rattle_snake's random shop projects v0.1

[rattle_snake]

Measuring for pushrod length. The lifter collapsed beyond getting valve to 1/2 lift so I swapped in a light spring. 1/2 lift theory is put valve at half lift and set rocker axes perpendicular.


And another for the exhaust side.

 

[rattle_snake]

Made a new alternator mounting bracket. Uses just one water pump bolt/stud instead of two. Also went to a stud, as removing the alternator required loosening bolts that made the water pump leak. The new fixed bracket is more in-line with the force applied by the belt/crank pulley.


Replaced the coil mount with a cleaner design than the OEM. Uses a worm clamp.

 

[rattle_snake]

Put the audio system controls in the ashtray. Sub level, on/off switch, and a spare switch.

 

[rattle_snake]

Test fit the valve covers and they appear to just clear the rockers at installed height. But the nitrous solenoid contacts the valve cover so had to re-work the rail yet again to move things up and in.


The hardline that feed primary bowl was already almost touching the solenoid so it had to be reworked also. Went to a soft line instead.


Upgraded to some performance plug wires. DIY kit cut to length, cuz the pre-made one don't fit to my OCD levels.


I made it 6 of 8 wires before I realized that I needed to add the strip/fold-over length. #1 is kinda short.


Also re-worked the two engine wiring harnesses. Both has been cut and spliced. Wire colors all wrong, likely from the engine donor. The distributor was not wired correctly. Went over the schematic and plug diagrams, traced all the wires back to the DS2 box.

 

[KansasProud]

Thats some serious motor ****...

 

[ntsqd]

Purty!!
What heads did you end up buying?
It is ugly as sin, but I came to really like the E-Core OEM coil that I used on the Ranchero.

 

[rattle_snake]

Thats some serious motor ****...

Yes, yes it is....

Purty!!
What heads did you end up buying?
It is ugly as sin, but I came to really like the E-Core OEM coil that I used on the Ranchero.

The cylinder heads are Promaxx project X series. 185cc runner (which is mostly meaningless) with very impressive flow rates under .500 lift. Modern heart-ish quench chamber, probably needs 4* less timing than open chamber. Good valves, springs and hardware.

 

[rattle_snake]

Pushrods arrived and got the rest of the valvetrain installed. All the guide plates needed to be adjusted to align the roller on the valve stem. These two piece type are kinda a PITA as they still rotate a little bit when torqued. So you have to set them off a bit and sneak up on the right placement.


Lifters were lubed with oil except for the face, which I hit with brake clean before applying liberal amounts of assembly grease. Otherwise the grease won't stick and stay where it is needed.


I set the lash to 1/3 turn past zero. Watching the lifter plunge is best way to find exactly zero lash. I left the crank position at 12* BTDC to set the distributor timing. You can determine if #1 TDC is on compression or exhaust stroke by looking at the other cylinders' valves. Follow the firing order backwards and observe the valves.

 

[rattle_snake]

Next item is intake installation. Doing in steps makes for much better results. I use painter's tape to find best placement of the gasket.


I mark the location of the water jackets so the RTV goes only where it is useful.


Then a tiny amount of goo around the sealing surfaces.


smear into thin film.


Then the gaskets can be set back in place with the tape for perfect alignment, and the intake set in place to put some pressure on the surface. I did not put any RTV on the intake side, that is done later independent of the head side.


And with intake temporarily in place you can observe the china wall gap, and know how fat of a bead to apply when it comes time.

 

[ntsqd]

I've heard of, but never done so, engine assemblers getting the guides perfectly aligned and then adding a couple tack welds to the guide pieces so that they can't rotate like that. I'm assuming that the guides in question had precision holes for the rocker studs or they would still be able to move a little.

 

[WoodsTruck]

Would adding roller tappets have been a worthwhile option?
I keep wondering what to do with my 302 in my Bronco when the time comes, besides ship it to your place to rework.

 

[Bob Heine]

Taking my time on the details, little bit better each round.

At times I think perfection has almost killed the hot rodding mentality.

I'm doing my best to hold down the other end of the spectrum...

Justin, Mike and Scott, I was into cars about the time I learned to walk. As a teenager all I wanted to do was modify automobiles. When my life changed a bit at 20 I still wanted to work on cars but I had no friends or mentors to help me. When I was fortunate enough to retire at 50 I had the time (and the car) to get serious about working on cars.

