A few projects done

[dstryr]

Tip of the day, the windage and oil pan will probably not slide over the oil pickup tube after they're rtv'd together; put the first gasket and windage tray on first, then slide the oil pan up and in.  

The new oil pickup tube is in, rear main seal removed and reinstalled in hopes of getting less drip, the radiator was recored and is painted and installed, and new Firecore electronic ignition and distributor from Rick via Ron(Thank you ) is in.  First fire-up since Aug 24, 2014 and it sounded much better than with the old ignition, like before it didn't really want to run.  Weak spark?  This time the engine sounded quieter and like it was running easier..don't know how to explain it.  

I saw a tip on here(I think) to pressurize the fuel tank with an air hose using a cloth to seal the filler neck to help fill the carbs after sitting so long and it worked perfectly, so many thanks for that.  I'm sure it saved  considerable cranking tonight.  

Well, it fired up almost instantly and sounded great.  Had a little fuel seep from the center carb vent, float is sticking a little or there is gunk in the seat.  Its happened before and may just go away like it also has before.  

This was last night:




And tonight:



As always, I appreciate this site, advice and insight I get here!

[fy469rtse]

 

[BSB67]

Congrats to you.  No small amount of not-so-fun work you got done.

Might want to put carb rebuilds on you list of things to do.

[ottawamerc]

Well done   What are those rockers you have there? are you happy with them?

Scott

[c00nhunterjoe]

What heads are those? The valve cover rail looks unusually smooth and perfect.

[tan top]

  good stuff 

What heads are those? The valve cover rail looks unusually smooth and perfect.

  look like 440 stealth heads , maybe    ....

[firefighter3931]

Looking good Frank ! That engine bay is really spruced up 

Glad to hear the FireCore ignition made a nice improvement for you 

What did you have on the car before ? Can't remember off hand what you were replacing ?? 

You should be running a 6 series (heat range) NGK plug in that badboy 

Glad you got that oil pressure issue figured out. Were you using a Milidon pickup tube by chance ?

Well done   What are those rockers you have there? are you happy with them?

Scott

Harland Sharp 

What heads are those? The valve cover rail looks unusually smooth and perfect.

Ported Stealth's with a nice fat increase in flow 


Frank's Build post : http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,56050.0.html


Very nice power numbers for a street/strip pump gas stroker 




Ron

[dstryr]

I had a chance to put a few miles on late last night.   Tuned by ear and a few hard launches since a buddy has my timing light and vacuum gauge, but once I was in the ballpark I smashed the gas and was   .  

There has been a misfire from 4300-4500 RPM up that I have been struggling with for too long with my Prestolite dual point distributor.  I've tested and ohm'd out circuits, checked voltages at every connection that had anything to do with ignition and couldn't escape the misfire.  The problem was there with both the points and Pertronix Ignitor so last June I ordered a box, distributor and coil from Ron then had the pickup tube broke in August so I didn't put time into it until the last few weeks.  Took out the 180* stat and went to a 195* Stant stat. 

Ron, the pickup and pan are 440Source.  Early last year I went to a standard Autolite plug crossed from my 6 range NGKs and they have come out cleaner than the NGKs that I've run over the last ~3-4 years or so.  

So far it looks like the rear main seal leak is almost gone since only a drop of oil on the ground after 20 or so miles and went from Rotella 20W50 to 15W40 and now to VR1 Conventional 10W30.  Oil pressure no longer tops out 'all the time'  and figure its less strain on the pump and drive gear.   Pressure ranges from 15ish at idle to just over 70 at higher rpms and 30+ by the time I hit 1700 rpm.
Also set the rev limiter to 6000 and haven't hit it yet but 'holy crap', it sounds sweet when its not breaking up and still screaming going past 5800 with the go pedal flat to the floorboard.  

[firefighter3931]

I had a chance to put a few miles on late last night.   Tuned by ear and a few hard launches since a buddy has my timing light and vacuum gauge, but once I was in the ballpark I smashed the gas and was   .  

Well...that sounds like a nice improvement vs the misfiring dual point/pertonix setup 

Ron, the pickup and pan are 440Source. 

Any idea what caused the pickup to crack ? I have heard of the milodon pickup tubes cracking so that's why I asked 


As far as timing is concerned : 35* total is what you should shoot for. 



Ron

[dstryr]

Ron, no idea why it broke off other than vibration.  There were no marks on the tube or pickup indicating contact. 

I got my timing light and vacuum gauge back a couple of days ago and will be tuning soon. 

I pulled my LM-1 sensor out of the exhaust last summer and unplugged the harness because I felt it was part of the electrical/weak ignition problem I was having because of the power draw.  I left the sensor hanging next to the transmission and it got  completely covered in grime and oil from the leaking rear main and I cleaned it up with brake cleaner. 

Any warnings or words of advice to make sure it doesn't foul from residue left over before I put it back in?

[firefighter3931]

Any warnings or words of advice to make sure it doesn't foul from residue left over before I put it back in?

Hi Frank,

I know that the Innovate LM1/LM2 oxygen sensors mess up when using leaded fuel. Other than that I'm not aware of any other special precautions. Just a good cleaning with some brake clean should do the trick.


Ron

[dstryr]

Have spent some time tuning the engine with the new Firecore setup and the high rpm miss is completely gone. 

Still a stumble occasionally but I think once I get it tuned close and then a clean set of plugs in to finish tuning I hope that goes away also.  Started with the idle screws all around last night and leaned it up, idle quality improved considerably and will idle nicely at 850 rpm or so all day long.  Initial timing is 18* and was trying to get the total to 35-36* and didn't quite get it dialed in before my kid says "Dad, almost done?  You're going to start annoying the neighbors."   ...9:30pm. 

I'll get the wide band sensor put back in tonight and do a little more.  The curve with the stock blue springs starts at about 1200rpm and is all in by 2300 so I will leave the springs as they are and get the total timing number where I want it.  When it was dyno'd in late 2009 the sweet spot was 36*.