Very nice. I see that arbor wheel in the background. Been looking for one for a while.
Build The Clustertruck Rides Again - Refurbishing a 1975 Chevota
- Thread starter RWBeringer4x4
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- #102
Thanks! It's actually my dad's. He has a shop I could only dream of right now, and a bigger garage. :-D behind the space heater is actually an old belt driven drill press (circa 1931) that the electric motor belongs to.
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- #103
It's done! Everything is back together, and all the major components seem to be functioning properly. It still has a couple issues -
1. The secondary air damns stick when they get past about 70 degrees - they were doing this before I tore it apart.
2. The air horn is definitely warped. Didn't seem to be causing an issue before but the old gasket seemed a little thicker. This might also be why #1 is happening.
I guess we'll see how it runs when I get it back on the truck! The welch plugs should be sealed, and I set the float a bit higher - it was at about 1/2 inch prior, now it's at about 1/4 inch, per specifications.
I also got the grill primed, and cut to avoid the radiator mount.
Tomorrow it all goes back together (minus the grill, which will get sanded and painted. Hopefully this will include the new throttle cable assembly.
1. The secondary air damns stick when they get past about 70 degrees - they were doing this before I tore it apart.
2. The air horn is definitely warped. Didn't seem to be causing an issue before but the old gasket seemed a little thicker. This might also be why #1 is happening.
I guess we'll see how it runs when I get it back on the truck! The welch plugs should be sealed, and I set the float a bit higher - it was at about 1/2 inch prior, now it's at about 1/4 inch, per specifications.
I also got the grill primed, and cut to avoid the radiator mount.
Tomorrow it all goes back together (minus the grill, which will get sanded and painted. Hopefully this will include the new throttle cable assembly.
What do you mean by "stick"? They won't move any further or the mechanical linkage stops moving them? The function of the upper secondary plates relies on air being pulled through them to open fully.
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- #105
I mean if I move the plates by hand, past about 70 degrees (90 degrees being full-open) they feel like they are binding, to the point the little return spring can't close them. Less than 70 degrees they close themselves, beyond that they hang open. Might be different under load.
The PO had my throttle cable set up with too much slack - to the extent that I was never really reaching "WOT" even with the pedal to the floor so I may not have even been getting into the secondaries that much.
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- #106
Well, the carb is back on the truck, as is my new throttle cable. I'm really happy with the way the Lokar setup worked out. Much better than the rigged setup hanging there previously. The little bracket I made to plug the hole in the firewall turned out well too, for my first attempt at metalwork...
EDIT: One thing to note about cutting braided cable - it's tough! It tends to fray. I tried tin snips, cutting pliers, and a dremmel. The Dremmel worked best. I found to prevent fraying, it helped to wrap the area I was cutting with duct tape. Then I would dremmel clean through the tape. The tape would melt as the metal and cutoff wheel heated up. This would actually "glue" the strands of braided steel together. Then I just peeled off the tape. Made mounting the cable in the carburetor end a breeze!
The Quadrajet, however, I am a less happy with. It runs, I've got the idle set to about 900, but that's with the idle screw back all the way out. It really "wants" to idle around 1100...I can't get it any lower. Stranger still, it seems like my throttle secondaries may be sticking
If I give it a bunch of gas, then let off it, it decides that its new idle is going to be about 1500-2000 RPM, and it stays there until I shut down the truck and turn it back on, where it immediately returns to 900. When I rev the engine, I'm still getting a lot of unburned gas/black smoke out the tailpipe.
Haven't taken it out on the road yet (I'm parked in) but hopefully it will behave itself. I virtually never get into it much past 2500-3000RPM, and it seems to be performing ok in that range.
EDIT: One thing to note about cutting braided cable - it's tough! It tends to fray. I tried tin snips, cutting pliers, and a dremmel. The Dremmel worked best. I found to prevent fraying, it helped to wrap the area I was cutting with duct tape. Then I would dremmel clean through the tape. The tape would melt as the metal and cutoff wheel heated up. This would actually "glue" the strands of braided steel together. Then I just peeled off the tape. Made mounting the cable in the carburetor end a breeze!
The Quadrajet, however, I am a less happy with. It runs, I've got the idle set to about 900, but that's with the idle screw back all the way out. It really "wants" to idle around 1100...I can't get it any lower. Stranger still, it seems like my throttle secondaries may be sticking
If I give it a bunch of gas, then let off it, it decides that its new idle is going to be about 1500-2000 RPM, and it stays there until I shut down the truck and turn it back on, where it immediately returns to 900. When I rev the engine, I'm still getting a lot of unburned gas/black smoke out the tailpipe. Haven't taken it out on the road yet (I'm parked in) but hopefully it will behave itself. I virtually never get into it much past 2500-3000RPM, and it seems to be performing ok in that range.
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- #109
Hey Cliff,
The choke, for all intents and purposes, is non-functional. I've backed the fast idle screw all the way out to eliminate it as the cause. The warped air horn theory seems more likely. I tightened everything down numerous times today and it wasn't until I had them torqued down more than I wanted that the idle dropped below 1000RPM. As I mentioned last night, the secondary air dams "hang" at somewhere close to wide-open, but even operating at about 2500 RPM, they don't even open. I guess the primaries are still pulling enough air down in that range. They kick open slightly if I rev it up over 3500 RPM, but only slightly...
I didn't notice much play in the throttle shafts when I had the carb disassembled, but I also didn't re-bush them, so there's that potential issue as well.
I guess the choke pull-off (which I did not replace) could be the culprit as well...
