The Blue Turd(le)

[68scott385]

i think your feedback carb removal is missing

I don't think it's been swapped yet. I'm trying to post the process as it happened. I had it current the other day, then the hack/erasing started. I removed all the emission junk and left the feedback Q-Jet on for a while (week or 2) before committing to the carb swap. Ultimately it came down to the ability (read parts on hand) to tune the carb. From what I understand by talking to someone that knows more about these than I do, the carb goes into rich mode when there is no input from the computer. When smog testing was a concern here these guys would "supply the carb with 12v and the thing pass the smog test with flying colors".

[68scott385]

At this point in the process I'm still debating which carb to run. Basically I didn't feel like going through the tuning process with the AFB, the easiest carb in the world to tune and I'm feeling lazy. I had been accumulating cosmetic parts to replace broken lenses and the bumper filler(s). IF anyone knows where to get the rear bumper filler for a box B-body wagon PLEASE give a guy a clue. My trans guy said I should run an auxiliary cooler too. So while I'm procrastinating on the carb swap I decided to install the headlight, marker lenses, bumper filler, grille, and auxiliary trans cooler.







I'm not worried about matching colors yet, once the thing is dependable I'll worry about body condition and color.

[68scott385]

I had an old but still functional set of Stewart-Warner gauges lying around that needed a place to live and this car having only idiot lights was a perfect candidate, besides, I like to know what's going on under the hood. I just needed a panel to put them in. Enter a piece of scrap aluminum that's been lying around for several years needing a purpose.

[68scott385]

At this point I've put it off as long as I can, it's time to make a decision on which carb to run. On one hand the Q-Jet is already on the motor, runs pretty good, has the correct tv geometry but without the computer control only delivers 7mpg and tuning parts, while available, are getting harder to come by and I don't have a chart or any means to quickly identify what rods/jets make what changes. It has been over 20 years since I last toyed with a Q-Jet and wasn't very fond of them then. On the other hand there's the simplistic AFB that I have tuning parts for, know how the changes affect the tune, need an adapter to bolt to the spread bore intake, and requires a tv geometry corrector bracket. I decided to go with the AFB since I've had good experiences with them before, it's freshly rebuilt, I have a tuning chart & parts for, and the tv geometry corrector bracket is $25 and I'll eventually have to buy it anyway. The AFB in question is an Edelbrock 600cfm that had suffered some abuse before being listed on eBay for a great price. The total investment in this carb including purchase/shipping costs, cleaning/rebuild, and gaskets is less than half that of a new carb.

The carb as purchased from eBay. (keep getting corrupted file message..I took the pic with my camera, put it on my computer, resized it to fit, how corrupted could it be? )



The carb after cleaning & rebuild.



Installed...



and the reason for the 1" spacer between the carb and the spread bore to square bore adapter.

[Mater]

worst factory EGR placement ever LOL

[milner351]

I think you'll be happy with the edelbrock - they make great daily driver / street carbs, and are alot less leak prone than a holley.

[68scott385]

worst factory EGR placement ever LOL

Agreed. Luck was on my side as the 1" 4-hole spacer was taking space in storage. A friend gave me that spacer years ago and I never put it on anything, I didn't feel/have a need to until this. Glad I had it because I may have put the no-economy Q-Jet back on.

[68scott385]

SO, after all this work I decide it's time to drive it, get a good feel for the revamped suspension, see if I can tell any performance difference with a carb that's tuned and not running in default mode. After driving for 15+/- miles of steady driving, the oil pressure is in the 10psi neighborhood at a stoplight. Luckily I was about a mile from home. I got it home a shut it off. At this time I didn't notice the temperature. The next morning it started right up and the oil pressure was 45psi. I gave it a day or two before messing with it again. After a couple run-it-in-the-driveway-to-see-what-happens sessions and the oil pressure stays up in the 20psi range when the temperature is at regular operating range. So I figure why not drive it again and see what happens. After about 12 miles the oil pressure is 10ish psi at idle and 15ish psi at road speed (55mph for this particular road). The temperature was climbing slowly but steadily to 240* by the time I got home. Once I shut it off it went over 250*. The radiator cap did its job and the coolant overflow bottle held the heat, it did start softening but held, and the coolant eventually worked its way back into the radiator. I waited until the temp dropped back to 220* and tried to start it. It fired right up but the oil pressure was still 1/3 of what it should have been. The next morning I tried to start it, just to see, and it fired right up and the oil pressure was in the 45psi range. At this point I had/have to consider this motor dead.

[Mater]

yeah how is the thermostat? could be it;s just getting stuck

[68scott385]

I let it sit for a month. I had some thinking to do. Not that this was a major life-changing decision but at this time viable options are limited. Dependability is the number one requirement for this car. Fun is second and it must be docile enough for my spasmatic wife to drive, hence the failure to install a posi unit when the gears & axles where replaced. In an odd twist, I put a PowerTraxx locker unit it the '75 Monte Carlo several years ago. It unlocks easier/quicker than a posi unit and will fit in the wagon when the Monte gets a future upgrade. Last year I was on a mission to find a 455 Olds motor for this car. I could put a Chevy motor in it, I have three small blocks sitting around doing nothing but taking up valuable storage space. The general stuck an Olds motor in there and I thought it might be fun to do something slightly different. Anyway, the motor came out and is still awaiting teardown to see what damage is done. It really makes no difference as I have no plans to do anything with this motor other than send it on its way. I just have the curiosity of two cats.

[68scott385]

yeah how is the thermostat? could be it;s just getting stuck

New, I think. At this point it's moot. I'll test it when I remove it, if it's good it'll get stuck in a drawer of other used but serviceable parts, if it's bad it'll get tossed.

[68scott385]

Mater,

What kinda fuel mileage you getting in the new truck? Compare yours to my '04 Yukon Denali 6.0 AWD.

[68scott385]

Three weeks later the 455 is ready to go in. All I've done to this is change the oil and run it on a stand to make sure it doesn't have any major problems. I did do cold and hot compression tests and a leak-down test. After throwing money at this thing (car) from every angle, for this part I'm going no-budget. If it lasts good, if not I'll worry about it then. I know I said reliable was priority one but between the 3ow7 dying, the 455 going in, and another vehicle unexpectedly joining the immediate family, that makes the role of the wagon not as important as it once was.






As of this writing it's just waiting for the carb to be installed.

[68scott385]

The Q-jet that came with the 455 does not have the vacuum port for the brake booster or the correct linkage for the 200-4r tv cable. While I could make the brake booster connect to the manifold, the tv cable linkage is a deal breaker. I have the 600cfm AFB that was on the 3ow7 or there is a spare 750cfm AFB that could be used. The 600 already has the tv geometry corrector bracket on it and was rebuilt just prior to being installed on the 3ow7. After some calculating I think the 600 will work on the 455 as the rpm isn't expected to be over 4500 max. I have the 750 apart already and have a gasket set for it but the 600 is already ready. I think I might try it to see how it behaves. If it doesn't feed the motor sufficiently I'll step up to the 750.

[SuperBuickGuy]

800 cfm minimum. Running a low-compression motor lean is begging for knock problems...