I used the weather strip adhesive to great success!! I roughed up the surface and applied the adhesive and then placed the retractors on a flat surface and put a heavy object on top of them to make sure the two pieces were pressed together well. Thank you for the advice!! Then I started the motor with the adjusted floats. Still leaking and the motor just doesn’t want to run right. I asked a neighbor, who builds cars for a living, for some help. He said it acted like it was starving for fuel while gas was leaking out of the outer carbs. I’m starting to wonder if I should just cut my losses and put a 4 barrel carb on it. I love the dueces but I just don’t have the knowledge to tinker with them. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
So from my last update I've decided to take the deuces off and put a Holley 4160 on the motor. I took the one off my Ranchero to see how the '48 ran and while the idle was really high, it ran good and didn't miss a beat. So I'm making preparations for the switch. But since I can't take the completely easy way out I decided to modify the stock oil bath air filter assembly to work with a 4 barrel carb and normal air filter. Here's what I did. Here's what I started with. I cut the bottom of the air filter assembly off. You can see how rusty the assembly was so I didn't feel too bad about cutting it up. Then I cut the bottom off a 4 barrel air filter assembly I had laying around. Not sure what it went to. I plan on running a tall air filter and needed a smooth bottom for it to sit on so I filled in these recesses. Test fitting the two pieces together so I can make the dip in the new bottom to match the dip in the original assembly where the handle came through to tighten it to the carb. My original plan was to use the dip from the original air filter assembly bottom, but the metal was so thin I just kept burning through so I ended up having to fashion my own dip. So here is where I fashioned my own dip in the bottom. I'm no metal shaper so I did the best I could. I ended cutting strips of metal, tacking them in and then formed the contour I was looking for. It worked, not very pretty, but it worked. The two have become one.
Just for giggles, I put the 3 deuces on the Ranchero to see what it'd look like. Here's a test fit of the modified air filter assembly on the Holley 4160. I need a one inch spacer between the carb and air filter because to make it fit better. In the end, the assembly will be painted black and have the factory stickers on it. Not as sexy as the deuces but if it will run right and not require as much fiddling I'll call it a success.
Come now, surely if you can slice-and-dice that aircleaner housing so nicely, it would be a small matter to re-work some period valve covers from a Chevrolet, Nash, or some other OHV engine.
Got a few more things done today. A friend came over and helped me straighten out the front bumper with the fire wrench. We then mounted it to see how everything would look. Just needs to be painted!! Then I started working on a bracket to mount the ‘48 Florida license plate. Admittedly it is way overkill but I wanted to make sure the plate would be supported extremely well. Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
So I took the week off while the wife and kids are out of town to try and get a lot accomplished on the truck. First order of business is to get the blasted truck running right!!! A buddy and I did a lot of tuning on the 4 barrel. It is idling good but at about 2k rpm it was backfiring bad out the exhaust. To try and eliminate the good from the bad I bypassed the fuel pressure regulator first. Still backfired. Adjusted the timing; still backfired. Put the carb from my Ranchero on; still backfired. We can’t tell if it’s a fuel or ignition problem. Before bypassing the FPR I noticed the FP gauge wasn’t reading 6psi where I had set it. It was down around 1psi. Not sure if it’s the gauge, fuel pump or what which why we bypassed it but it didn’t make any difference in the backfire. I checked the temp of the headers while it was running. All of the cylinders were between 285 and 301 except cylinders 3 & 4 which were around 420 degrees. Not sure what that is all about. I haven’t pulled the plugs yet, waiting for it to cool down. Any thoughts? Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
Ok. Double checked the firing order and it is correct. The engine is 1989 302 Non-HO. (1-5-4-2-6-3-7-8) Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
Ok. I’ll look at getting a big cap. I had one on it but it didn’t fit with the 3 deuces but now that I’m going back to the 4 barrel I have room for the big cap. Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
And give up the nice shiny chrome coil. but I’d rather have a motor that runs like it’s supposed too. Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but if it backfires through the exhaust it's firing when an exhaust valve is open and if it backfires through the carb it's firing when an intake valve is open. If retiming it does not correct the problem then it most likely is crossfiring as mentioned above and it's not likely a fuel problem.
The engine came out of a 1989 grand Marquis so I’m pretty sure it is Non-HO. The engine idles great it’s was just when I held the throttle at 2k rpm that the backfired started. Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
Well, bad news, #7 cylinder is dead. Started pulling plug wires while idling and there was no change on 7. I plan on doing a compression check tomorrow. Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
The Jalopy Journal
