labrat

Well, just be sure the drainplug is on the downhill side, and you should do pretty well. A couple of cinder blocks and 2x6's works well, too, as long as you lay the cinder blocks down longways with the holes facing up. I have crushed blocks like that when I stood them on end. Came outside after a break when I was swapping trannies on a chevette and it was laying on the ground with busted block all over the place. I'm just glad I wasn't laying under it when it went! Bill

Well, I got new points the other day, and set the dwell by a method I got from ignitionman on chevytalk.com. The ignition system was so bad it wouldn't even putt around the block without spitting and sputtering, so I replaced em about two weeks ago. Thanks for sharing that story about your exhaust, I don't feel too bad now. The exhaust will get uncorked next paycheck, and I will get my accell billet hei, but right now my cooling problems have the priority. I know all this stuff has to get fixed, and i'm willing to put the money up for it, I just can't right this minute and I have to prioritize. I was out of work for almost 2 months, and I just started working again 4 weeks ago, as soon as I get caught up on bills and utilities, the Z is a go. Thanks for your offer, mike, I really do appreciate it, but i'm working and going to school now so I just have to grab a few minutes of wrench time here and there when I can. I'm sharing my girlfriend's car with her right now, and would like to at least get this thing running enough to get me back and forth to work on the days our schedules conflict. I thank everyone here for their contributions, I will back that timing off a little and recore my existing radiator at a rad shop and buy a black magic fan and see what happens. Bill

Well Jim, I agree with the electric fan part, but a mechanical flex fan would stick about 2" out the top of my hood with my engine placement (had to clear the power steering gearbox with manifolds) and this was my only choice. The reason I suspected the exhaust may have something to do with it is because of the speed at which the temp climbs when I get on it. 5 seconds of throttle equals 20* spike in temp. As long as there are lots of traffic lights around to let me cool off between bursts, i'm fine. As soon as I accellerate (Or maintain highway speed) the temp shoots up like a rocket! I can't get 2 miles down the highway before temps start hitting 230+. And they will climb all the way up to boiling if I don't stop, they won't just settle down a little higher. I had this problem before, blamed it on blown headgaskets and rebuilt the motor. Got a nastier cam in it now, and it does it worse, that's why I suspected exhaust related. And when I say restricted exhaust, I mean I split a brand new muffler at the seams in under 1000 miles. WAY restricted. That's why I was concerned. I am just going to pony up for the griffin and hopefully not worry about this EVER AGAIN! It's been plagueing me since february, and i'm tired of it. Getting rid of my d*$& points, too! Bill

Yeah, my girlfriend thought I was crazy the first time I pulled my keys out, got out of the car, and locked the doors with the engine still running. Makes a quick trip to the convenience store a lot more convenient when you don't have to wait 15 minutes to start your car due to starter heat soak... Bill

Well, when it gets to the point where it starts getting hot, usually my first crutch to find an exit is to pop the hood and run it about 1-1/2 inches open at the back. Yeah, it seems like the air just doesn't have anywhere to go. I think the engine compartment may be pressurizing, causing less air to flow through the radiator. I'm using a radiator from an 88 buick regal (26" wide by 19" tall 2 core copper) and an electric fan from an older ford taurus, not the 2 speed one. With this paycheck i'm thinking about going to a griffin with a black magic fan, but I need to definitely fix the problem, not just throw more parts at it. I've tried a couple of different junkyard radiators, all they've got me is a garage full of radiators. I think I'll get the griffin and fan, seal it up good to the bodywork, and add a belly pan and see what that gets me. I also have some water wetter stuff that says it'll reduce temps by up to 40*, maybe with all that it will solve the problem. Then, I may be able to justify a front spoiler to my S/O. She won't let me spend money on looks yet, not till I get it reliable. This will just give me an excuse. Thanks for the input, guys! Bill

Well, I know my lower rad hose isn't collapsing, its the spring wound flex type hose. My water pump, thermostat, and radiator are new (well, boneyard rad, but I flushed it with muriatic acid before install), and the block has just been vatted when I rebuilt it. I'm running the most timing I can without getting starter kickback when I try to start it. New distributor, mechanical and vacuum advance all working properly. I don't think I'm losing pressure, seems to build that up fine. It's an 81 ZX with a 350/th350, and I thought my 3.90 gears and highway revs (yes, at near legal speeds... ) were just making more heat that the rad could dissipate. I think I agree with you that it's not getting enough air through it, though. It used to have a small belly pan, but I've lost it during a couple of moves, I guess I'll find one at the boneyard and see if it makes a difference. I'll also try to seal the rad to the body with some flexible metal tape and see if that makes a difference. I agree its a weird problem, most people overheat at idle. I just wanted to know if my restrictive exhaust could also be a contributing factor, holding more heat in the motor as the hot exaust gasses can't exit easily. Thanks for the reply! Bill

I just got a quick question here, folks. My car has been overheating on the highway ( no problems around town) and i suspect my lack of overdrive coupled with a restricted 2" single exhaust may be part of the problem. I have already split one of the seams on my muffler, and plan to redo the entire thing anyway, but I want to take care of my overheating problem ASAP. Could they be related? Will a larger fan/rad combo take care of the heat or should I just redo the exhaust and see what happens? I will have to drive this car to work intermittantly, so I'm looking for reliability rather than horsepower at the moment. Any and all input is greatly appreciated! Bill

Holy S*&T! He has more time and money in his wiring harness alone than I have in my entire swap! Double insulated aircraft grade! WOW! Anyone can swap a big motor into a small car (If I can do it, anyone can!), but that car is definitely a work of art, and a labor of love. And he did it without a sponsor! Bill

