223 Silent Lash Valvetrain

[Sickboy49]

Well I went over everything again and found that I DO have a vacuum leak and the throttle shaft. So I am just waiting for the new carb to come in.

 

[Sickboy49]

So I was able to get an Autolite carb and I installed it yesterday. Out of the box the car idled at 600 RPM... that was a big sigh of relief for me. I tinkered with it and got it idling around 475 RPM. Next step is to hook up a vacuum gauge and dial it in. I took it for a small test drive and the motor is so quiet now that I can actually hear the speedometer cable turning. All I need to get now is a new air cleaner for the carb since the factory air cleaner will not fit. I am going to make a adapter for it over the summer, so I can use it again.

 

[bubba22349]

Congrats that's great news, maybe you need to lube up the speed o cable good, if you can hear it.

 

[Sickboy49]

Congrats that's great news, maybe you need to lube up the speed o cable good, if you can hear it.

Thanks Bubba! I will definitely grease that cable good. The motor is about 90% where I want it. I am going to mess with the mixture, accelerator pump, and timing over the weekend. Since it now has higher lift and bigger cylinders the "stock" settings are close but not perfect. I will be sure to document everything in case anyone out there has the same setup as I.

 

[Sickboy49]

Well the dialing in of the motor is at a standstill. I took her out for a road test (about 4 miles) and parked it for the day while coming up with a plan for further adjustments. I think I need to bump up the timing because the throttle response lags a little when you first get on it. When I took her out again I heard a (clunk, clunk, clunk) in the rear end. I put it up on jack stands and confirmed the clunk is coming from the pumpkin. I talked to a local shop that specializes in differentials and axles. The gentlemen told me it sounds like a pinion bearing. I am going to have them rebuild the whole rear and replace whatever is needed. So in another few months I should have a brand new 61 ford. LOL

 

[bubba22349]

What is the base timing you have it set at?

 

[Sickboy49]

What is the base timing you have it set at?

Right now I am at +10 degrees.

 

[bubba22349]

Thats not bad on the base timing you could go a little more if you want like as much as 14 BTDC. Have you checked out your total timing yet?

 

[Sickboy49]

Thanks for the advise. Could you define total time?

 

[bubba22349]

Total timing is when the Load O Matic Distributor (LOM) has reached its Full Vacuum Advance rate of timing, in your case with a stock LOM Distributor it is controlled by the highest Engine Vacuum amount. This amount is then added to the Base timing amount and gives you the Total Timing. To see this total timing with a regular timing light you would need to make some extra timing marks on the front Crankshaft Dampener, use some Timing Tape on the Dampener, or use one of the "Dial Back type Timing Light's". Best of luck

 

[Sickboy49]

Thank you again for the education

 

[bubba22349]

Hi Sickboy, been wondering how you're doing on your engine tuning? Just so happens that the last few days site member "78_200_C4" has been posting some info on tuning the "Ignition Curve" of the old Load O Matic distributors. These details are not known by very many today and I thought passing this along to you might be of some help. Here is the link to the posts in the Small Ford Six forum that shows very good details on how to adjust these distributors and the ideal tunes for the sixes as was found out by Les Rictchey a famous Southern California Ford Tuner, on the last post he made today are the timing advance settings for the OHV 215 & 223 Sixes going back to the 1952 year model's. As a side note my Uncles Repair Shop was very close to his and he knew him (Les) very well too, best of luck. https://fordsix.com/threads/loadomatic-distributors-stick-vs-automatic-info.83538/#post-664942

 

[Sickboy49]

Hi Sickboy, been wondering how you're doing on your engine tuning? Just so happens that the last few days site member "78_200_C4" has been posting some info on tuning the "Ignition Curve" of the old Load O Matic distributors. These details are not known by very many today and I thought passing this along to you might be of some help. Here is the link to the posts in the Small Ford Six forum that shows very good details on how to adjust these distributors and the ideal tunes for the sixes as was found out by Les Rictchey a famous Southern California Ford Tuner, on the last post he made today are the timing advance settings for the OHV 215 & 223 Sixes going back to the 1952 year model's As a side note my Uncles Repair Shop was very close to his (Les) and he knew him very well too, best of luck. https://fordsix.com/threads/loadomatic-distributors-stick-vs-automatic-info.83538/#post-664942

Thank you very much! I will read this and compare where I am at currently.

