Inexpensive upgrades

[Anonymous]

Hello all,
I have a '78 Mercury Monarch with a Ford 250 under the hood. The car has an origial 28,000 miles on it, and is my fiance's daily driver. It is mechanically sound, and we plan to keep it for as long as possible.

The only bad part is that the car has absolutely no power. Now, I don't need it to be a musclecar, but it is honestly dangerous to merge on the highway or pull out onto a major road because the car just has no pickup.

I am wondering if there is anything that can be done to give this car a modest increase in performance? I am on a budget, and don't want to lose driveability...those are my two biggest concerns.

I really appreciate any help and advice that you can give.

 

[Nathan289]

start with a good tune up.
Timing is very key to improving performance.
I'll let the other guys chime in with their advice.
Nathan

 

[Anonymous]

The only thing I did with the timing was to make sure the initial was set to factory specs. As for setting advance and all that, I've never done it and don't know exactly how to do it. Any guidance? Since timing changes are free, maybe that'd be a good place for me to start?

The rest of the motor is basically tuned up and in good condition. Oil is fresh, all filters are new, plugs and wires are new etc.

 

[Nathan289]

Need to get your self a timing light.
Find the mark on the dampner.
loosen the dizzy hold bolt and advance the timing a little bit.
I dont know what factory is but I'm willing to bet you can advance it 6* with out any pinging.
These guys here have alot more experience with these sixes than I do.
I just tinker on my uncles big 240 I6 and make it run better than it was.
Nathan

 

[CZLN6]

Howdy 78 Monarch:

Nathan has you on the right track for free and easy imporvements. You didn't give your location. It is important because elevation is variable in finding ideal ignition advance. Higher elevations can allow more initial advance without fear of knock.

Start with an increase of 5 degrees over what factory specs call for. Listen carefully for knock as you drive. If you hear none, great! enjoy the increased mileage and power. IF you hear any, reduce initial advance by 2 degrees and run a can of fuel system cleaner through your tank. The cleaner will help to clean out carbon and other crud that can cause hot spots and pre-ignition.

Is this an automatic trans car?

Know that there are four glaring things that are holding back the performance potential of this car. They are; the Carter YF carb, the retarded cam timing, the exhaust system and rear end gearing. Ford made several alterations to this combo to reduce emissions and to increase mileage. Neither helped performance. Add to that the earlier reduction in compression and fun driving goes away. The Monarch is also a relatively heavy car for this engine.

Know that you have one of the best US heads available, an excellent iginition system, and a well thought out climatic control air cleaner system.

Determine which rearend and gear ratio you currently have. If it is a 2.79:1, changing to a 3.00:1 would be a nice noticeably improvement. I'm assuming that this is a nice driver, with many creature comforts and that you, or your DF, will want to maintain them.

When the time comes for a valve job or an engine rebuild, that is the time to deal with cam gearing/timing and CR. Upgrade your exhaust system when it needs to be replaced.

Adios, David

 

[Lazy JW]

A 78 Monarch in nice condition with low miles has probably been driven very gently. It was likely driven so carefully that the catalytic converter is plugged. This will definitely cause sluggish performance. I would have a competent mechanic check it out. Good luck,
Joe

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the responses so far.

The car is in Amherst, Massachusetts, and it is an automatic. I'll set the initial 5 degrees advanced from what it is now and see what happens. I appreciate you identifying the 4 things that are limiting performance. Exhaust work is expensive, so I guess there isn't much I can do there right now. I hadn't thought of the cat being plugged...next time I have it in the shop, I'll see if my mechanic will install a modern hi-flow unit in place of the factory piece. The car certainly was driven lightly, by an old man, and not for long distances, so I guess it is a real possibility that the cat suffered from that.

As for creature comforts, I don't think this car has many, and it isn't really all that comfortable of a ride! The mid-70's GM products that I ahve driven were all MUCH more comfortable to be in.


WRT the carb as a restriction on performance, is there anything I can do there without destroying reliability?

 

[Lazy JW]

While this car will likely never be a real hot rod it shouldn't be so slow as to be dangerous. The other thing that slow driving/short runs will do is plug up the intake ports in the head. You may be surprised at how much carbon can build up in there. It is difficult to see without some dismantling though, and that magic cleaning stuff won't do much for clogged intakes.
Joe

 

[CZLN6]

Howdy Back:

The Monarch is the Mercury clone of the Ford Granada. typically, the merc version is a bit plusher- thicker seats and carpet/padding. AC, PS, PB, PW, etc. The seats may or may not be to your likeing, but they will be heavier.

The '78 250 Carter YF carb is at the beginning of more and more EPA restrictions and feed back systems. IT is no as bad as the Holley #1946 model that followed, but it is difinitely worse than the Carter RBS that preceded it. A good spray down with "Gumot" and a can of Techron through the tank is about the best you can do without disassembly or rebuild. Also check that you are getting wide open throttle when the accelerator pedal is pressed all the way down.

