FordSix Performance Forum

MechRick

7/16" studs offer a strength increase over 3/8". If you haven't set up the head for studs yet it's a good idea. One of the drawbacks of screw-in studs is flex with high spring loads. It's the reason rev kits and stud girdles are available for high RPM engines to stabilize the valve train. ...

MechRick

I'll have to remember this for my current Big Block/ZF setup. It currently drinks Dexron mixed with half a quart of Lucas, but on cold days, you would think there is molasses in there.

I've heard Syncromesh might be a good option too, but that stuff is pricey.

MechRick

My cousin had one of those turbo Regals. It was odd to see a family sedan with wire hubcaps, then open the hood. Quadrajet off to one side of the intake and turbo.

They weren't that fast until EFI came along.

MechRick

My opinion, after working on and modifying 300 sixes for 28 years, is the magic of this engine happens *below* 2000 RPM. If you are looking for an engine to run and make power in the higher RPM ranges, you really are better off with a V8. If you overlay the torque curves of a 300 six with a 302 V8, ...

MechRick

So for 600 dollars of tuning for example , could I gain 50? 75? In torque? ,HP? Well, if that $600 included a junkyard turbo, sure. ;) Paul is right. The Ford ECM's are set up with the correct amount of fuel, and mild, knock sensor tweaked timing tables. Little to gain without a major rework of int...

MechRick

That far-out cool stuff, yet trying to avoid the nearly 2000 dollar price for that,if components are bought new That's why I like the Megasquirt stuff. I can scrounge parts and be up and rolling with a few hundred dollars. what I'm arguing here is that the factory EFI system is often overlooked as ...

MechRick

Can they be called piggyback? When I hear 'piggyback', I think of the add-on boxes that add fuel or change ignition timing when under boost, without altering the factory ECM in any way. Hondas and Mitsubishis come to mind. With the two tuners mentioned, the circuit board plugged into the J3 port hi...

MechRick

Pass into the canister would be a better word choice. The old school carbon canisters had a vent with a dust cover on the top. After shutdown, vapor from the fuel tank and carb would push into the carbon granules (from the top) where they were stored. Vapor purge happened either with a duty cycle-co...

MechRick

https://www.moates.net/quarterhorse-for-fords-p-199.html https://www.tweecer.com/ Those are two most common methods of changing tables in Ford EEC_IV ECM's. Both require a circuit board that plugs in the J3 port of the factory ECM. The add on boards transfer the ROM from the factory ECM onto RAM whe...

MechRick

In addition to a purge port, the carbon canister will be vented to fresh air. No pressure buildup should ever occur in a properly operating system.

A good rollover/vent valve will prevent liquid fuel from getting to the canister.

MechRick

Can you use one of the factory rollover/vent valves? It would be much safer in the event you ever turn turtle...

They have to be mounted horizontally, but many of them just use a round hole with a rubber grommet.

MechRick

Nope, you've got it covered. When I megasquirt a vehicle, I'll lose the canister purge solenoid. I typically route the hose from the canister to filtered air (always in a partial vacuum because of the restriction of the air filter). Once upon a time, I thought I was breaking new ground, but some old...

MechRick

0-256 is the resolution of an 8 bit computer. In an automotive application, everything revolves around 8 bit word lengths. I felt like I left a bunch of information out. An 8 bit computer stores and manipulates numbers. The range of those numbers is 0-256. A vehicle's sensors and many of it's contr...

MechRick

Leading to a follow on question, can we realize some very nice gain over current options by reworking the SD with megasquirt? One feature of Megasquirt is it can be set up either speed density or mass airflow. I don't see the advantage of mass air in a performance application. The O/E's went to mas...

MechRick

I tumbled into a vortex of tuners that explain the re- mapping of this system in vague ( to me ) mathematical terms. But have mastered fully the nuances of the speed density system. Remapping is simply changing the value of a table entry, otherwise known as a 'cell'. By reverse engineering the tabl...

MechRick

So can a system like this be described totally in mathematical terms? A rudimentary knowledge of computer operation helps. Specifically, binary and hexadecimal, and how processors function. Condensed to the most simple function, computer memory chips store information by latching voltage. In the ea...

MechRick

I have a 'what if'.

What if Comp ground this cam on a 112 degree lobe center? This would allow retarding the intake valve closing point without affecting the exhaust, reducing DCR. Correct?

