[SD455DJ]

Yep, thanks Stuart. The Pypes DGA10S down-pipes are also 409 SS, as are the Jones mufflers I bought a few weeks ago. The car will inevitably see some rain from time to time, but definitely, no winters or salt, so will flash rust I'm sure.

The Jeg's kit looks pretty decent for the price and I'll report back on the effort and surprises it will require for a good fit since it is basically a universal kit.

Dennis

[SD455DJ]

Since our power was still out from last Thursday’s storms, we couldn’t use the lift to put the Custom S in the air to work on the new exhaust. Also, the headpipe bolts in the manifolds wouldn’t come out, despite PB Blaster & heat, so we went with Plan 'C' for the exhaust system...which was back to replacing the old mufflers with new, but different DynoMax Super Turbo mufflers (#17732's) that have the 14" long (short) case with 2 1/4" inlet/outlet that are side/side. They fit better than the side/center #17731 DynoMax Super Turbo's, that we also had and tried, for some reason (also 14" long case w/ 2 1/4" inlet/outlet). The Jones Max Flow 1255's I bought earlier for replacements were too long when combined with the adapter pipes we had to employ to connect mufflers to the current headpipes and the original muffler hangers. We'll install the Jeg’s 2.5" mandrel bent system with the Pypes headpipes and Jones mufflers when we have more time and use of the lift. At least, for now, it has better flowing mufflers (that don't rattle & buzz) than it had. It's still quiet inside and has a nice authoritative tone at idle.

While the car was up in the air (about 18”), I took the opportunity to ‘restore’ the gray primer on the rear end, shocks, backing plates, trailing arms, etc. with good ol` semi-gloss black spray paint.

We also played car ‘dress-up’ by swapping the whitewall radials on the Custom S over to the ’69 Firebird, and the Firebird’s 14x7 Rally II’s with Wide Oval Redlines over to the Custom S. Oh, the fun never ceases!

Dennis

[Baron Von Zeppelin]

Almost don't realize its a 4door with those R2's and Redlines

Read about you guys missing TA Nats due to storm complications.
Sorry all that happened .

[SD455DJ]

Thanks BVZ! The storms timing was impeccable...it felt weird not to be there, for sure. The RII's w/ redlines are totally 1969.

Dennis

[SD455DJ]

Dan & I worked on the Custom S today adding the Auto Gage mini trio-gauges that were originally in my ’70 Formula 400, but removed when we installed factory tach & gauges. It’s nice to see what the oil pressure (20-60 psi), coolant temp (high of 180), and charging system (14.5 volts) is doing.

We also discovered we have more work to dial in the carb and timing since they haven’t been touched (other than setting initial) since the car came home. The 7029293 Q-jet is in admittedly unknown condition and really needs a good rebuild and examining/readjusting the fuel curve. It seems to be overly rich yet and the secondary air valve needs to be tightened some more as it has a big bog at full throttle. This is the fun stuff.

Dennis

[KSZR]

Neat cars!

For those of us that aren't great with a carb, where do some of you recommend sending a Q jet for rebuild?

[SD455DJ]

Originally Posted by KSZR

Neat cars!

For those of us that aren't great with a carb, where do some of you recommend sending a Q jet for rebuild?

Like North, we rebuild our own Q-jets...they are fairly easy to do, just take your time and follow the directions. You should purchase Cliff Ruggles excellent book on rebuilding and modifying the Quadrajet carb "How to Rebuild and Modify Rochester Quadrajet Carburators" (CarTech Books - SA Design Publisher).

I just rebuilt a recently purchased '69 7029262 Q-jet for my 350HO Custom S this morning and test drove it this afternoon. It's a very straight forward design requiring a little care and patience. Take pictures before and during disassembly to aid in reassembly. There really aren't a lot of parts to deal with. We also have a carb cleaner bucket (5-Gal. bucket that you can get at any auto parts store) that we use to soak the carb parts in for a good week before working on them. It's very satisfying to get the carb running well again. Fortunately, it didn't need anything extreme (like new throttle shaft bushings or leaky bottom plugs) or have any damage.

Dennis

[SD455DJ]

Speaking of rebuilt Q-jets, we can report that the new 7029262 is working flawlessly after the soaking and rebuild. The secondaries open without a bog and the engine runs clean up to the 5400-ish rpm automatic shift points (don't worry, the aftermarket in-dash tach reads 500-600 rpm high). The shifts were surprisingly crisp and firm and we're running 93 E10 fuel with a slow advance curve in the distributor (36 degrees by 4500 rpm with the factory heavy springs). Not a hint of pinging or detonation and it can burn rubber now! We will play with the advance to bring it in a bit sooner, but it runs great as is for now.

I have a video, but don't know how to modify/attach it (MP4 from Samsung 9 phone).

Dennis