Seems to me like the easiest way to use your stock guages would be to keep all the sensors/sending units from your current setup, and adapt them to the ls1 block. It is cheaper and easier to plumb in water temp sending units and oil pressure sending units than to figure out what kinda voltages the guages need and going from there. The speedo may be an exception, I believe on these later cars it is completely electronic, and has no provisions for a cable. Fuel level shouldn't be an issue, and neither should the volts/amps guage. Bill

Well, I have a new set of Vortec heads i'm installing as soon as I get an intake, so that won't be a problem. The motor is pretty much stock except for the cam, got a 272 advertised duration (both sides) with a .460 lift. Shouldn't be too far from stock. Won't the throttle body bolt up to a carb intake? Or is there other sensors and stuff that need to go into it? I'm really not that farmiliar with the TBI system, so i'm not sure what all it entails. I am persistent, though, so I'll figure it out, one way or the other... Might just go aftermarket. Bill

Well, I have a new set of Vortec heads i'm installing as soon as I get an intake, so that won't be a problem. The motor is pretty much stock except for the cam, got a 272 advertised duration (both sides) with a .460 lift. Shouldn't be too far from stock. Won't the throttle body bolt up to a carb intake? Or is there other sensors and stuff that need to go into it? I'm really not that farmiliar with the TBI system, so i'm not sure what all it entails. I am persistent, though, so I'll figure it out, one way or the other... Bill

Don't know about the whole motor, Mike, but will that TBI setup swap to an old carbed 350? I wanna go injection, and my new job may have me there soon, budget-wise, but is this a valid alternative to aftermarket injection? Can the stock system be tuned for the extra cubes and hotter cam? Just curious.... Bill

Well, lets see how much work you get done on the Z with a full time (50+ hours) job and going to school full time. I'm in class minimum 16 hours a week. Plus commute time back and forth. Only one more year, and I have a degree in computer networking. Ugh... a whole year! Bill

Um, I always thought that a squid was a navy guy, but that may just be because i'm ex-airforce... Bill

If this is a ZX, you can also just use the stock chevy mechanical pump (or an aftermarket performance mechanical pump, depending on your needs). Since the mounts bolt directly to the frame horns, the setback plates don't interfere with the positioning of the pump on these cars. my $.02 (But how much is that after taxes?) Bill

Yeah, thawk, it's a beatiful carb and runs great once I get off-idle, (left two long smoky black streaks in front of the house on my test drive) I just can't get it to idle properly in gear. I don't think thats the carb's fault though. I like it cuz the red powder coating matches my red distributor cap

Thanks, i'll try that! I have now used 17 bux worth of different thickness gaskets thinking it was between the carb and base, and now it runs better, but I think it may be somewhere around the heads, maybe even underneath. Is there any way to check the bottom side? WOuld it be burning mucho oil if it was leaking there? I will try the hose trick, I didn't think of that. I have yards of spare hose laying around, from 3/8 to 1.5", so I will try that tomorrow. The only problem is I will have to drive it this way for right now, I gotta get to work and school tomorrow, and get home around 11. Ugh! Thanks for all the help guys, i really appreciate it! Bill

Ok, i've looked at this some more, and i think I may have warped the aluminum manifold when the motor overheated right before I tore it down. Is this possible? Likely? Certain? It just seems that no matter what I do, I can't get this carb to seal. Any input is greatly appreciated! Bill

Okay, i have it narrowed down to a vacuum leak. I held my hand over the choke horn to manually choke it, and at about 75% coverage, the motor roars to life. I think the leak is around the base of my carb, but i'm afraid to torque the bolts too tight, don't wanna rip the threads out of my aluminum manifold. Anyone have any ideas on sealing an edelbrock squarebore carb to an edelbrock 2101 performer manifold? I was gonna call edelbrock, but they are only open mon-fri. Any ideas here? Thanks GREATLY! Bill

I posted this in the carb forum, but I kinda need an anwer pretty quick and I thought it would get more exposure here. Here's the link... http://www.hybridz.org/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=21;t=000079 Thanks guys!

Ok, here's the deal. Been trying for a couple of hours to tune this carb, but not having any luck. It's an edelbrock 1407 750 vac secondary on a sbc 350. It will run like a demon and smoke both tires mercilessly once I get on it, and it idles pretty decent in Park, but I can't get it to stay running in gear without holding both pedals and looking like a leashed tiger. I've followed the procedures in the manual, but it looks like the idle circuit is not working at all, as I have to open the throttle blades enough to uncover the transition slots to even get it to idle at all. Then, put it in Drive, and it dies. I'm at a loss here, about to just switch to my backup carb. I know my cam is not radical enough to make me do this, it's only 272* advertised duration (can't remember @.050) and .454 lift. This shouldn't require any serious throttle blade opening for idle, should it? Anyway, as always, help is definitely appreciated!!! Btw, this is now my daily driver and has to get me to work tomorrow! Thanks again! Bill

Nevermind, I found it. If anyone is interested, it's edelbrock tuning manual

I know I've seen a manual for tuning edelbrock carbs somewhere online. I just got my car running with a used 1407 750 cfm edelbrock and need to get it tuned in, where can I find this? Has anyone seen it? I think it's in .PDF format, but I'm not sure. Thanks a bunch! Bill

I think it's supposed to act as an upper cylinder lube when put into your gas to lube intake valves. In the crankcase, it's supposed to clean varnish off of lifters and stuff. All i know for sure is that it works great when used to oil air tools. Bill

Man, youre lucky! Everyone sees my car idling at a light (whole car rocking from lopey cam and solid mounts) and won't touch me. Even brand new stangs. Not to mention is slides forward with the lope cuz i lose vacuum to my brake booster for a split second every revolution... At least I think it's lopey cam, it may also be a blown headgasket... Bill