If changing to an alloy inlet manifold would only involve changing to a different carby I might look into it. Though with the problem above, would that point to it being an ignition problem?

The ignition timing hasn't been checked, I took a look through the manuals I have but they use tools I don't have and I really have no clue how to attack that sort of thing in the first place.

General_Failure
Apr 17, 2005

Ansith posted:

I know this is just adding to the pile here but I really didn't think about it until earlier today. After I drove to Morayfield we had a look at the engine, and I pointed out that the ignition lead end which connects to the coil wasn't secured on there completely (It sort of just sits on there, unlike the old one which snapped on). We put the old one back on and it's obvious to me now that it made the problem a lot worse, I tested both today and it's gone back to how it was before with the newer lead on, the problem only appears after 30-45 minutes of driving.

It's possible that it's something to do with the inlet manifold. As I mentioned earlier in the thread there was a hole that we patched up. I picked up the spare which turned out to be a lot worse, most of the cast iron manifolds are rusted out. If changing to an alloy inlet manifold would only involve changing to a different carby I might look into it. Though with the problem above, would that point to it being an ignition problem?

The ignition timing hasn't been checked, I took a look through the manuals I have but they use tools I don't have and I really have no clue how to attack that sort of thing in the first place.

Ignition and carb tuning go hand in hand, seriously. You need to do the timing on your car if you haven't. Did someone else do it or has it not been done at all since you bought it.
It's not hard to do, you will need some version fo the tools to get it right. I'm assuming timing strobe and a tach / dwell meter? Unless they are fully oldskool and use a test light and feeler gauge.
You'll hear tales of people doing all the adjustments by ear and feel. Don't do this. I can do this but it's not something that's normally done if you want the most from your engine.

Now that you've tuned your carb you'll discover the even if you adjust your timing perfectly the car will be running differently and need the carb re-tuned. But that's no big deal. Once you get the hang of it, it's like a minute's work.

Ansith
Nov 8, 2010

Elongated Baked Bean
Hasn't been done at all, I honestly doubt it's been done since it came out of the factory either, a lot of the car was untouched since it was new.

One of the manuals (Gregorys) that I've got suggests a test lamp and feeler gauge. I read through it and a lot of what it says scares me, even the steps for adjusting points scare me. The other one (Ellery) doesn't really explain how to adjust it but lists all the problems caused by it, which all line up with the problems I get. If it was replacing parts I doubt I'd have a problem with it but adjusting things with tools I've never heard of makes me want to take it to a mechanic and make it their problem (Which I can't even do because this car has sent me broke).

This is a really lovely situation for me, I need the car to get to work but I don't have the money to get it sorted out quickly and I really don't want to risk causing more damage.

Astonishing Wang
Nov 3, 2004
I've never used a timing light, but I think they're kinda cheap. I just used a set of feeler gauges to set valves and it was easy as heck to figure out. The feelers were $4 on amazon. I definitely know what you mean about doing something for the first time on your daily driver though. It's scary!

General_Failure
Apr 17, 2005
Well, that's good that it scares you. It is pretty easy but it also means that you understand the implications of messing with something you don't understand.

Gregory's manuals are about as straightforward as you can get.

I'm guessing the Gregory's says something like this:

*Rotate engine so the timing mark on the crank pulley aligns with mark on the crankcase

*Attach test lamp to coil - and a grounded point.

*Loosen bolt on base of the distributor.

*Rotate distributor body clockwise until the test lamp illuminates.

*Rotate counterclockwise until the test lamp goes out.

*Tighten bolt.


Is it something like that? Just doing it off the top of my head here and not for a Ford but the procedure is pretty similar no matter what.

Given you say that much of the car is probably still virginal, your points are probably worn to poo poo. Have you popped the distributor cap to have a look what they look like? If the contacts are burned / worn etc. or if the little rubbing block that touches the distributor cam is worn your dwell and timing are both probably wrong, and you may also be seeing issues like misfiring or poor performance.

If you weren't way up in QLD I could help you with this one.

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Fo3
Feb 14, 2004

RAAAAARGH!!!! GIFT CARDS ARE FUCKING RETARDED!!!!

(I need a hug)
Get a tacho/dwell meter and a strobe timing light.
You're going to need it as if you keep the car using point/breakers (ie don't upgrade to electronic ignition), you're going to have to file and clean and reset the points every service as they get pitted/dirty.
And touching the points means you have to redo the timing.

The tacho is just that, a more accurate way of measuring engine RPM even if your car had a in dash tacho, as timing needs to be done at a certain RPM.
Dwell is the measurement of how much/long the points/breakers open, a more accurate way than using feeler gauges and manually turning the engine over to where *you think* the points are at their most open.

Go to supercheap or something and buy a meter like this for dwell and tach
http://www.supercheapauto.com.au/online-store/products/SCA-Multimeter-Digital-Automotive.aspx?pid=156452#Description

(never used it, I've got an old school analogue dwell/tach/amps)

And get a timing light like this:

http://www.supercheapauto.com.au/online-store/products/Stanley-Timing-Light-Pro-Hi-Beam.aspx?pid=9371#Description

There's cheaper timing lights where they don't have separate batter power leads, or they go inline between the spark plug and lead. But I prefer the ones with their own power source and they don't require removing the spark plug lead, they just clamp around the outside of the HT lead. It just means you don't have to stop the motor to connect or disconnect the timing light gun. The one I linked is that better type.

Or go to autobarn, auto one or whatever, or check out ebay for s/h or new. Maybe even jaycar for the tacho/dwell meter. I just used supercheap because I know they are in QLD and I know they have something on their website I could link to.

Edit: Also may as well buy new breakers/points and dizzy cap anyway, maybe new HT leads? If not buying new points, at least get a small metal file (points file) to file up and clean the existing points.

Like I said, you are going to have to do this every service, so makes it worthwhile to buy tools to do it with rather than wing it with feel or very basic tools. Also may have to change timing depending on temperature or fuel. EG you get more power and better economy by advancing the timing as much as you can. But putting in lower quality fuel or hot hot summer days may make your old settings ping (predetonation) as your timing is too advanced for the temperature or fuel quality, so you have to retard the timing and lose power just to stop engine damage in those cases. Or of course you could go conservative and never have to adjust it, but then lose out on the best performance when the weather is cooler and you are putting in decent fuel.

edit: Heaps of stuff on youtube regarding breakers/points
Here's one from supercheap auto themselves for example:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9wZvcr3v2c

Fo3 fucked around with this message at 05:14 on Nov 21, 2012

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