1985 CV - A Canadian 2bbl 302

[SeanP]

Plastic spacer thing could be worth more HP too, although with a 2bbl I'm not sure it's worth worrying about. Every 85 CFI equipped car I've come across in boneyards is always missing that spacer, the TB itself is hit or miss.

I had a hesitation from coast to go, turned out the jetting wasn't right- they were too small. (No wonder the thing got 15mpg) I drove it over 2500 miles like that and I'm glad I didn't melt a piston or three. Looking back it's no wonder I lost to that VW on the expressway. I doubt jetting is your issue here but it was fun swapping in higher jets, noticing an increase in manifold vacuum and decrease in the hesitation with each progressive step until it went away.

I would actually go for one of those spacers if I knew where to find one. Wouldn't hurt to have the potential for more HP and the cooling properties would probably be better than the stock mounting gasket... or I could even double up! Mounting gasket and spacer!!! Think of how awesome my bowl temp will be with that combo!

And re: jets. I would certainly be down with putting in some bigger jets if it meant better performance. I'm not sure how to go about figuring that out/sourcing jets.

So... if you... or anyone else... knows where I can get 1.) Plastic spacer and/or 2.) Better jets for a 2150 2bbl I will be a very happy to hear what you have to say!

Also... anyone in Southern Ontario know a good scrapyard that often has boxes in it? I would certainly love to know the best bets around these parts.

Thanks folks!

[DerekTheGreat]

You can probably buy them online with no issue but you can't beat the five finger discount at a yard lol.

I don't know about anything other than Holley at this point but you can buy jet kits or individual jets for their carbs. I'd say the kit is the best way to go. Pro's use an oxygen sensor to help them tune but a guy like you or I can get by with a Vacuum gauge hooked up to a manifold source. Not as accurate but it'll get the job done.

[SeanP]

Re: the spacer... I think I have a part that might work:

Fel-Pro 60529

Take a look at it and see if that's similar. It says it's for a Mark VI ... which were all CFI as far as I know (except for the 351w cars in 1980).

[DerekTheGreat]

Hrmm, that looks like a thick gasket. The bolt pattern is correct but the doofrad I'm talking about looks like this:

[SeanP]

Hrmm, that looks like a thick gasket. The bolt pattern is correct but the doofrad I'm talking about looks like this:[ATTACH=CONFIG]43547[/ATTACH]

That's the one I would prefer, but no one seems to make new ones.

The Fel-Pro equivalent of this one looks a lot thinner. I have to contact them to see what the specs are.

http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/felpro-carburetor-mounting-gasket-60809/3209873-P

The one that came off of my car was just about 1/4" rather than the 1/2" the CFI one looks. It seemed to work fine. However, I can't see how having a little more space can be a bad thing.

[SeanP]

Just a warning: when you change your oil, always make sure the old sealer ring from the last filter is off before installing the new oil filter.



Sigh.

I've done about 30 oil changes in my life and I've NEVER done this before... and I doubt paranoia will let me do it again!

[VicCrownVic]

That's what we were taught in my HS auto shop class. My teacher also taught us to take a little oil and coat the surface of that seal so it is less likely to stick when you remove the filter next time.

I usually check to make sure that ring didn't stick, but there was one time a couple years ago on my 89 MGM that I forgot to check because I was in a hurry. The other thing my shop teacher taught us is to start the car after the oil change is all done and make sure you don't see any leaks. I usually do that also but for whatever reason I was in a hurry over (i'm pretty sure it had something to do with my wife) I also didn't do this visual inspection. Luckily I didn't go far before catching it so no harm was done, but it was a lesson re-learned.

[knucklehead0202]

Just a warning: when you change your oil, always make sure the old sealer ring from the last filter is off before installing the new oil filter.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]43568[/ATTACH]

Sigh.

I've done about 30 oil changes in my life and I've NEVER done this before... and I doubt paranoia will let me do it again!

Doh! Kinda surprised I've never had this happen, because I never really looked, but definitely noteworthy. Did have a bunch of fuel injector O-rings leak on me and piss gas all over the top of my engine. Also not a good feeling.

[knucklehead0202]

Lol, your car actually looks like it's sighing, with the hood slightly open like that.

[sly]

BTDT. It's always the one time you forget to check that the damn ring sticks to the engine.

[VicCrownVic]

BTDT. It's always the one time you forget to check that the damn ring sticks to the engine.

Yep, the one and only time I ever forgot.

[DerekTheGreat]

I changed the oil once on my 1994 Goddamn (grand am) and didn't tighten the drain plug tight enough (horror stories from Jiffy lube were already instilled in my head) and by the time I got home it had started to work itself loose. Came out the next day to a BP oil spill and an angry neighbor who drove over it and then transferred it to his driveway. Was probably the third time I ever changed oil and was probably also 18. Doh. Tightened plug up, refilled crankcase and then cleaned the mess up.

[sly]

My mishap happened in my in-laws driveway. Thankfully it's a river rock driveway... so the mess was self cleaning... so to speak. But I did lose about 3 quarts in about 5 seconds.

[SeanP]

Well glad to hear I'm not the only one. Yeah, this whole mess took about 5 seconds. My wife was watching it all. She helped clean up after, she's a trooper.

In fact, she just picked up a new carb mounting gasket and an EGR plate gasket for me. I'll be doing those sometime this week. While the carb is off I'll see if I can sort out the idle indexing issue I'm having. Also... anyone know about what the average proper setting is for the idle fuel mix screws? I've read anywhere from 1.5 - 2.5 turns out from seated. I know it's going to vary slightly from one car to the next, but I want to get as close to possible while it's off. Currently at 2 turns out.

Lordy these are a pain to adjust while it's on the car! Access is next to nil on the driver's side one... I have to pull three wires out of the distributor cap just to get a straight shot at it. Which means of course I can't adjust it properly while it's running.

[DerekTheGreat]

Further support for Holley carb! Idle screws are at the sides. I think on my Plymouth I've got maybe 0.75 to 1.00 turns out on them. To adjust I just opened them up a bunch, then dialed back in until it started to stumble, then opened up a smidge more, done. You're supposed to be able to use a vacuum gauge to adjust that like you do the jets but at idle the thing is so lopey and makes dick for vacuum anyway so I jus played by ear.