My 69 AMX engine is back in the car. (Page 8 of 9)
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Thanks for the well wishes. I'm recovering as best can be expected. They tell me going in an out of A-Fib after the procedure is normal but it sure sucks. I have to be careful and stay hydrated as dehydration appears to be a trigger for me along with caffeine and alcohol. It will be three months before they know if the ablation had the desired affect.
I did work on the car today. I got the new Wilwood master cylinder in and modified the lines to add the 10psi residual pressure valve in. The RPV is needed to keep a bit of pressure on the rear drum brakes. OEM master cylinders have this feature built in but the Wilwood unit does not hence the need to add it. I also eliminated a leak at one of the disk brake calipers that I missed when I put the car back together. The wife helped me bleed the system and damn does it feel tight! 
I also eliminated the OEM throttle cable and the mechanical linkage for the transmission kick down. I replaced them with Lokar units . Now I just need to find the vacuum leak that seems to be keeping me from getting an acceptable idle when in gear. 
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I'm Conservative because not everyone can be on welfare.
"How do you keep a bunch of idiots in suspense? I'll tell you once I get back from an orgy." dport
"How do you keep a bunch of idiots in suspense? I'll tell you once I get back from an orgy." dport
I fussed around doing a few things. I had what sounded like an exhaust leak that I finally figured out. I had two exhaust manifold gaskets in backwards. I swear it it isn't sailor proof I will install it backwards. 
I can't seem to locate a vacuum leak causing the rough idle in when in gear. I'm thinking the distributor might be part of the cause as I'm having trouble keeping the timing adjusted. I disassembled the 50 year old distributor and nothing looked worn so I reassembled it and put in a new vacuum advance pot. I'll have to get with my race buddy and get his assistance trouble shooting it. On a happy note the wife actually got to drive the car. She was grinning the whole time. 
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I'm Conservative because not everyone can be on welfare.
"How do you keep a bunch of idiots in suspense? I'll tell you once I get back from an orgy." dport
"How do you keep a bunch of idiots in suspense? I'll tell you once I get back from an orgy." dport
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Is the brake booster new and have you plugged it at the manifold to isolate it and the fitting at the booster?
I ask because I chased a vac leak for a good while before figuring out the issue was the booster. Just a thought. |
I won't be wronged. I won't be insulted. I won't be laid a-hand on. I don't do these things to other people, and I require the same from them
| Brake booster is new. There are only 3 vacuum lines, pb booster, vacuum advance and PCV valve along with a couple of plugged ports on the carb. I've checked them and they all are fine. I've used starting fluid around the car base and intake with no noticeable change in rpm. Any thoughts on something I've missed are welcome. |
I'm Conservative because not everyone can be on welfare.
"How do you keep a bunch of idiots in suspense? I'll tell you once I get back from an orgy." dport
"How do you keep a bunch of idiots in suspense? I'll tell you once I get back from an orgy." dport
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I don't remember if it's an automatic but if so, does it have a vacuum modulator valve on it? eta Just looked ...no modulator on a 727. Sorry, Old Ford guy.
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I won't be wronged. I won't be insulted. I won't be laid a-hand on. I don't do these things to other people, and I require the same from them
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If your timing light has the mark bouncing around, the dist bush is worn out.
