attacking a monojet

[Barry Donovan]

the famous rochesters

I wanted to share this to explain how an electric carburator is a cross between fuel injection and natural dead log draft..
rochester not only could do that, they really did. It was not until edelbrock stepped up to make a resemblance, that left the rochestors king of its own throne (to me they still are) .

the monojet is the only one that did not get its fame in corrective displacement sitting underneath it. the squeeze in the 70s, after the carbs went genius..was mounted in all the wrong places due to a fuel crisis.

an example of correct...the 43mm monojet on a chevette, and their little one? that would not exist (it still has not a single corrective use today).

I hope, if all else fails, to put forward what I simply built here. It is a historic void getting filled.

math correct is just that. Choosing a boxer as a choice for this was easy.

I like to share works in progress..but am at an end result with this, a bit better than what I post. I'll work on a good video showng the value.

I have not taken you to 9k rpm, only 7500..or the tension set correct to stop a boggy throttle. I have not maximized the fattest stoich runnable..one jet size larger (still not rich condition). the famous bellow rochesters get emerges with a holley type #82 jet for the ea82. It is a nice setup as of now on conservative, earning cold starts on the lean side. Still saving more fuel than injection never willl. A really cold start is incredibly robust. there are starts so cold here, that the metallurgy cannot by any man made means just get up and go at first try.. that is when I fell inlove with the carb in the late 80s as a teen- it was way way below zero and the only machine that started. It still gets over imperfection, engineers planned for that once upon a time. A little bit of mechanical intelligence is the only thing needed. That is a motorheads happiness anyway..not for everyone.

My dad came by, met him outside snapping pictures of an antique plate on the little sube. He is not in an entirely other realm with his son going on 40...of course a generation gap exists. With over 5 million miles trucking...one cannot look into his eyes for long. I bet someone would be tricked into thinking god being there...

looking forward to some big piles of snow...a couple of hefty storms forecast, hope it happens. Ground stays warmer for january then.

happy holidays.

could not find a rochester emblem of any kind..but also stamped on the carb is a basic

[Barry Donovan]

my favorite post of the year

most of me attempting a car diary is medically related..and it helps. To write a post and look back, and actually feel something..priceless.


april 8th 2012

this is 20 miles different than my odometer. the big tread gained some…no proper synch, leaving odometer at 644 miles.
the first half of the trip is what it took to realize the monojet cannot have a return line on the original subaru fuel pump. it needs a bigger pump to play that game. This was after a couple of hours into the trip. it took awhile to reveal itself. the pistons etc, they were still not in the 500 miles break-in for new hg. This trip dialed in the clutch, the carb, pumps, and HG torques..all in one. finally got the 500 miles in. As it was some steeper hills, and giving it a full one way feed…barely enough. A full feed will seat the mileage like a rock. no playing with pedal more than necessary will gain 5 or ten mpg.
Hot plugs are no doubt going to be a helper. Heat went intermittent under heavier loads. Not enough fuel or fire. The carb is good, in fact it is awesome. pump and plugs need an upgrade. kicked out some skunk, and diesel. This tells me the hitachi is in fact not a 280cfm at all..the monojet is a giant in comparison. Finding stuff embedded that old is the big clue with some big air ratio. This engine is now a rebuilder, simply cleaning the parts, no games…new bearings, back together. The monojet did that for this.
The fuel mileage ended up being near 24mpg, I had to play a dumb game with pumping fuel..stoich was ok at level speeds, this was in the 30s mpg. I won’t say what the predominant speed was to average 56.8mph in new england congestion. Took a decent length tour through memory lane..in the 40s, 30s mph etc. When it does synch, all proper. it is an exotic sounding engine… only a 3 main could make it.
A comical note, I always liked about this one with taller tread. getting on the highway is climb to the 70s, like everyone else, sounding the same…and then it sinks into the big hole called fifth gear and slips right on by the average crowd. Exotic. I said it…and I mean it.
on a personal note. My mother died on easter sunday in 1992. The date is a day that had a decision to unplug from life support. clinically brain dead after an accident. One of the last times I saw my mom, I drove myself to see her. 600 miles in a junk car I kept going myself. that was a big deal to her, almost more than me..
I made a vow no matter where I was, when it came time for remembering an anniversary, on easter..
I was going to drive myself there, in a the car I made. Now to assume 20 years would roll by, and it nonchalantly happen.. odds are great.
Rest in peace mom. You would have gotten a kick out of this ride too.

to achieve the overall speed. look close at what the gps has written...you may be in for a surprise to see what it takes to end a trip on those numbers, driving new england, just four states.

thinking back, in the left lane heading north..maine has this never ending uphill feel, miles and miles..it just feels that way. out there by myself, rain pounding the glass..the little ea82 thumping along at 82 miles an hour. I actually got a high low beam flicker to come back over in the right lane as if a tractor trailer..by a car much faster than mine. Simple event..added to my humble ego. This car has no pride at all.

onto 2013..

a realsitic goal is to pluck another ea82 engine out from some junk suby someplace. get a rebuild in. will start posting in a wanted section local.With a spare, I can make something ea82 even bigger.

meanwhile, the other self declared famous runtime:

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CARIBOU ME
229 AM EST WED DEC 26 2012

MEZ015>017-032-261530-
/O.UPG.KCAR.WS.A.0007.121227T1400Z-121228T0600Z/
/O.NEW.KCAR.WS.W.0008.121227T1400Z-121228T0600Z/
SOUTHERN PENOBSCOT-INTERIOR HANCOCK-CENTRAL WASHINGTON-
NORTHERN WASHINGTON-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...BANGOR...BREWER...ORONO...OLD TOWN...
AMHERST...AURORA...DEDHAM...EASTBROOK...GREAT POND...ORLAND...
DEBLOIS...GRAND LAKE STREAM...MEDDYBEMPS...PEMBROKE...PERRY...
PRINCETON...DANFORTH...VANCEBORO...TOPSFIELD
229 AM EST WED DEC 26 2012

...WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 9 AM THURSDAY TO 1 AM EST
FRIDAY...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN CARIBOU HAS ISSUED A WINTER STORM
WARNING FOR SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 9 AM
THURSDAY TO 1 AM EST FRIDAY. THE WINTER STORM WATCH IS NO LONGER
IN EFFECT.

