attacking a monojet

[Barry Donovan]

finally content ...day 2

the yo yo days are done for this one.
the last day of the first engine (25 years- no mercy)... a large bellow getting out on the highway, front end comes up, and I am glad my seat is not like an 83 escort... I would have snapped it in my little sube the same.

well, then it happened, spun the crank pulley off for the last time. this brought heat. drove it home one last time..
put in a sheer pin for the crank pulley to match the timing gear, which is keyed. Between the 140 foot pound crank bolt and the pin, this should go the distance...I then blew the engine next startup.

it has been two months since then..or is it closer to 3.

an ignition, reroute of wires..and acknowledging finally to stop being so humble to past internet opinions and stay with the 90+ octane it needed to be normal.

today, this may be funny to an ever common pile of american parts..but to me it has not been easy, all the way to rocket science...

today, the full throttle was the biggest response ever...and it liked it. At this cars past peak, I mathed 100 in a quarter.. it is slightly beyond that right now. Finishing rear end welds tomorrow (more grinding than anything) and off to confidence in this conquered tin can.

[Barry Donovan]

back to a typical mod

something newer cars do. with four valves and a retards ecu..err ecu retard, the big intakes are welcome, as vacuum is next to useless on multi port. A fake draft goes with the big fake bellow.
this sube becomes a bomb playing those games, sending chunks of connecting rod to my neighbors yard.



this came from my dads 550 caterpillar. 600,000 miles or so. I kept the whole thing, as it turns is it is mandrel, the hole that was found snipped off, can still get to top of carb. Thinking ahead (I seek a mercedes diesel)..some of it may sit around until whenever. the square flange is a close fit to my subes intake box at the firewall. appears to be 3 inch tubing. The reason for the current small tubing was 87 octane..it outran it horribly, dangerously, using a big intake… 22 inches of vacuum on 12.5 to 1 can do that.

back to 92 octane and much better control on ignition, am working this to mount to airbox. The little sube will get a little bigger. I also want to slow down the air getting drawn throguh air filter. the bigger tube can do that. Even with car set conservative, the air filter a good distance away from cai has a perfect circle of dirt like it was a vacuum cleaner...
not just a silly perfomance mod with the 550 cat tubing.

the key loop off to the right, a funny story, its about amps and their silence..steel and its molecular changes to welding. I welded the rear end today finishing it off, drive home. The clip with a c-shape and snap…warped on its own to no latch, and my key fell off. Did it all by itself, slow motion. welding is a big power on a car, even hours after chore is done. I fixed it as of this photo, but do not trust it. hence it sits their keyless.

Another ea82 engine that did big intake was the singular injection, not just multiport..the carbs needed a big exhaust, and a very tight ignition to attempt it, 90+ octane on a tight one.. today I have all the chores done. looking forward to sharing what a real draft opened up in a similar way to injection CAI really does.
stilla confusing subject for some..

why the big intake and no power gain is a very common modern question for injection. Ashame not more education about that. the little intake tube going to the carb does not mean its a little engine...in complete contrast to present standards.

[Barry Donovan]

550 cat to the rescue

the cold start snapped right into high idle. no waiting for a slow climb. I was indeed starving this little runt yet again.


air box cover unmodified, this is the result. I remembered the opening being 3 inch. glad I did. A junk part became an intake plus welded flange to fit. I polished the inside of pipe..as some may know with steel, on the intake side it gets airless gasses like nitrogen, and all the cleaner vapors…they never rust.



Drilled flange in one spot to gain two bolts. the way this works in lamination, I will leave the rest to silicone to seal..very stout little piece.



nothing to notice here, nothing at all. Will paint outside cat yellow, more than a joke..it came from my dads 550 caterpillar engine. I was just informed it was a water line. Can you imagine a 3 inch steel radiator hose?
my last engine, with factory carb, outran 87 octane. made for a bad day on the midget plastic side radiator. in fact it was that midget torture that nearly masocistically drove me to the build it is today. There is No excuses at all for torturing a proper chemistry…subaru did just that with every model of the ea82. Things got very serious..even for human health. This one is a clean go.

