I Can't Drive -- 65

[falcon fanatic]

I don't think a header is the solution to your problems, especially with a 170. Very expensive for very little gain on a stock engine. In my experience, an electronic ignition and a bigger/better carb made more of a difference in power than the header/exhaust did. Think in terms of systems, though. If you want more power then consider a package such as mild porting, ratio rockers, bigger carb and electronic ignition. All of these will work together to get you some more high-end power.

On the exhaust side, I'm pretty sure the later 200/250 exhaust manifold is considerably larger than that of the 170. I'd think that manifold with a larger exhaust would complement the mods listed above nicely.

FYI, my car originally topped out around 70-75. It'll now pass 100 with no problem.

 

[johnnyzoom]

Just as an update, I got a vacuum gauge and retuned the carb, and gave each tire about 2 more psi (36). This was a slight improvement. Left timing advanced at about 14 degrees BTDC.

Then last night I gave the motor the Seafoam carbon treatment, pouring enough in the carb while running to stall it, then adding just a little, waiting a few moments, then restarting and waiting for the smoke to clear (literally). Back to the highway I was able to get to just about 75mph with no apparent excessive strain on the motor. Still going to keep a lookout for a c4 though.

While doing the Seafoam treatment, I found that I have a pretty decent exhaust leak right underneath the carb. I'd noticed that after the car warms up, it gives almost a 'machine gun' miss or low sounding sputter while at stoplights, whether in gear, park or neutral, but not driving. I also have a rubber fuel line going from fuel pump to carb, hoping that if I replace that with steel line and minimize the exhaust leak (good excuse to invest in headers, right?), this might go away? Doesn't vapor lock, but I bet it would under stop and go conditions.

Hope everybody's having a good Labor Day Weekend.