Advance mechanism problems (vacuum can, linkage, cams) will cause trouble holding correct advance. I fought my ignition for years; Coils, advance tweaks, distributor, cdi unit -- before just slapping on a junkyard Dura-spark II setup. Problem solved. Inexpensive, straight-across swap for the OEM 'point-style' ignition. Breakerless, large diameter distributor and control module. (I kept the Promaster coil). I think AMC may have used Ford's DuraSpark II at one point. [ETA: "starting in 1978 . . . .. through the Chrysler buyout until 1991"] I too was not happy with idle after getting done, but quickly eliminated 'vacuum leak' by backing off my rockers, blocking the carb port, and doing pressure test on the intake. If I remember correctly, I deduced that my thottle plate must be the problem, and got a new carburator. It still only pulls about 15 inches at idle. I was switching cams, valve timing, etc, etc, trying to find wtf. I can't complain, until I look at the vacuum guage. That's funny about your Ex gasket. I recently replaced one that was bkwds on a friend's jet boat (460 Ford) - again with 'ambidextrous' heads. Really, it was kind of confusing, and I almost put the new ones on wrong. The guy that owned the boat said: 'I thought it was supposed to be loud'! It was really blown out on the left manifold. Again, nice work & get totally well soon! Checking VAC with water/ Can skip to 7:30 |
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Originally Posted By DamascusKnifemaker:
Brake booster is new. There are only 3 vacuum lines, pb booster, vacuum advance and PCV valve along with a couple of plugged ports on the carb. I've checked them and they all are fine. I've used starting fluid around the car base and intake with no noticeable change in rpm. Any thoughts on something I've missed are welcome. |
| I've plugged all the vacumm lines at the source and get the same results, rough idle in gear smooth idle in park. I'll do some more fussing with it this weekend. |
I'm Conservative because not everyone can be on welfare.
"How do you keep a bunch of idiots in suspense? I'll tell you once I get back from an orgy." dport
"How do you keep a bunch of idiots in suspense? I'll tell you once I get back from an orgy." dport
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Did you assemble the heads and if so, how are the intake valve guides and did you air check the heads as the long block went together? Sloppy guides can lead to poor valve seating and leaky intake valves (be it due to loose guides or a poor valve job) can cause a rough idle condition. And a good damped vacuum gauge would be handy. |
I won't be wronged. I won't be insulted. I won't be laid a-hand on. I don't do these things to other people, and I require the same from them
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Originally Posted By DamascusKnifemaker:
I've plugged all the vacumm lines at the source and get the same results, rough idle in gear smooth idle in park. I'll do some more fussing with it this weekend. Edit to add: What about the vacuum advance? If you mentioned it, i missed that, so sorry. Jay |
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Originally Posted By DamascusKnifemaker:
Thanks for the well wishes. I'm recovering as best can be expected. They tell me going in an out of A-Fib after the procedure is normal but it sure sucks. I have to be careful and stay hydrated as dehydration appears to be a trigger for me along with caffeine and alcohol. It will be three months before they know if the ablation had the desired affect. My advice is as you stated regarding dehydration. Last summer I was doing intense walks daily in 90+ temps here in North Central Florida prepping for a Wyoming elk hunt in the Fall. Had a appointment with my regular doctor and as usual he took an EKG and freaked out as my heart rate was very high. So off to the cardiologist and more tests such as the Holter monitor and TEE. Short and long of the event was his advice; "Don't exercise in extreme heat and stay hydrated". Only med required is Cardizem 120 mg and aspirin daily. Stay well OP and rock on! |
"LIBERALS LIVE IN A WORLD IN WHICH EVERYONE IS EITHER an oppressor or a victim !"
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I may have flown over your car last week, on Southwest from Las Vegas to Spokane. For a while my daughter was teaching in Henderson, and I drove (and flew over) the 318 quite a bit. Got really fond of the Mohave, with another daughter stationed at Edwards AFB. Last week they flew a little further east, right up the state line, and I got a good look at the peaks, along with Great Basin National Park. After flying from Denver -- over the parks in Southern Utah-- I felt like a god. First time I've seen Canyonlands, Escalante, Capitol Reef, and Zion from the air. It was hazy, but I could see straight down just fine. I love flying. I'm not a pilot, but I've been around small planes. The passenger jets are a treat for me, but I'm starting to really hate airports! I hope you're getting some of those bugs worked out - Check in sometime! |
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Haven't had time to mess with the carb but I did get part of the problem sorted out. The spring in the vacuum advance were incorrect. I'm not sure where or when I put them in but they were very wrong. I put in an original set from an old distributor I had and thing improved quite a bit.
