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5/7/00 Installed the Holley 750 Double Pumper Carb which still has a bit of gas leak at the top rear, but not bad. I also managed to get the new MSD 6a ignition installed. It wasn't hard after all. The car still runs rough, and I noticed some smoke coming from the driverside valve cover after running it a while today. All my gauges appear to be working well. (Tach, - have to ck for change now due to MSD addition, oil pres, water temp, volts) Battery is still kind of barely hanging in there and needs a good long run for a good charge, but the engine is not up to it yet. The timing light is still messed up from when I tried to use it earlier and melted the magnetic pickup. So, for now, I guessed at the idle timing, just moving it so that it would not stall and sounded smoothest. Starting can still be a problem sometimes, and this may have to do with the timing being off as well.
5/8/00 The Engine Run on should be fixable by installing the diode inline on the brown wire coming from the alternator. I will hook it up tomorrow. I bounced this and the "smoke" issue off the Nova list and most seem to think it was "Blow by" caused by build up from sitting so long.
5/9/00 I installed the diode and it worked fine. I also put black plastic protective hosing around the ignition wires. I notice that the gas is leaking out from my top screw at the rear of the carb. I think I need new washers on it. Then, I'll have to start playing with the valves.
5/x/00 Backed off the valves by 1/4 turn. This seemed to loosen the engine a little and allow her to idle better. Then with the covers off, I adjusted individual valves more. There still is some valve chatter but without clips, this makes too much of a mess so I'm leaving it for now.
5/x/00 I replaced the float adjustment screw and nut and needle and seat, I pulled the back end of the carb off to try to bend the float a bit to get the level down more since it was beyond adjustment level. It is still flowing out a bit now and I may have to adjust it again. The other day it was nice weather and I was able to start it right up atleast 5 times with just a quick turn of the key and had it idling pretty smooth. I was also able to adjust the idle down to 900rpm which I thought would be good for this engine with a blower. A few days later, I let Josey start her up. She was a little less cooperative, and ran a bit rougher. I'm not sure if it was the weather or just wasn't sure about Josey. :-)
6/22/00 I've been working on her body. I ripped off and out rust and did the "bondo boogie", sanded a little and painted. I cleaned up the engine compartment and painted the ENTIRE area BLACK. I also painted the underside of the hood. I did get a good yank of wind which cracked my hood and now it has a nice "buldge" to it. Oh well, it aint perfect, but I think it will hang in there for now. I'm going to get a friend to paint the top of it and the air box. I also used some fine steel wool on the metal wheels to rid them of the rust. 3 of them shined up real nice, the 4th had some pitting which still looks a bit rusty in spots. I will have to try to touch up that with some POR silver paint. I put a heat shield around the starter and solenoid today. I'm not sure how well this will work though since a couple header pipes actually TOUCH the starter. damn hot. It will probably just melt the heat shielding, but maybe not ALL of it. I hope it wont catch fire :-) .. I still need to adjust the carb's floats. I think they are both still off, and I need to adjust a valve or two since whe still runs a bit uneven. Tomorrow, I'm taking her to my mechanic's shop to have her checked out (for safety). I havent ck'd the brakes or anything else as far as safety goes, and I'd like to get an honest opinion about how "ready" the car is. I know it runs, and it stops and that's about it. I went down to DMV the second day of summer and swapped the plates from my daytona (finally giving her a rest) so she's "legal for 10 days"! EeeeeHaaaa! I took new pictures with my new UMAX Astracam 1000 digital camera and will post them here.
6/23/00 Got her inspected with a fine tooth comb by my mechanic who replaced a couple bulbs, and the front sway bar links and gave me a sticker! She is legal! (Well, sort of - no cat ;-) ) All the brakes look good and after I got her home, I adjusted the throttle linkage so I had her back in WOT for those tough starts when she got flooded. I played with the rear bowl on the carb again. It was stuck open when I removed it. I cleaned the seat & needle and tried to level out the float arm and used the adjuster screw to get her about in the middle while upside down. Now, I'm pulling all the plugs, and replacing them since these were probably fouled with gas and may be causing the missing. This will take a long time with my crap headers and plugs that are loctited in there. Next time, the threads will be clean as I'm using a cleaning brush and plug tap on the block. Next I will be doing the coil, and wires.