if a good eye spots the shiniest part in the engine bay, it is the oil cap..it has USA stamped in it.

for other old suby hackers:
the boot is 2.5 inches..heat it to 250F stretch for all your fingers can..I put a little bit of soap on the steel and a screwdriver aided..slipped right onto the 3 inch. I did sand the end to be smooth and shiny, and also carefully went around the very edge and turned it inwards to avoid cutting intake tube. I have spotted the cost of these at a subaru website..went careful with it. Also, these tubes have a spring in them, do not remove, they are a static grounder out to the box as well as keeping the tube puffed out.

there ya have it. subaru stuff unmodified, and I stll get what I want, 300% more of it perhaps.

the last thing was hunting down a gasket maker just right. permatex form-a-gasket 1 went to use. resists gasoline, mewntions being a harder gasket..meant for flanges. the micron earthquake through the air tube fails regular stuff..will see how this does.


a quick ride is proving to be just what the doctor ordered. no strange bellows, exhaust a bit more full down low. I am a city dweller with snapper heads all around..keeping quiet is not an easy chore for me and this engine.

[Barry Donovan]

woops, that was third gear

the choke kicked in even on this warm day..the cai helped something along. Car started right up fast. So now I've learned two unlikely things, as they "never happen".

air boots can be too small, and 87 octane can be too fast. Given, american engines are large enough plenum and flows right out of the box..this just show how runted the machine I am working with was. I never encountered it until this japanese car.

I was getting on the highway, gave it the normal diesel rpm treatment in second as I climb to 6000 or so to get to near 70..thought the end of the ramp was clmbing up faster than usual for the same rpms. more preccupied to the bellow and listening for predetonation than speedo, as that is slow anyway. I was watching the tach as if to be in second gear..

oh. I was in third this time, not second, climbing at the same rate.
the little buggy knows how to move again.

Today the "lets pass the old slow sube as soon as the exit ramp ends" was featuring a donk wheeled pickup truck. Having 25 years of maine behind me...hey guy. that is not a tough truck you silly ghetto girl.

the only good thing that happened was the american v8 volvo wagon behind me. this is a small town. I keep track of the normal oddities, custom builds. Nice wagon, I say it everytime I see it.

I guess I can be more aggressive now, it has been a long road. A damn long road.

that air tube is just right. monojet gets the diameter it needs.

Was just trying to find schedules at new england drag, alot cheaper than loring..but loring is actually closer for me.
no helmet means no faster than 14 seconds.

I wonder if I can work in a southern maine/nh dyno, then try a timer on street night. is that 35 bucks? seems even I would be enthused about that one. Besides a five page list of mods, repairs.. I want to be adding to the price of anti-bullshit with some numbers. This is not a normal little sube.

[Barry Donovan]

videos delete

I deleted 23 videos...
not that my you tube gets much attention...
if a vid in a post in this thread is missing..you now know why.

I am quite confident in the post that sums it up will be sooner than later..
I'll call it video final. just get all of this at once.

with excuse that the net is bad or maine is rural.. I am having a hard time believing that. I even catch up with an english speaking costa rican subaru owner (flat six in a 2100 pound wagon). Something has been fishy with me and you tube for a long time...it started with my old subaru. A few more years than not posted in a 3 year old account.

americans can stick together too...only in defense of truth.

I make subaru look like an asshole..because it is.

the guts of this project is more a 1967 than a 1987.. I chuckled back then to decipher it, and stuck with it. 15 years now.

[Barry Donovan]

choke revisited..again.

an odd note, more invisibles observed.

instaling the accel ignition was the start of a hot diode at the choke (I installed one some time back)...I knew amps went backwards by subaru oem..why hot with ignition in correct direction? hard telling.

I then went ahead with the switch to balance load the key ignition.

cold starts went on being stubborn, went to adjust choke yesterday, which is beyond the little marks rochester gave it just to get it to close. You know what I found?

the choke in adjusting went back to the oem marks. exactly right on the money. This verifies a bleed was at the oem ignition switch..affected the carb. Amps gone slowly wild, non fuse blowing sneaky slob..the choke at the carb has a few hints.

