edgewood bronco
Well-known member
Time for an update on the 66 Bronco with a 200 and 2bbl autolite carb conversion.
My second rebuild on this never-ending Bronco project was smoking and burning oil. I was going through about 8 ounces of oil for every fill-up, which is about 150 miles on this 13 gallon tank.
I couldn't bring myself to tear into it again right away last fall when I got it back on the road, but finally was ready in June. I talked to the machine shop where I'd had the work done and he helped me think through it. Well, he did most of the thinking. Long story short, he told me to pull the head and look at the carbon on top of the pistons. If there was a clean shiny edge to the tops of the pistons, that was a symptom of rings not sealing due to the oil washing the carbon off the edges of the pistons as it flowed into the cylinder. If the piston was even edge to edge with carbon, it was probably the head.
What in the head? he had an idea that it was probably the valve seals. Umbrella seals on a cam with lift too high would force the bottom lip of the seal against the head and act like a pump, injecting oil down the valve stem into the head. When I pulled the head and saw that it had umbrella seals, I was hopeful. He changed them out for some crimp-on type seals that clamp to the valve guide.
When I picked the head up, he told me he thought that was the problem. He sent me out the door with the head and a new head gasket FREE OF CHARGE! I got it installed over the weekend and it seems to be smoke-free now. I'm thrilled.
This is the service that I got from Doug at Automotive Machine Service on Second and Aspen in Albuquerque.
Not only am I pleased that the engine is running better than ever, I'm super happy with his customer service....
I wrote that in June, but never posted for fear my problem would come back. I'm happy to say it hasn't. I've put 1700 miles on it since then and am averaging 16 mpg. I'm pleased with that number given the 4.11 stock gears it has in the axles. What really amazed me was on my last trip, my gas mileage hovered around 20 mpg. My last fillup on the open highway (engine already warmed up), keeping the speed about 65 mph on the interstate, I got 21.1 MPG over 95 miles in which I also gained 1720 feet of elevation.
Overall, I'm super impressed with this package. It's got all the power I need without running it wide open. I can pass on hills and have plenty of throttle left running on the open road at 65 mph. I like it so much I'm thinking of putting the same setup in my next project, a '67 Cougar.
Hope this helps somebody troubleshoot a smoky engine or make a decision about running gear setup.
Best to all - and Happy New Year
My second rebuild on this never-ending Bronco project was smoking and burning oil. I was going through about 8 ounces of oil for every fill-up, which is about 150 miles on this 13 gallon tank.
I couldn't bring myself to tear into it again right away last fall when I got it back on the road, but finally was ready in June. I talked to the machine shop where I'd had the work done and he helped me think through it. Well, he did most of the thinking. Long story short, he told me to pull the head and look at the carbon on top of the pistons. If there was a clean shiny edge to the tops of the pistons, that was a symptom of rings not sealing due to the oil washing the carbon off the edges of the pistons as it flowed into the cylinder. If the piston was even edge to edge with carbon, it was probably the head.
What in the head? he had an idea that it was probably the valve seals. Umbrella seals on a cam with lift too high would force the bottom lip of the seal against the head and act like a pump, injecting oil down the valve stem into the head. When I pulled the head and saw that it had umbrella seals, I was hopeful. He changed them out for some crimp-on type seals that clamp to the valve guide.
When I picked the head up, he told me he thought that was the problem. He sent me out the door with the head and a new head gasket FREE OF CHARGE! I got it installed over the weekend and it seems to be smoke-free now. I'm thrilled.
This is the service that I got from Doug at Automotive Machine Service on Second and Aspen in Albuquerque.
Not only am I pleased that the engine is running better than ever, I'm super happy with his customer service....
I wrote that in June, but never posted for fear my problem would come back. I'm happy to say it hasn't. I've put 1700 miles on it since then and am averaging 16 mpg. I'm pleased with that number given the 4.11 stock gears it has in the axles. What really amazed me was on my last trip, my gas mileage hovered around 20 mpg. My last fillup on the open highway (engine already warmed up), keeping the speed about 65 mph on the interstate, I got 21.1 MPG over 95 miles in which I also gained 1720 feet of elevation.
Overall, I'm super impressed with this package. It's got all the power I need without running it wide open. I can pass on hills and have plenty of throttle left running on the open road at 65 mph. I like it so much I'm thinking of putting the same setup in my next project, a '67 Cougar.
Hope this helps somebody troubleshoot a smoky engine or make a decision about running gear setup.
Best to all - and Happy New Year
