57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'

[Ol Blue K20]

I feel for you Vic. I don't understand that stuff either. But don't let it get ya down, you'll will prevail....

[Vic1947]

I've calmed down a little from my original post and figured it was worth a try to contact FITech and see if I can get a known good calibration file. If they don't want to do that, I'm ready to pull the trigger on all the parts I need to convert to a carb. Once I hear back from FITech, if I do decide to go the carb route, I need to decide on the trans. Hot Rod Express has a good relationship with a trans shop locally and it would be nice if I could get a trade in allowance on the 4L70E and converter and swap for a 700R4. If that won't work, I can do a standalone TCU to control the 4L70E. Will see which way the wind blows tomorrow.

I've attached a photo of the spark plugs, before and after cleaning. All eight were nasty black. Obviously running way too rich.

[Vic1947]

The service tech from Hot Rod Express that worked on my transmission shift problem at their shop made a house call yesterday. He spent a couple of hours going over all the ECU settings but had no luck getting the engine to start. He did determine that the idle air control wasn't working properly. It is supposed to be set to 100 while cranking the engine. Then after the engine starts and warms up, it should idle with a value between 5 and 10. Instead, it just stays on 245 which is full open and creates a giant vacuum leak. We also noticed the valve was making a high frequency squeal when the key was on. We unplugged it and the noise stopped so we're sure it was coming from the IAC valve. The folks at FITech said there's no good way to bench test them but recommended that I remove the valve from the throttle body and hold the pintle while someone turned the key on and off. The plunger should move in and out slightly when doing this. Well, it moved alright and came apart completely. Ohio Speed said they had several IAC's do the exact same thing. So they're sending me a new one.

I'm not sure if this will fix the problem, but it's a start. I still have all the parts I need to switch over to a carb just waiting on my wish list. We'll see how this goes. We had planned to go to the lake for a cruise in next week and meet up with one of my best friends I've known for over 50 years. Had to call him today and postpone to July. This better be fixed by then or I won't have any hair left.

[Low Elco]

What in the shadangers?! I'm sorry you're having such issues, Vic. I'd help if I could.

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by Low Elco

What in the shadangers?! I'm sorry you're having such issues, Vic. I'd help if I could.

I appreciate the offer, Chip. Taking it one step at a time right now. If this IAC valve doesn't do the trick, something else will.

[Ol Blue K20]

This sucks, I hope the new valve helps...

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by Ol Blue K20

This sucks, I hope the new valve helps...

I hoped so too, Dale, but no luck. It appears the driver side coils are firing normally while cranking, but there's no fire on the passenger side. I called FITech yesterday and got a RMA number to send the ECU and hand held back to be reset to the factory defaults.

However it turns out, I've decided to forge ahead with my backup plan and remove the EFI setup entirely. I've ordered a Holley dual plane, dual quad manifold and a pair of 600 cfm carbs as well as all the other gizmos I'll need to control the trans, ignition and cooling fans. When I get the factory reconditioned parts back from FITech, I'll see if I can sell the whole kit and caboodle on fleabay.

This dog's gonna hunt if it's the last thing I do.

[Ol Blue K20]

Originally Posted by Vic1947

I hoped so too, Dale, but no luck. It appears the driver side coils are firing normally while cranking, but there's no fire on the passenger side. I called FITech yesterday and got a RMA number to send the ECU and hand held back to be reset to the factory defaults.

However it turns out, I've decided to forge ahead with my backup plan and remove the EFI setup entirely. I've ordered a Holley dual plane, dual quad manifold and a pair of 600 cfm carbs as well as all the other gizmos I'll need to control the trans, ignition and cooling fans. When I get the factory reconditioned parts back from FITech, I'll see if I can sell the whole kit and caboodle on fleabay.

This dog's gonna hunt if it's the last thing I do.

I'm sorry it didn't work out. But, I'm glad you're gonna be persistent and not give up! I hope plan B works out for ya!

[mongocanfly]

X2 to what Dale said

[Vic1947]

The MSD LS series ignition control arrived today. Got busy installing it and right away ran into a problem. The harness they supply that reads the crank and cam positions has a plug that's supposed to go directly into the cam sensor. The problem with this is that the actual cam sensor is positioned in a totally inaccessible spot behind the FEAD and below the water pump. GM ran a pigtail with a steel shield from the sensor to an accessible spot down near the harmonic balancer. But apparently, MSD in their infinite wisdom decided not to use that plug. You can buy the correct plug (shown on the right in the photo below) so I'm at a loss as to why they would make it so difficult on the end user. I spent a half hour on hold with Holley trying to confirm it would be acceptable to splice the correct plug onto their harness before finally giving up. Will try later tonight when maybe they aren't so busy.

The way things are going, I'm fairly sure they'll tell me splicing in the correct plug will void the warranty and possibly lead to the apocalypse. Regardless, I already have the correct plug on the way.

[mongocanfly]

Dang

[Ol Blue K20]

Geez!......

[jaros44sr]

Vic they’re pretty easy to change if you have the right pin tool
I ran into that with my TPI
Let me know and I’ll send you a tool or talk you thru it
Put the tool into the notch and the pin will pop out after you remove the white lock on the connecter

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by jaros44sr

Vic they’re pretty easy to change if you have the right pin tool
I ran into that with my TPI
Let me know and I’ll send you a tool or talk you thru it
Put the tool into the notch and the pin will pop out after you remove the white lock on the connecter

Thanks, Jim. I have a set of pin tools (some flat, some round) I've used to disassemble weather pack connectors, etc. It hadn't occurred to me to do that with the connector I have ordered, but that would be preferable to splicing the wires.