I suppose that is a tip for another monster millions of cars have. you got a key ignition riding copper slide? ...they all bleed , some more than others.

the choke on a carb engine will tell you. The more ohms (v8 chokes) they will break sooner. the little choke (less ohms) play the game I mentioned. The v8 ones just simply snap to no function, big resistor coil setup..makes sense, big engine need big things.

testing things out, as maine summer dry is slowly going to turn into clouds and ocean on the surface. If you know maine you can relate. It bogs down any version of any machine..except a 40psi diesel turbo. its like clouds coming to the surface... tiny tiny drops, very thick walls of them, mistake it for fog easy enough. A day when stators in alternators get very warm. Silicone is useless to attempt to dry. imagine two 12v+ to a magnetic pickup...not a pleasant ride. Grounds have to be right, diodes need to be dioding. This one only recently got fixed to normal. Hell season is only beginning. Younger, I loved the challenge, and hardly spoke it. Just work around the drama as things happen.

Car did awesome. puffed up right side tires by 12 pounds. I forgot what this car does with a coil swap..not even the tires problem. Nice to sit in now, thumping in the tread subsided. Simply needed air. A bit more at home defying this weather, sitting behind the tiny windshield, tiny engine...watching the water streaks go by...the bog in the fog on the throttle is still overcome. the monojet sitting like a king on a balanced throne. This is where bulding a machine means something. Hard to stay humble if you built it yourself.

[Barry Donovan]

arctican air duct heater..err maine



this is for waste veggie oil projects, heat the thick fuel. I am thinking ahead for the arctican chores..big barrel carb on a little engine needs some help. Rather than constipate airflow until acts of god.. I am opting to build a heater. the one above is ingenuity, because not many companies outside of sunny places care about cold weather and its problems. I am glad the net has some things to hunt down.





with a “key on” wires available at the carbs location, simply not in use anymore, wiring this normally closed 140F auto switch and heater will be easy. total cost is less than 50 delivered..with instructions. the 140F spot, I have a good several guesses to mount it, to make it look like it belongs, insulated.

there was a version of this engine that hung onto full power into the single digits. I found the hot maf was more than hot, it could light fires. Attempting to replicate that in a sane american way with the juice of heat insulated away from who knows what getting sucked into air duct.... I will wrap the heat wire on the outside of the steel part of duct. should be slow air there in the big duct, heat will get to it.

this may chore be delayed for a bit. I have some body finalizing, and new tires to pursue. Still warm through most of september.

on some more thought.. I have had holley 600 on a smallblock, did not even need a choke. It rode something called static pressure. I have had those engines running so cold ethylene glycol was useless. It is a legendary sound if to hear one coming below zero..tall geared strain. wow. in fact that memory is still as youthfully ear rasing as it was back then.

I learned it with the subaru easily, only one duct. If the steel gets warm near plenum, and carb stays cool, this is the reverse that self heats while not hurting the engine. very old trick..an actually very very precise to get it.this buggy has that now, so I may wait until beyond first frosts (I guess september this year) and see how long it takes to get going. Again, I am city street dweller, not hopping in for a 40 mile ride most often. Heater may be necessary, might not..have to wait and see.

[Barry Donovan]

some famous lonely big barrels

not many know what the heck I am trying to do..and to be at bangshift with a ricer. The facts to me spoke for themselves years ago..dynamics after working on the publics cars.
I learned beyond 36mm is starting to get pretty darn big for venturis. Some serious engineering needs to be within, and surrounding them. I worshipped the thought.

Aside from this guys narration..(I daydream myself being as slow and unexcited if ever to speak), here s a good clip of some big singular barrels on an old v12.

from waiting for the sound of fuel pump to change, to taking forever to warmup...I have a ricer'd tin can doing the same thing. Is ferrari a ferrari only..or is it minds of a certain wavelength thinking alike?

I love to challenge that question. There is a correct answer.
ashame not many pursue something in the never ending money pit called a car..to look around and be surprised where they ended up...it is never bad, even when it is.