My wife entered it in the local car show and took home the Best Muscle Car trophy. She missed getting Best in Show by 3 votes.
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I'm Conservative because not everyone can be on welfare.
"How do you keep a bunch of idiots in suspense? I'll tell you once I get back from an orgy." dport
"How do you keep a bunch of idiots in suspense? I'll tell you once I get back from an orgy." dport
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Originally Posted By DamascusKnifemaker:
Haven't had time to mess with the carb but I did get part of the problem sorted out. The spring in the vacuum advance were incorrect. I'm not sure where or when I put them in but they were very wrong. I put in an original set from an old distributor I had and thing improved quite a bit. My wife entered it in the local car show and took home the Best Muscle Car trophy. She missed getting Best in Show by 3 votes. |
John 16:33 In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
I haven't been happy with how the brake system has been functioning. The stock proportioning valve while rebuilt was not up to the task of dealing with the Wilwood discs up front and the stock drums in back. I moved the check valve to the under car location of the stock proportioning valve and installed an after market proportioning valve at the master cylinder. I've also been having trouble getting the thermostat housing to seal properly. It seems to be a weak point on these old AMCs so I decided to eliminate the need for flat gaskets and sealant, I machined an o-ring grove in the housing. I did an initial pressure test of 25 psi off the car with a fixture I made up. I don't foresee any problems with it once installed on the car.
 
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I'm Conservative because not everyone can be on welfare.
"How do you keep a bunch of idiots in suspense? I'll tell you once I get back from an orgy." dport
"How do you keep a bunch of idiots in suspense? I'll tell you once I get back from an orgy." dport
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The things that pop up on Twitter.
Mercy Miss Percy!
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Politicians Prefer Unarmed Peasants
Caddyshack
Some men are morally opposed to violence. They are protected by those who are not.
Caddyshack
Some men are morally opposed to violence. They are protected by those who are not.
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Originally Posted By AirRaceFan:
Those look like some pretty free-flowing exhaust manifolds. |
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Originally Posted By BM1455: Those are the factory AMC V-8 manifolds for most post 1970 mid size and large cars. Yes they did flow pretty well. Almost as well as shorty headers. After 1971 they usually had emissions control tubes stuck in them but those can be removed. |
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Originally Posted By BM1455: Those are the factory AMC V-8 manifolds for most post 1970 mid size and large cars. Yes they did flow pretty well. Almost as well as shorty headers. After 1971 they usually had emissions control tubes stuck in them but those can be removed. Oddly, to meet California emissions from 1974 through 1978 with the 360 and 401 V8 options in Jeeps and AMC cars, the 4350 carburetor was required. A 2 barrel wasn't available. |
NRA Life Member
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Originally Posted By Epidote: The dual-plane intake manifold that went with the Motorcraft 4350 spread bore four barrel was also really good. I could get good fuel economy if I could drive carefully and just use the primary barrels. But if I hit the throttle hard and opened up the secondaries, the seat-of-the-pants acceleration was a joy to behold. Thinking that an Edelbrock intake and carburetor might make things even more fun, I asked the Edelbrock rep about their product at a speed shop grand opening. He asked what I was running at the time. He shook his head and admitted that their product wasn't as good as the OEM dual plane intake and carb. Oddly, to meet California emissions from 1974 through 1978 with the 360 and 401 V8 options in Jeeps and AMC cars, the 4350 carburetor was required. A 2 barrel wasn't available. With the 4-speed and the factory 3.54's it pulled hard from start all the way up to about 80. I never took it to the track but they guy I sold it to did. The factory Hurst shifter needed to be rebuilt and wobbled around a bit. He did a 14.01 but he missed 2nd gear screwing around with the shifter so he just put in into 3rd. If the shifter had worked I think that thing would have done 13.5's easily. |
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Back in Sept. after the Labor Day Car Show I was going to drive The AMX in the local Labor Day Parade. I notice the stereo power keeps going off. I think it's a loose connection and stick my had under the dash to locate the bad connection and find several VERY hot wires at the ignition switch. I think great it's a brand new harness and something is fucked up with it. I finally got around to trouble shooting the problem in the last few days.