* LOCATIONS...INTERIOR DOWNEAST MAINE.

* PRECIPITATION TYPE...SNOW...POSSIBLY MIXED WITH SLEET AT TIMES.

* ACCUMULATIONS...10 TO 14 INCHES.

* TIMING...THURSDAY MORNING INTO LATE THURSDAY NIGHT.

* TEMPERATURES...IN THE UPPER 20S TO LOWER 30S.

* WINDS...NORTHEAST 15 TO 25 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 35 MPH.

* IMPACTS...HIGH IMPACT. SNOW WILL RESULT IN DIFFICULT DRIVING
CONDITIONS. HEAVY WET SNOW AND WIND MAY CAUSE DOWNED TREES AND
BRANCHES TO SNAP WITH NUMEROUS POWER OUTAGES POSSIBLE.


PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

IF TRAVELING, SLOW DOWN AND PLAN EXTRA TIME TO REACH YOUR
DESTINATION. BE SURE YOUR VEHICLE HAS A FULL TANK OF GAS. IF YOU
GET STRANDED, STAY WITH YOUR VEHICLE. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER
RADIO OR YOUR FAVORITE SOURCE OF WEATHER INFORMATION FOR THE
LATEST UPDATES. ADDITIONAL DETAILS CAN ALSO BE FOUND AT
WWW.WEATHER.GOV/CAR.

10 to 14...that is an inch or more of rain around 28 degrees. Looking forward to it...

[Beagle]

I'm not sure I've ever seen a stylized "Rochester" emblem, only the script for the Quadrajet comes to mind...

which is easier to find a picture of than



wait - here's one:

[Barry Donovan]

I do have a hacked up float bowl, maybe make an emblem out of it..about the size of a pin one would have on their shirt.

the anomoly with that is, the chevette rochestors, mini versions of the classics..they did not get a gm logo. Only the big ones did.Shamefully that is my spare bowl hacked up..can get monojet logo anyway I guess. I was told the gm logo means genuine, in for the long haul..and can find parts. No gm logo, is indeed abandoned...won't find parts.

I ponder little cloners getting approval for market, rochestor doing something on their own. They were an inventive bunch, not really nailed down. The carb on the car now has the real labels, GM included.

That emblem just purchased has a perfect fit for the grille I made, will post some photos when it is done.

on an unrelated air fuel note, AMG is in the news for going to a 4 liter tubo v8. As some historians may know, going past 1.8 liters on four cylinders has a slop in the octane ratings as we use them... I like what amg is doing there, maximize potential...as if to recognize an old math proven. American v8 does not go there often..but that is what keeps them in their own famous...for a very long time now.

that should be a lively v8, looking forward to hearing them. I am still a diesel kinda guy, but am glad to see that little gas v8.

back to the little sube..
the big pump really came into play just this past evening. Very cold. I went to start too soon, thought there was another error at first. popped hood, choke now fixed..fuel must be the only wait left. So, there is a routine to starting..old school. I had to see if my slider metal worked, and it did..now I just simply have to give about 5 seconds after pump is on to start whirling it over. Alot better than the old one..as if moving jelly instead of fuel in the cold.
The other reason for the pump is this hill:


photo courtesy of ron howard the famous movie director.

I had a green light from a street across the intersection inline with this hill..approached slow in second, and stomped throttle. It kept climbing, something it stayed sluggish about in the past. pump was the problem indeed. In full warm for stoich, this is going to be some fun come spring. Not many stomp throttles in this version of cold..no engine likes it. Although my dads big diesels take a stomping all year.

still feels like I am moving a couple of ton sometimes in the cold, but that is the way this rolls. The sound of it earning it is priceless.

this hill also took the clutch for the last time. Being 5 years in the same place..it is thousands of times with three choices of 3 steep hills to get back to my place. It has been THOUSANDS of times.

**********
some extra notes for 2012

cost is part of this little humble...vengeance. Seems too friendly to be vengeful.

2012 is just over 1000 bucks total.
30 items ebay, 9 at rockauto..some parts local at the stores.
did not count labor, tow truck, twice...
the gas tank if to buy, only a four year run in subaru history, 458 bucks before shipping. Glad i kept that from a 93 loyale. Someone told me that when I was in the military:

"Any project revolves around the gas tank...you'll see."


funny statement at the time...it is the demise of every classic indeed. New tanks, high pressure, new tests to pass, return lines, vacuum only venting..the same old project can go many many years down the road farther than original if to rebuild today. This sube may as well have had the gas spewing versions of the 60s. Lucky for me, and the sube, it overlapped into injection years. Tank bolted right up.

the parts I made. it is up over 15k in reality, since 2007. It is as costly as you might be encountering on your own project. I make it look cheap..because I am the builder. A builders 1000, is a customers 3000.

the carb and its necessity is still under a couple of hundred..maybe approaching 300 tops...in reality priceless.