I was gifted a rusty set of ****** Headers for my '72 big block Corvette and needed a pipe to connect the headers to the exhaust system. Flex pipe to the rescue...

At first I thought the huge leak was my pipe choice but upon close examination it turned out to be the plate at the four-pipe junction of those rusty Hookers. Jet Hot sent me a set of the same oval port headers that only cost the tip of one of my children's fingers. Now the flex pipe just looks totally out of place so at 63 my birthday present was a HF flux core wire welder ($85) so I boogered some straight exhaust tubing together, ground the welds, filled the holes with more boogers, rinsed and repeated until I gave up. Cut up some stainless exhaust tubing and took them to a welding shop for an estimate and it would be cheaper to buy an Eastwood MIG with 75%Argon/25% CO2 gas and some wire.

Second round with mandrel bent exhaust tubing and slightly less boogered welds and a bit less grinding resulted in two leak-free pipes and was happy enough with the result to sent the two pieces to Jet Hot to be coated.

Connecting the new coated pipes to a rusty old Monza quad pipe exhaust system made no sense. So huge Magnaflow box full of shiny stainless tubing showed up and made me feel much better.

As thrilled as I was with the Magnaflow system, I learned that with stainless wire and 98%Argon/2% CO2 gas makes a MIG welder capable of welding stainless. I put the first set of 2.5" header pipes away and welded up a pair of 3" stainless ones from some mandrel bends and adapters (and v-band clamps).

This starts a long slide into madness, involving cutting up the Magnaflow system, adapting it to a single dual inlet/dual outlet muffler exiting at the center of the rear end under the raised license plate. Dual electric cutouts became part of the system as well -- because...

My work isn't good enough for a Ridicule Award but as I shamble into my 80s it makes me happy. Finishing the car isn't that important to me. It's trying new stuff and happily failing along the way. It really is the journey, not the destination.

 

[rattle_snake]

I've heard of, but never done so, engine assemblers getting the guides perfectly aligned and then adding a couple tack welds to the guide pieces so that they can't rotate like that. I'm assuming that the guides in question had precision holes for the rocker studs or they would still be able to move a little.

I would assume the one piece should work OK with fixed spacing, but perhaps not and hence the 2 piece design to dial in better.

Would adding roller tappets have been a worthwhile option?
I keep wondering what to do with my 302 in my Bronco when the time comes, besides ship it to your place to rework.

Not really. Roller lifters are $1000, just lifters. This cam/lifter setup is kinda temporary for this phase of the engine build. I may consider a roller for the next phase, which will need a different block, so I'll look for a 92-96 roller block.

..It's trying new stuff and happily failing along the way. It really is the journey, not the destination.

Exactly. Spot on.

 

[ntsqd]

I don't know what would have lead to the two piece design. Maybe it is a custom alignment enabling feature, and maybe it is so that one pair of p/n's fits all of their cylinder heads. It could be both.
Given the slots for the studs I'd be tempted to tack some tight fitting washers to the guides so that once it was all set-up it couldn't move.

I was disappointed when my 408's builder wouldn't use the OEM hyd roller lifter system and instead used an aftermarket set of roller lifters with the classic tie-bar design.

 

[rattle_snake]

Yes the spiderweb and dogbones is not the best way. If your going to run at high RPM the links are way to go. Good thing about roller lifters is you can swap cams without reinvesting.

 

[rattle_snake]

Cheap cast valve covers arrived. They do clear the larger aluminum roller rockers. I expected to have to do some work to bring up to my level. Step one was to slick out the sealing rail. Probably didn't need to, but I had to. Reusing the steel/rubber gaskets, dry, so anything to prevent leaks can't hurt.



The mount holes were not accurate enough to fit as-is. Instead of hogging them all out, I ovalized the few that needed clearance. They come with no holes drilled, so options are open.

For now the finish will stay as-is. I might paint, clear or do something later as they will oxidize.

 

[rattle_snake]

Came up with yet-another throttle return spring bracket to work with the idle stop solenoid.


Tweaked a new SS spring a bit to get the pre-load needed to force the idle stop solenoid retracted.


Moved the nitrous solenoids again and shortened the hard line to make things fit properly. There is enough room to remove the valve covers.


Hopefully the final version of the engine harness. I removed the factory coolant temp and oil pressure wires from the bundle as I'm not going to use them, only the mechanical gauges. Added a connector on the temp sensor input so I can use it someplace else if I want, transmission.