I started by checking all fuses and looking for shorts and grounds. Everything I looked at appeared clean and functioning properly. I decided to see what the voltage to the switch was and got 12.3v at the key with it switched on and 6.8v at the positive side of the coil. Next I started the car and got 17.5v at the switch and 11.4v at the coil. Yikes! I'm getting almost 18v at the alt. so now I know it's the charging system. I start looking at the the AMC TSM for troubleshooting this. I check all my connections and they are correctly connected and everything is shiny and new since the wiring harness, alt and voltage regulator are all new. I do the alt. check and it tests good. Next I test the VR and it indicates it is open so I figure I'll be needing a new voltage regulator. Now comes the goofy part. I had dug out another ignition switch and stuck in it earlier when I was doing the fuse and wiring checks to see if would make any difference. It still had the spring and bezel attached but it was hanging free. I unplug it to install the keyed unit and notice a female spade connector attached to the bezel from the previous car it was in. I also notice a loose ground connector hanging next to the ignition switch. I installed the keyed unit and plug the ground wire to the spade, install the switch in the dash, fire the car up and magically the charging system is functioning properly. The resistance wire is warm but nothing like it was before. Magic happens when AMC charging systems are grounded properly. As a side note the reason the stereo kept going off was because of the high voltage spike.
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I'm Conservative because not everyone can be on welfare.
"How do you keep a bunch of idiots in suspense? I'll tell you once I get back from an orgy." dport
"How do you keep a bunch of idiots in suspense? I'll tell you once I get back from an orgy." dport
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Originally Posted By DamascusKnifemaker:
Back in Sept. after the Labor Day Car Show I was going to drive The AMX in the local Labor Day Parade. I notice the stereo power keeps going off. I think it's a loose connection and stick my had under the dash to locate the bad connection and find several VERY hot wires at the ignition switch. I think great it's a brand new harness and something is fucked up with it. I finally got around to trouble shooting the problem in the last few days. I started by checking all fuses and looking for shorts and grounds. Everything I looked at appeared clean and functioning properly. I decided to see what the voltage to the switch was and got 12.3v at the key with it switched on and 6.8v at the positive side of the coil. Next I started the car and got 17.5v at the switch and 11.4v at the coil. Yikes! I'm getting almost 18v at the alt. so now I know it's the charging system. I start looking at the the AMC TSM for troubleshooting this. I check all my connections and they are correctly connected and everything is shiny and new since the wiring harness, alt and voltage regulator are all new. I do the alt. check and it tests good. Next I test the VR and it indicates it is open so I figure I'll be needing a new voltage regulator. Now comes the goofy part. I had dug out another ignition switch and stuck in it earlier when I was doing the fuse and wiring checks to see if would make any difference. It still had the spring and bezel attached but it was hanging free. I unplug it to install the keyed unit and notice a female spade connector attached to the bezel from the previous car it was in. I also notice a loose ground connector hanging next to the ignition switch. I installed the keyed unit and plug the ground wire to the spade, install the switch in the dash, fire the car up and magically the charging system is functioning properly. The resistance wire is warm but nothing like it was before. Magic happens when AMC charging systems are grounded properly. As a side note the reason the stereo kept going off was because of the high voltage spike.Turns out, there was a ground wire that had come off of the alternator. After I put it back on, all was well,,, at least, with the charging system. Jay |
The trees and I are shaken by the same wind but whereas, The trees will lose their withered leaves, I just can't seem to let them loose.
