57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by Low Elco

Per the Bishop in Caddyshack- "RAT FARTS!"

Amen to that!

So the problem would appear to be some hairline cracks in the outer rubber ring. After cleaning it good and then pre-lubing the taper roller bearing, I saw some seepage thru the rubber in a couple of places. For now, I'm going to apply a thin coat of RTV to it and then carefully assemble the whole mess. I don't hold out a lot of hope this will totally fix the problem, but it may patch it sufficiently to get me into winter when I can press it apart and put a new seal in. Don't try this at home, kids - test driver on closed course - etc., etc.

[mongocanfly]

i had a axle seal start leaking once for no apparent reason..when i pulled it apart it all looked good..then i found the cause..the spring inside the lip seal was broken..

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by mongocanfly

i had a axle seal start leaking once for no apparent reason..when i pulled it apart it all looked good..then i found the cause..the spring inside the lip seal was broken..

These Ford seals are built a little differently. They have a inner, double lip that rides on the axle and an outer rubber ring that seals against the housing axle flange. Looks like the outer part has developed these micro cracks for some reason. I'll attempt to patch it for now, but won't be surprised when I have to revisit it down the road. I'd just like to make a few more cruise-in's before the end of the season. Seems like I missed so much this year due to all the stuff I've had to fix. There will be plenty of time to break out the wrenches this winter.

[Vic1947]

We took a 550 mile road trip to visit some friends and attend a cruise over the weekend. The rear axle problem appears to be 99% contained. I had one small spot on the backside of the rim that looked like a few drops of axle lube may have dripped onto it, but other than that, no signs of major trouble. I've added a new seal to my winter makeover list.

Speaking of that, my list now includes:
1. Replace the 3000-3200 rpm stall converter with one closer to stock - like a 1600-2000 unit.
2. Take another stab at the EFI using my intake setup and Holley's Terminator X controller.
3. Replace the dual Perma Cool fans with Spal fans that actually move air.
4. Repair a small spot on the roof that's lifting due to my improper prep.

There's certain to be more, but those are the biggies. We have a few more cruise-in's and car shows to attend before the car gets blown apart for repairs, so meanwhile, I decided to test another linkage setup on the dual quads. Ever since I put the carbs on, I've been using a progressive linkage that mainly runs off the rear carb. In fact, the front carb has the idle mixture screws all the way in and the primary throttle blades completely closed until the rear carb reaches half throttle. So most low speed operation is handled by the rear carb only. The AFR and the plugs are white when comin in off the highway but in town, the center plugs appear slightly darker which is probably due to the dual plane intake.

So I decided to do something I've been wanting to try and that's to use a direct link between the carbs. I reset the idle mixture screws on the front carb and tweaked the curb idle. It feels more responsive and the AFR readings are much more stable. I'm going to leave it like this for awhile and see how it affects the mileage. On our trip this weekend, we averaged 15.2 mpg which was the same as the trip to Bowling Green. So that should be a good baseline. We have one more long trip planned which will give me a chance to compare.

[mongocanfly]

Congrats on making the trip...sounds like your getting a handle on it..

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by mongocanfly

Congrats on making the trip...sounds like your getting a handle on it..

I think so, Greg. I started over with a baseline calibration for the 4L60E and tweaked it a bit today. Shift points are much better but still need to work on the converter lockup. Not sure I can get where I want to be until the new converter is in, but it's pretty easy to adjust the settings with the laptop. The engine drops about 500 rpm when the converter locks and it feels like I popped the parachute.

[Low Elco]

Glad you got there and back ok.

[Ol Blue K20]

Sounds like a fairly successful trip. It sounds like you're getting the bugs chased out.

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by Low Elco

Glad you got there and back ok.

Me too, Chip. We have one more trip planned to a car show in Sedalia a week from now. It will be a good chance to tweak the transmission calibration.

Originally Posted by Ol Blue K20

Sounds like a fairly successful trip. It sounds like you're getting the bugs chased out.

