57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'

[Vic1947]

Thanks, guys!

Picked up the wagon from Hot Rod Express yesterday and drove it home with no issues. Cleaned it up a bit and then this morning we went to the Show 'n Shine event over in Bonner Springs, KS. It's a nice little show we've been to on a number of occasions. They hold it at the Ag Hall of Fame which has a serene, park like setting. We were able to stay in the shade for most of the day under our EZ up and only ventured out for short walks to look at the other cars or talk to folks about the car. Lot's of furrowed brows when they saw the door handles. Must have opened the suicide doors a couple of dozen times to show how they were done. Also got lots of comments on the rear hatch. We picked up a Top 45 award but got beat out for best of show by of all things, a 55 sedan delivery. Paint job on it was pretty wild. It was a hot one out there, though. Right at 100 with high humidity.

Car still has some fuel issues I need to sort out. Having a hard time getting the fuel pressure regulators and the carb float levels to play nicely. I need to give Aeromotive a call this week and pick their brains. They say the size of the return line can be a problem if it's too small - which may be the case with my setup. Will keep you posted.

HRE was unable to fit cats into the exhaust system, so they tried to replace my Flowmaster FX mufflers with Dynomax Super Turbos. That didn't work either because the advertised size wasn't the actual size so they didn't fit. They now plan to add some Stainless Works slim fit mufflers in the space next to the fuel tank. Hopefully that will tone down the exhaust note. It's pretty rowdy right now. More later.

[Low Elco]

Shoooo purdy!

[mongocanfly]

Great news its finally coming together Vic..!!...its a true winner in my book

[sduckworth13]

Congratulations Vic! I second what Greg said!

[jlsanborn]

So glad you made the show, Vic! Where do you keep all that hardware?

Awesome ��

[Ol Blue K20]

Nice! Congratulations

[Russell Ashley]

That must have been a nice 55 sedan delivery if it won over your Wagon. Your 57 is an absolute beauty.

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by mongocanfly

Great news its finally coming together Vic..!!...its a true winner in my book

Thanks, Greg.

Originally Posted by sduckworth13

Congratulations Vic! I second what Greg said!

Thanks, Scott.

Originally Posted by jlsanborn

So glad you made the show, Vic! Where do you keep all that hardware? Awesome ��

Kathy makes me keep all the dust catchers in the basement, John.

Originally Posted by Ol Blue K20

Nice! Congratulations

Thanks, Dale.

Originally Posted by Russell Ashley

That must have been a nice 55 sedan delivery if it won over your Wagon. Your 57 is an absolute beauty.

It was pretty nice, Russell, but I've found over the years that car shows can be pretty subjective. The 55 SD had a custom paint job on it so that may have influenced the judges. Regardless, we had a great outing and caught up with some folks we hadn't seen in quite a while. It's the people you meet (both in person and on the forums) that make this hobby so much fun.

I'm working on the fuel issue. Took the carbs off yesterday and reset the float levels and jetting as they came from FST. I also went to the auto parts store and picked up an in-tank fuel pump that was used with the old TBI setups. It's rated at 35 GPH and 17 psi which is a long way from the pump that's in there which is 90 GPH and 90 psi. The new one is capable of supporting up to 420 HP which is less than the engine will produce, but it should be fine for short WOT blasts. The main thing it should do is stabilize the fuel pressure under light throttle. With the EFI pump, the regulator was having to bypass so much fuel, the return wasn't keeping up and the pressure would creep up to the point it would overwhelm the ability of the float to close the needle and seat. As a crutch, HRE set the float levels very low which messed with the fuel metering. I'm hoping this will be the fix as I really don't want to go to an external pump and regulator designed for carbs.

[jhrusk]

Not sure if this pump would keep up with your engine but I used an in tank lift pump like a mid 80’s Ford ranger would have. When I went from fuel injection to an edelbrock carb. I didn’t even have to use a regulator. I don’t run my truck hard just cruising but it has worked great so far.

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by jhrusk

Not sure if this pump would keep up with your engine but I used an in tank lift pump like a mid 80’s Ford ranger would have. When I went from fuel injection to an edelbrock carb. I didn’t even have to use a regulator. I don’t run my truck hard just cruising but it has worked great so far.

After adjusting the fuel pressures and float levels, I went for a spin out on the highway after lunch. Made one hard pull at WOT and it never surged or hesitated. Idles around the neighborhood really well too. The AFR's ranged from 12.5 at idle to 14.2 under load. I could probably lean the idle circuit very slightly but overall, it's very close to where it needs to be. Next up is a longer trip to check fuel mileage. I suspect it's not going to be very awe inspiring, but what can you expect from a heavy car with a street/strip cam and dual quads?