Cut out some vinyl stickers to give the valve covers some style. I kind of want to not drill holes in the top of them. Looking into using other locations for crank case ventilation. Maybe mech fuel pump block off plate as an intake. Wish I would have drilled the intake for a PCV valve like some of the EFI manifolds have.

 

[zmotorsports]

Very clean and tidy work Justin, even if it is on a F**d.

 

[rattle_snake]

Thanks Mike. I'm enjoying and not trying to rush to completion. Actually going backwards. Pulled the intake back off...

 

[rattle_snake]

Decided to try to no-holes in valve covers so started modifying the mech fuel pump block-off for a fresh air inlet. I had some leftover 6AN to 5/16 IF fittings that are 1/2-20 thread, so welded a nut on the back of the plate.


Added a baffle so prevent oil slung off the timing chain going into hose. At WOT the airflow direction is out and don't want it puking oil into air filter.




For the air cleaner base I removed the 5/8 tube and put another of the same AN fitting.

 

[LXCam]

Justin, I suggest you toss a catchcan on that. She's looking great bud, I can't wait to hear how it turns out.

 

[Mr.zippy]

Justin, I suggest you toss a catchcan on that. She's looking great bud, I can't wait to hear how it turns out.

Yes, catch can would be a good idea!

 

[rattle_snake]

Well I have something in mind along those lines. But this engine doesn't need one, intake is clean, and I don't want to add any unnecessary clutter. Catch can would go on the suction side of CCV system not the inlet pictured above. My plan is odd, perhaps clever, I don't know. Going to use the exhaust crossover built into the intake manifold. Might drill the back of the manifold as a backup plan with a baffle. Adding oil presents a problem, but solvable.

 

[ntsqd]

Or just an air-oil separator that drains back to the block-off plate. Could even be part of the block-off plate to tidy things up.

Not seeing how the exhaust cross-over gets you into the crank-case. This should be interesting!

 

[rattle_snake]

I managed to make one decision on where to drill and tap one hole. The stove cover seemed like natural choice, but considered the other side as well. The trans kickdown linkage is in that area so compromised and put it next to stove so it and nitrous rail are independent of one another. Then stuck on what to do with vac port on the carb. Probably delete, plug.


Cut off three of the five mounting bosses to make room for another fitting into the 1/2 of 1/2 plenum area. After machining I sand blasted the cut areas to make it blend in. Shortened the 1/4NPT side of 6AN fitting so it doesn't protrude into the runner much.




Drilled a pair of 1/4" holes in the lowest point of the exhaust crossover to drain properly. The holes are on opposite side as the AN fitting so the vapor has to transverse the cavity.


Which is stuffed with brass mesh.


Cheap AN suction line from crossover to plenum. I could add a check valve, there are 6AN flavors in addition to barb. Or I could hog out the 1/4NPT on crossover to 3/4" and put a normal PCV valve in. I bought a new PCV valve and it sometimes it will block backflow, not very well.


Use of the AN hose could be skipped with just drilling a hole from plenum wall or floor into the exhaust crossover. Or just a hole from CC to Plenum and skip the crossover.

Cheap 6AN hose for fresh air inlet. Good AN hose has become really expensive.

 

[XJSuperman]

Im not sure when you got into corvettes, motorcycles, and GMC trucks, but either the forum is spazzing or you uploaded the wrong pics...
UPDATE: I hit refresh and the pics changed to engine ****. Guess the forum had a minor stroke.

 

[larry4406]

What does the brass mesh stuffing in the exhaust crossover do?

That’s a new one for me.

 

[ntsqd]

It's an easy way to baffle a passage and cause any entrained oil to fall out of suspension.

I see the flow path, but I'm not understanding how the metering is going to work.

 

[rattle_snake]

Metering as in flow rate through the CC system? I can restrict if needed pretty easy in suction side fittings. Epoxy and drill hole, Same as a PCV valve. I can also move the hose back to the carb base and run a PCV. More option now. Over complicated.

 

[ntsqd]

You've looked at these: https://mewagner.com/?p=444 ?

 

[rattle_snake]

I have now, an interesting solution.

AN fittings lend themselves nicely to be modified for a 'jet' type orifice. N20 jet just an 6AN instead of 3. Not that I need another project...

 

[ntsqd]

All it takes is a 1/4-32 tap and you can use Holley carb jets for metering orifices. I did that with a by-passing fuel supply system about 30 years ago.