I am a dying breed. That is why I talk here, alot.

red green? ...he's an idiot. Heck even corporations go idiot. I am still fixing idiot..as a disabled mechanic.
Toyota and the billion dollar mistake..there must be smarts in the japanese empires. Lexus with the only 72degree v10b rand new. I bet that allows them to wander off and torture humanity with strange inventions on the toyota side of electron thrashing. It is events like that.. I go to the past...where grandpas got old, passed on with respect, undoubtable. The inventors...
I did not get advice to go there. I found myself at a very bad time looking up genealogy. My own name had ship builders, clock makers, an american with my name made an inline four..that broke records.Some still use the v8 they make..still in business. I am certain genes do exist. Royalty kills it. My name knows where to hide from that too...part of my sadness, is seeing who did not.

start with imagination... getting stuck there is an empty wallet.


A note on rochester spelling, I keep spelling in two ways but rochester is correct, rochestor is not.

[Barry Donovan]

fuel pump again...solenoid version be gone

well. I have made up my mind. given this last solenoid pump was 15 bucks delivered... I have no qualms about ridding of it. In the back of my mind I knew it was going to be hit or miss...I declare it a miss. And it is noisy.

Sitting in a kc135e, wind howling, snow flying, 10 degrees out...the sound of a rotary pump conquering nature if it meant buzzing half the damn 110 foot length of it swaying in the wind...I know strong pumps. Why I humor what I have is getting to be frustrating.

Solenoid pump be gone. Time to step up with the big dogs.


the closest match I could find is a carter p4070, and it is double the GPH..but oh. I am ahead of that doubling with a return line system already in place. I'll be slapping this in sometime in january..not a friendly month for that, but less vapors, and not losing a prime is a bonus. The cold can do that.
the only thing to keep a close eye on is static..but the little sube went einstein at the fuse links. They worked old school magic gathering the little monsters on fresh statics...as this last new pump has proven, heading into the arctic ground. Changing a pump at -40F dewpoint, a single digit for a high and humidity at 10%..a chattered tooth could set off lightning..but anyway.. the old sube does good there.


..and bangor ate the snowstorm. Nothing but a hollow low and some wind..maybe 3 inches blown around. here comes some cold. I hope its some more records broken in the next month.


the center of the low is right at bangor maine..big storm swirl. I love these passing by like this. More snow in it would be better, but it is refreshing. A bit of the ocean all by itself. about the only thing that cleans up the mid-northeast coast..
the net is great for getting a glimpse outside the tiny focused misforecasted stuff we all got for years. This shows how far north that low goes..this being a classic path, the better part of the storm is the backside...always clean, north atlantic fed. Never enough, the water is too cold, but at least it is something. If to wonder how a runt japanese engine casting can survive. ..this weather storm is one reason. ..like a cryogenic sterilizer. Time cams in, and wonder how it looks like new on a tear down.

back to maximizing fuel air...
this BRZ vid is interesting. This tells me subaru really did let the n/a run this time. First in their history..everyone else has to bust a subarus butt to get a maximum. Nice to see.

the other thing that was interesting is gear ratio. my own is 160 something at 6500..so I now know where my brick wall will be in a mile run: gears are too tall for my 1987.

hard telling where this was recorded..can't assume illegal really.

awaiting a carter rotary vane pump. I found some cool details about the carter...the model I am getting has been out several decades. the paddles are rounded internally..even holley uses a square..and lastly, the pumpmotor is cooled by the fuel, the pipes are up top, engine gets a bath underneath. I will make this one a nice bracket for the mount. Ths should be my regular pump from here on out. Also has a shut off at 9 psi...no need for regulator.

my little buggys last retarder. fuel pump. To go a "race day",needs the steel mandrel duct to carb, and a #82 jet. (Seems more work to mention than it isn't.)

[Barry Donovan]

choke pull revisited

adjusted to shut all the way..then flooded it.
should have left good enough alone...but that spring did not allow for that.
the watchmaking measurement ..I tinkered with it. will get to it soon enough.

this is the first slippery road since putting the carb on..
2wd is useless. pop the clutch like a diesel, I could hop out of the car and watch the front tires spinning round.

Giant gain down low..could not get much bigger. Seriously. one 43mm barrel..I think history made it to a 48mm, drew the line for 1 barrel.

the choke pull, I did find many years on the net, all of them need tinkering. The easiest one seems to be manual cable, feel it out for the weathers. I learned electric chokes a long time ago..just a few precise measurements, and they do need tinkering...once acheived, even maine's 30 below to 100 above is just one setting. I was there already, found an anomoly with the spring I used..it must be bimetal coated, kicked off to the side in the cold..hung up on float bowl. the second spring used is much tougher, and that of course needs more tinkering. I got the time..but in real world when these were mainstream, I remember them..alot of complaints. Most monojets got chucked into a pile of parts. I know better.



before adjustment..this floods the car if to tap throttle after engine warm. The slop can’t be there. Also in back, the grey metal..that is to ensure no hanging on the float bowl cover. I swapped to little spring and metal washer as well. Note the choke pull rod is normally straight out…pretty much useless for anything attempting precise. it has to be bent to match your version of choke pull. As you can see, the replacement is very long on the slider..rod had to be shortened by a lot. A little heat, and some pliers..won’t break it. this one is 35 years old.

the fix. The rod is right at the end of slider..not too tight, and cannot be any more than 1/16th loose. Very close measurement. If you rebuild carbs…this seems trivial on the outside to adjust. It can be frustrating for those that are not into it…another reason for monojets in a pile.
verifying this is easy..with throttle on one hand, force choke shut if it is warm...being sure it shuts gently with enough travel in the linkages. With choke all the way closed, verify the high idle notches (or screw height, depends on the version of monojet). The pull should be near its max stretch, and the rod having no slop in the slider. It does narrow down to a 1/16th error..no more than that. the rest is simply adjusting choke like every other rochester.

the monojets that do get away with this errored, have a huge jet on the the wrong giant engine anyway..this is about dialing in a monojet to a displacement that mathed correct without cheating. I am not sure how reality brought these past 2.5 liter four cylinders..but that is the panic of america sometimes.

