Should I expect this much attention?

[pinkpanthr]

So had the bird out for a little test and tune yesterday (Edelbrock 1406 running lean, anyone with first hand knowledge on that would be appreciated!) Stopped at a local filling station and had the hood up adjusting the distributor. Before I could even get the hold down loose I had six different guys leaning in to take a look under the hood. My car is in primer (not even been blocked out since the body panel replacement) and there's only a front seat as far as interior is concerned. I didn't expect it to garner this kind of attention. Is that what I should expect? Or did I just happen to find a gas station with a bunch of gear heads?

 

[69hemibeep]

You got lucky, nobody cares :jester:

 

[ACME A12]

That phenomenon I believe is as variable as the weather...difficult to predict...

 

[69383RR]

I wouldn't mined a little attention every now and then for all the hard work that went into the old girl . Of course no one can see her sitting in the garage all the time . Sometimes the coolest cars are in primer .

 

[Basketcase]

I agree with the primer! People just like old cars, and mopars are the rarest ones to see out. I got lots of looks with Freebird.and most of the time all it had was the driver's seat for interior. And evertime the Boss has her Ghia out, someone always comes up and talks about it. Even the day I had it out for an estimate and guy said great car, and he saw the smashed side.

 

[69383RR]

I agree with the primer! People just like old cars, and mopars are the rarest ones to see out. I got lots of looks with Freebird.and most of the time all it had was the driver's seat for interior. And evertime the Boss has her Ghia out, someone always comes up and talks about it. Even the day I had it out for an estimate and guy said great car, and he saw the smashed side.

look at this beautiful she beast !

 

[Basketcase]

got any more? I seriously think primer is a good idea. No worries about scratches/chips/dirt. Keep a fizzy can in the trunk and instant touch up, no worries on the color match. My buddy apoligies everytime I go over to see the car abouth how long it's taking, and has offered several times to throw some primer on it so I can drive it some. But if I'd do that the car would bever get done.

 

[69383RR]

My other she beast , I call her "ECLIPSE" I'm thinking about all black primer for her or maybe that rat rod black satin. And like you said , keep a spare spray can in the trunk lol .

 

[Basketcase]

gotta see more fo the Charger! I had a '68 R/T for a long time. I alway's liked the look of the six pak scoop too.

 

[cj69RR]

It's a chance each time out with it? People try to stop you sometimes and then there are the days where they are like what's that old thing doing out on the road attitudes also. But I sure do enjoy taking it out. Took it out Friday afternoon for a drive, what good Theropy!

 

[pinkpanthr]

My other she beast , I call her "ECLIPSE" I'm thinking about all black primer for her or maybe that rat rod black satin. And like you said , keep a spare spray can in the trunk lol .

From the looks of the car in your pics, I shoulda just sent my car to Vermont for restoration.

 

[69383RR]

gotta see more fo the Charger! I had a '68 R/T for a long time. I alway's liked the look of the six pak scoop too.

That black beauty with the red bumblebee strips right ? Awesome looking car you had there !

 

[69383RR]

From the looks of the car in your pics, I shoulda just sent my car to Vermont for restoration.

From your pictures I can see you are very talented and doing just fine . It looks like you do your own body work . Didn't you replace the quarter panels and do all the bondo work yourself ? Replacing quarter panels is something I would never attempt , its way over my head. But thanks for the complement .

 

[Basketcase]

thanks, and so is yours!

 

[Tempest 455]

So had the bird out for a little test and tune yesterday (Edelbrock 1406 running lean, anyone with first hand knowledge on that would be appreciated!) Stopped at a local filling station and had the hood up adjusting the distributor. Before I could even get the hold down loose I had six different guys leaning in to take a look under the hood. My car is in primer (not even been blocked out since the body panel replacement) and there's only a front seat as far as interior is concerned. I didn't expect it to garner this kind of attention. Is that what I should expect? Or did I just happen to find a gas station with a bunch of gear heads?

How do you know it's lean, just asking. I've played with these a fair amount. Give me some feedback on your motor (ci, cam, compression), why you think it's lean and can go from there.

