Build Off to a Good Start. My '74 40 Series

[65swb45]

I’m glad you snapped this pic. The distributor in your pic is a vacuum retard distributor. You do NOT want that hooked up to vacuum. I see that you have it hooked up to the advancer port on the carb. Common mistake in a ‘74 Cali desmog.

Just cap both of those off for now.

Your head bolt is packed and ready to ship.

 

[65swb45]

@4Cruisers has figured out a way to put the earlier retard diaphragm on this particular dizzy, creating a positive from a double negative. Maybe he can hook you up with one.

Otherwise, you can just run it as mechanical advance only until you can save up the $$ for a vacuum advance dizzy.

 

[TwelveGravity]

I’m glad you snapped this pic. The distributor in your pic is a vacuum retard distributor. You do NOT want that hooked up to vacuum. I see that you have it hooked up to the advancer port on the carb. Common mistake in a ‘74 Cali desmog.

Just cap both of those off for now.

Your head bolt is packed and ready to ship.

Thank you for the insight Mark. I would have never caught that.

 

[rainingagain]

Today I plugged the other hole in the firewall with these Amazon specials.

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Sorry if I missed this in your thread - did you re-route or block off your cowl drains? That plug is where they exit to daylight.

 

[TwelveGravity]

Sorry if I missed this in your thread - did you re-route or block off your cowl drains? That plug is where they exit to daylight.

You didn't miss anything. I didn't block or reroute the drain. By the looks of it, it was draining to the floorboard. Luckily for me it stays in the garage or covered. Now that I know what to look for I will look to replace what the PO removed. Thanks for catching that.

 

[pb4ugo]

I think City Racer sells repop drain tubes.

 

[TwelveGravity]

I think City Racer sells repop drain tubes.

Yes, they do. I just checked. Thanks.

 

[charliemeyer007]

Back about 84 I made those tubes from like 3/4" tygon (heat formed) tubing for a few bucks to replace the OEM 72 ones. They are still there and still working.

 

[rainingagain]

Yes, they do. I just checked. Thanks.

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You'll need the grommets. Still available from Mr T - part #90480-25125. You need 2 obviously .

 

[TwelveGravity]

I got it fired up this afternoon. I have been waiting a while for this. After all the work @orangefj45 did, and pulled the carb off so @65swb45 could work his magic. Pulled the emission stuff off, replaced the headers and cleaned up a few things. Next I need to dig into the cooling system a little to see if the thermostat is stuck or why it got hot so quick but its definitely progress. After that I need to vacuum test and then check valve clearance, adjust accordingly and test vacuum again.

 

[TwelveGravity]

I couldn't attach the short video of it idling like the little tractor it is but it sounds great.

 

[TwelveGravity]

 

[bdawg23]

I didn't like the look of the breather so I just replaced the case vent with new hose and cleaned up. I still want to do something different with the choke cable and I want to redo the fuel line from the fuel pump to the carb and hard pipe it in.

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Not sure if @cruisermatt has these for your truck but I bought this premade line from them and I think it looks and works great.

I’ve got to get some of these plugs ordered too to clean up a few holes. Nice work!!

 

[bdawg23]

I didn't like the look of the breather so I just replaced the case vent with new hose and cleaned up. I still want to do something different with the choke cable and I want to redo the fuel line from the fuel pump to the carb and hard pipe it in.

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That is a long choke cable. Does the knob on dash say choke or does it have another symbol on it? Wondering if that’s a repurposed cable from something else.

 

[TwelveGravity]

That is a long choke cable. Does the knob on dash say choke or does it have another symbol on it? Wondering if that’s a repurposed cable from something else.

It's a universal Edelbrock choke cable. Can be found at Summit Racing website. The factory choke knob is still there. Not sure why the PO didn't just replace and use it instead of adding this aftermarket job.

 

[TwelveGravity]

It was just a year ago that I got to pick up my 40. I picked it up New Year's Day 2024 (hence thread title). What a way to start the year. I've enjoyed this so much so far, working on it and the few drives working bugs out. Thankful for all the help and advice from all the fellow mudders. I am excited to see what we can do over the next year.

 

[TwelveGravity]

This morning I capped a few more ports on the intake manifold, replaced the hose from the manifold to the brake booster and found that eliminated a pretty bad vacuum leak. Got timing adjusted. It starts up easily, no more hesitation, sputtering or backfiring. Took it a for a cruise around town for a bit and to the gas station to get filled up with some fresh fuel. Its running, driving and stopping great. I still plan to get a compression test on all cylinders next time I can get around to running it for a bit and get it up to temp again. I ran out of time today.

 

[TwelveGravity]

If you've spent any time in California’s central valley lately, you know we've been waiting for some blue sky. Well the fog finally lifted and the sky was clear so I took the opportunity to go for a drive. Then went and grabbed a bite for lunch.

 

[TwelveGravity]

Does anyone know if there is a specific tool roll for a 1/74? I have the original jack and rods but no lug wrench. The hardware is still intact for a tool roll, I could try to figure out how to replace the strap.

 

[JohnnyC]

It would have been the tan zipper bag… they are plentiful… come up for sale often

The hardest thing to find is the hold down straps and you got those