That we are, Dale. Slowly but surely. My punch list for the winter is growing, but I hope the car will be good to go after all the revisions. My main source of heartburn is the overheating. After much research, I ordered a pair of SPAL fans to replace the Perma Cool ones that aren't keeping up. I'll probably have to pull the core support to install them since they're 11" instead of 10" and will have to be staggered to fit in the available space.

[Vic1947]

Received an email from Speedway with a link to some radiator tech. One thing led to another and I ran across a thread on a forum that suggested that at least some overheating issues might be traced to using an aftermarket thermostat and housing. Apparently, the LS water pump has a bypass hole used for warmup that when left uncovered by using a SBC thermostat will cause hot water to recirculate in the engine rather than being routed thru the radiator. The LS thermostat has a plunger that supposedly blocks this flow once the engine reaches operating temperature. It looks like the housing on my FEAD from Synister Products is an aftermarket piece. No way to know without removing it what type thermostat is in place. So I reckon when I pull the radiator and fan shroud to replace the fans, I'll have a look.

Another post suggested that replacing the water pump with a high volume unit would help reduce overheating. I can't tell from the numbers on my w/p what it is exactly so I'm unsure whether a swap would be useful. There may be other numbers cast into it, but there's too much stuff in the way to tell. While I have it apart, I want to do all I can to address potential cooling issues because I only want to do this once.

I bought a replacement 4L60E case off eBay. It looked really nice in the listing, but what they sent wasn't the same as the picture in ad. Filthy as all get out and a totally different part number than they showed. When I asked them if the case they sent was identical to the one they advertised they said "should be". How's that for commitment? This kind of practice is why I hate buying eBay junk.

[Vic1947]

Over the last couple of weeks we attended a few car shows / cruise-in's and I've had enough for the season. I'm ready to get on with the repairs the old gal needs. First up is to remove the radiator, ac condenser, fans, shroud and wiring. Then off comes the intake, carbs, regulator and etc. After that, I'll remove the front seats and console. Last of all, the exhaust pipes back to the mufflers, the driveshaft, the rest of the wiring and nearly all the hardware holding the transmission.

Once I get to that point, I'll have Hot Rod Express haul it to their shop and yank the tranny the rest of the way out. It goes to Nicholls Performance Transmission to have the internals swapped into a different (un-cracked) case. They will also inspect and repair anything they might find. They will also source a different converter for it that doesn't flash to 3000 rpm every time you tip in the throttle a little bit.

Meanwhile back at the ranch, I've been preparing for the switch back to EFI. All that will remain of my original setup is the sheet metal intake. It has a new (correct) Nick Williams throttle body, new FIC 60lb injectors and a new Holley Terminator X ECU and harness. I've been building a calibration file based on my sensors and other engine components. I'll write it to the ECU when I get everything assembled and see if it will start. It has a self learning feature, so I hope to be able to get it running well enough to make it to the tuner down in Belton if need be.

I'm keeping the Painless trans controller which I hope isn't a bad decision, but I've been tweaking it some recently and it's made a lot of difference in the way the tranny performs. I'll probably have to start over with the new converter, but I have a route I run to test my changes with convenient places to stop and make adjustments on the fly.

So the radiator is getting pumped out today in preparation for removal. It will probably look a bit sad over the next couple of months but it will be worth it.

[Ol Blue K20]

Originally Posted by Vic1947

Over the last couple of weeks we attended a few car shows / cruise-in's and I've had enough for the season. I'm ready to get on with the repairs the old gal needs. First up is to remove the radiator, ac condenser, fans, shroud and wiring. Then off comes the intake, carbs, regulator and etc. After that, I'll remove the front seats and console. Last of all, the exhaust pipes back to the mufflers, the driveshaft, the rest of the wiring and nearly all the hardware holding the transmission.

Once I get to that point, I'll have Hot Rod Express haul it to their shop and yank the tranny the rest of the way out. It goes to Nicholls Performance Transmission to have the internals swapped into a different (un-cracked) case. They will also inspect and repair anything they might find. They will also source a different converter for it that doesn't flash to 3000 rpm every time you tip in the throttle a little bit.