[Low Elco]

I'm glad you got it going, and it's finally coming around. Too pretty to not run right!

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by Low Elco

I'm glad you got it going, and it's finally coming around. Too pretty to not run right!

Thanks, Chip. I'm still sorting issues, but I promise you, I will prevail.

I went on a road trip to Sedalia yesterday and put a little over 200 miles on the old wagon. Did pretty good on the way there, but when I got into town, the temp went up to around 230 before I arrived at my buddy's shop. Had to sit out several lights and go slow along the city streets. Temp was fine on the highway (185) so part of the problem has to be the amount of air the fans are pulling.

Before the return trip, I added some 50/50 coolant to the overflow tank just in case the radiator was slightly low. After the car had cooled down somewhat (outside temp was 100 with a heat index of 113, so there wasn't a lot of help from Mother Nature) we went to several shops to show the car to some friends and then I hit the road. Car was reading 220 by the time I made it to the highway but cooled right down to 185 running 70 mph.

So while we were running around town, the fuse to the power windows blew but it didn't really matter since I was running the a/c. When I left home, the a/c was blowing so cold, I had to turn it down. However on the way back, it kept getting warmer and the air coming out of the vents was just cool and not cold. Normally, I would have turned off the a/c and ran the windows down, but ...well, blown fuse. So I'm chugging along, the engine temp is okay but I start to notice a miss. More noticeable going downhill than up. Then, once I hit some traffic lights and had to slow down, the temp shot back up. By the time I pulled into a parking lot and shut it off it was reading 240. During the process of running the fans then briefly starting the car to cycle the cooler water thru the block, I noticed I had no fuel pressure to speak of < 1psi. I could see there was no fuel showing in the sight glasses on the carbs. After about 20 minutes of running the fans, starting the engine briefly then running the fans some more, I was finally able to get the temp down to 200. I was only a few miles from home, so I limped on in and parked it in the basement. I'm thinking the lean condition caused by the low fuel pressure also may have contributed to the overheating.

After it cooled off, my B-I-L, Rick (who just arrived in town from Seattle) and I did some forensics. First we pinched the return line closed to see if the problem was the regulator or the pump. Still had no pressure so we moved to the back of the car and when he listened to pump, he could hear a sloshing sound which he suspected was the return. But I mentioned the return line went all the way to the bottom of the tank and shouldn't be making any noise. So we pulled the pump and found the problem right away ...a split hose. For those of you that followed my previous truck build, you know I had the same exact problem with it. I can't believe it happened to me again. Although in retrospect, I should have known to not use the hose that came with the pump. Did that last time and it wasn't up to the task so I upgraded to better line and never had the problem again. Obviously didn't learn a thing from my previous experience.

One of the spark plug wires had come off the plug entirely with just the end of it resting on the contact end of the plug so that was the cause of the miss. I really need to junk the SS headers and go back to cast iron manifolds that have the proper clearance for the plug wires.

The a/c problem was an easy fix. The o-ring in the low pressure fitting on the compressor had failed. It was probably the wrong size and as the fitting was tightened, it sheared the outer edge and caused it to fail. We put in an o-ring with a smaller cross section that fit into the cavity better and that should take care of it. Of course, now the system will have to be pumped down and refilled with refrigerant.

Next up is a thorough examination of the puller fans. The Dakota Digital fan controller has a diagnostic mode that allows you to test your on/off settings for low and high temp operation. I plan to (once again) rewire the fan relays. Right now, when the ignition is turned off, they lose all power. If I run them off battery instead of ignition, I can program the controller to run the fans for a specified period before shutting down. That may help give the radiator a head start when you stop for any reason. I may also have to resort to carrying a small sprayer filled with water to help cool it down like I had to do with my race cars. The proper fix would be to increase the fan capacity, but in order to do that, I'd have to pull the radiator and redesign the shroud, etc. That would fall under the heading of a winter project.

[mongocanfly]

Dang the bad luck.....my Dad had a s10 that did the same thing with that hose

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by mongocanfly

Dang the bad luck.....my Dad had a s10 that did the same thing with that hose

You know, it really surprises me that the manufacturer would include a hose that's unfit for the fuel type and or pressure. But then again, it was a fairly soft hose with no apparent reinforcement like the better quality EFI hose I was using on the other pump. So, my bad for using it I guess. Just glad I was able to make it home without needing a tow truck.