 

[stockerwithalocker]

Fyi for flush mounting an an fitting like you did in the fuel pump block off, put a chamfer and use an o-ring to seal if it leaks/weeps. Mcmaster sells the specific boss o-rings in the dash sizes.

Going off possible bad memory, spec i believe is as5202 for the dimensions.

 

[ntsqd]

MS28778 covers the o-rings for an ORB fitting. That was the results of a quick search, there may others that are better.

 

[rattle_snake]

For non-tapered threads like inverted flare an o-ring can be used, but the o-ring squish prevents being able to torque and stay put. Removing the hose end can loosen the o-ring side, so you have to use two wrenches. I use some blue or red locktite on the threads, and maybe a o-ring, some fittings come with them.

For tapered fittings I use permatex thread sealer (anaerobic type) and no Teflon tape. I used to use both, but the tape is a pain to remove and gets stuck in the female threads. Rouge tape can clog small orifices like a nitrous solenoid or a lifter.

 

[zmotorsports]

For non-tapered threads like inverted flare an o-ring can be used, but the o-ring squish prevents being able to torque and stay put. Removing the hose end can loosen the o-ring side, so you have to use two wrenches. I use some blue or red locktite on the threads, and maybe a o-ring, some fittings come with them.

For tapered fittings I use permatex thread sealer (anaerobic type) and no Teflon tape. I used to use both, but the tape is a pain to remove and gets stuck in the female threads. Rouge tape can clog small orifices like a nitrous solenoid or a lifter.

Justin, l used to use solely a PTFE thread sealant for NPT threads shortly after beginning my career as an Industrial Maintenance mechanic back in the late 80's for both pneumatics and hydraulics, which we had a metric ****-ton of. I learned from nearly day one that Teflon tape had no place around these systems due to the possibility to cause more issues than correct. I took that over into early fuel systems as well. However, about 20 years or so ago, I was working with a local hydraulic shop designing and modifying some dock leveler components/packages at work and we got on the subject of sealants. The gentleman at my local hydraulic shop shed some interesting points of view and so at that time I switched over to using an anaerobic sealant (Loctite 545) and have been using it ever since. I even noticed that when my new Bendpak 12k pound lift arrived, it had a small bottle of anaerobic sealant included with the hardware and supplies.

 

[rattle_snake]

I was finally able to fix this old 1990s QSC amplifier I have had since 2016 or so. One channel would collapse and was mechanically stress related. If left untouched it was OK for a long time, years. I tried several times to fix but gave up and bought something else, and used the one good channel for my bass guitar. A coworker suggested I resolder everything, cold or broken joint someplace. So I did that and found three of the eight large power supply caps has un-soldered themselves, probably due to overheating. The speaker output goes through these caps (AC coupled) so that explains the failure mode. So now I can use both channels, which is 500W bridged into 4 ohms instead of 200.


The power cord was in rough shape. Two of the three wires had jacket cut, so cut it back and re-terminated the connections.

 

[ntsqd]

I was taught a very specific technique for winding teflon tape onto NPT fittings during a job where we were building breathing air systems for off-shore drilling rigs. It insured that there was no chance of a piece of tape getting into the system. Knowing that if the system is in use that people's lives might be depending on it has a way of making you extremely careful about everything that you do. Being left-handed is a decided advantage in doing this.
I *think* there might still be some teflon tape in my shop, somewhere. I mostly use anaerobes or some form of PST these days.

If the ORB port is shaped correctly you can torque the fitting against a mechanical stop. Being an aluminum fitting that doesn't mean a bunch, but it's possible. If it is a simpler countersink that the o-ring is being squished into, as most of us would do in a home shop lacking the ORB port forming tool then that's a bunch harder to get just right. In those instances 545 is my choice, too. Unless the 271 is closer to me......

How many hours did it take to re-solder every one of those connections? For me that would be days of effort that I'd likely screw up somewhere.

 

[rattle_snake]

I had not considered how to machine an ORB, interesting.

I spent about a 1/2 hour on soldering. I did not do every connection, only those with insufficient solder fillet. So mostly big things that sink heat and don't pull as much solder out of the bath into the via. I bought a cheap magnifying lens to inspect better.

 

[rattle_snake]

Made a 6AN jet on the lathe as a restrictor for the CCV system. Started with a 0.150 hole will see how that works. Fun little project


Cut the tip off the AN fitting for use with the jet.