The fuel crisis of the 70s was bordering insanity...this carb never got a home, like alot of viet nam veterans..


wrapped pump with old horse trailer mat. corded rubber like a tire, just thinner. bumps on the inside, touching pumps surface, will allow air to permeate all around. (looking close you can see one of those bumps in photo). This was very quiet turning switch on, will have to listen closely to hear it on cold starts. Simply held down to my welded cage with a bungi cord. I can prioritize pwer steering problem after doing this. I actually like this simple pump.
this should take away from fuse link getting bothered, forcing the wire ground instead of shell of pump to chassis. Same old stuff..just a bigger pump.

and for the runt at "twin city speed.." look up at this photo like you have to do for me... you silly midget.

anyway..
moving on, because a quarter century is not long for some of us people.

I posted this in another thread, it is actually my answer to the seatbelt video getting dramatic. Attempting comical.. treat cars like a chain of life...watch how far one gets.

This vid ended up a keeper due to being a rare recording of the 3 degree cams, the little hitachi, all working. This is only 1 year of subarus history. Not a popular item. The smallest engine out of all of them, I have had four of them. Falsely written as 90hp in front of a ten geared tranny. Even the intake is extinct. 28mm. The primary barrel was smaller than my thumbprint. The door stamp has a 3667 pound GVWR. outrageous. The vid may be understandable after reading..the car was scary slow...and it came all the way from alaska.

Today the power numbers still in three main mystery, is gigantic in comparison.

16th year this month.


back to awesome runtime. this one is tight as a drum. Tinkering yesterday, pump on and off with testing the mount and the rubber surround , car was still quite fueled a day later. Lost nothing.
no wonder the first engine ran as long as it did. I thought it was a leaker to die,it was the opposite..it lets nothing go. This means if you flood it, you may have to take plugs out and pump engine over...the flood never leaves. That is amazing. I have never flooded an ea82, just gained a rich condition...but it is something to remember. Which leads to another note.. I have never had this pump enough to gain a rich condition. Loving the option. The solenoid pump is nice and quiet, I keep it for the time being. The rubber surrounding it , just right. No flicker at headlamp fuse links anymore..the ground is going where it is supposed to for this little chassis. A big car could mount the pump straight up metal to metal..this little one gets bothered. I could not even use the clamp mount that came with pump. I need to be forcing wire to ground, not the pump shell. fine by me. A chance for very quiet as it is.

some weather stuff..from november, the end,into april..this place is interesting to monitor.
now at the 7th day below freezing for a high. I once counted forty something since I have had the net. It has gone beyond that sometimes, did not have info to verify. The net is great for that...maybe this year.

portland to the south broke a snowfall record set in 1894 with 11.8 inches of snow in a day. Bangor was shy by .9 inch.
the storm coming through is only two days after the thursday version..already gone by the .9 inch, expecting 3 to 7 in all. Close to records in one way or another. 13 days below freezing since nov 29, climbed into december in single digits.

the one to monitor now is days in a row below freezing. I have counted over seven days below double digits for a high in january. Maine stays elusive like that, as if people choose not to believe it. Glad the internet is around.

Until february, it is the most brutal test for my build thus far. Seems it will do ok. Last nights low was after sun up. a 1F degree officially written. The coldest start to date for this build,just finding that now. Choke settings right on the money. I love the option to give a little more fuel by waiting ten seconds or so after switch turned on. Nice fat start. Very cleansing. January is going to be fun..



***************
Something I wanted to mention..

mentioning time ahead, is only a prediction. I have been targetted for nonchalantly getting things correct. I am by no means some spiritual psychic clown act..or doomsday weirdo, or whatever people think of someone prophetic.

learning history in many subjects finds repeats before they happen. You want to know the future? study history. live life. Old people speaking truthfully are associated with time ahead for that reason. they see history repeating...they have been there done that.

the scariest things I have said this year had some seriously evil things coincidentally. I am usually kidding around most of the time. the closest to home was writing "someone is going to die next door." I was blaming the garage chimney, sarcastically..but it was not, it was a drug user. (yes someone really died next door, even in the apartment I claimed it was going to happen in)

all coincidence. no more than that.

I am still predicting cold..but we seem to breaking snow records. Wrong in guessing is easier to accept.

[Barry Donovan]

back to my rambling

arctic checklist in place...