Meanwhile back at the ranch, I've been preparing for the switch back to EFI. All that will remain of my original setup is the sheet metal intake. It has a new (correct) Nick Williams throttle body, new FIC 60lb injectors and a new Holley Terminator X ECU and harness. I've been building a calibration file based on my sensors and other engine components. I'll write it to the ECU when I get everything assembled and see if it will start. It has a self learning feature, so I hope to be able to get it running well enough to make it to the tuner down in Belton if need be.

I'm keeping the Painless trans controller which I hope isn't a bad decision, but I've been tweaking it some recently and it's made a lot of difference in the way the tranny performs. I'll probably have to start over with the new converter, but I have a route I run to test my changes with convenient places to stop and make adjustments on the fly.

So the radiator is getting pumped out today in preparation for removal. It will probably look a bit sad over the next couple of months but it will be worth it.

I'm glad you got to have fun with it for a while. Looking forward to you getting comfortable to drive it cross country for a little "California Dreaming " and visiting here!

[Russell Ashley]

Originally Posted by Vic1947

Over the last couple of weeks we attended a few car shows / cruise-in's and I've had enough for the season. I'm ready to get on with the repairs the old gal needs. First up is to remove the radiator, ac condenser, fans, shroud and wiring. Then off comes the intake, carbs, regulator and etc. After that, I'll remove the front seats and console. Last of all, the exhaust pipes back to the mufflers, the driveshaft, the rest of the wiring and nearly all the hardware holding the transmission.

Once I get to that point, I'll have Hot Rod Express haul it to their shop and yank the tranny the rest of the way out. It goes to Nicholls Performance Transmission to have the internals swapped into a different (un-cracked) case. They will also inspect and repair anything they might find. They will also source a different converter for it that doesn't flash to 3000 rpm every time you tip in the throttle a little bit.

Meanwhile back at the ranch, I've been preparing for the switch back to EFI. All that will remain of my original setup is the sheet metal intake. It has a new (correct) Nick Williams throttle body, new FIC 60lb injectors and a new Holley Terminator X ECU and harness. I've been building a calibration file based on my sensors and other engine components. I'll write it to the ECU when I get everything assembled and see if it will start. It has a self learning feature, so I hope to be able to get it running well enough to make it to the tuner down in Belton if need be.

I'm keeping the Painless trans controller which I hope isn't a bad decision, but I've been tweaking it some recently and it's made a lot of difference in the way the tranny performs. I'll probably have to start over with the new converter, but I have a route I run to test my changes with convenient places to stop and make adjustments on the fly.

So the radiator is getting pumped out today in preparation for removal. It will probably look a bit sad over the next couple of months but it will be worth it.

Vic, I admire your patience and skills. You don't seem to get excited when you have to redo something, so that might be why your builds are always so nice. This wagon is over the top and I'm glad you are going back to EFI. I got hooked on that 57 Ford build a few years back and only recently realized that was you. You have had some nice rides.

[Low Elco]

Vic, there's a guy that just moved to I think the Waldo area that was a head tech guy for Holley and is doing tunes/Diag. His name is Andrew Borodin, I can hunt up his contact info if you'd like.

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by Russell Ashley

Vic, I admire your patience and skills. You don't seem to get excited when you have to redo something, so that might be why your builds are always so nice. This wagon is over the top and I'm glad you are going back to EFI. I got hooked on that 57 Ford build a few years back and only recently realized that was you. You have had some nice rides.

Thanks very much Russell. I've always liked working on them more than driving, so they haven't tended to hang around too long after they're done. Having some things to fix over the winter will keep me occupied and maybe allow me to drive this one a bit longer. I had that Ford for many years, but once it was done, it wasn't too long before it was gone. Needed the space and the $$ for the next build.

Originally Posted by Low Elco

Vic, there's a guy that just moved to I think the Waldo area that was a head tech guy for Holley and is doing tunes/Diag. His name is Andrew Borodin, I can hunt up his contact info if you'd like.

That would be great if you could, Chip. I found a couple of articles on him and maybe an email address but no phone number. If the email is good, I could probably get a phone number if he's settled in by now. Thanks for the heads up. He might be an even better resource than Todd based on his background.