7/5-6/00 On the days before my birthday (7/7) which I had an appt to get my new torque converter and cooler installed, I decided to upgrade the ignition system. I reinstalled the MSD 6A (the right way this time - bypassing the GM 4 pin Module by removing it and connecting the MSD box directly to the distributer. I installed a new summit coil (and cover) while I was at it, and some nice new summit 8mm plug wires. First I removed all the plugs, tapped the holes, and installed all new plugs (Bosch 2 degree colder). To hold the wires nicely, I used some cheap sceptre "racing plug wire looms" also from summit. Then I installed the new Holley fuel pressure regulator on the fender with some extra hose, and hooked a cheapo summit gauge to it. The gauge can shake all over the place but sometimes, it settles down. Its good enough to know that with the pressure just about as low as it can go (4.5-9 range on regulator) the carb float no longer takes a ride, flooding the engine. I also had to replace the front gaskets on the carb since it was leaking and couldnt be driven like that. I was very busy. After all this work, I decided to hook up the ol' G-Tech Pro and take her for a test drive to see how she ran. She did a 13.97 @ 109 mph. Her shift is way off and I havent set the timing, or carb. So, I probably have atleast another 50 hp and lots of ET improvement coming with better traction. I had to take off at a granny start to keep the wheels from spinning like crazy. So, I'm estimating it will go 12.5 @ 113 when I get her where I plan. The G-tech is usually a little off, so these numbers arent gold, but it is a good comparison as things change. When I started this project, she went a 15 flat on the G tech.
7/7/00 I made my 8am appt for my converter swap and they pulled my Nova in after 10! And I was waiting! This place does good work usually, but this did not make me too happy. They test drove the car a few times, and the first time, they said the shift was not firm... made me think. Yeah, I guess it isn't too firm, but I was kind of hoping the B&M Trick shift would help it. Long story short, they finally got my B&M Holeshot 2400 converter which made a world of difference to me in driving, and helped some in raising my "stall". My traction is still terrible with hard tires, and shitty suspension, so I can only press it to about 2000 before the tires break loose. I shouldnt have had them put my cooler in, but live and learn. I think they installed it wrong, putting it on the upper pipe instead of the lower pipe (according to the directions - the return line for a TH350). They installed my new chrome pan with a drain plug. Its not any bigger, just got it for the plug and ah heck I like things to look good - can't help myself. I brought a case of B&M Trick shift with me which they used to fill the tranny. It took about 9.5 quarts. They also apparently replaced my vaccum modulator which had a blown diaphram, and I had leaked gas into from flooking the carb so much. It still only shifts at 4500. I'm not even getting my cam's real hp range cutting in yet probably. I may not have the WOT set right. I also don't have the detent cable for the tranny set right. She does not like to run "cold". She seems to want to "warm up" for a couple minutes or she stalls out in gear.
7/8/00 She was running SO hot (like 220+ degrees) that I got pissed and went looking for an electric fan to try to help. The junk hard had junk for $30 which would require lots of cutting and guessing, and I shopped at 3 stores before finally deciding on a $63 16" "reversible" fan. I installed this in front of the tranny cooler which is in front of the radiator, as a "pusher". I hooked it up to a constant current source so I can leave it running while the car is off if needed. Even though the fan claimed it would "push" air just by flipping the blades, it did not do well, so I swapped the polarity of the wires, and got the fan to turn in the opposite direction. This seems to work better. Weird design. Now, when I sit in traffic, I slip it on (with the dash mounted lighted switch) and so far it has managed to keep the temp from going ballistic. I also replaced the radiator cap which had a blown rubber gasket, and I replaced the old metal gas cap with a plastic locking one. While I was messing with switches, I hooked up the light on the boost gauge and mounted it with a "left over" metal bracket from the cooler, inside the "ash tray". Next I will drain some more coolant out, and replace with distilled water and some water wetter. I also had a oil leak from the pan which the tranny shop guy noticed, and I found later, which I temporarily plugged with some instant bondo. I will buy a new pan for it.
Some Things To Do: