1982 Mustang #50

Update your progress on your various car projects.

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Blue_69_malibu
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Re: 1982 Mustang #50

Post by Blue_69_malibu »

Ah man.....that totally sucks. Worse than the Browns did today.

Do you remember when you got the car how off the timing was? (Like by a metric ton or so?)

Maybe the goofball that owned the car before you (who isn't getting any points for doing things right) put the harmonic balancer on wrong?

If you have to pull the head b/c of the need for new gaskets, maybe get cylinder #1 at true TDC and see what your balancer or timing marker is reading?

It's a long shot but worth checking out.

It's also weird that two different carbs are kind of sucking off idle. Maybe it's more of timing issue?
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Basement Paul
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Re: 1982 Mustang #50

Post by Basement Paul »

I put this harmonic balancer on there (it's new) and the last time we started it, we checked for zero, so we're good there. I can see that it's just not squirting much fuel in when I give it gas and it's got all new parts on it. I'll just put the 50cc pump on the primary and I think it will cure the problem. Right now it's at about 8 deg advanced. But doesn't seem to have any problems idling under 1000 rpms, and seems pretty good at any rpms above idle as far as throttle response goes. Now it holds fuel pressure after I shut the car off too, which tells me the vac secondary carb was leaking fuel through, and will probably need a rebuild before it goes back on anyone's car.

-BP
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Blue_69_malibu
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Re: 1982 Mustang #50

Post by Blue_69_malibu »

Ah well....so much for wishful thinking/hoping for a miracle.

I've accumulated a bunch of parts and gaskets the past two summers for my Holley SA. Please feel free to help yourself to my "stash" if it helps the cause any.
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GMJohnny
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Re: 1982 Mustang #50

Post by GMJohnny »

One thing I've figured out after completing many projects is, that somebody
got rid of that project for a reason. It's very difficult being the guy who has to
"undo" what the guy before "did'. You never know what is around the next corner,
and there is ALWAYS a new surprise to deal with. The cool thing about the whole
deal is (if you are able to finish!) you have a knowledge of the car that NOBODY
else will have. You have also educated yourself about the machine that a car is.
That experience that you've had will be valuable sometime in the future. Right now
the rewards are minimal and the work put in is huge. At sometime in the future
you will turn the corner and the roles will be reversed. You have all winter to
work on the car. Hopefully you will be able to keep your enthusiasm for it until
it is done! I just got done working on a Cub Cadet that was a "great deal" and
only needed a "carb adjustment." About 100 man hours and a complete motor
rebuild later it's running. It's been a fun project and is still ongoing. Fortunately,
the project was a bit smaller than your project and I was able to finish before
hitting the wall of " this piece of crap has to go!" Keep plugging away at it....
you'll finish!

GM
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Basement Paul
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Re: 1982 Mustang #50

Post by Basement Paul »

I can't give any blame to the guy I bought it from as he's not really mechanical as far as old cars go, he just bought it because it was pretty cheap and all he did was drive it around the way it was before I bought it. What keeps me going is that I know the car isn't worth anything broken, so to be able to sell it, it has to be right, and to be able to drive it, it has to be right too. So I don't have too many options, I need to fix it and make it right.

I would like to put some miles on it next year, so I'll just keep plugging.

-BP
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Maverick
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Re: 1982 Mustang #50

Post by Maverick »

Seems like you have nothing to lose by trying some stop leak before you tear it down. That is, as long as its only leaking to the outside and not in the cylinder(s).

On the advice of the 521 parts supplier, I'm going to try that on the leaking freeze plug.
Maverick
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Basement Paul
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Re: 1982 Mustang #50

Post by Basement Paul »

I can't bring myself to use it. I fear clogging my new heater core, and I just don't trust it to hold. Especially since I plan to beat on it. In fact, that's really all I plan to do with it... :)

-BP
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TireSmoker
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Re: 1982 Mustang #50

Post by TireSmoker »

Connect the two heater hoses together and take the heater core out of the loop while it sets up? After a certain amount of time and/or heat-cycles of the engine, hook them back up.

-Dave
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Blue_69_malibu
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Re: 1982 Mustang #50

Post by Blue_69_malibu »

Basement Paul wrote: Especially since I plan to beat on it. In fact, that's really all I plan to do with it... :)

-BP
Better get some of that Jerry Seinfeld rental car insurance. You may need it!
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Basement Paul
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Re: 1982 Mustang #50

Post by Basement Paul »

"You know how to TAKE the reservation, you just don't know how to HOLD the reservation, and the holding is really the most important part."

-BP
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Blue_69_malibu
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Re: 1982 Mustang #50

Post by Blue_69_malibu »

"Seinfeld? Party of four!!"

or to mix things up/shift gears:

"Oh no, George. Not the livestock!!"
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Basement Paul
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Re: 1982 Mustang #50

Post by Basement Paul »

I started thinking a little more about your timing mark comment. What's happening now is once I get it running (which isn't easy), it starts to overheat and the headers are red hot. To me, this is a sign that the engine is too retarded (in more ways than one). Then factor in how far advanced the timing was when I got it, is telling me that I probably need to advance it at least 10 degrees from where I am now just to get it close. I'm figuring it will fix a bunch of problems. Then once I get the heads off, I'll mark TDC correctly on the balancer. I'm assuming the cam that's in it has some type of advance or retard built in to it that's throwing the mark off.

We'll see after work...

-BP
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Maverick
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Re: 1982 Mustang #50

Post by Maverick »

In my youth, I worked in a gas station that did repairs. A "mechanic" there rebuilt a '54 Ford OHV engine and got the valve timing slow by a notch. The engine behaved exactly like that. Hard to get going and when it did go the exhaust manifolds were glowing red. I called bro Willy and he knew what the problem was.

If you can know the cam specs, pull a valve cover, put a dial indicator on a rocker and install a degree wheel you should be able to check valve timing. Might have to deal with lifter compression some how like maybe remove a rocker arm and measure the push rod movement without the valve spring pressure.
Maverick
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Basement Paul
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Re: 1982 Mustang #50

Post by Basement Paul »

Unfortunately, I know exactly NOTHING about the cam. As I hear-tell, "it's the biggest Crane Fireball hydraulic cam they made!". Sadly, they don't make Fireball cams anymore, and nobody seems to have the specs. As close as I could get was somebody's guestimate in the .540 range. I'm thinking .525 or so, but it's hard telling. I know a stock cam for a '72 351C Cobra Jet, which is basically what I have, is .490 lift, not sure on duration.

On to the good news... I took what was showing as 8 deg BTC and cranked it up to about 25 and whallah!, the car has come to life! It runs right on the thermostat, the headers aren't red or throwing flames anymore, AND the head gasket isn't leaking now. Not to mention how responsive the motor is! There's a tiny flat spot off idle in neutral, but when the car is in gear there's NO flat spot at all and will easily tach up to 2700 on the brakes in the garage without spinning a tire. HooRAH! I'll go back to some old posts and get a better idea of where I'm at with the actual timing, and then try to figure out (without pulling the heads off) where TDC really is right now. But at least I'm finally going in the right direction and will feel better about getting the exhaust work done so I can finally take it for a test drive.

And, oh yeah, thanks to Tony for mentioning timing again. It really got me thinking about cam advance, etc...

-BP
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Blue_69_malibu
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Re: 1982 Mustang #50

Post by Blue_69_malibu »

No problem at all!!!

Thanks to you and Dave for helping me run 12.99...or should I say 12.9958? :)
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