[mechanickeith]

Mark,, You need a big radiator for the test stand?? I have a new one somewhere that was for the 69 Catalina before I sold the car. Will see if I can find it.

[marks73ta]

I have a radiator that fits the dual fan shroud but I'm not sure of the integrity of that radiator. So I may be able to use yours if mine fails. Thank you for the offer Keith. Now I feel bad that I've been torturing your Butler Shirt!!!

Mark

[marks73ta]

I've been thinking about the distributor back in the firewall "cove" and that it will be almost impossible to work on it when the engine is in place. So I plan to drop in a stripped out old early Tempest 4 cylinder distributor. The Old 4 cylinder distributor is shorter and the cap is smaller in diameter than a V8. All I need is the body and the shaft to run the oil pump so I plan to do whatever I can to even get rid of the cap. So that leaves me without a distributor. I've also been worried that the BIG OL' Hilborn fuel pump may be way over the top for GPM than I could ever need. I'm worried a regulator may not be able to keep it at 6-7 psi. So I've been playing with a Pontiac aftermarket (Summit) HEI I have on hand to make it into a front drive, off the cam, distributor. But I want a functioning mechanical and vacuum advance for the street. IF, I can make it work with the turbos. I cut up the aftermarket HEI to fit on the end of the fuel pump extension but it's counterclockwise operation makes the mechanical/vacuum advance system unusable. So if I have to run a locked out setup I'll run that, BUT, the body is longer and sticks the top of the cap right up to the little intercooler radiator. I picked up a Chevy HEI and with it's shorter body (main upper body to the mounting flange), it would allow the mechanical/vacuum advance system to work (clockwise rotation) and it will fit about 1.5 inches farther towards the timing cover. You can see the difference in the pics.

The Pontiac HEI body.





The Chevy distributor.





The bases of the distributors have to be trued, and the extension machined to catch the distributor mounting flanges of the distributors. The distributor shafts will have to be shortened and machined to a hex to mate with the pump drive on the cam.

Mark

[Engine-Ear]

Besides the mechanical interferenceS (both the thought-of and the not-yet-thought-of), what about run-out / wobble? The dizzy shaft normally sits (and spins) essentially vertically, but now you are axing it (and the bushings and counterweights, et al) to play nice AND remain stable while rotating horizontally?

Mark, I vote for adding some sort of removable-during-tuning/service trap door for proper dizzy access and keep dizzy miss lizzy where she belongs (at the back of the block).

...my $0.02.

[BruceWilkie]

Originally Posted by Engine-Ear

Besides the mechanical interferenceS (both the thought-of and the not-yet-thought-of), what about run-out / wobble? The dizzy shaft normally sits (and spins) essentially vertically, but now you are axing it (and the bushings and counterweights, et al) to play nice AND remain stable while rotating horizontally?

Mark, I vote for adding some sort of removable-during-tuning/service trap door for proper dizzy access and keep dizzy miss lizzy where she belongs (at the back of the block).

...my $0.02.

I second that !

Id go with coil on plug and EfI...BUT... Megasquirt can be run ignition only till your ready to tackle injectors and fuel tables etc.

Your hilborn pump with the appropriate bypass regulator will work with EFI or Carbs. With enough bypass capability(return at least as big as supply or bigger) and boost reference you can still feed your carbs at 6 lbs!

[Jack Gifford]

Keep in mind that electronic timing boxes are available. I'm using the Crane TCU (timing control unit) on the '58 engine in my GMC. It's not ready for the road yet, but I've test-run it quite a bit. I'm using a Hall-effect crank trigger, but it would also work with points or an HEI-type trigger. The "centrifugal" function is programmable, as is the "vacuum" advance (via a MAP sensor). It isn't very expensive and will drive any CDI box. My distributor is still in place, but serves merely to "distribute" the spark via the rotor and cap. Tweaking ignition curves by turning dials beats the heck out of messing with advance weights and vacuum diaphragms!

[Chris Petersen]

Here is a little info for you Mark, to try to get you to go EFI

I got mine up and running with Mega squirt controlling timing only.

Took a regular Pontiac HEI dist. took out the 4 pin module, weights and springs, and welded the plates together to lock it out. Got a 8 pin GM module from a newer (early 90's) Chevy van with a TBI 350. It is mounted outside the dist. only two wires going into dist for the sensor. Will run without the ECU connected at base timing (because its locked out) but plug in a few wires to mega squirt, bam, computer controlled timing via a timing map. Best of all worlds. Can have 30+ degrees at idle and cruse, but get into boost and timing will drop to what ever I put into the map.

Hoping in a few more days or this weekend, should have it fuel injected too.

Got the EFI intake on, but need to wire in the injectors and a few more things. Here is a picture, after I get it up running, I have better ways to route fuel lines and such, so the picture makes it look a little messy.

Love all the work you have been doing to this car, but it should be a bout time to start driving it

[johnta1]

Chris, your setup looks great!

What size are the injectors?
Brand?
What HP level are you expecting?

Excellent work.

[Chris Petersen]

Originally Posted by johnta1

Chris, your setup looks great!

What size are the injectors?
Brand?
What HP level are you expecting?

Excellent work.

I dont want to hijack Mark's thread, I'll start a new on with all the details in the future when it is running better.

Injectors = semins 80lb/hour (want to be able to run pump gas or E85)
Turbo and fuel system is only good for 1000HP, and the stock block might not hold that LOL. Going to start out by taking the waste gate spring out, and go from there.

