Surprise!

Post date: Nov 7, 2017 5:54:57 PM

I've visited 6 or 7 shops and decided who I want to do the work, so now I just have to wait for their schedule to open up. In the mean time might as well work off some odds and ends, right?

As always, I've learned a lot.

1) I'm really not very good at welding, but I'll blame the equipment.

2) R&R those headers seems to get worse every time I do it

3) Shorting a header to the starter lug can burn a hole

4) Header wrap frays way too easily

5) The stainless wire tie tightening tool is worthless

I needed to replace the tail pipes with bumper exits, Torque Tech folded, and the mufflers hung really low. So I figured I'd drop all that and put in an X system from Pypes (SGA12). "Might As Well" drop the headers and wrap them. Got a surprise!

The last time Shaun and I worked on the headers, for some dumb reason I wanted to test something before the header was bolted up, and it fell and shorted against the starter. It always sounded like an exhaust leak down by the proportioning valve. Whadaya know! There's a hole!

In the end they came out OK

Building the exhaust system, not so much. I got the stock hangers to work with my sway bar, but made some bad cuts, made lots of bad welds, couldn't get some welds to stick..... Ended up with a lot of scrap 409. We'll have Try #2 this weekend.

I had to chop big chunks out of the rear crossmember to clear the pipes so everything would tuck up high. Will be interesting to see if it gets bent..... Just a good old time with the torch and grinder.

I did get some quality time under the car though. General road grime, but looks like everything is in pretty good shape. The oil cooler lines at the adapter are still weeping.

I ordered the Talon Hydraulics mount pad since it uses the manual hole, but they're out of stock. Hopefully it shows up sometime soon.

Then the big news was working towards EFI. I figured I would spread it out over time so it's not one big hit. My hope is to put on the EFI intake first, then the dual sync distributor, then the ECU. I got a converted RPM intake and a cheapy ProComp throttle body from Mark Remmel.

The injectors are properly angled towards the valve, which is good. But that gets the rail really close to the carb pad, which is bad. To get the TV hookup to clear the rail required an adapter sealing plate plus a 1" 4150 spacer. Looks like it'll work. The throttle body only has manifold vacuum fittings (no ported) so I have to do some extra work unfortunately.

The intake is a mixed bag. It ported OK, one side is actually straight, the other side is warped about 0.015". But this was the other big surprise:

Something "went wrong", so they just packed JB weld or something in there. That will need fixin'. I got injector blanks from Pro Line racing for the interim. About 4 fit really loosely, so I'll be using the conversion o-rings from Lingenfelter.

I have the FAST dual sync on order, but it's backordered everywhere. The FAST is dual hall, while the Holley is optical. I just have an irrational fear of optical sensors. Looks like the FAST can trigger the 6AL2 via the points input.

Cooling:

So I switched back the the manual fan and it cooled better, A/C was cooler, etc etc. But I wanted to continue to waste time and money, so I ended up with 2 Mark VIII fans (due to overzealous ebay activity). They are different part numbers, have different motors, may or may not flow the same. I got one mounted - only minor mods needed - and it kept the A/C happier (45 to 50 output), but the radiator got to 200 in traffic. With the manual fan it never got over 190. The other Mark VIII fan is "supposedly" higher flow, so might try that. Except now it's getting cold, so none of this matters.

AND, since I really can't leave good enough alone, some more searching turned up the '05 Impala Police fan. Dual unit, different fan than the normal car, and slightly larger than the Cutlass radiator. So something else to experiment with. Long term plan, if something works, is to use the Autocool controller, but simulate the temp sensor output from my stuff so I can do A/C control and reduction at highway speed. Or something.

In other news, the passenger door handle went in easily.

Errata

1) Body work (dents in hood, cleanup)

2) Seriously, why are the oil cooler lines weeping?