 

[Sickboy49]

So after a lot of tinkering with the Autolite carb and timing I have the car idling at 575. I have read that is normal for a non-stock motor. Also I have static timing of 14 degrees BDC and at 2500 RPM I am pulling 30 degrees. At idle you can actually hear the extra lift from the stock cam which I think is neat. I did find the dead-spot in the Autolite that I have read they are known for. I have only a very slight hesitation if I mat the throttle off of idle. I am pulling the rear next week to take to the rebuild shop. Depending on that bill I may op for yet a different carb. I may purchase the updated 1904 which is (1904 Universal Carburetor N1904 - Daytona Manufacturer). I found that at Mike's Carburetor Parts.

 

[Sickboy49]

What a wild turn this motor rebuild has taken:
1. Still waiting for the rearend to be rebuilt. The shop I took it to is really backed up.
2. When firing up the motor once a week (to let it warm up and lubricate) I found that it was bubbling oil between the head and the block on the lifter side after it warmed up. It is a very small amount, but still an issue so I talked to the engine builder and we are coordinating a time for him to come over and replace the head gasket on his dime. I thought that was some pretty good customer service.
3. Was searching Facebook Marketplace and found a guy on the east coast selling a Clifford Intake/Headers and Weber Carb for a really good price. I will have to cut apart the headers because they are for a truck but I think I can get them to work with some modification. The intake is for a single two barrel with adapter, or a single four barrel. I have to read the build thread to determine which one option I go with.

Thanks again to all of you for the advice and support.

 

[Sickboy49]

So I just picked up the Clifford Intake and exhaust and the guy gave me the whole motor. Supposedly it is a 64. I haven't checked the numbers on the block yet but by looking at the shaft diameter of the distributor to oil pump it checks out.

 

[bubba22349]

Thats excellent!

 

[Sickboy49]

Soooo... After getting the rearend back and installed I took her out for a test drive. The rearend is really quiet now but, I still have the clunking sound. I drove her for about 4 miles to experiment and try to diagnose the problem. Here is what I found:

1. Definitely not the rearend. I am glad however I got the bearings and seals replaced. The also reset the pinion angle since it was a little off. Also found out the it is not an 8 inch rear with 3.89's (per shop manual) but a 9 inch with 3.55's
2. Clunking/Clicking sounds like it is coming from the bellhousing firewall area. You can hear it speed up and slow down with the speed of the car.
3. The noise only occurs when in 1st or reverse. As soon as I shift into 2nd or 3rd the noise stops. I also tried pulling out in 2nd and the noise was not present.
4. She drives fine, and there are no vibrations. There are no issues with shifting either.

I am going to put the rear up on jack stands and fire her up and put her is 1st gear to try and identify where the noise is exactly coming from. I researched this as much as I could and found there may be two possible reasons for the noise.
1. Broken or bad motor or transmission mounts. I replaced the motor mounts 4 years ago. The transmission mount/bushing is original as I cannot find a replacement that is even close to the original.
2. The primary first/reverse gear is missing teeth.

Any advice or insight into this would be greatly appreciated. I have to laugh at this issue, because I always tell my friends and family sooner or later I will have a brand new 1961 Ford with everything that has been/will be replaced or rebuilt. LOL

 

[Bill56]

This might be a good time to renew your effort to find the trans mount.
Slack there means more movement at the mounts you have replaced and that could cause them to give out sooner.

If you think there is even a chance you have a tooth or two missing from a gear, this would be a good time to drain and flush the trans.
When a tooth or part of it breaks off it is still there somewhere, just circulating in the trans oil waiting to get between a pair of gears and create mayhem.
It might stay stuck to the bottom of the case, but I wouldn't want to count on it.

Worst case you spend a little time and money to have a cleaner trans...
and a little more piece of mind.
Refill with GL1.
The later formulations can eat brass.

 

[Sickboy49]

This might be a good time to renew your effort to find the trans mount.
Slack there means more movement at the mounts you have replaced and that could cause them to give out sooner.

If you think there is even a chance you have a tooth or two missing from a gear, this would be a good time to drain and flush the trans.
When a tooth or part of it breaks off it is still there somewhere, just circulating in the trans oil waiting to get between a pair of gears and create mayhem.
It might stay stuck to the bottom of the case, but I wouldn't want to count on it.

Worst case you spend a little time and money to have a cleaner trans...
and a little more piece of mind.
Refill with GL1.
The later formulations can eat brass.

Thank you Bill. I have drained the transmission multiple times. The first time(right after I purchased the car) I found a good size piece of gear tooth. I will however drain it again as well. I am going to check the mount this weekend. I am thinking I will have to create a mount on my own as I have never seen one like it offered anywhere.