I've been tearing stuff apart in preparation for redoing the fans and the transmission. Pulled the thermostat housing and it looks like it has the correct thermostat in it (LS style) with a 160 degree rating. So there's no reason to think hot coolant is bypassing the radiator and contributing to my overheating issues.

However, this also brings up an interesting situation. I have two temp senders - one in the rear of the passenger side head and the other in the driver front. The pass side sensor feeds the temp gauge and runs about 5 degrees hotter than the driver front. The ECU uses the cooler reading front as its input. Going down the highway in 70 degree weather, the gauge reads 175 - which means the ECU is probably seeing somewhere around 170. That's still 10-15 degrees warmer than where the thermostat opens. I don't know that you can expect the temp gauge to read 160 just because the thermostat opens there but most passenger cars read within a few degrees of the thermostat opening value. Which leads me to wonder if I have other factors to consider than just the radiator size, shroud design and fan cfm.

[jlsanborn]

Russell said it right! The way you finish is a whole different level. I'm looking forward to your road trip stories, then onto the next build!

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by jlsanborn

Russell said it right! The way you finish is a whole different level. I'm looking forward to your road trip stories, then onto the next build!

Thanks, John. You're no slouch when it comes to finishing one nicely!

The guys at HRE are understaffed due to Covid and other unforeseen events, so I'm headed down to Sunbelt Rental tomorrow to pick up a transmission jack. Gravity and I can drop it out but I'll have to have HRE reinstall it.

Before removing the exhaust, I marked the tubing for a pair of high flow cats. They may help lower the sound level in the car, but I'm really hoping they cut down on the stink. The carbs have been running a bit rich and will make your eyes water if you hang around too long while it's idling. The EFI (Part Deux) should make it burn more efficiently if all goes as planned.

[Low Elco]

As always, pick up the phone and we'll help you get it back in there. We ain't that bright, but we can lift heavy things.

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by Low Elco

As always, pick up the phone and we'll help you get it back in there. We ain't that bright, but we can lift heavy things.

Thanks, Chip! I may take you up on the offer. HRE is still trying to get back up to speed. Rick suggested it might be better for them to send a couple of guys to the house to stick the tranny rather than load up the car and transport it both ways to their shop. I'll check their pulse again when the trans is ready for installation.

I've been busy welding the cats into the exhaust tubing. Not my best work, but good enough. Hard to weld overlapping thin material. I didn't want to use U or V-band clamps. Don't want any air leaks to disrupt the O2 sensor readings. Also picked up the .090 aluminum sheet for the new fan mounts.

Plenty of items left on the punch list. Winter is around the corner and there's nothing better than turning on the heater in the shop and working on the car when it's too crappy to be outside.

[Low Elco]

No worries, just let us know. We'll need to do it to Dad's truck too, we'll need practice.

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by Low Elco

No worries, just let us know. We'll need to do it to Dad's truck too, we'll need practice.

Well, I ended up getting the practice, so I'll have to help you guys instead.

I took B-I-L Rick's advice and used a transmission jack to do the install. Didn't want to rent the 500lb monster I used the last time, so I went down the street to my local HF and plunked down $199 for one of theirs. It sat a bit high (I thought) so I lowered the stop for the pad and built my own lifting plate. By doing this, I was able to decrease the minimum height by 2". Turns out I didn't need quite that much but it was nice to have the clearance.

It went in with no problems at all. I got the locator pins started and then progressively tightened the four lower bellhousing bolts. All the bolts are in now as well as the crossmember, so it's just a matter of reassembling the various parts and tightening all the bolts to spec.

[lolife99]

Great job on the transmission jack mods.

[Ol Blue K20]

Nice job, I like the jack mods too!

[Vic1947]

Thanks, guys. In retrospect, I should have used 1/4 plate, as the 1/8 was a bit flimsy. But other than that, it worked great. I figure it would have cost a lot more to have HRE do the work, so I saved a few bucks and ended up owning the tool to boot. I probably wouldn't use it to pull an Allison or any other extra large, heavy transmission but for the 4L70E it was just right.

[Low Elco]

Great work! Now you'll have it in the way, and bothering you. Just wishing someone would borrow it. (wink, wink, nudge, nudge, say no more)