This might get long.
I’m excited. I got it back! It’s been 5 months sans car. Very hard to handle. I like to drive my car, not have it sit waiting for the next change or upgrade. I love it, and there are things to learn and a couple of learning tweaks still needed.
Some money became available, so I decided to do some much needed maintenance & repair work. While at it, some upgrades came into the picture. So, without further adoo:
I’m into the “Buy” mode these days rather than the “Make” mode. Time and infirmary have taken their toll witness the thread concerning back ailments a few weeks ago. This has been a difficult transition too. I can’t do it any more, but I can still think and plan..
I had a list over 30 items long, that I will not go into here, mostly just little stuff. But I cut for several big things. FiTech fuel injection, TCP power R&P, removing the TCP strut rods returning to stock, and a new cam. Since a number of us are going the FiTech FI route, I thought I would share about 100 miles of driving experiences on both freeway and windy mountain roads.
First, the car: 1966 C-code I bought new (I have to keep bringing that up don’t I). Currently over 500,000 miles. Configuration going into the work – 1970 351w(T-5) withD0OE heads built by Valley Head Service in 1989. They are pocket ported/no thermactor hump/stock stainless steel 1.84/1.54 valves. Ignition – stock Ford dizzy w/Pertronix I, Accel coil, MSD 8mm wires. Edelbrock Performer intake manifold port matched to the heads, Edelbrock 600 CFM carb. TCP manual R&P, TCP strut rods & upper control arms.
The FiTech installation went just fine. There were no problems at all. Things that one must deal with include - the computer must program itself, so give yourself street time before you start yelling foul. While no fuel return line is required, for safety there should be an overflow vent tube running back to the gas inlet. Mine is copper; some use fuel line or the like. Otherwise gas will fume and splash from the control module all over the engine compartment. Fuel management is much like a carb float bowl. It is vented. The FiTech computer is independent and does its own thing. If you have one of the aftermarket multiple spark systems, you will have to do some tuning and I can’t help you there as all of them work differently. My ignition is basically stock and only has the vacuum advance disabled. That is not needed – Think Shelby GT350 had no vacuum advance. Something like 35 Deg all in by ~3500rpm. There is also a pigtail coming out behind the injector. It is unused. Do with it what you will. Possibly used by FiTech for their own work. Oh, you need to install an oxygen sensor in the header pipe. I needed a new air cleaner because the top of the injector was to large for the air cleaner to fit under the hood - so, think hood clearance in the formula.
TCP power R&P: I use TCP a lot because I like their products and their plant is only about 90 minutes from here. Face to face access is worth money to me.
I have wondered over the years why all the talk on the forum about how much caster to use for return to center. My manual rack had no problems whatsoever with 2 deg caster. This power unit is quite different. Even though the power eases steering a lot there is a stiffness in return to center, so it is now 4 deg. That helps a lot. The power steering pump hisses when the wheel is turned; stops when going straight. Is that a problem?
The steering is totally solid. To the point where I weave back and forth a little. I can’t tell exactly what is going on, but I changed out 3 steering related things. The really tight rack, stock strut rods&bushings, and a smaller steering wheel for added leg space. They all contribute. I’m thinking the stock strut rod bushings are giving me a little 'turn out' when they compress under load. Maybe another 1/16th toe in will help. The smaller steering wheel also increases steering sensitivity.
The up side to all this is that my car is much quieter and smoother riding and now I don't gouge my thumbs on my thighs when turning. I was sick of the banging and crashing coming from the front end when hitting rough spots in the road. I will take a little squirrlieness for the added comfort in my dotage. And my wife and friends will now be willing to ride with me. The weaving is not as bad as it was in the old days with the stock steering.
I’m beginning to think that what we used to call bump steer might have been 'turn out' instead.
New cam. It is not a 6Sally6 choice. Only 218- 224 @ 0.050 0.513 lift Edelbrock roller retrofit. But it works great and sounds good too. I got a number of long looks and thumbs up's on the way home. Between that and the FI the engine has really opened up. It revs more smoothly with no stumbling. It pulls in 5th from 1200rpm and is still going at 6 grand. It used to flatten out around 5 grand. I think that when I built the engine way long time ago, I put too little cam in it. That was an Isky 262.
That’s it from Lake Wobegone today. Have a great day. I gotta go drive.
PS: That Control Module could use some beautifying!
lcs
Some photos:
Last edited by lowercasesteve (6/14/2016 6:50 PM)
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lowercasesteve wrote:
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