MechRick

I'll take a page from what Ford did in the early '80's and learn from it. Ford EECIII systems used a crank sensor mounted to the balancer and an ignition module on the inner fender with timing controlled by the EEC computer. The harness from the crank sensor through the PCM to the module used unseal...

MechRick

LittleJimmy wrote:Am I crazy or could this comp 268 cam profile increase DCR and cause detonation?

This was my experience also.

MechRick

Pusher fan mounted in front of the A/C condenser.

Yes on the two different size threaded hubs...

MechRick

There are two different size hubs. With A/C or without. I ran the non-A/C one with a pusher fan with no overheating.

The non-A/C trucks didn't have a full fan shroud. I remember moving the small pusher fan around while monitoring A/C head pressure. Where it was lowest I bolted the fan down...

MechRick

I'm not sure I'm what you consider a serious mechanic, but I've done what you are asking about. I installed a Comp 268 in an otherwise stock EFI cylinder head. I did check for valve spring coil bind and valve tip contact, and lifter plunger location. See my sig for details. I don't recommend stock s...

MechRick

Them cats eat scorpions??!! I've seen them at night under the mercury vapor light on the garage eating something . I've noticed when they are around, scorpions are not. Supposedly a few chickens does the trick too. This year is lizard year. And I think there are less black widows as a result... Bac...

MechRick

Interesting about soy-based insulation. Nissan has a problem with mice eating through the knock sensor harnesses on some of their vehicles. Only the knock sensor harnesses. I wonder if the insulation is soy based. Anyway, supposedly the fix was to mix cayenne pepper in the insulation. We occasionall...

MechRick

I think the biggest advantage of waste spark ignition is to simplify ignition on engines that don't need a cam position reference for fuel or ignition. As Pmuller said, the most common early usage was carburetted inline four cylinder motorcycles. Most manufacturers that used waste spark ignition did...

MechRick

The head flanges are scavenged from a Ranger tubular factory manifold. They are not quite 3/8" in thickness (metric?). I like the bolt spacers. Allows a longer bolt for more stretch, keeps them from loosening up over time. The T3 turbo flange is 3/8" steel. The tubing is 16 gauge 1 1/2&quo...

MechRick

Nikola Tesla was the father of A/C, many do not know Thomas Edison was the father of D/C. When experimenting with batteries and deducing electron flow, he guessed at the direction of electrons from positive to negative (he guessed wrong). Electrons flow from negative to positive in an electronic cir...

MechRick

Good stuff. This highlights the different requirements of a street-driven vehicle that spends most of it's time at low RPM (~2000) and a race vehicle that has to routinely zip to 6500+. I grew up in the days of points ignition. I remember my Dad yelling at me when listening to the radio with the ign...

MechRick

Coolant plumbing... https://i.postimg.cc/SQVRYCpk/IMG-20200425-125516.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/Gp0mnjvJ/IMG-20200425-132553.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/0NdPR1kP/IMG-20200425-174939.jpg Oil plumbing... https://i.postimg.cc/sDvjBLc4/IMG-20200425-174946.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/0NZF0k5M/IMG-20200430-18572...

MechRick

The right side engine mount interfered with the wastegate of the turbo. The fluid-filled mounts and brackets set farther rearward than the older-style mounts, so I made a switch. I incorporated the mount bracket into the A/C compressor bracket. https://i.postimg.cc/rF3859ZX/IMG-20200425-180931.jpg h...

MechRick

I think you will hear opinions from both camps in this one. I've always been an O/E type of guy. The reason for that is I've seen and repaired too many aftermarket ignition systems over the years. I won't mention names, but I've seen all of the aftermarket electronic ignition systems fail, and have ...

MechRick

The cylinder wall has scuffs that show evidence of the occurrence. No deep cuts just surface abrasions. The general rule is if will catch a fingernail, you should overbore. Can I get away with with replacing the broken piston If you think the rest are ok, you can. The replacement should be the same...

MechRick

Cracked rings=broken Piston=grooved cylinder wall. I've never seen a cylinder survive broken parts without some damage.

You can pull the plug and stick a camera in there to check for cylinder wall damage.

MechRick

3.73 for now. That will change. I want to drive it with the turbo 1st to:

A) Make sure the turbo meets my goals

B) If it doesn't meet my goals and I swap a V8 in, the 3.73 set will work ok.