The choke, for all intents and purposes, is non-functional. I've backed the fast idle screw all the way out to eliminate it as the cause. The warped air horn theory seems more likely. I tightened everything down numerous times today and it wasn't until I had them torqued down more than I wanted that the idle dropped below 1000RPM. As I mentioned last night, the secondary air dams "hang" at somewhere close to wide-open, but even operating at about 2500 RPM, they don't even open. I guess the primaries are still pulling enough air down in that range. They kick open slightly if I rev it up over 3500 RPM, but only slightly...
I didn't notice much play in the throttle shafts when I had the carb disassembled, but I also didn't re-bush them, so there's that potential issue as well.
I guess the choke pull-off (which I did not replace) could be the culprit as well...
If you don't have something working the choke it could be a problem. Does the weight move out of the way when the throttle comes off idle? (silver thing with writing in front in the picture). The rod going to the air valve not installed right might cause that other issue. Can you check your choke pull off with a vac pump? If it holds its good. Did you get the goofy lever inside attached to the rod for the choke plate?
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- #111
Hey Cliff,
First off I appreciate all the help. Just took it for a spin and aside from idling high, it drives like usual. Now, in response to your questions:
Yep, I got the annoying lever thing in the choke linkage (after many, many attempts). I, unfortunately , do not have a vacuum pump at my disposal, and I'm not sure about that weight dropping either. That said, everything in the linkages seemed to function properly when I was messing with it before I installed it.
The PO rigged up a manual choke, which is currently disconnected, and, as I said, I backed off the fast idle screw to make sure it wasn't interfering...
Quite an obnoxious little device!
First off I appreciate all the help. Just took it for a spin and aside from idling high, it drives like usual. Now, in response to your questions:
Yep, I got the annoying lever thing in the choke linkage (after many, many attempts). I, unfortunately , do not have a vacuum pump at my disposal, and I'm not sure about that weight dropping either. That said, everything in the linkages seemed to function properly when I was messing with it before I installed it.
The PO rigged up a manual choke, which is currently disconnected, and, as I said, I backed off the fast idle screw to make sure it wasn't interfering...
Quite an obnoxious little device!
Not an expert on anything, but I have had a few q-jets under my belt. Happy to share. If you cant get it to idle all the way to nothing on the screw something is hanging it up somewhere. It shouldn't be like that. I guess it's possible that too much timing or a vac leak could make it idle fast, but if that screw isn't touching the linkage and its running at 900, doesn't sound right.
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- #113
I'm going to try to meet up with a guy my girlfriend's dad knows who knows carbs inside and out. Last time I talked to him he even said he'd just give me a spare Holley he had laying around. I think the qjet is a better carburetor but if he can't figure out the problem, a Holley might do the job until I can find a decent replacement qjet. Here's hoping!
That sucks that you it work after you rebuilt it. Thanks for sharing ive never seen a q jet stripped down before hope your buddy gets you pointed in the right direction
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- #115
Eh, the joys of a project car. I bought this truck to learn how to work on cars - and it is giving me ample opportunity!
End of the day, it still runs, it's still driveable, and I learned a ton about carbs and metal work in the last 3 days!
Rick,
You might double check your Lokar linkage, it could be a tad too tight on the cable adjustment. Probably not it, but worth a second look. I was messing with mine this afternoon because it's been idling too high at 750 RPM with the idle screw not touching the stop. After I adjusted the cable, the idle dropped to just above 500.
You might double check your Lokar linkage, it could be a tad too tight on the cable adjustment. Probably not it, but worth a second look. I was messing with mine this afternoon because it's been idling too high at 750 RPM with the idle screw not touching the stop. After I adjusted the cable, the idle dropped to just above 500.
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- #117
Interesting, I did winch that thing down pretty tight! I'll check it out!
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- #118
Rick,
You might double check your Lokar linkage, it could be a tad too tight on the cable adjustment. Probably not it, but worth a second look. I was messing with mine this afternoon because it's been idling too high at 750 RPM with the idle screw not touching the stop. After I adjusted the cable, the idle dropped to just above 500.
PixelWrangler, if I ever meet you in person, I owe you a beer.
That's exactly what it was. I loosened up the throttle cable and it closed the gap between the throttle and the idle screw. I've got it idling smoothly at 800RPM now. I'm sure I can bring it down farther but I didn't have much time to mess with it tonight. Plus, it's raining and the exhaust fumes were making the garage uninhabitable. Thanks for the help! Saved me going through a lot of trouble to figure that out!
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- #119
Cliff - Here's a shot of the manual choke the PO setup before I tore it down. Still looks like this, just cleaner now.
It doesn't work. If you pull the cable, it just pulls the inner cable straight out of the hole its mounted in. Choke doesn't move. I think the whole cable housing is moving because that clamp, as you can see, clamps virtually nothing.
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- #120
The last bit of good news for the day - My Land Cruiser sat since Sunday afternoon, so a full 2 days. Went to mess with it today, and it fired up immediately. That has literally never happened, in my nearly 1 year of ownership. Very exciting! Normally it would have taken about 20-30 seconds of cranking to get fuel back in the bowl.
Seems to be a good indication that the welch plug repairs went well.
I also replaced all the fuel lines down to the pump, along with the filter this weekend. Now I just need to keep an eye on the in-line filter to see if the line drains back still, or if the new lines/filter fixed it. Otherwise, next time I get a free weekend, it's onward to the fuel pump!
Seems to be a good indication that the welch plug repairs went well.
I also replaced all the fuel lines down to the pump, along with the filter this weekend. Now I just need to keep an eye on the in-line filter to see if the line drains back still, or if the new lines/filter fixed it. Otherwise, next time I get a free weekend, it's onward to the fuel pump!