69 "Cali"fornia Car 440 stock build ......... DYNO RESULTS

[PocketThunder]

I hate the shotgun method.  The ballast resistor is just a wire.  It works or it doesn't.  If the car runs, tap it to see if there is something loose causing your intermittent misfire.  Same for the coil.  I've never had a coil or ballast go bad on me, and I've been driving pieces of junk for 25 years now.  All of them with points and a ballast.  Seeing as you have the "race" ignition module, I'd suspect it.  The tach jumping is what leads me in that direction.  It's driven by the ignition system, not engine RPM, so an erratic ignition would cause it to jump around.  What's the voltage on your coil positive terminal when running?

I just ran the car and the voltage at the coil between the positive and negative is between 7 to 8 to 12 and back to 7.   i'll get a video of it shortly.

Here it is:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0DBSizZyt4

Paul

[PocketThunder]

yes !think its a race only one though , for a electronic ignition set up     ?

yep

they can over heat & cook the coil when used on the street  

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/DCC-3690732

Is this what i should be using instead of the race voltage regulator?

[General_01]

That looks like the one that was on my '69.

[PocketThunder]

Looks like i need the VR706...  

http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,58463.msg653549.html#msg653549




EDIT:  I found the one i need.  I did some research at lunch time and i found the company that makes the one i found on ebay.  They are called Regitar, and they are out of Alabama.  They located the nearest dealer to me who was in Michigan called Barsanco 800-421-3374.  I called and ordered two of them for $7.50 each plus shipping.  One for a spare.  I'll find out in a couple days after they arrive how good they are.

[375instroke]

I just ran the car and the voltage at the coil between the positive and negative is between 7 to 8 to 12 and back to 7.   i'll get a video of it shortly.

Paul

Is this between the positive and negative coil terminals?  I mean from ground to the positive coil terminal.  The negative coil terminal is constantly switching between an open, and ground, with points, and a current sink with electronic ignition.  The positive terminal gets full battery voltage when starting, which would be about 9 volts or so because of the starter load, and gets about 9 volts when running because it's in series with that ballast resistor.  Turn the key on, but don't start the car.  Now check the voltage at the positive coil terminal while you tap on the ballast.  It there isn't a change in voltage, I'd say it's good.  It will probably be 12 volts, not 9 volts, because there isn't a load on the circuit.  Is there an analogue bar graph with that meter so you can see how fast it's fluctuating when running?  What is the output of the voltage regulator?  What is the output of the alternator?  Check at idle, and at 2000RPM, or so.  I'm sure there's a reason that electronic ignition module is labeled race only.  I'm not sure about that blue regulator, but I have seen ones that look like it, although I don't know if they were the same part numbers, sold with the stock electronic ignition conversion kits sold by Mopar.

[PocketThunder]

I just ran the car and the voltage at the coil between the positive and negative is between 7 to 8 to 12 and back to 7.   i'll get a video of it shortly.

Paul

Is this between the positive and negative coil terminals?  I mean from ground to the positive coil terminal.  The negative coil terminal is constantly switching between an open, and ground, with points, and a current sink with electronic ignition.  The positive terminal gets full battery voltage when starting, which would be about 9 volts or so because of the starter load, and gets about 9 volts when running because it's in series with that ballast resistor.  Turn the key on, but don't start the car.  Now check the voltage at the positive coil terminal while you tap on the ballast.  It there isn't a change in voltage, I'd say it's good.  It will probably be 12 volts, not 9 volts, because there isn't a load on the circuit.  Is there an analogue bar graph with that meter so you can see how fast it's fluctuating when running?  What is the output of the voltage regulator?  What is the output of the alternator?  Check at idle, and at 2000RPM, or so.  I'm sure there's a reason that electronic ignition module is labeled race only.  I'm not sure about that blue regulator, but I have seen ones that look like it, although I don't know if they were the same part numbers, sold with the stock electronic ignition conversion kits sold by Mopar.

Yes it was the negative terminal on the coil.  I'll re-run the tests tonight that you asked for and report back.  I used my timing light to get the voltage readout and i dont think it has an analog readout, but i'll double check tonight.

Thanks for your help,

Paul

[moparstuart]

Looks like i need the VR706...  

http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,58463.msg653549.html#msg653549




EDIT:  I found the one i need.  I did some research at lunch time and i found the company that makes the one i found on ebay.  They are called Regitar, and they are out of Alabama.  They located the nearest dealer to me who was in Michigan called Barsanco 800-421-3374.  I called and ordered two of them for $7.50 each plus shipping.  One for a spare.  I'll find out in a couple days after they arrive how good they are.

use the thin one they are great

I  am running them on my 69 road runner and they do the job great , no more bouncing gauge  

[tricky lugnuts]

I've been following this thread, as I'm also considering a "close to stock" rebuild of my 440 engine, trying to get the best performance and mileage that I can for my limited dollars.

Great documentation of the process and great work and sounds like a great engine you've got.

Sorry to pester you now that you're out cruising, but when you get a chance, can you update exactly what parts went into this build?

I know you reused .03 over TRW pistons and went with a EX268 Comp Cams camshaft, but do you know what the deck height and compression ratio were? All other parts were bone stock?

Is this the camshaft you used:

http://www.compperformancegroupstores.com/store/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=CC&Product_Code=21-223-4&Category_Code=WDGCAMhydFTXE

[PocketThunder]

I've been following this thread, as I'm also considering a "close to stock" rebuild of my 440 engine, trying to get the best performance and mileage that I can for my limited dollars.

Great documentation of the process and great work and sounds like a great engine you've got.

Sorry to pester you now that you're out cruising, but when you get a chance, can you update exactly what parts went into this build?

I know you reused .03 over TRW pistons and went with a EX268 Comp Cams camshaft, but do you know what the deck height and compression ratio were? All other parts were bone stock?

Is this the camshaft you used:

http://www.compperformancegroupstores.com/store/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=CC&Product_Code=21-223-4&Category_Code=WDGCAMhydFTXE

Oh dont worry about disturbing me from cruising, i'm not doing any of that at the moment http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,70995.0.html



I'll come back and try to put up more detail of the build after lunch.  But its basically everything you see here already.  Compression ration came in at 9.6:1

Paul

[tricky lugnuts]

That's cool. Thanks for following up with my post.

I've been reading about your difficulties with local wildlife. I'm sorry to hear about those troubles. You have my fully sympathy, man. That's a terrible thing to see happen.

[PocketThunder]

I've got almost 1200 miles on the car now and i am averaging 13 mpg.   

[Supercharged Riot]

nice thread!
Lots of pics of the rebuild process
I wish i had a 440 

[mhinders]

I'm driving my Charger last night and the tach needle starts jumping all over the place and the car is cutting in and out.  Is this the ballast resistor going bad?  The coil?  The voltage regulator?  Something with the electronic ignition?   
Paul

I had the bouncing tach needle in my 67 and the reason was a bad grounding between the gauge cluster and battery ground. You can easily check by installing a separate grounding wire.

[Supercharged Riot]

This is an great detailed thread.
Thanks for posting!