[marks73ta]

Well. I've been staying out of the garage because of 110 degree temps. But I've been doing my homework on making a front drive distributor. I took into consideration the thought you guys had about the shaft running in the sintered bearings on its side. SOOO!! I purchased a new Pro-Comp electronic billet distributor with the top roller bearing. I've blown apart the distributor already but I took a pic of the principle parts.



In it you can see the distributor, distributor shaft, the pump extension and the extension roller bearing and the hex drive shaft in the bearing.

This is the extension again. The top end of the pump extension pic shows the shoulder that is machined into the inside of the extension to seat the bearing.



The bearing normally installs into the top of the extension so it sits almost flush with the opening. Then the hex drive goes through the bearing and the pump would sit down into the slight relief (pocket) at the flange and the pump shaft would fit into the hex drive end. What I'm going to do is bring the bearing in from the opposite end of the extension and locate it about half way down the inside of the extension. Cut off the distributor housing shaft and have it machined down in steps so it fits in snug to the top of the extension. The first cut from the top of the distributor will match the first opening diameter of the extension, the second cut will match the reduced "step'" that originally stopped the bearing (the bearing shoulder). The following pics kind of lays out where everything will line up.





I think I found a machinist to work with. So I'll be taking it there soon.
With this set up the top of the distributor shaft will be riding in a roller bearing, the mid point of the shaft, where it will get machined to fit the hex shaft adaptor, will ride in a roller bearing, and the end be inserted into the pump drive hex receiver mounted on the cam. The last thing will be to cut the distributor shaft to length and have the end cut to a hex to fit the hex drive adaptor end.
The distributor I bought is a Chevy with a slip collar to locate it where I need it to be so that will allow some latitude in how long I make the housing shaft. I think it will work out fine. More pics coming as I get the machining done.

Mark

[v869tr6]

Cool stuff, going to be a quite a machine.

[jdw_poncho]

Looks like a fun project. Do you by chance have a picture of the timing gear with the drive installed? Ive started on some drawings to drive mine with a simlar set up and would like to see how the drive is mounted to the gear.

[marks73ta]

Steve Barcak engineered an adaptor that he has machined for him to adapt a Chevy front pump stub to the Pontiac cam gear. I think I have pics of it but it's too late to find them tonight. I'll try to get the pics of it tomorrow and pot them up. This is what I have driving this whole caboobillation. It was originally to drive my Hilborn fuel pump but I'm using it now to run this distributor concoction.

Mark L

[hellerods]

Mark -- I like your style and vision, you make the rest of us "Dardsiders" proud. I can't even figure out how to put a decent cup holder in my car............. Leedawg

[twooldgoats]

Originally Posted by marks73ta

Well. I've been staying out of the garage because of 110 degree temps.......

Mark

Mark, Mark, Mark, PUT A COOLER IN ALREADY. This is perfect AZ weather for an evaporative cooler. It's been comfortable out in my garage (though, in fairness, it is a few degrees cooler down here). Glad to see you're making progress. I should be looking into a swamp cooler for my racecar so I can sit in the lanes.

Jim

[marks73ta]

SHHHHH Jim. You're gunna ruin a great excuse not to work in the garage, darn it. Sometimes I just get tired of working on it and need a short break. Plus everything I do now cost 50 to 100 bucks every time I look at E-bay. This slows down the money drain. BUT. Mostly I'm just plain ol' lazy. I worked my hours and butt off to the man/master for all those years. Now I only have to bow down to one Master--er--two masters. My car craze and my Misses.
I suffered a mini stroke back in 1973 and since that day I've always had a hard time working in heat. So I don't push it. Kind of stupid to move to the hottest city in America hey??? I followed my kid down here. I should have found him a job in Hawaii, LOL.

Mark

[marks73ta]

Been a while since I last added anything for the car. Had to replace the injection pump on my diesel Chevy 2500. Could only work for a couple of hours at a time early in the morning so I took my time but finally got it all running and now I can get back to the Cat. I got all of the plumbing figured out and run from the rear of the car to the front of block. Twin AN-16 lines will be coming from the rear mounted remote pump off of the radiator. You can see the two -16's coming up and into the block.



The exit/return line is a single AN-20 line all the way back to the trunk. In the trunk will be a mid 60's Ford expansion tank with another AN-20 from the expansion tank to the radiator inlet. I have a 50 gal/min remote pump bringing it up the twin -16's into the block. The thermostat should regulate the flow and the -20 may add some restriction versus the twin -16's bringing it forward, hopefully to allow it all to work. I have to tie up (mounts) all of the lines running under the car, place and mount the expansion tank, then finish the expansion tank to the radiator inlet and the lines will all be done.
I just hope it all works. I'm going to run twin water temps as well in the crossover to keep an eye on both sides of the block. There will be some swirling in the crossover I'm sure but hopefully it will still be representative of the temps coming out of the motor.

Mark

[gtofreek]

Originally Posted by twooldgoats

Mark, Mark, Mark, PUT A COOLER IN ALREADY. This is perfect AZ weather for an evaporative cooler. It's been comfortable out in my garage (though, in fairness, it is a few degrees cooler down here). Glad to see you're making progress. I should be looking into a swamp cooler for my racecar so I can sit in the lanes.

Jim

Hey Jim, you should go nostalgia, and look into one of those little round swamp coolers that the 50's cars had mounted in the door windows! It won't work much sitting in the pits, but it should be blowin' like a hurricane by the end of the 1/4!

[gtofreek]

That is, if it stays mounted to the door!

[marks73ta]

The side wind force from that thing hanging out in the breeze would start the car spinning through the lights. IT WOULD CAUSE A TEMPEST!!!! A really big I'M SORRY for that one. The Devil made me do it.

Mark