• choke slam shut, no frozen cable
• fast start, fat start..right away
• everything bright (lights, heater motor)
• intake heater
• high pressure tank..
• big pump on
• temp gauge moving within a minute
• the little direct engine fan, full shroud.( there is a balance for one size all year after all)
• brass copper radiator with modern coolant
• carbon based oil only..this one is old school. (uses carbon as lube.Simply Napa oil seems to be the champ)
• Oil canister billet aluminum (pro products), oil pressure relief (by GM)..I used to cave those in and rip the paper to shreds. It may be the source of original engine death..long before I could save it.
• strong electric switches for IGN, fuel pump.(oem was tropically wimpy..as per usual)
• digital interrupt ignition. off is off, on is on.

my greatest in 16 years. I am humbly giddy almost like a kid with a first car.
looking back after shoveling, the light from the garage is well underneath the 1 foot clearance.. tread is almost ten inches wide all the way around. wind howling the pwder snow around the edges. life sucks thinking of the cold...

looking at a rear racing camber and positive rake at the same time...

absolutely animal waiting to leap. incredible.

to be tortured through 25 years and 20 cars in maine all year round for humble wages every day...

I am looking at a million dollars...and feeling it.

some simple resolutions.
I want to record in realtime what I did for many many days at a time all year round on a much better camera than I have got.. did find one, ebay route. A cord missing drops price alot, etc etc. I seem to be a panasonic man ...the real facts are not cheap.
Some of the rides, before sun up. my god. I have gone through cold pockets that bust radiators in the 35 below mix exactly correct...had to get to work from the woods to the city. Always alone, hardly ever traffic. headers, a v8, whistling t-tops..and "holy crap" for cold.

this year I hope to get a few of those in. I used to timelapse a ride, the camera was not worth much else, of course, that does not show what I want to record. 2013 is making that a bit cheaper..fuel is not, and neither is risk.

I also ponder today trucks and cars made for any old moron to jump up and go at anytime. It was not like that until the mid 90s. I will be 40 this month.



finally cold coming through. itsa bit of feisty with it, not a dead cold..which is not my favorite. At least it is some cold.
this is new ground for me and this build. not even the clutch is a year old yet..
no wobbling concentric dial ins.. this is a very nice setup. Staying conservative on miles..
above photo is only the beginning. By freak chance of that past 12000 years, the peak is my birthday or within 3 days of it. Real cold. The patterns get all roused up with the sun..this year could be dramatically different. Something always changes forever in a maine winter.

[Barry Donovan]

going hd

as I target the little sube for all vids (except to bother my dad in trucking), winding down yet another year.
I gotta upgrade sometime. there are times when rage against computing has paid off, I am living that right now.

the chip I am using is 8 years old. My panasonic is four years.

frustration is gone...and knowing where to go is good.

anyway found my next panasonic, I noticed the identical traits of runtime in this vid..the tiny cat hair in the wind has me sold. These are not even expensive. Being mostly you tube and past harrassed..why would I go farther?

this vid at just 720, fullscreen. Regardless of what is deemed better. I see mpeg2 and today mixed in just right. not too expensive in other words.

wanted this here.. a good year is coming it seems, needs good recordings. I will be wandering to car related things more than ripping into an old subaru.

I was to do this last year...put fun sube aside, get into more video..
all heck broke loose, its all in this thread. If I were not a mechanic, total loss. no one in their right mind would have saved it.

an opera to a climax..antique plates headed to car shows. welcome or not. Some know what work is and respect it.

happy new year.

adding some weather notes..
found maine in my msn home page. I guess the wind chill is something to talk about. We hit -3F wind is still feisty. Where I am static'd off the heat, a common problem when fat landlords with bifocals owns the house. I have tweaked many of these setups living here for 20 something years. Its like dialing in a computer. look at all the fancy readings monitoring all one wants..but it may not fix a mystery. I love working that stuff. The electric monojet is interesting of course.

may hold off on the gadgets. some weather readings i monitor are in a deeper cold than the norm (as I predicted). Will give it a few weeks before diving into new toys.

headed for -5 tonight, will give the tin can a go at a frigid start tomorrow sometime. Coldest its been for this setup...should get even colder. Would love to have a day or 7 with a high below zero. I have been here to count 6 in a row some years ago. Break even at zero is not much of a difference, even in the sun.

I do have a "zeroF atnoon" cold start vid. may repost if I can find it. it was so cold, the guitar over the radio speakers snapped the oil pressure guage to function...after ten minutes or so. electricity did not want to move as engineers intended. Reminds me of the heat problem we had today in the building. Sometimes responds to a human hand to get going...mystery unknown to alot of nerds, dweebs,and cozy college degrees...

[Barry Donovan]

frigid start

A slightly different routine from the norm.
I found pressing in the clutch, its as if it stole engine ground..learned this on the little 5k volt coils these shipped with a decade or go (almost plural "decade"). The ten speed tranny is very dramatic like that. A big abyss of continuity.

one of the battles with the ten speed is a gargantuate sized shafts to be spinning around..so, starter is slow, like an antique (thats funny) , once the oil goops into single digits and below.

It whorled over, slow... rumbled to a fat start and two stalls..into high idle. I then put intake heater turned on after giving all the amps to the fire.

away it goes. I found intake heater does not need to be on at all times. Like today in the sun it is about 12 degrees F..only needed 15 minutes or so. full temp on the gauge. Nice heater in the cabin.

the really cool part of this is feeling full power is there. full big fat curve of fuel air..never to be killed by puniness.

I have been anticipating the frigid for a long time for this build on the tiny engine. It did very good...
now onto some other winter things. This thread should get quiet for while.

one last dreaded item on order..
the cardone rebuild of power steering. Now with viton seals, and they actually rework shafts, modern bearings and tolerances. their stuff is like federal mogul bearings. Replacing factory with them is a world of difference. There is a setback to old cars. the old latex condom material for seals is long gone done..like the bearings and machines that made them. I could not even rebuild the power steering. it is truly all done...until handing it into a company that has modern changes. My own rejected seals.

good chance to rebuild better than ever.
as no one is uplifting with opinions with the old ten geared subes. Only upliftng to a fairy tale lift kit and pretending strong. I don't say much until life and death is happening.