I've been busy mocking up the dual quad setup and rearranging wiring. Seems like every time I turn around there's something I need to tweak. The choke mounted TPS is meant for a Holley carb and while the FST carb electric choke looks exactly like a Holley, it's not. Same goes for the progressive linkage - meant for Edelbrock carbs so the rods are a bit too short for my setup. Kathy will pick up the stainless rod I need today so I can make new pieces. But it's coming together.

I'd ordered a MSD Atomic trans controller only to find the TCM and harness were both on backorder until sometime in July. Cancelled both orders and got a Painless Perfect Torc setup. It arrived yesterday and so far, I'm impressed. As you'd expect, the wiring is top notch and the controller features are awesome. I don't know for sure yet, but it may actually work with the Lokar Electronic Sport Mode shifter I have to allow manual upshifts and downshifts. I emailed them to be sure their paddle shifter feature would work with a 4L60E type transmission. I know it would with the fully electronic 4L80E but I've read the 4L60E requires some sort of modification.

Will post some photos when I have a bit more progress to report.

[jaros44sr]

Glad it’s starting to work out I tried to get my computers working for two years before I gave up and put it in a shop that knew what they were doing

Got a pic of the dual quads I love fancy induction stuff

Been following your builds since CRLS I never posted up before but I do follow your great builds and great write ups

Wish you luck as you progress thru your problems

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by jaros44sr

Glad it’s starting to work out I tried to get my computers working for two years before I gave up and put it in a shop that knew what they were doing

Got a pic of the dual quads I love fancy induction stuff

Been following your builds since CRLS I never posted up before but I do follow your great builds and great write ups

Wish you luck as you progress thru your problems

Thanks, Jim! Here's a preview of the dual quad setup. On the linkage side, I had to make the longer rod because the FST carbs on the Holley intake have a different spacing between the throttle levers than the Edelbrock setup. On the choke side, I had to relocate one of the legs for the TPS bracket due to the difference between the FST choke bolt pattern and a Holley. The rear view shows the Camozzi fitting that the 1/4" plastic line goes into. It feeds manifold pressure/vacuum to the MSD ignition box so it can retard/advance the timing under operating conditions. I'm not sure why MSD chose to use a mechanical source for MAP. Seems like a sender that screws into the manifold somewhere and has a few wires would be better, but what the heck do I know?

[mongocanfly]

Hope those duals work for you Vic,,,I know many a people running duals, and it seems common for them to describe that duals are a tuning nightmare at times

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by mongocanfly

Hope those duals work for you Vic,,,I know many a people running duals, and it seems common for them to describe that duals are a tuning nightmare at times

I agree that multi carb setups can be tricky, Greg. One of the guys at Hot Rod Express is a guru on dual carbs. A guy I spoke with said his duals have been working great for many years after getting dialed in by them. I reckon it can't be any worse than the EFI.

[jaros44sr]

Those look sweet personally I would have to mount them with Allen drive ss studs and nuts to stop the rust factor JMHO

Good luck hope to hear engine noises soon

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by jaros44sr

Those look sweet personally I would have to mount them with Allen drive ss studs and nuts to stop the rust factor JMHO

Good luck hope to hear engine noises soon

Me too! SS studs on the way from McMaster-Carr along with some other hardware.

BTW, the Painless Perfect Torc trans controller I bought for the trans supports a paddle shift function. As it turns out, my Lokar shifter has bump switches built in. I'd planned on not connecting them because I thought only 4L80E and later trannys had that capability. Apparently, I was wrong. Talked to both Performance Automatics and a tech at Painless and they said there was no reason the 4L60E wouldn't be suited for it. Will give it a try and see if it works.

[jaros44sr]

They are my go to place for hardware next day delivery

Love my paddle shifters in my camaro my favorite quote is my wife saying “what was I thinking when I agreed to buying a car with 425 HP “

Whats the plan for regulater and fuel lines

[Russell Ashley]

Can't you just remove the contacts out of the plugs and put them in the one that you need. Swapping pins would be easier and neater than splicing wires.

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by Russell Ashley

Can't you just remove the contacts out of the plugs and put them in the one that you need. Swapping pins would be easier and neater than splicing wires.

Thanks, Russell, Jim suggested that also and I plan to give it a try with my pin tools. Haven't had a chance to mess with it yet as I've been on the mill making a custom gauge pod for the AFR and trans pressure gauges. When faced with an "A" priority like getting the car running, I sometimes get diverted by non essential tasks.

[Vic1947]

Still no engine noise. A change this drastic means having to redo almost everything. I've been pretty much tied to the lathe and mill. Made a new throttle cable bracket because I didn't like the one I modified to clear the progressive linkage. Also had to machine a fuel distribution block because no one makes what I needed. The throttle cable had to be shortened quite a bit and I'll have to build an adapter to go on the end of the aircraft cable.

Meanwhile, I was unable to remove the pins from the connectors as I'd planned. The slots for the pin tool were much smaller than the tools I have. So I soldered the wires and used shrink tubing for a nice tidy fix. With the split braided cover over the splices, you can't even tell it was done. Of course, the wires that go into the pigtail were reversed relative to the cam sensor plug. The brown/white wire is the signal wire and the middle wire is the ground, so the remaining one is for power. Layout is C B A instead of A B C. Or at least I hope so. The way my luck's been running, it will fry the sensor and the MSD box right before setting the car afire.

I did get a notice from FITech that the ECU, etc. are on their way back. Should be here on Tuesday. They reset everything to the factory defaults and tested the units, so they should be ready for some adventurous individual yet to be found. But it won't be me.

[mongocanfly]

("right before setting the car afire.")...ughhhh...please dont let that happen..!!!