Since replacing the intake manifold, the engine has been running rather rich at up to 12:1 while just cruising around and even more rich when accelerating. I decided I'd make a few jet adjustments today to evaluate the impact.
I checked the current jets and had 60's in the front bowl and 69's in the rear bowl. The stock setup for a Holley 570 is 54's in the front with 65's in the rear. This makes my configuration +6 in the front and +4 in the rear. According to Holley, there is generally no need to increase jet sizes more than +4 over the original configuration.
I decided to drop the fronts to 57's with 67's in the rear (+3 front/+2 rear). After making the change, the a/f ratio was good at idle and around 14.5 or so when cruising. Under light acceleration, it stayed roughly around 14:1 which leads me to believe the front jets are good. However, when I accelerated hard, I noticed the engine go rich for a second and then quickly lean out and stay somewhat lean at 14:1.
I decided to start with increasing the rear jet size again back to 69's. After this change, the engine did not have as much of a lean spike on acceleration but was still rather lean at an average of 13.5:1. I obviously need a bit more jetting to get the a/f ratio at the desirable 12.5:1 at full acceleration.
I did not really want to exceed the original rear jet size as I feel I would then be moving in the wrong direction. I decided instead to increase the front jet size to 58's (+4). After the change, under hard acceleration, the a/f ratio was near 13:1. However, it seems that at cruise I have quite a bit of variation with the a/f at times going to 15:1.
My current collection of jets include the following: 54, 56, 57, 58, 60, 62, 65, 67, & 69. Seems like I would benefit from a set of 70's to run in the rear and leave the fronts alone.
While I doubt there is much of a restriction, I wonder if I would be better off using a 670. It is not suppose to impact my ability to have a reasonable a/f ratio. I just wonder if jet sizes are so much large due to the flow of my engine with the new intake and heads. If I were to switch to a Holley 670, the stock jet sizes are 65 and 69.
I'm going to call it good enough for now. As I drive more, I'll see what additional changes are necessary.
Thursday, December 27, 2018
New Alpine CDE-172BT Stereo Install
Early in my restoration of the Mustang, I purchased an inexpensive Alpine radio on eBay. The radio met my needs in that it had a CD player and worked as expected. During the trip to Goodguy's last year, I noticed the CD player was not reading discs properly anymore. I made a mental note and planned to get a new one at some point.
I purchased an Alpine CDE-172BT radio last week and installed it this morning. The new radio is quite nice as it has bluetooth connectivity, CD player, AUX input, USB input, and high pass crossovers for the main speaker in case I elect to add a subwoofer. The radio is no doubt more technologically advanced as it was made 16 years after the one it replaced.
In the image below, the old radio (CDM-7874) is pictured above the new (CDE-172BT).
I purchased another Alpine as I sold and installed them many years ago and was always impressed with their quality. Additionally, I prefer a radio with a volume knob and Alpine continues to use them almost exclusively in their radios.
I spent about three hours installing the radio which is rather excessive. I soldered all of my connections, used heat shrink, and then spent some time organizing the wiring under the dash with some zip ties. Finally, I added a thick bracket to the back of the radio and attached it to the bottom of the dash to hold everything secure.
I do expect to add an amplifier and subwoofer later. I actually have both available from a previous vehicle I owned. I'd just need to take the time to make a custom enclosure for the Mustang. I'd like to work on this in the near future to finish up the stereo install.
Saturday, July 28, 2018
Replacement of Steering Column Seal
I've replaced the column seal between the steering column and firewall on three separate occasions now. Each time, the new seal seems perfectly fine when installed but begins to rip or generally deteriorate in a year or two. This then allows air in from the engine compartment.
This time, I decided to buy a steering column seal for a 1969 Mustang to see if it would work in a 1967 Mustang. While I was originally concerned, the bolt pattern matches perfectly. The steering column angle is the same. The collar which slides down the column fits quite well. The revised design does not seem to put stress on the rubber so I'm hopeful it will match much longer.
There is no much to see with this particular part so I don't have pictures to share. I did have to remove the steering column again to get it installed. While out, I touched up some of the paint on the steering column to keep things looking nice.
This time, I decided to buy a steering column seal for a 1969 Mustang to see if it would work in a 1967 Mustang. While I was originally concerned, the bolt pattern matches perfectly. The steering column angle is the same. The collar which slides down the column fits quite well. The revised design does not seem to put stress on the rubber so I'm hopeful it will match much longer.
There is no much to see with this particular part so I don't have pictures to share. I did have to remove the steering column again to get it installed. While out, I touched up some of the paint on the steering column to keep things looking nice.
Sunday, July 22, 2018
Small Projects for the Weekend
The next projects I'd like to work on focus on improving driving comfort....
1) Seal interior better
2) Reduce exhaust noise
3) Improve stereo system
4) Add air conditioning
I decided to start with sealing up the interior a little better.