A mangled leg myself, only to remember a stronger past..like american autos.
I just saw this freakish skinny man, spandex on in the cold, jogging like in a marathon. My bad leg is bigger than both his good running...

There is a point to make. I hope I don't need to make it.

[Barry Donovan]

pzev catalyst

there is catalysts, then there is catalysts.
an easy way to determine the super cat from the less chemicaled version...
water drips out the exhaust or not.

I guess my chores are not done at the exhaust. Subaru vehicles actually advertise PZEV, partially zero emission vehicle. Thye did not call it back then on my straw sized carb and 28mm intake..but I knew it was working hard.

I'll go get a thunderbolt cat, that should be the end of it. power steering due mid week.

one thing I cannot get out of is a stage 1 launch. I go easy, rides clutch too much. I actually get a laugh to feel better...watching a you tube vid with a feisty aston martin v12 and a 1 disc clutch. this sube takes off the same.

and here is my reason for freak welding.

this was in my local paper. baby thrown from the car, found many feet from it in its baby chair. Toyoyta corolla hit by a truck.. Fractured skull. If you can see what shredded in this photo..
it is my fear of the unibody japanese. that is why I welded extreme..this photo has it. I can Never assume an asian vehicle as tough.

In 2007, just got the tin can in this thread. I looked back as I was backing up..a wagon, even small, still needs a full veiw beyond mirrors. At the time, my baby niece was sitting in the back, in front of the wheel wells I fear. As if to pause in time, seeing an innocent kid sitting there in front of the death trap of the automotive century. Seatbelt mount even dangled outside as they had to bolt it through the wheel well to be tough enough.I did not stop welding, into 2012. Five years later. I feel good about it.

You might guess..I am not a fan. Working into american is alot of work...I did it for the most unique drivetrain not in a museum yet.

5 foot tall, 65 inches wide..ten speed awd with a waterboxer. That is a dream to read written. out loud in life is alot more work than that.

I went for a walk, the first time in this neighborhood. The freaks next door have been dispersed for some time. Every neighborhood has them. Not a bad place. There is even some buildings..may be worth a million or more. A glimpse of what a rich bangor maine must have been. those houses must have sold their yards for the fast built places to be where they are surrounding them. Alot of new england has done that. Sell outs to ghetto infested clan dreams. Walked by a small car dealer, little ford focus wagon, gmc suburban. Ya know.. the little sube is not all that small. Maybe it does weigh 3000 pounds in a small package. little brick. little brick building, I walked by and always thought is was some water pumping station. its got some plaque out front confessing it as being a first worshipping chapel about something. Historic. one building away from me. A little place..must have had short church goers.
I do have a time warp, pain related. Being a veteran, it is easy to mention. Common problem. I don't see big anywhere. I wonder if someone would call my 74 chevelle sedan "a whale", if to drive it today.
we all have our own view. The asian vehicle to me is a substandard pile of tin. Always has been. Now its in every sideways engine even if american stamped chevy dodge or ford.. This sube has a significance. I hang on...

As winter sucks. I'd swear I learned to be an animal. Involuntarily..but thats another story. I am more on the computer than ever..and I am on it every day.Something that is always interesting is a wolf story. I analogize the little sube comically.
The link is one about a black wolf, they documented as being one of the longest living in yellowstone..and only gaining alpha at the end of its life, near ten years old.. to have one last litter. To be that neglected, wandering around, eluding certain death by clanly gatherings...they really can become a king with a bigger longer tale than the others. I could guess that aurora gets passed on to its litter, and longer living loners arise from that too. How can anyone be depressed.

[Barry Donovan]

high speed radiator grill

I found my custom grill , made just for strength, has a crack. so I dug another old one up and recovered it. I had venting cutouts in the front of the one to be recovered, the sube did not like that, hence removed and put into the closet. Here is my fix…and to make an even stronger one. Safe to assume these were not designed much passed an american 55mph.

I had this in a parts bin. Hacking the top out giving more air a few years ago. As it turned out, the sube did not like this at all. Found some spare pvc pipe , they fit in behind the grill, and then clamped it down with some stainless steel flexible wire.

then with fiber fill, filled it all in. quick sanding, some lightweight filler as a finale. I have some oem body code in the spray can in background. Tougher than factory, a bit heavier for the 80mph sustained for hours…

the paint is by no means cheap..its costly just for the spray can touch up version. this grill may be the ugliest looking for the smooth lines, but it is the strongest. The proportion of this being so tiny..one would need to be two feet away to see wrongdoings and mishaps.
Now ready for 500+ mph. The center piece is secc metal from an old hewlitt packard. it is a full ring around the screw behind logo, not a notch barely hanging on as it appears.
Arch math spanning the weakness...

went and swapped it out. remembered what I hated about the tiny little fins with tiny little air for the tractor trailer sized subaru..
took it right back out.
The grill that was in it fixed all I hated about the airflow..one pipe spanning the whole thing.what I thought was a crack was paint chipped. And flat black. 1.99 fixes it. Being it was custom for big air and speed, it is still quite strong. Ahh well, kept busy. now I have 3 suby grills.

I am going to gut one and just screen it. The fins .. it is grotesque to think of the mouse brain that engineered it.

[Barry Donovan]

7 year abyss

the blog question:
what is the craziest work you have done in the field.