MechRick

A Bronco in it's habitat, miles from asphalt...

toast hampstead

MechRick

The 5.0 is a great economy engine with light weight and power The 5.0L in a truck application needs more stroke. It's possible to cram a 351 Cleveland crank in a 5.0L block, with a bunch of machine work. https://suicideslabs.com/dw/engine/chucko/chucko.htm Nowadays, the common 3.4" stroke afte...

MechRick

The Ranger based Bronco II is an absolute honey of a platform, but weight and appointments needed for off terrain work means a minimum of 2.5 liters just to get a 3600 pound vehicle off the mark. With the old 1.4 turbo to normally aspirated conversion, a turbo 2.5 is a 3.5 liter engine for all inte...

MechRick

How's much of an advantage of clearing the whole shoud vs just cleaning up the points? Anything you do to improve airflow through the engine will allow you to make more HP. When unshrouding my fours, I noticed boost came in sooner. Same result with oversize valves. I would want full boost by 1600-1...

MechRick

I almost cut the top off last summer. That would have required a custom soft top, out of the budget. I decided to get rid of the leaky sunroof and add some open air ability by installing a canvas roof. https://i.postimg.cc/wxygG9W4/IMG-20190818-094140.jpg I supplement it in the winter with hardboard...

MechRick

Thanks, Bubba. I've put about 20,000 miles on it since the Sept 2018 post. I really enjoy driving it. One of the cons of turbos is the requirement for good, detonation-resistant fuel. One of my goals is better MPG, so forcing me to use premium fuel defeats the goal. I'm going to try to run 87 octane...

MechRick

The 2" body lift helps, but the stock Turbo Coupe exhaust manifold places the turbo where the evaporator housing is. I will have to scratch build an exhaust manifold. Mocking up the turbo with brace in a suitable location: https://i.postimg.cc/7LfsvGqG/IMG-20191103-153655.jpg https://i.postimg....

MechRick

The biggest problem is the massive jump from first gear to second gear in the Toyo-Kogyo 5 speed (3.96 to 2.08). The 2.3L doesn't make decent torque until 2500 RPM. Because of that, you have to rev the engine to 4000 RPM when taking off in 1st gear, or the shift to second bogs horribly. Gears will h...

MechRick

I think I've mentioned before that I'm not thrilled with the power output of the 4 cylinder in this application (3600 lbs with me in it). I'm getting 19 mpg in mixed driving. Straight highway it gets low 20's. It's not bad, but I'm pretty sure a 5.0L M5OD would not be far off of those numbers. I bou...

MechRick

I decided on two-tone Rustoleum/bedliner. The Rustoleum will make scratch repair a cinch, and the bedliner on the sides helps prevent it. The bedliner is Brick Red Durabak and I highly recommend it. Rolls on with a 4" roller. https://i.postimg.cc/C199rCDx/IMG-20190602-134752.jpg https://i.posti...

MechRick

Much to catch up on. Axles, paint, and forced induction. Rear axle is an Explorer Sport Trac 8.8 rear (31 spline) and front axle is Explorer Dana 35 TTB. Ratios are 3.73:1. Needs to be ~4.88-5.13:1 to make 5th gear useable. I'm waiting for the turbo installation to chose ratios. I'm hoping the disc ...

MechRick

Did Ford install anything undersized when new? We would see this occasionally when I was still working at Ford dealers. It was not uncommon to see one rod journal or one main ground undersize with the appropriate bearing installed. A coworker of mine bought an Escort GT new (1988 if I'm remembering...

MechRick

I wonder if anyone has attempted to run one of the 2 4bbl manifolds with adapters and a pair of Weber 32/36's?

That just might be the perfect street carb setup.

MechRick

If you have 10 gauge wire in surplus, just run two of those from the alternator to battery +. That's what Ford did on many factory vehicles, and what I did on my Bronco. I didn't fuse mine (probably not the best idea). I did make absolutely sure there were no sharp edges or possible short-causing si...

MechRick

A pocket screwdriver and penetrating oil. Stick the screwdriver between the nipple and hose, give it a shot of penetrating oil, grab the hose and give it a couple of good twists. Usually comes right off. It's generally a bad idea to lubricate the inside of a hose when installing. Real carb cleaner w...

MechRick

Offenhouser DP manifolds have a split-runner design. A typical staged 4 barrel carb would have the primaries over the smaller sectional runners, and the secondaries of the carb over the larger runners. A 2 bbl throttle body EFI would not be able to take advantage of this arrangement. Most of the new...

Search found 984 matches