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Originally Posted By DamascusKnifemaker:
I got a creative bug and machined some new oil caps for the AMX and Javelin. https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/78788/IMG_6051_JPG-1162189.jpg https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/78788/IMG_6052_JPG-1162190.jpg
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The electrical stuff in cars makes my brain hurt. And I even know some stuff about wiring in a house and lights and such. I'm glad you got it figured out!!!! Those oil caps are SAWEEET!!! Great job!!! |
John 16:33 In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
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Originally Posted By JJREA:
The electrical stuff in cars makes my brain hurt. And I even know some stuff about wiring in a house and lights and such. I'm glad you got it figured out!!!! Those oil caps are SAWEEET!!! Great job!!! |
Do you ever get the feeling the world is a tuxedo and you are a pair of brown shoes?
| I just remember the kid next door to my grandmother getting an AMX and having nothing but problems with it. Turns out it had the 401 in it but some UAW rocket scientist put the wrong rings on the piston at the foundry. One new engine later and that car was a monster. |
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Originally Posted By Cholla: Electrics and automatic transmissions are the mysterious lady parts of cars. I know why they work, just don't ask my how they work or how to understand them. |
John 16:33 In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
| Well fuck! I thought I had the charging problem solved but it has reared its ugly head again. I'm pretty sure the shitty Chinese voltage regulator has failed. I'm seriously considering pulling the externally regulated Motorolla alternator and installing a one wire internally regulated Powermaster 100 amp alternator. |
I'm Conservative because not everyone can be on welfare.
"How do you keep a bunch of idiots in suspense? I'll tell you once I get back from an orgy." dport
"How do you keep a bunch of idiots in suspense? I'll tell you once I get back from an orgy." dport
| I remember having to change voltage regulators once or twice on my '74s. Starter solenoids as well. Other than those and the crappy Japanese points in the GM style distributor the electrical was not a big problem for me. The '74s had that messed up seat belt/ ignition kill switch thing that had to be undone by the dealers. That could have been part of the issue but I think it had been taken care of before I got the cars. |
| When I had a built up 350 I replaced that selenoid more than once..... I thought maybe it ran hot and was frying them. Same with the thermostat thingy in the intake that opens up and lets the water in. I replaced that several times too. I think what I've learned in my older age is that the parts you buy at Auto Zone and such aren't always that great of quality. According to some mechanics I know. |
John 16:33 In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
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Originally Posted By JJREA:
When I had a built up 350 I replaced that selenoid more than once..... I thought maybe it ran hot and was frying them. Same with the thermostat thingy in the intake that opens up and lets the water in. I replaced that several times too. I think what I've learned in my older age is that the parts you buy at Auto Zone and such aren't always that great of quality. According to some mechanics I know. |
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Originally Posted By DamascusKnifemaker:
Well fuck! I thought I had the charging problem solved but it has reared its ugly head again. I'm pretty sure the shitty Chinese voltage regulator has failed. I'm seriously considering pulling the externally regulated Motorolla alternator and installing a one wire internally regulated Powermaster 100 amp alternator. I'm not familiar with AMC, but Mopar systems 60's and 70's are externally regulated. Original regulators were points type and all new ones suck. When I upgraded to electronic ignition I swapped the points style for an electronic solid state version (bought from Ebay, Made in the USA which surprised me) and have had zero issues with either of my cars. Both are 1 wire 60 amp alternators. Let us know what you find. |
The Frog is Pepe. Someone shouts Hey Pepe @ Hillary rally, then Roger Stone Jedi Mindfucked someone in the Hillary campaign by putting Pepe in the Deplorables meme and now the shit is getting real.
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Originally Posted By BM1455: I never had all that much trouble with the thermostats. I did run a 160° one though. |
The Frog is Pepe. Someone shouts Hey Pepe @ Hillary rally, then Roger Stone Jedi Mindfucked someone in the Hillary campaign by putting Pepe in the Deplorables meme and now the shit is getting real.