Rebeldryver's '65 Impala SS Black Betty

[Scott Liggett]

Re: Rebel(Dryver)'s Machines

I can't figure out how you keep that engine bay so spot less. Mine's a disaster even before I get the car running

If you remember the engine was filthy after the head/cam swap when I came to Anti-tour '08. I was too exhausted to clean it. Ok, it wasn't that filthy. It just had greasy fingerprints here and there.

It gets washed every time the car does which was last Wednesday before cruising Van Nuys. I go through Simple Green by the gallon too.

[malc]

Re: Rebel(Dryver)'s Machines

Keep an eye on those rubber mounts for your MSD box,
heat tends to degrade them and they fall apart.

[milner351]

Re: Rebel(Dryver)'s Machines

Scott - PM me what kind of bowl you're looking for. I may have one.

Seth needed one for the 850 on the forum engine... so I think I may now have the other one from that pair - I will have to look at it carefully - but I could ship it out to you if you can't get one locally quick.

I'm a bit baffled by your wires getting hot based on which carb you run.... something must be wrong with the mixture control on one of them... but if it otherwise runs good--- that's just wierd, if it's the center cylinders - could there be a mixture / reversion issue - are they cylinders that fire close in the firing order? hmmmm

the msd wires look nice. Maybe you need some of those high heat sleave things to keep them alive long term?

[Scott Liggett]

Re: Rebel(Dryver)'s Machines

The 750 acts like it's lean during cruising. It bucks the car at 1500 rpm and definitely doesn't like going over 3000 rpm without the secondaries open. I haven't touched the tune or the jetting on it since it was on Westech's dyno. I pulled it apart and cleaned out some dirt in it and I'm going up a jet or two on the primaries.

I'm thinking the reasoning behind the front plug wires getting hot is only based on the lean condition getting the engine and exhaust hotter. That heat transferring straight up towards the wires.

[malc]

Re: Rebel(Dryver)'s Machines

"I'm going up a jet or two on the primaries."

You should up the secondaries the same amount as well.

[Scott Liggett]

Re: Rebel(Dryver)'s Machines

In the ongoing quest to make the engine run to my standards; (Perfect would be a close aproximation for me.) I went after the distributor next.

First, pulling the cap and rotor. The rotor is almost new. The cap is been on there a couple years. Not bad, except a little carbon buildup on the taps. I scraped that crap off. The carbon bushing, whatever the hell it's called, between the coil and the rotor looks a little worn.


Here's the bushing I pulled out of the cap. I use the low resistance MSD one that came with coil. Standard ones get hot enough to melt the dist cap. It's a tad worn. Hmmmm.


Next, I pulled the dist out of the motor. The gear has some wear on it coming from serious amounts of play. Like .076 in of play in the dist shaft. Waaay too much. I need a gear and a shim kit pronto. The cam gear has no wear that I can see, so I'm guessing the dist gear's wear is from flopping around. Could explain idle speed issues.


One other thing I discovered is the wire harness for the dist to the MSD box. (This replaces the module.) One of the wires got crimped between the dist housing and the thingy that holds the cap to the dist. It's the dirty green wire with the issue.


Since any good parts store that would have a dist. gear and shim kit is closed on Sundays, I decided to fix the crimped wire. I used my handy-dandy-trunk mounted dist. stand (That's my trunk latch.) to hold the dist. while I fixed the wire. Here's the wire fixed with a connector and shrink wrap. The butane lighter got a bit too close and scorched it a tad.

[TheSilverBuick]

Re: Rebel(Dryver)'s Machines

Nice Scott, particularly your handy dandy distributor holder. Dare I ask how you found that one out?? :P I'll be doing a cap/rotor and wires hopefully this week. I plan on ordering the wires today. I've seen an "electrical" noise in my sensor grounds since I got the EFI going. Checked under the hood at night to watch for the light show, and surprisingly the wires I suspected weren't arcing, but one on my driver's side surprised me and was arcing to the wheel well a 1/2" away :o Doh! That might explain why I am seeing some funky AFR's as my WBO2 is on the drivers side......

[Scott Liggett]

Re: Rebel(Dryver)'s Machines

I had one of my old spark plug wires arcing more than inch past the aluminum head t the iron block.

[Scott Liggett]

Re: Rebel(Dryver)'s Machines

Gggggggrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!! NO ONE in LA had a shim kit. No one!! I had to order one from Moroso. So the car will sit until next weekend. I hate it when that happens. > > > > >

I pushed the car back in the driveway in order to get Greggs Caddy out of the way, then Carl, Bill and I pushed, shoved, and heaved fat black Impy back in the driveway.

[TheSilverBuick]

Re: Rebel(Dryver)'s Machines

Gggggggrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!! NO ONE in LA had a shim kit. No one!!

Glad to see you can experience a little piece of Ely right there in LA :D ;D

[Scott Liggett]

Re: Rebel(Dryver)'s Machines

Gggggggrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!! NO ONE in LA had a shim kit. No one!!

Glad to see you can experience a little piece of Ely right there in LA :D ;D

ha ha ha, why don't you go dig in the dirt. ;)

[TheSilverBuick]

Re: Rebel(Dryver)'s Machines

Gggggggrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!! NO ONE in LA had a shim kit. No one!!

Glad to see you can experience a little piece of Ely right there in LA :D ;D

ha ha ha, why don't you go dig in the dirt. ;)

Can't ground is starting to freeze :P Chance of snow Wednesday!

[SuperBuickGuy]

Re: Rebel(Dryver)'s Machines

Gggggggrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!! NO ONE in LA had a shim kit. No one!!

Glad to see you can experience a little piece of Ely right there in LA :D ;D

ha ha ha, why don't you go dig in the dirt. ;)

Can't ground is starting to freeze :P Chance of snow Wednesday!

And here I thought Randal's job was digging in the dirt...

[Scott Liggett]

Re: Rebel(Dryver)'s Machines

I finally got around to getting the Impala back together and running again. I bought a new MSD dist gear and a Moroso shim kit.

The MSD gear came with Comp Cams break in lube, which drowned the gear in.


Shockingly, the dist dropped right back in where it was supposed to be. Usually, I'm lying across the motor looking down the dist hole while sticking a screw driver down the hole to move the oil pump drive shaft to get it back in. Not comfy on my gut with Crohn's.


This is why I love my wire looms. No guessing which wire goes where, no remembering firing order. Just plug them back in.


I did have to do some distributor moving to get it fired. It seems my memory where the vacuum port was pointed when I took it out was a bit off. After messing with the timing, my timing tape has flown off sometime, I got it where I want it. About 18* degrees advanced.

[milner351]

Re: Rebel(Dryver)'s Machines

Glad to see you got her back up and running - hopefully more happy than before.

See - you need a Ford - the distributor is much easier to get to - right up front! ;D


I had similar luck with timing tape - even after blasting the balancer, carefully cleaning it with acetone, then installing the tape, then clear painting over the top of the tape - it still flew off after a few months....