1982 Ford LTD-S 351W Police Car

[Brown_Muscle]

I adjusted them 1/2 a turn past zero lash on the engine stand, all on base lobe as per trickflows instructions. I was very careful with the procedure and double checked each one...but you never know. they're stud mount so no shims here. I could try to get the a little tighter, im worried a lifter or two are bad.

There are now so few vacuum lines and leak points that im not sure where it would be coming from, but still worth double checking, It will be far easier once i know for sure what the engine is doing on the wideband

[gadget73]

stud mount, forgot. makes it less likely to be that then.

was thinking leaks more around the intake or carb base. Unless its a fairly good size vac line it wouldn't be enough to cause much trouble. A junk PCV valve might do it though, that would be a pretty healthy vac leak. Either way if you put your hand slightly over the carb and the idle improves, that confirms the lean condition. If there is something funny with the carb where the idle circuits are plugged, that would do it. Same if the throttle plate is open too far to make it idle. Once you're into the transfer slots, the mix screws won't do much.

partially stuck open egr valve will also cause a lot of stupidity.

[Brown_Muscle]

good point, i reused the carb base/spacer so perhaps thats the culprit. We think alike, i had a brand new pcv valve, but swapped the old one on, with no change.

I solved the rocker issue...I remembered i had removed one after the engine was in to trim it slighty to fit the valve covers... (ugh). I must not have tightened it correctly because it was loose... tightened it properly and the loud clacking is gone! It desiels a lot less too

[Tiggie]

Dieseling is no good. Advance the timing to get the engine to idle higher and cut back on the idle speed screw to limit the air getting in there. Might help? Sounds like it's trying to load the AOD while it downshifts. Getting it to idle right may fix that.

[87gtVIC]

Good luck Phil. Ive been wondering where the updates were. Hope things get sorted out.

[Brown_Muscle]

Yeah it's been a while since I did an update!

I sorted out the pinging, it was both the vacuum advance, and the distributor springs being too slack and allowing the max advance too early...so maybe I can try to increase the initial timing and close the throttle a bit. I read that low octane gas can cause dieseling too. Gas is maybe 2-3 months old...probably not the best to tune with.

I've done some initial wideband tuning...it's much better now, but still have some fine tuning to do. Turns out it was rich not lean..doh

Apparently its common for lentech valve bodys to CLUNK into 3rd and 4th... I guess I'll get used to it. Downshifts are sluggish, my old trans felt very sporty compared to this one. I think i need to play with the TV pressure a bit more

[gadget73]

if its got the larger OD servo, that also tends to make them clunk on OD engage. Lazy downshifts act like not enough TV pressure though. There is a whole process involving a pressure gauge and a gauge block or drill bit of a specific size to set the cable, but you could cheat and have it so full throttle = full TV and see what that gets you.

[Brown_Muscle]

So increased TV pressure (basically at the end of the gross rod adjustment) made it much better. All the shifts are firm, but 3rd doesn't have a concerning clunk anymore. I did it's first oil change (about 40 miles worth), and it came out black and shimmery...not concerned. Will do another oil change shortly.

Water pump started leaking coolant from the gasket...John helped me out and re-sealed it. New fuel pump started leaking oil pretty heavily from the crimped body area. Can't drive it currently, waiting on a NOS Ford one to come (Carter Hi-Flo).

I also ordered everything to install a contour dual fan setup, It was running kinda hot in traffic on 90* days with the A/C on (around 210), and seems to cruise around 200-205 on the highway. I'm sure it'll be lower on days that aren't super hot, but with the carb I experience all sorts of heat related running issues. I'm going to be using a BMW dual temp switch/fan controller with a thread adapter.

I'm still going tune the timing and fueling more, but I'm already saving up for the Holley Sniper+Hyperspark setup. It'll be easy to link in the fans at that point as well. I'm tired of the imprecision of a carb, and all its weird quirks. Hardest part will be the fuel tank/pump install. I'm hoping i can hire John to help me out with that. The Sniper itself is easy, and compared to tuning a stock ford computer, its a breeze from what i've seen.

[gadget73]

are you running a return style fuel system? That tends to do a lot to help make it consistent in the heat. Fuel boiling in the pump or in the filter if its too close to the intake causes mass stupidity. A spacer under the carb to insulate it from the heat also helps a lot, even if its just one of those thick gaskets rather than the thin jobbies.

distributor curve has a lot to do with how things act too, won't do dick about idle issues but it makes a lot of difference in how the throttle responds

[Brown_Muscle]

are you running a return style fuel system? That tends to do a lot to help make it consistent in the heat. Fuel boiling in the pump or in the filter if its too close to the intake causes mass stupidity. A spacer under the carb to insulate it from the heat also helps a lot, even if its just one of those thick gaskets rather than the thin jobbies.

distributor curve has a lot to do with how things act too, won't do dick about idle issues but it makes a lot of difference in how the throttle responds

No return from the carb-if i wasn't going fuel injected i would consider that though. I do have an insulator, and that helps a bit. I think the timing curve is nowhere near where it should be for the engine..so we will see what i can do with it. I have tape for the balancer, springs, and i can open/close the weights to control total mechanical advance. But ultimately I'd rather type in some numbers in a computer lol.

The fan came earlier than expected.. So I made mounts for it and put it in. Might as well have the car even more inoperable than it is! I'm not terribly thrilled about wiring it up...even if it is pretty simple.

[gadget73]

was the stock fuel pump a 3 line? If so it would be nothing to put that return back in service.

I kind of go back and forth between a keyboard and a screwdriver as the tuning method. I can appreciate the mechanical simplicity of things, but being able to micro-adjust things on the fly has it's advantages too. The problem for me is that I don't quite know enough to be able to just spit out values for fuel or ignition, I just understand the device enough to actually make a change. One of these days I'll own another carb vehicle, but it has to be something significantly different than I already own, and I want nothing to do with electronic feedback carb bullshit. Anything I mess with would be straight out of like 1970 before the emissions stuff. I'm totally fine with the idea of clean burning, environmentally friendly cars but trying to get that done before EFI was a nightmare that I want nothing to do with.

[mitymerc]

That engine looks sweet! Hope you get it running tip top soon.

[packman]

Nice installation! Wish my BeCool had mounting flanges. Woulda made the installation process easier.

[87gtVIC]

The fan fits really well in there. Hope it helps you out.

[Brown_Muscle]

Gadget- it is a 3 pump line, and the return there does work. So it's technically a return system, just not at the carb where it needs it.

Much progress! Fans are fully functional now, both come on at low, and high speeds. My heater core blew doing a WOT run...I'm not surprised, even with the restrictor in its about 40 years old. So I pulled the dash and installed a new aluminum unit. Hopefully this one will hold up better. I also repaired one of the doors inside that had broken...using plastic as a hinge wasn't the best idea on fords part.

I swapped some labor with John and he installed a new HPP steering box, lines, and pitman arm (big thanks!). Steering is way heavier, and more responsive. It doesn't come back to center at lower speeds as much as I was expecting, but maybe that's normal. It still needs an alignment.

I believe the steering box is the last mechanical part on the car to get replaced :O The philosophical question arises: is this the same car I got 14 years ago, or is it something different.