1982 Ford LTD-S 351W Police Car

[gadget73]

normally the major boiling issue is in the pump itself. Fuel sits in there and gets really hot so it doesn't take much to flash it off in the line running up. With a return system you should have relatively cool fuel feeding to the carb at all times rather than something that is seriously pre-heated. If you run the line up to the carb and keep it away from heat as much as possible it shouldn't get so hot in the carb that it boils. If it does, a spacer ought to help with that and maybe some insulation on the fuel feed.


alignment is very key to getting decent return to center. Not enough caster or no toe-in will make it sort of vague in the middle.

My car has the same VIN and spiteful tendencies so as far as I'm concerned its the same car. I think a lower percentage of mine is actually what I bought years ago than yours is though. Most of your body is at least original, large parts of mine are not.

[Brown_Muscle]

That makes sense, it's really only when it sits for a few minutes after running that there's a problem. If it's actively running/moving, no real problem with the fuel.

If i remember correctly caster is in the +5.xx area, and toe was slightly inwards, however maybe changing the box/pitman/idler arm changed that

[gadget73]

yeah may have, worth a check at least. Also unfortunately not all rebuilds are created equal. Sometimes they take a sloppy steering box and just put new seals and fresh paint on.

[slack]

yeah may have, worth a check at least. Also unfortunately not all rebuilds are created equal. Sometimes they take a sloppy steering box and just put new seals and fresh paint on.

Had this happen with the first steering box I put in my CV. It was just as sloppy as the one I pulled. I drove it like that for a while before finally buying another. I think the final one I put in there was an AC Delco one and it was much better. The first one I put in was the RockAuto cheapo-special.

[packman]

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.

Was the WOT run made for tuning purposes; or did you break-in the engine already?

In regard to your philosophical question: no it is not. My Malibu turned into a different car after the Cragars and full exhaust was installed. The Crown Vic is currently morphing into something else; at least when I look at the old engine bay pics from 2009.

[Brown_Muscle]

The box is very tight and responsive, not sloppy at all. It's return to center after going around a corner is just not as fast as most modern cars i've driven...this may be normal, I'm not certain. Were all your rebuilds Ford/Motorcraft's, or different brands, I was able to grab up a motorcraft one thankfully

The WOT run was for tuning purposes, she's had 3 oil changes so far, but also limited to 4500rpm by the trans. For all intensive purposes she's broken in (having plasma-moly rings and roller everything, like a modern engine) it was probably broken in after a few hundred miles, if not sooner. However I wont modify the valve body to shift at 5600rpm until i switch to synthetic oil...just as a precaution.

[sly]

there's no return spring on the older gear boxes. The return to center is based on caster alignment. If you've got one of those, that could be the issue.

[P72Ford]

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.

Just a thought, I put a brass valve in my heater core feed hose. I left it closed most of the time unless I knew I needed heat/ defrost. I spent a lot of time at or near the 6250 limiter without an issue.

Also... not with a panther but I had a bitch of a time boiling the fuel out of the Holley 4160 on my '75 F250 390. It had a low rise aluminum single plane intake (yes, single plane...) and after driving a bit you could shut it off and hear the fuel boiling in the bowls. Took me a while to figure out the hot start issue; I initially thought it was the battery cables and went as far as 1/0 replacement cables (damn thing turned over like there were no plugs in it). I wrapped the fuel line and that helped. I made a heat sink (3/16" AL plate) to install over a phenolic gasket, but never got it installed. The current owner told me it worked great though, and is hidden under the original style air cleaner pretty well.

[packman]

When I replaced the valve cover gasket in Putter Project, I had to remove part of the fuel line because it was laid across the top of the valve cover and ran down the side of the block. Didn't have any vapor lock issues with that truck; but when the fuel pump started leaking, I eliminated it, blocked it off, and put a Holley Red pump near the tank. Then ran a combo of 3/8" aluminum tubing and 6AN hose for the fuel system. Truck still fires up and runs fairly good for a 600k engine. Wish I knew how to do fuel lines when I had the Malibu. That had the same setup as Putter Project and would vapor lock bad on days like this.

[Brown_Muscle]

Some great suggestions- thankfully fuel injection will fix these problems pretty well!

Been having water pump problems. It started leaking at the back, so it got resealed...leaked again. Put a new HD water pump on, leaked again. I removed the timing cover because something seemed screwy. ive done a bunch of these with no problems before. WELLLL, the ecentric was apparently the wrong one and severely wearing/pushing on the timing cover. I'm guessing it distorted it, especially when the engine got hot and things expanded... it's a good thing ive changed the oil 4 times in the last 500 miles.

I've got the new cover/pump on...and destroyed the front crank seal, it's always something. i just hope this time it stays dry! I'm getting really tired of fiddling with a brand new engine.

[87gtVIC]

Oh thats a new one. You will get it all sorted soon enough.

[gadget73]

check your cam endplay if you haven't. The thrust plate / cam retainers wear and the cam can float back and forth. Would take a fair bit to drift out far enough to rub the back of the timing cover, but it never hurts to rule it out. Forget the allowed play but its not much. 20 thou maybe?

[Brown_Muscle]

The cam retainer was new... it's back together or i would measure it. Apparently this is a very common problem. If you don't match up the timing set with the correct eccentric ring, it will rub the cover. I had used a racing set that i never had before...it must have been made to be used with the 2 piece eccentric.

[Brown_Muscle]

Cars been up and running for a week now. So far so good (knock on wood)

The brake booster (which is about 2 years old, Prior brand) is starting to go... I'm going to replace it with the newer dual diaphragm design from a different company.

ALSO BIG NEWS. I ordered the Holley Sniper EFI system. It's basically the last mechanical piece of the puzzle for my car to be "done" mechanically...for any length of time. I'm sure I'll make small changes, but this is the last big one I'm planning on for a long while. Eventually it'll probably get a 6r80 trans...but that's expensive and years down the road.

[jaywish]

EFI ftw