Tim240z

TZ....works for me, but what do I need for her. ROTFLMAO!!! Tim

Hey TZ, does that work with women too? I should try it with my wife lol , but I might get one of these Tim

Yup, Like TZ said, I'm using a calendar, not a stopwatch!! But I'm just too fussy , just like a girly Tim

of course my times are longer...I'm still driving my 2.4 I6. Tim

Bet mine's longer!! lol

I guess lessons learned from the Pinto have been forgotten by the 'next generation' of Ford designers Owen, I don't think that you're supposed to tailgate Cops anyway, are you? Tim

My experience is removing the dash in a 73 with no glass or interior...so take my opinion with a pinch of salt. It was easy enough. Just make sure that you have ALL the plugs in the dash harness disconnected. It would be easier to have someone help, but I did mine alone. Take the seats out, it'll give you more room. Take out the 4 bolts that hold the steering column to the firewall. Then just start taking out all the bolts and pull it out. Take the oppurtunity to take care of any rattling gremlins and use compressed air to get rid of all the crud. It is time consuming, but easier in the long run. Tim

Cool man...these stories give me goose bumps !!! Tim

Try McMaster Carr too. Tim

Nope...no worky

LZ, Cut a piece of wood into a "Y" shape and tie a piece of string to the top. Then, pull up on the chain to get as much slack out of it as possible and then jam the Y-wood in between the 2 sides of the chain, ie forcing the tensioner back into its housing. Jam it in there good, because if it slips out, off comes the oil pan and front cover....or about 3 hours with a couple of long screwdrivers to get the tensioner and spring back in....I've done that twice....no fun. Tim BTW, MSA and Victoria British both sell a plastic pice to wedge in there if you want something purdy.

Right, and he would generally not get the piston face mucky either.I see what you mean about the oil ring installation, but I am not wholly convinced that it would be noticed only during acceleration/revving. I would think that you would get a slight haze out of the tailpipe that is unrelated to rpm, but then I don't have the experience with the situation that you do, I am only using the very basic engine theory knowledge that I have. It would suck to have to tear down the motor again!!! At least it can be chalked up to practice!! Tim

Just get some aluminum tubing. No rust and much lighter. If you want to get fancy have it bent to the correct shape and weld on a cap flange, maybe something from a radiator would work. Then you will only have one 'rubber' joint. Use some hylemar on the rubber/aluminum mating surfaces to avoid any seepage (don't use silicon, gasoline breaks it down). Tim

Aw,,,that's just making life too easy!!!! cheatin' I say!! Thanks for the info! Tim

Arif, Firstly, if you can manage to get the old speedo and tach out then you're doing very well. Those wing nuts can be VERY tight after years and years. Once out then it's easy. But trust me the whole job would be easier with the dash out, esp. the three pod gauges. As for Mech vs elec.: Mech are ususally more accurate, and the either work or don't, so you always know where you stand. On the other hand, they need bigger holes in the firewall to get the fittings through. The electric gauges are easier and neater (?) to install. I've never had any problems with electric gauges and I love the ease of installation. I generally use a mechanical for 'oil pressure', just because that's the most important gauge that needs to work and work accurately. The rest I use electric. You may find in car fuel pressure very expensive, that's why I'm not using one. But nice to have. HTH. Tim

What voltage is the alt charging at? Is the battery any good? Tim

Guys... Don't cheap out when it comes to fuel.... Pay a little now or a lot later....can you say Zeebeekeww? Tim

LZ, no specs off the top of my head, but if you take the valve cover off and look at the gap between the 2 sides of the chain, it will be very obvious what size it needs to be. I just cut a piece of 1x3 with a jigsaw to the right size/shape. Tim

Ya know, sometimes the human ear is a VERY accurate tuning device!!! Tim

I have a 1 wire on the truck. It charges as soon a I start it, but I do have to give it a couple of blips when its cold to fire it. I'm sure that once it's excited enough it will continue to charge. Tim

Bang, They have been doing this for decades now. Not so much on automotive stuff nowadays, but definitely on bigger stuff (stationary sources). A good tech can tell by the wave frequency and duration how the engine is reacting and how efficiently its running. If you've seen the old Sun equipment, with oscilliscopes and waves on the screens, that's what they're doing. Very good diagnostic tool (reading wave frequencies), but you REALLY have to know what is going on. My 2c worth. Tim

Thanks for the info. What year 'Vette was that bracket from? and do you know if the alt. is the same as the Z28 (1994) one. IE...can I just call Billy Graham's or HP Salvage and order the bracket and then use what I have? Is the idler part of the bracket? Thanks again, Tim

Just a thought guys. Could the valve stem seal on that cylinder be leaking. I would imagine that the exhaust would put out blue smoke all the time if the oil ring had crapped out. If it's only doing it on acceleration (or revving) that seems classic for a bad seal on the valve stem. If this is the case, you can fix it without tearing down the motor. Worth checking into. Tim

The R200 is pretty much bolt in. just get the mustache bar when you pull the diff (it's the bar that mounts behind the diff). LSD are very rare these days, but are available aftermarket. Do some searching of the archive and I'll bet that all of your questions will be answered. The most common ratio is 3.9. Tim

Nope. Same idea though. Tim