The other problem with the 250s is a huge deck clearance. It allows very lazy turbulence and consequently poor combustion quality, hence carbon and varnish build-up. These things can be improved upon in rebuilding, but there is no easy fix.

Joe may be right about the intake being plugged up, but I'm more leaning to a cluttered up carb, lazy cam timing, low compression, and high gearing.
The exhaust may be adding to the problems too.

Have you IDed your rearend gear ratio yet?

Adios, David

 

[Anonymous]

You know, I was looking at the engine today, and now I remember that I NEVER adjusted the timing at all, for one simple reason...I can't see how you are supposed to be able to put a light on and view the timing tab. I mean, it's below not only a radiator hose, but a big metal bracket as well! Secrets?

As for the rear, I'll see if I can find a code on it somewhere...I do have the set of factory service manuals, so I should be able to decode the number.

If the carb is a limiting factor, can it be replaced with a 2bbl unit? Is there a carb and intake combo available for these motors out there, one that would still be streetable, even in winter, and not cost a fortune?

If I were to pull the intake, what would be the best method for cleaning the carbon? That GM Top Engine Cleaner won't work, the kind you suck in through a vac hose? I've heard it's like magic for carbon buildup. but maybe that is just on valves?

 

[rbohm]

8) with the timing, add some unitll you get pinging, then back it off untill it stops. that is as far as you want to go with that.

re: the rear end gears, likely they are 2.79's.

the only ways to change to a 2bbl carb is to mod the head for a direct bolt on, or use an adaptor.

these heads have the intake cast integrally, thus they cannot be removed, unless you, mill them off.

 

[48fordnut]

I don't know what kind of eng you guys are looking at, but as a eng builder I have never seen a plugged intake. think about it,the fuel,and air mixture is a moving mass inside the intake ,with a vacume to pull it thru. gas dosen't sit in the intake. the cam dosen't have enough overlap to cause revision(where there is a postive pressure instead of a negative pressure). the main reason the car,dosen't have any performance is sluggish factory timing, and the gear ratio. install a 3.25 gear, set the timing to the max for his eng, and enjoy the per.the easiest per mod is to change r/e gears. 1.5 hr , by your self swap out. just my 2 cents.

 

[Anonymous]

rbohm, are you saying not even to bother trying to time the engine by using a light on the tab, since it's hidden? In other words, just rotate the distributor and time the engine by sound?

So, using a carb adapter, what kinds of carbs could I use on the car, and are there any drawbacks to that?

 

[Lazy JW]

I don't know what kind of eng you guys are looking at, but as a eng builder I have never seen a plugged intake. think about it,the fuel,and air mixture is a moving mass inside the intake ,with a vacume to pull it thru. gas dosen't sit in the intake. the cam dosen't have enough overlap to cause revision(where there is a postive pressure instead of a negative pressure). the main reason the car,dosen't have any performance is sluggish factory timing, and the gear ratio. install a 3.25 gear, set the timing to the max for his eng, and enjoy the per.the easiest per mod is to change r/e gears. 1.5 hr , by your self swap out. just my 2 cents.

I have seen several engines, all driven by little old granny types, that had severe carbon buildup in the intake ports. Both v8's and straight sixes. It seems to be less prevalent on smaller four-banger engines, I suspect because they naturally have to work harder, but a big engine that never gets warmed up and is just loafing around hauling Aunt Tillie to the grocery store can get pretty ugly. Modern fuel injection seems to be more forgiving in this regard. And yes, there is reversion coming out of the intake valves into the port area. Especially at the slower speeds that Aunt Tillie drives. It is worse with retarded cam timing used on smogger engines.
Joe

 

[rbohm]

rbohm, are you saying not even to bother trying to time the engine by using a light on the tab, since it's hidden? In other words, just rotate the distributor and time the engine by sound?

So, using a carb adapter, what kinds of carbs could I use on the car, and are there any drawbacks to that?

as far as timing the engine goes, yes. you can time for best idle, or best vacuum reading(requires the use of a vacuum gauge), or you can just add timing untill you get detonation, then back the timing down untill you get none.

 

[mutt]

is easy enough, but you have to remove it. then you can dump a couple cans of carb cleaner in it, & blast it out w/ a garden hose. You might think about leaving it off, replacing it w/ a piece of pipe & clamps, & save it for that evil moment you have to subject yourself to emmissions tests.

 

[Anonymous]

Lots of great info and advice here, and I appreciate it all.

Didn't know you could clean out a converter like that, so that's a cool thing to have learned.

How much does a gear set cost, and do you have any advice as to where to buy one? I have never cracked open a rear before, so that'd be a whole new experience.

As for the timing...which way do you turn the distributor to advance it? Will any pinging be loud enough for me to hear it? And lastly, if I use a vacuum gauge, how many inches will I want it to be pulling, and does it matter what hose I connect it to?

 

[80broncoman]

I would run a compression check to see if it is really low. if it is low and even cyl.to cyl. It may have jumped a tooth on the timing chain. causing low compression.