[Barry Donovan]

drive clip aug 2012

a realistic climb to 80. I have met my goals to make this a modern player..at 30 something mpg. this does have a bigger mode with a bigger jet, I force a clean and lean with a #80. if it hits 14 even at a quarter, my math is right on.(I think it does even better than that)
timing cut back a few degrees after this vid. imagine pinging on 91 octane? This one can.
I still have to pay very close attention to timing, exploding these little gems is a heart acher.

the accel setup complete is fantastic..seriously. it has been 15 years fidgeting with oem lies.

in the vid, I made point to show tach, speedo is as useless as any of my cars after getting done with them (seriously)

7000 in second is 69.13989964837422 (might be off by a millionth)
5600 in third is 78.83770694898074

something I had heard of was overhead..and gears drift off from the number as speed increases. I leave tread at 25.2 in the calculator, it is actual closer to 26, espscially in the summer on a tiny tin can. this gets it close enough. the spec clutch proves not to lose anything at all ever. A coolest thing to happen to me after a speeding ticket (my only one was in a little subaru like this one), is using the gear calc compared to a ticket. it was right on the money. I make a habit of it, and attempt to memorize it.

[Barry Donovan]

3 main bearings and a 1 barrel carb

Gathering facts of this one, I mentioned grey hairs creeping in. Rather than be depressing discussing what happens to bones that were mutilated when young to someone getting older..
I have been looking at long wheelbase heavier sedans as a next one. could be as simple as a mercedes diesel, crown vic, caprice..I am dynamical.
I am reading through the cars past, reminded it had just 37k miles on it in 2003. 13,700 miles in 1998. A bad subaru ends up a good one..because one can't drive it and be content until someone attacks it.

5 pages of mods, pile of reciepts.. 810 photos in just the diary, 270 more for the public to see. 4000 beyond that in various out takes.

Summarizing a car while keeping it away from a sale to a challenged mentality.. it is not all that easy is it?

Still working on that right now.

The title of this post is the one for the summary. that first page someone would be reading if interested. Right off to be established...OEM brand name means jack squat to this one.

with above spewed out of inner thoughts, the welded muffler brke a hole, a small one.. I actually like the sound..and the header quieted down. So now I have learned four things that "never happen" in any car, that happened to this little thumper:
air duct can be too small, headers can be too small, a muffler can be too small, and 87 octane can be too fast. All is changed except two inch muffler I forced to work with many weldings.

I'll find a cheap 2.25 inch full chamber muffler someplace. walker dynomax seems to be a universal approach.
Fender on order, the last panel. This car and fenders..if one decides to shrink, it looks like the whole engine shifted in the bay and one tire wants to stick out...all because the fenders have mismatched width of flare over tire. I liked that suby flaw, idiots tend to walk away from a sale that way.

I mention fender, as the passenger side used to get attacked by fuel air..the monojet is a gentle giant, the rust that is on fender now stopped in time...the odds of it being original, tell me alot of good things about fuel poisons, this car has none.The new fender will add that width this little buggy deserves. Not to mention sound changes for the air bellow of air box. the ubarus of many years cannot have a bad passenger fender, (air fuel related).. I do notknow what year they went complex with the boxes, I think it was mid 90s onward. The rest was like american in a way..you must have good steel.

[Barry Donovan]

dynomax 17713



I liked my first little dynomax thrush turbo..but today, I have outdone the flow, realistically. I am one to wait until 4 welding jobs into a muffler before changing to the last hole burst.

this one is a gain of 2 inch on body to 14”, and oval shape, an inch wider, with a 2.25 inch opening. I have a close fit to begin with..but this extra body length will fit. I thought I needed a twelve back when I bought the current dynomax thrush on the car. I am hoping not to look ricerish, hence 2.25 with a tail tip is not all that monster. My own is tucked in a way where you cannot see muffler.. I make it to back into deep snow. Should sound full, no slob of too large. The tail tip is the only thing visible, tucked into groove given by oem.

I am only guessing, but it should sound just like this.