I got to remembering how long a path it has been.
within 3 months of owning, I slapped a timing belt on in a food store parking lot.Brake line double blow out on a highway exit ramp. 80 to..slowed not quite to 50 and taking a turn. that was fun. this sube makes a great rally car indeed. been towed once from the highway..drove the most miserable headgasket blowout all the way home on 2 cylinders in the cold (a wall of fog behind me after the fire went out). Strangely enough, the headgasket may have seated some sintering. very hot fire..blew out some thermite. All pistons were beyond zero deck and quiet. Free hot rod engine pistons: blow a headgasket and keep driving. Towed twice more, once after blowing engine, had it hauled to garage.. and once for fuel pump. I found later a hammer smacking it would have kicked the solenoid design into running..live and learn.

just after buying, found 3 of the four wheels had bad centers, rear bearings were toast, struts, hubs, brake hardware, pads, ALL steel had a problem in the back end. Missing rear wheel wells entirely. The abyss got deeper, when I found someone stole my spare engine..just after learning the original block was sintered. That was 2007. I made it keep going into may 2012. luckily, I did find a nice engine..cheap. Sat it out back of the garage , outside, 4 years. The last trip was 669 miles..bad bearing, zero oil pressure at an idle. I found poisons that left me sick for six months the first time I stuck my face right in them. Assumed it stage yellow aged hydrochloric acid.

burning that out was proof welding is a hero..I kept going.

just this past year after many events, including killing the original engine..it is now well beyond what subaru did not give customers for its 10k asking price in 1987.

I would give 10 k for this one.
no limits. ambiguous. American fuel air, real math...

would you replace a headgasket on a sintered engine you know is extinct?

really think about that one...that was the peak of ambivelance. I spoke up on the net and said.. "you know, I am not giving this more than 100 dollars a month for the duration". I knew to take a loss gently. Money and time is the only pain for cars..unless it tried to kill you. And this one has tried. I even kept miles down to less than 5k miles a year..training myself for antique status rules I just knew was going to happen (less than 5 k miles a year used to be the law for that). As luck above may have been handed to me..that is exactly what kept the pile going for 7 years. 100 bucks a month..and getting a total restomod.

that is AMAZING.

the last trip on original engine is in this thread. Astounding result for such a hopeless mess. Never ever thought it would go this far.

when I learned the value of clean concentric.. my mind is changed forever about automobiles. it could even be half assed literally, and still try to run.

there is a small handful of parts not changed in this car..

The ten speed tranny (which strangely does not seem like the miles on the odometer..tight for an old tranny), and the driveshaft (which verified this is the rare jumbo G-wagon..very large driveshaft) and rear end (also a one of a kind). All else taken off, and worked over, replaced/repaired.

very close to the entire car. Some of the glass still has weld spatters... I may polish them up.

Never to be a downer. military and 50 year old planes..northern environment. I know when to stop complaining over this old ricer. I just need to remember my time as a crew chief.

no money and truly wanting a project worked over. I am proof it can be done, and I am disabled.

I do have advice...stay american.
this one got lucky to spec clutch, an american cfm hardly ever used properly...and believe it or not. the French wheels. Just might be the toughest thing they ever made..the peugeot rally turbo wheels. phenomonal. (Seriously)

anyway, have fun. this thread goes back to monojet stuff..which I hope is winding down to hardly any details to reveal. everything covered. tomorrow gets the power steering pump..and I do have a spare rack right in the back if it goes to the stubborn I think it might. Car complete.

[Barry Donovan]

a little more exciting

as I am not one condoning non american..
this little boxer is still the only on planet earth. just like my 87 subaru.

I knew to follow the brz for two liters and the centered runtime..(that's a big "finally"). I found a rare path with an ea82 for centering, but no other subes simply ship ready to run like a motorcycle in balance. Anyway, the vid above is the real fa/fb engine with 9psi. coincidentally, the same math as an ea82 gets. Great vid.

Someone told me a long time ago..just get the little turbo on the oem bottom end. No regrets. this year may get that runtime, old school blow through of course. Less than $200 boosts the little 1781cc. The monojet has some interesting settings to dial in like a rock if to blast a gentle breeze through it. A chance for no slob..even on an old classic setup.

Now for a 3 main to equal 320hp, it will most likely read just over 160hp. that is the way they roll.

keep an eye on the brz..it could be 2013s most justiced runtime in many years.

[Barry Donovan]

ps pump arrived

wanted to share this here. As the old pump wore down in mysterious ways, an energy attacked the carb. it is only an inch away. I did rebuild at it, new seal, and grease bearing, attacks stopped...but then it blew its cookies anywhere it could. I then learned of the internals of power steering. if the metal floppers do not set a proper path, you could have the best seals in the world..it is still gonna spew.


just got this in the mail. Date stamp seems to be an “05”. must have sat around. first thing to notice..tight to turn, grease in the bearing. my old subes have never done either. kinda like the wheel bearings oem..but that is a story in another place. I share this here..it was another source of carb killer, it is only an inch away from it. I even put a diode on the choke to stop the attacks. Static pressure..it’s a big mystery. Today, not even the old pump attacks, but it is so old, the seals don’t even accept a seat. I learned there may be internal slop on a bypass…no seal can fix that. This pump was 98 bucks delivered, and I do not have to turn in the core. This leaves me with a pump to rebuild on my own..machinists measurements for education. Today is 16F in the sun, but tomorrow will be above freezing. Will swap soon enough. Checking to see if it is correct pump, it looks to be an easy swap. no lines are chewed, not even the piping nuts or reservoir bolts on the old one.