 

[pinkpanthr]

It's a stock 383, stock internals. It runs fine at idle and at WOT, but under light load wants to pop and buck, also runs a bit warmer than it should, (about 10 degrees) I'm also getting the tell tale black powder spark plugs if I run it for very long without opening it up to clear them off. It's set up like it came out of the box. .98 primary jet, .95 secondary jet .75 x .47 mettering rod yellow step up spring. Was just wondering what set up a more experienced carb guy would run.

 

[pinkpanthr]

From your pictures I can see you are very talented and doing just fine . It looks like you do your own body work . Didn't you replace the quarter panels and do all the bondo work yourself ? Replacing quarter panels is something I would never attempt , its way over my head. But thanks for the complement .

Body panel replacement isn't so much about what you know, it's about having the right tools, and patience. Take the time to measure, re-measure, measure one more time, then make your cut. Test fit, with a light tack weld at both ends, adjust, test fit again, so on and so forth. The only thing you have to do is make sure not to warp the panels with the welder after you have the fit you like. And don't be afraid to modify (slightly) a repop panel. All these cars were different so there really isn't a one size fits all panel. When you've done it right, there shouldn't be a lot of need for filler. If I need more than a 16th of inch of filler anywhere on the panel, I'm gonna start over from the begininng because I did something wrong. It can save you a lot of money to do this type of work yourself, because it lets you start with a lesser car. The only other advice I'd give you on that is don't replace more than you need to. If it only needs a patch, then patch it, don't replace the whole panel.

 

[Tempest 455]

Do you have the Edelbrock tuning manual? They have a ton of info. If not, you may be able to find it on-line.

I would leave the jets and play w/ the metering rods/springs. If you have a stock cam and not a lot of overlap, should not require much tuning. Sometimes these work out of the box and sometimes they dont. I installed a pair on a buddy's 409/409 Bel Air and they were right on out of the box. However, on a much higher strung HP or race type motor, they need tuning.

I would play w/ rods/spring to start, also check for vac leaks, accelerator pump shot and possible ignition related issues since you mentioned "popping".

 

[69383RR]

Body panel replacement isn't so much about what you know, it's about having the right tools, and patience. Take the time to measure, re-measure, measure one more time, then make your cut. Test fit, with a light tack weld at both ends, adjust, test fit again, so on and so forth. The only thing you have to do is make sure not to warp the panels with the welder after you have the fit you like. And don't be afraid to modify (slightly) a repop panel. All these cars were different so there really isn't a one size fits all panel. When you've done it right, there shouldn't be a lot of need for filler. If I need more than a 16th of inch of filler anywhere on the panel, I'm gonna start over from the begininng because I did something wrong. It can save you a lot of money to do this type of work yourself, because it lets you start with a lesser car. The only other advice I'd give you on that is don't replace more than you need to. If it only needs a patch, then patch it, don't replace the whole panel.

Most excellent advice , to bad you live so far away. I know what you mean about getting the right car and doing the work yourself . I spent way more on my car then I wanted to just so I could avoid doing those kind of repairs. I saw this show or video a while back where this guy was doing a little work on a quarter panel and discovered that the last guy just tack welded the replacement panel right over the old panel , he was not a happy camper , a lot of "F" bombs !

 

[pinkpanthr]

Do you have the Edelbrock tuning manual? They have a ton of info. If not, you may be able to find it on-line.

I would leave the jets and play w/ the metering rods/springs. If you have a stock cam and not a lot of overlap, should not require much tuning. Sometimes these work out of the box and sometimes they dont. I installed a pair on a buddy's 409/409 Bel Air and they were right on out of the box. However, on a much higher strung HP or race type motor, they need tuning.

I would play w/ rods/spring to start, also check for vac leaks, accelerator pump shot and possible ignition related issues since you mentioned "popping".

No vacuum leaks, and I re-timed it all the way down to dialing in the cam just in case the previous owner had anything done to it. It's spot on. I didhave it a bit too far advanced at first running it off the full vacuum advance port of the carb. Switched it to timed advance and it eliminated the popping stumbling. Still getting a lean condition on light load. I'll take your advice and play with the rods and springs this weakend.