I went through so many exhaust setups, I began recording. In four years, more than six.
the dynomax melted in two years..looked new, but exploded. I finally dumped an entire pound of mig wire, and its been there since 2010. did very well considering headgasket fail with sprites of thermite stuff.
the new one, has only one inch on each side..but remember how I did the first one. Should get right in there. I'll add a bead befor I even install it. it likes to blow the fronts and back pipes off, then the bulkheads, then it just splits the seams like a fat guy doing yoga.

checking compression on these engine, I learned 190 and beyond is the norm. I have said it is not about size..but how you use it, but only for the 3 main boxers. The little engines go to some trouble too. they need better things.

[Barry Donovan]

thrush turbo muffler



looking over exhaust.. I had to think back four years. I wanted another thrush turbo muffler, been an all metal basic option sine the 1960s. I used to see that sticker and think of the cartoon..beep beep.

as the boxer can hang onto an acid and soak fiber woven materials..then bam, a bigger bomb than if just left all metal...I am glad these are still around. Aluminized lasted four years for me, a head gasket explosion..I simply welded it. As carb draft and volume and alignments of the univers go..mufflers need to be right on classic draft. my gain is nerdy: 30s mpg, and 14 second quarter.

Today found some last chores to tidy this up and strengthen. I forgot the hard mount for my equal stainless header for the back of tranny, this lets cat spring loaded connection rotate what little it has to, and keeps seat at each cylinder head at the other end of header.

the 14 inch body is a tight fit, I regretted not getting the bigger one four years ago..
for choice of reversible, and sideways turn ability to get this in to fit nice. this does have a crackle..but it is the safest. As new, it is a droner as well. Although, the stainless header at the other end simply owns alot of the weirdness vibrating through most exhaust systems.
I opted for larger chamber, slow it down some, capture more decibals..

I would really like a fiber version..very quiet, but learned I cannot. Not even subaru used them for this model engine.

[skullbucket]

I had these mufflers on a 71 Cutlass with a built 350 and it wouldn't turn a tire, I changed to Flowmasters and it really turned on.
I like the thrush "welded" which is the old Flowmaster 30 series and they have a real muscle car tone!

[Barry Donovan]

I had these mufflers on a 71 Cutlass with a built 350 and it wouldn't turn a tire, I changed to Flowmasters and it really turned on.
I like the thrush "welded" which is the old Flowmaster 30 series and they have a real muscle car tone!

they really are full chambered/old perforated. a low compression will get killed...high compression explodes them. They do have a fine line in the middle, I am there.I just use the v8 version for a four cyl.
for 31.95 delivered. Just right

When I do kill the smaller version of same muffler, I added weld. I am hoping volume increase does that chore away..and am also aware of drilling 1/8th hole in low spot. Should help it more than I did first time. A functioning cat does something with moisture, this one is too hot to notice, until december.

[Barry Donovan]

air bypass

I wandered off into a new thread over this one,
but to sum it up.
I tried manually air bypassing..
throttle off, let line open with my thumb.

deep sucker the monojet.
I found the let down is a little more jake brake..letting more air in. what I did not know is the monojet gets richer.

so..
that experiment is done. needs no air bypass.

it does like the 3 inch steel duct. I guess increasing volume above sets the pace for the built in one smoothly.
listening close, the steel duct echoes the fact of bypass on let down.

it is raining like the devil here now, forgot to notice what a sealed duct to an airbox that separates heavy air does...nothing to notice (that means its working).

old carbs did not get the fancy injected boxes, air separations, water drain...they do like it.

leave it alone I guess.
I assume air heater might be the only extra gadget.

wondering what reliefed this at higher rpms...the progressive vacuum, idle circuits both bypass venturi. those are the several whistles.
as rpms slow down, 2k rpm shuts off progressive, then it does not need the bigger bypass anyway. Not sure what I was thinking..must have been the hitachi oem. It had a real problem on let down. no needle in the jet, the little pig would just load up the intake...then never give it enough air to get over it.

rochester does not do that. That could be the rock of 30s mpg...the intelligence after let off throttle. Explains how alot more on throttle on can get mixed up, and still do better than the small hitachi.