This was fun!

Some jobs are better than others. This was one of the better ones...;>)

Before:
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After:
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Hi Pete

I agree. I am uncomfortable with the fuel line set-up. Although the picture makes it appear that the fuel line is closer than it actually is and when the engine lid is closed, the fuel line is mostly above the bodywork, it still bothers me. The owner brought me the manifold, Webers, and plumbing all put together on the mainland. There were many details that had to be worked out and this is a "first draft" just to get everything in place and running.

Hawaii can be a frustrating place to get things done. I could not get the cooling system to accept coolant when the new manifold was in place. There are some small diameter bleed lines from the top of the thermostat housing and the top of the radiator. Originally, these were connected with steel fittings and a steel tee. They were actually fuel system fittings. The tee and fittings were rusted and completely plugged on the inside. I spent most of an afternoon going to three auto parts stores and two home improvement stores and I could not get a brass tee and three brass hose barbs to make up a replacement. I came back to the shop and silver soldered two pieces of copper tube together and then soft soldered a reinforcing gusset in place. I should have just done this at the beginning.

So, changes will be made. This set-up is "Mod-1"....;>)

Aloha
Larry

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Hi Jim

No, I have way to even guess what the power difference would be. I don't think that the owner cares either. The car is part of a small collection and none of the cars get a lot of mileage and I think a large portion of the motivation for this change is the look and the "coolness factor".

However, even before the car is back down on its own wheels, I can tell that it is running better. It ran horribly before. The owner did not want to even try to work out the problems with the original four barrel. Before I pulled out the distributor, I wanted to find out what it was running as ignition timing and set the engine at TDC so I would know how to position the distributor upon reassembly. The front pulley is an aftermarket, billet aluminum piece and the only marks on it were various white paint lines that didn't seem to line up with anything when a timing light was used. The pulley is also very hard to see and to get a timing light on.

Fortunately, the lower half of the front face of the flywheel is easy to get to and I made sure that I accurately had TDC located and made some good timing marks on the flywheel. When this was done, I found that the idle speed ignition timing was advanced about 35 degrees!! Also, it was running very, very, rich. One could detect the raw gas smell a block away....;>) I am not going to "test" this car at high speeds on Hawaii's crowded roads. I will work with the owner if he feels any more tweaking is needed. I don't know about "more powerful" or "faster", but I am very confidant that it is running better.

Aloha
Larry

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Hi Kris

Want an apprenticeship? I think I would make a miserable boss and the pay would be lousy. The weather is nice....;>)

Judging from the work that you are doing on your Ferrari, you are learning very well and doing it in a great environment with all kinds of opportunities for interesting driving.

Aloha
Larry

 

Hi Bill

Wow! Thank you very much. I am speechless. At least the part about the Alfa is probably true....;>)

Hi Stuart

I walked down the hall to Legal with your test drive proposal. I am afraid that we will have to wait for them to "come to" before getting an answer....;>)

Aloha
Larry