I'm mopping up the refrigerant oil that leaked out of the compressor when the o-ring on the low pressure fitting failed. While I'm at it, I'll do some recon to see how difficult it will be to swap out the headers for cast iron manifolds. I'm running out of time before we leave for the Tri-Five Nationals. Headed out a week from this Tuesday, so lots to do and I'd like to get in at least one more shakedown run.

[Vic1947]

Tri-five owners on their forum swear that the hood brace from the factory serves as a baffle to help direct air thru the radiator on the highway as well as keeping the hot underhood air from recirculating over the core support and thru the front of the radiator when stopped.

The trick, CNC'd brace in mine totally defeats that purpose, so I'm going to add some block off plates made of aluminum sheet to the backside of the brace. The only problem I have is that the ends of the brace have a gap where they meet the core support. Not sure whether it's worth it to try to close those up. It's never going to seal 100% anyway.

[Ol Blue K20]

Who would of thought. I wonder if they're correct.

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by Ol Blue K20

Who would of thought. I wonder if they're correct.

I'd say they're onto something. Yesterday afternoon, my B-I-L Rick was here so we blocked off the brace with duct tape and then went for a drive. When we got back to the house, we sat in the driveway with the car idling in gear for quite awhile. The temperature was rock steady on 200 with both fans running. That was with gaps galore around the edges of the brace, so I'm thinking it will be even better when I close them up as well. On my way to Metal by the Foot to get a piece of .080 aluminum sheet. Already have my templates made. Will post more pics when done.

[Ol Blue K20]

Interesting, I hope it works.

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by Ol Blue K20

Interesting, I hope it works.

Me too, Dale. Lotsa work for nothing if it doesn't

Originally Posted by jlsanborn

Knucks has diagnosed a few rigs with that same hose failure. Nice catch! I just installed two pump units in my K10 driver. Guess what I didn't even inspect??

The baffling theory with the hood is interesting! Makes sense and you wouldn't think a designer would get away with a formed part without a purpose.

It's the pits when I realize I'm the poster child for "too smart, too late" John. The Chebbie guys on the tri-five forum said the same thing about the baffle - the factory wouldn't put it there if it didn't serve a purpose.

Baffle is done and installed. Ended up with a small gap between the hood and the brace, but not too bad. Sure it will work better than being all open. I feel a road test coming on. Dropping it off tomorrow to have the Stainless Works mufflers added to the exhaust system - weather permitting.

[jlsanborn]

Knucks has diagnosed a few rigs with that same hose failure. Nice catch! I just installed two pump units in my K10 driver. Guess what I didn't even inspect??

The baffling theory with the hood is interesting! Makes sense and you wouldn't think a designer would get away with a formed part without a purpose.

[Low Elco]

Great news- Progress!

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by Low Elco

Great news- Progress!

Even more progress today, Chip. HRE is installing the additional muffs today and got the AC tuned up. So we should be ready for the big road trip.

Originally Posted by jlsanborn

Slightly "cooler" than the original design. You'll be in history books, Vic. Well done!

Thanks, John!

[Vic1947]

The 57 rolled out of the workshop and into the rain this morning. We were loaded up last night and ready for the road trip to Bowling Green for the Tri-Five Nationals. The inclement weather blindsided us, though. We drove in very heavy weather off and on all the way from KC to right before the Indiana border. Finally outran the storms, arrived at our waypoint and got checked into the motel. We'd no sooner walked across the street to a restaurant than the skies opened up again. Car is covered with road grime and bug juice - just the way it's supposed to be.

Headed to Mammoth Cave in the morning for a tour and then on to Bowling Green to pick up credentials. TFN runs Thursday - Saturday. Weather forecast calls for slight chance of thunderstorms every day. Hope the grassy area where they park the cars doesn't turn into a mud bog.

Car still overheats in stop and go traffic. Not as bad, but worse than it should given the size of the radiator, etc. Probably going to have to give in and reengineer the cooling fan setup over the winter. Also a bit disappointed with the Vintage Air. Blows cool enough air to keep you from croaking with the windows up, but to say it has "cold air" would be totally misleading. Already working on a whole new punch list. The good news is that all the issues so far are manageable. But i do have my work cut out for me when we return.

[jlsanborn]

Slightly "cooler" than the original design. You'll be in history books, Vic. Well done!

[mongocanfly]

Well, some good news anyway...
the VA issue is concerning..I was thinking of using them on a upcoming project
Did you do rear air ?