My $300 a month budget 69 RR project (AKA, Wholly crap, what did I get myself into)

[747mopar]

I had 3:55s in mine all last summer and they're a nice compromise but not to great for 70 mph freeways, perfect for 55-60 mph and good acceleration.

 

[Photon440]

.....

So far I'm very happy... They gave me break in instructions, which included not pushing it hard for the first 100 miles so it will be a little while before I can say how it does off the line, but so far so good.

So, about two hours of driving and then you can push it? Let us know later on this evening.

 

[Basket case]

my last car had a 440 4 speed with 3.55s. It loved 70.

 

[GearAddict]

I haven't gotten up into that range (70's) yet, as the break in instructions say nothing over 60, but I can see it being on the edge of where I would comfortably like to run the RPM's at for an extended distance. Either way, I much happier than I was and I was already planning to go with an overdrive/5 speed at some point.

The first 100 mile instruction was 10 miles then let it cool for 30 mins...rinse and repeat. So I'm planning on nocking out a 10 mile run every other day this week... should be broken in in a few weeks.

 

[747mopar]

I'd steer clear of the TKOs if I were you, I'd consider the Passon or a T56.

 

[GearAddict]

Thanks... The Passon is what I'm hoping for, but I understand there's a crazy waitlist.

 

[Coronet 14]

How do you like the work they did on that rear axle

 

[GearAddict]

So far so good, but I've only got 60 miles or so on it so far...

When I went in to pick it up, they were just bolting it back together and I asked where the backlash was set at and they said .005. Now I'm not an expert, but it thought .006 - .010 was spec (which it is) so I asked them to try to get a little more and they complied. Ended up at .007, so I was happy. To their credit , they stayed 45 mins late beyond closing and made it right. So I guess I'm happy.

 

[Coronet 14]

I might use these guys. I'm just going to bring them the rear axle. When I replace the leaf springs and fuel tank Plus I want to clean and paint rhe rear axle Thanks for the info

 

[GearAddict]

I might use these guys. I'm just going to bring them the rear axle. When I replace the leaf springs and fuel tank Plus I want to clean and paint rhe rear axle Thanks for the info

I think you'll be satisfied with their work. I went to them on a recommendation from someone else... Their pricing was good and it is all they do (as opposed to a shop that could do it, but doesn't do it regularly).

 

[GearAddict]

Placed my order over the weekend for an AEM Air/Fuel Ratio meter (gauge). Looking forward to getting it installed and then dialing in the carb/timing, ect..

http://static.summitracing.com/global/images/prod/xlarge/avm-30-4110_xl.jpg

 

[Ron 73]

Thanks for the link man, that should help you out a lot! Seems everything good with it all, Ill bet the gas prices are better with your gear change!!!

 

[GetX'd]

That's one bad boy project you have going there. I've been watching the thread for awhile but this is my first comment. Are you really pulling this one off for in the general neighborhood of $300 a month! I can't tell you how awesome that is and what a great job you're doing. You ought to be proud of yourself.

Youve re developed some great skill sets. I wish I had that same what ever you call it that you have. Unfortunately I live in a condo/HOA and you just can't do that kind of stuff here. Frankly you're not even allowed to wash your car - ever!

Congratulations on your build and all you've put in it to get it this far.

 

[GearAddict]

That's one bad boy project you have going there. I've been watching the thread for awhile but this is my first comment. Are you really pulling this one off for in the general neighborhood of $300 a month! I can't tell you how awesome that is and what a great job you're doing. You ought to be proud of yourself.

Youve re developed some great skill sets. I wish I had that same what ever you call it that you have. Unfortunately I live in a condo/HOA and you just can't do that kind of stuff here. Frankly you're not even allowed to wash your car - ever!

Congratulations on your build and all you've put in it to get it this far.

Thanks GetX'd, that's really nice of you to say.

Yes, the $300 budget still stands. I break it once a year at bonus time, which does help a lot. I've done 2 big projects that were from that bonus... Front and rear suspension and disc brakes last year, which was around $2K and the rear end work this year which was $1K... outside of that I'm pretty much in budget. If I don't spend the $300 one month, I carry it to the next, so that helps as well.

I don't count general tools in the budget either (impact wrench, sockets, compressor, ect...) but do include specialty stuff like Torsion Bar removal tool and the like in the budget, so that helps. I tell myself I'm going to use the general tools for other things in the future, which helps me justify it in my mind.