There is a hole in the firewall where I ran in the O2 sensor wire. I expected to only run it temporarily so I did not do much to fill the hole. Now several years later, I picked up a rubber grommet from Lowe's and used it to seal up the area so the O2 sensor still works but no fuel or exhaust smell comes into the cabin.
I then decided to start work on fixing the seal around the steering column. The stock seal is horrible. I've replaced it three times and it continues to rip. I'm thinking through a way I could build something different that uses a different style of weatherstripping which will hopefully hold up better.
While checking around the truck, I found the reverse light wiring seals were not put into the trunk drop down panels well. I managed to get these back in place which could keep some more exhaust smell out.
There was also a small seal where the license plate wiring went through the taillight panel. I found a way to use a small gasket to mostly seal of this area which should help further with exhaust fumes.
I'm taking these steps not because the exhaust or fuel smell is bad now. However, my wife does not like to ride in it because she says it smells. Additionally, if I get an A/C, I will be able to smell it more than I do now as I'll be driving with the windows up more.
1) Seal interior better
2) Reduce exhaust noise
3) Improve stereo system
4) Add air conditioning
I decided to start with sealing up the interior a little better.
There is a hole in the firewall where I ran in the O2 sensor wire. I expected to only run it temporarily so I did not do much to fill the hole. Now several years later, I picked up a rubber grommet from Lowe's and used it to seal up the area so the O2 sensor still works but no fuel or exhaust smell comes into the cabin.
I then decided to start work on fixing the seal around the steering column. The stock seal is horrible. I've replaced it three times and it continues to rip. I'm thinking through a way I could build something different that uses a different style of weatherstripping which will hopefully hold up better.
While checking around the truck, I found the reverse light wiring seals were not put into the trunk drop down panels well. I managed to get these back in place which could keep some more exhaust smell out.
There was also a small seal where the license plate wiring went through the taillight panel. I found a way to use a small gasket to mostly seal of this area which should help further with exhaust fumes.
I'm taking these steps not because the exhaust or fuel smell is bad now. However, my wife does not like to ride in it because she says it smells. Additionally, if I get an A/C, I will be able to smell it more than I do now as I'll be driving with the windows up more.
Wednesday, July 18, 2018
New Intake Manifold - Test and Tune
Tonight, I added coolant to the radiator and then started up the Mustang. The Mustang started fairly easily and I quickly checked the timing to find it was at 15 degrees BTDC which is fine. I let the engine warm up and started checking for leaks. Once I found the first leak, I turned it off.
I noticed the fuel line to the carburetor was leaking at the carburetor. I fixed that and found that the power wire to the electric choke was broken off at the connector so I fixed it. With these fixed, I started it back up again allowing it to come to operating temperature.
The A/F ratio was incredibly high at idle (11:1). I checked and the idle screws were 3.5 turns out which is unheard of but was needed with the previous intake leak. I found that I could get it to 13.5:1 when .75 turns out. I could do a little more to set better but I left it at that for now to drive it around the block.
I drove it and the A/F ratio is good but a little rich under heavy throttle. I'm surprised at how smooth the engine runs now compared to before. It is much smoother at idle and while cruising around which is nice. There is more power. When I get on it, I don't smell oil burning either which is nice.
I parked it and found coolant leaking from the thermostat housing. I found the bolts were not very tight so I tightened them and cleaned up the spilled coolant before it could damage the newly painted parts. I hope this does not leak any more as it has since I purchased the car and I think the problem is the old thermostat housing.
After the car cooled down, I torqued all the intake bolts back to 20 ft/lbs. I'm calling this project done. I've very glad I decided to do it. I mostly wanted to do it for the looks but I was also curious if there was a leak. Fixing the leak I found has fixed many small problems and was well worth the time.
I noticed the fuel line to the carburetor was leaking at the carburetor. I fixed that and found that the power wire to the electric choke was broken off at the connector so I fixed it. With these fixed, I started it back up again allowing it to come to operating temperature.
The A/F ratio was incredibly high at idle (11:1). I checked and the idle screws were 3.5 turns out which is unheard of but was needed with the previous intake leak. I found that I could get it to 13.5:1 when .75 turns out. I could do a little more to set better but I left it at that for now to drive it around the block.
I drove it and the A/F ratio is good but a little rich under heavy throttle. I'm surprised at how smooth the engine runs now compared to before. It is much smoother at idle and while cruising around which is nice. There is more power. When I get on it, I don't smell oil burning either which is nice.
I parked it and found coolant leaking from the thermostat housing. I found the bolts were not very tight so I tightened them and cleaned up the spilled coolant before it could damage the newly painted parts. I hope this does not leak any more as it has since I purchased the car and I think the problem is the old thermostat housing.
After the car cooled down, I torqued all the intake bolts back to 20 ft/lbs. I'm calling this project done. I've very glad I decided to do it. I mostly wanted to do it for the looks but I was also curious if there was a leak. Fixing the leak I found has fixed many small problems and was well worth the time.
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