Day 16 below freezing. A short climax to 32, no thaw, was on Sat jan fifth 2013.
tomorrow is forecast with a 34F..to break the run possibly. looking for southwest or south wind usually gets it. the feisty climb in the middle of january to above freezing, is a monster when it drops back to coldest days of the year in coming weeks. Finally got my 5 dollar thermometer..it appears to be 2 degrees colder than one local reading, and two degrees warmer than another.
glad I got that..been meaning to for sometime, kept forgetting.

10F right now. 6pm.

I finally deciphered the maine split from the continent. it is elevation. The plateau west of the mississippi is all high. following low points from west north america, to east, is central alaska, central canada, just north of toronto...and you guessed it...maine USA to the elevation of zero at the atlantic ocean. I even drew a line once, before not quite figuring it out. It is elevation related after all. By intuition I knew to watch central alaska low temps, for years...
they creep to maine eventually, a little warmer. they broke records a few weeks ago, -50s F. coldest places on earth. I hope we get a good snap.

6F right now. 8pm.

going to be a big south wind, if we go towards 34F as ..claimed.

4f.. 9pm.

I remembered the burn in for pumps. maine won't get hot enough. sparked up propane torch, heated it up externally, bake the paint..after cramming bearing with a few finger tip caressings with valvoline high temp synthetic past the bearing cover. little trick for bearings..the cover does not seal, it just covers them.. Always wanted to do that for something brand new. the wheel bearings really came to life after replacing, and letting them sit with high temp synthetic. should work here too.

the swap is on, cold or not.

2f..10pm.
the house let out a big creaking snap in the backbone. blah. maybe I'll take pump off and take it in the house.

edit:
today shot up to 40F.
all went well. I have determined a new steering rack is next. Watched temperature hit 1F last night, and climb ever since. A little more power gained, hardly worth a mention. I have got to remind myself.. I just changed an original 26 year old pump, still has original parts sticker from atsugi. I also found a rubber o-ring missing from reservoir..does not do the primary seal, and it did not leak. found that amazing. the new pump shipped with an extra o-ring, did not know where it went. I jumped when I found reservoir has never had one, yet never leaked. I could only guess they shipped that extra, knowing originals never had one. I have my doubts due to everything being so small on the subaru..but it did go that far. Steeering track let out its vaporous looking alkalidic squeeze..it must be time for a new one. At least the fluids looked good in there in the pump. signs of grease are my bearing job on the front of pump. Someone told me the rack has grease in it as well. if the rack is bad, pump can suck on grease...
the oddest thing to notice..right hand turn seems to need a little more effort than a left, and the camber now looks normal in the back end. I wonder if something was headed one way on the old pump. Big pressure, settng a keel, even in appearance. I had a gm do that to me just once. At 26 years, anything is possible.

yet another edit..
the old power steering pump. I will not be rebuilding. it seems I found a way to make it pump, and maybe it was not supposed to. Seems a permanent recycle, and tinier holes for fluid..just by looking below reservoir with a light. the pump in the car now, the pro rebuild..is bigger there. I have not compared notes in any other spots..but that is all I need for now. i'll just keep it as a core to hand in sometime.Like every part on this car removable..there was a silent update. That must be the power steering story as well. My loyale was a newer version of this one by 7 years..at 165k miles, steering needed nothing, and that car thrashed crazy. 2wd leaves the engine like a basketball..axles attached, steering attached. Needed nothing. It must be an updated version I installed today...

why the cursor keeps getitng stuck here.?
.its almost like a key logger.

getitng. word of the day.

[Barry Donovan]

tall tales

I was reading at another site..jokesters who made stuff up at car shows. that was annoying as a high schooler, but as an adult to watch some of it is no reaction at all. people do what they do.

there is a rare other realm...no bragging at all and strangely doing something a little bit bigger.

I spoke of my hippy hemp smoking dad and the beetle he got for free...it truly beat a brand new 396 chevelle. No premeditation, they were kids playing around in woburn mass. it became an urban legend. the guy got so mad, he chased him around..and the beetle got away even further as if on rails. That story is my life long lesson about cars...because it really happened, in 1969, realtime.

what brought that story about for me to even know it?
my uncle, 280 pounds , was handed a dodge omni with a strangely large four cylinder. I was maybe 15 in 1988. little boxy car. that car took off so fast it could pop struts with him in it..what was it? where did it come from? why was it that insanely fast with no labels?
it triggered some memories from my dad. he told the beetle story. We would never have learned it, I could only guess.

why that happened twice, both to my own family..strange luck. maybe people hand men the cars after all.

I grew to learn facts only..I don't mean to be a downer. The car world is that bleak, the smaller the stuff gets. I don't get upset at ricer fans saving the fuel...not even the fibbing kids with false impressions. It is just not me..they'll learn. I do have a scary story, about a monte carlo and a beretta gt. I knew transverse was a flunk. this guy did not. Anyway, that guy went onto die. Cars get serious. Ignore the market, find an old timer for wisdom.

back to seeing how fast this little sube will go..I really would need loring land speed. I might get to it, might not. A boxer with big fuel air is not much to prove, it is simply known quicker or harder working for a long time. Another reason I hide it here.

..and it did need every piece changed or modernized and strengthened. That was just to be a 100mph.

my downer thought for today...dropping the limiter to 6000 rpm. Changing power steering, rebuilding alternator, the water pump..I exceed engine externals. I do not want to go through that again. I did learn a 2.65 inch stroke can climb to 9000 rpm though. That is a decent memory.

you know how I cannot get mad at a fibbing ricer kid? I got the sad facts.