I have also known the pain of condo life. I had a 69 Chevelle, which was my daily driver for 11 years in California in the 90's. I took it with me when I moved to Boston and kept it in storage for the day when I had a garage (I lived in the city and garages are a rare thing, only for the privileged). I then brought it with me to Florida, where we ended up in a Townhome with a garage, but even empty the Chevelle wouldn't fit and they fined me twice for working on it out in the driveway.

 

[GearAddict]

I have a lot of projects that I have purchased parts for that I'm going to be tackling this summer...

1. Install Air/Fuel Gauge and dial in timing/carb
2. Finish Console restoration/installation
3. Add adjustable Pinion Snubber
4. Balance Driveshaft
5. Shim rear end for better pinion angle
6. Add in vacuum gauge in dash
7. Fix the damn leak around my windshield
8. Replace steering wheel
9. Replace steering box that I should have done back when I did the suspension
10. Replace cam (need to figure out what I'm going to replace it with)

 

[Ron 73]

Here is a program from Comp cams... You will have to fill out a registration but you can down load the program to help pick the right cam for your engine, I hope it may point you in the right direction!

http://www.compcams.com/downloads/register.asp

 

[GearAddict]

Got My O2 bungs installed today from the same shop that did my exhaust.. $40 cash, done in 40 mins.

Installed the sensor in the passenger side and put a plug in the drivers side bund for now.

I'm determined to get this car tuned up well... I started a thread on the tuning project over in the Engines section of the forum.

http://www.forbbodiesonly.com/moparforum/showthread.php?93995-Let-s-get-this-B****-tuned!

Right now, I have the O2 sensor mounted to piece of plastic so I could see it while tuning outside of the car. Here's a couple pics of my baseline test results...

14:1 A/F, 1K RPM, 7Hg Vac

View attachment 261583View attachment 261584View attachment 261585

 

[747mopar]

Cool, I put in a bung just for that but haven't got to it yet.......... Interested to hear your thoughts on the O2 censor in regards to tuning.

 

[GearAddict]

Cool, I put in a bung just for that but haven't got to it yet.......... Interested to hear your thoughts on the O2 censor in regards to tuning.

I'll try to give a report back... right now, I'm hoping some of the tuning gurus here at FBBO will help me through it, as I'm a novice at best.

I've been trying to read as much as possible... pulled all my plugs last night for a baseline reading... of course these plugs have been in for a while, but according to this article, it looks like I have too much timing going on....

http://www.4secondsflat.com/Spark_plug_reading.html

This is a representative pic of what most of the plugs look like.

 

[GearAddict]

OK.. I got sidetracked, but finally got back on this project this weekend. I temporarily wired the gauge inside the car so I could see it while driving under load.

I took her out for a drive last week and tried to log some results. I'm thinking I will take a video and post later this week, as the gauge is constantly moving, so at best at the moment, I can make general comments on what I saw.

1. Idle - 13.5-14.4 @ 1K

2. Short burst (2-3sec), WOT, 2nd gear, 3rd gear.. quick blip to 11:1 then hangs in the 12.5:1 - 13:1 range for the remainder of the pull. Pulled hard, with slight stumble observed on one of the pulls... I have a very light spring on the Vac Sec... maybe went too light?

3. Part Throttle cruise, held steady in the 2K-2.5K RPM range 3rd & 4th gear, Looks to run lean between 15.0 - 16.0

My initial, uneducated thought is that Idle and WOT is good? but the part throttle lean needs to be solved?

If so... can someone help me with what the best way to address is? Jetting? Is this a idle transition circuit issue?

Also, if someone has suggestion on specific conditions to record data (aside from the above steps).

Thanks in advance for the input.

- - - Updated - - -

I took the car out yesterday for a short drive and noticed it had quite a few spots where it went lean. It seemed sporadic but the duration of the lean was long enough that I don't think they were caused by misfires

I bought a set of 71 Jets so I thought I might change out my 65/68's to 68/71 and see if that helps.

I'm worried that the low vacuum is causing me to expose too much of the idle transfer slot and that I might have to drill holes in the butterflies to compensate, but I'd rather not, since I'm planning to swap the cam out for something with better idle/vacuum characteristics than the MP 509.