Archive for the ‘Engine’ Category
Sunday, April 18th, 2010
All of the stainless steel fuel and brake lines from Classic Tube (distributed by National Parts Depot) worked well except the two short lines from the master cylinder to the proportioning valve. One is 1/4″ diameter and the other is 3/16″. Both lines came up short. The old stock brake lines measure 11.25″ (0.25″ dia) and 14″ (.188″ dia). The new stainless lines measure 9.25″ (0.25″ dia) and 11.5″ (0.188″ dia). Each measurement was taken by tracing a string from tip to tip and then measuring the length of string.
**Update, 5/04/10** I called Classic Tube about the issue last week. The representative was surprised that the lines didn’t fit since he said they’ve sold many with no issue. He suggested that I send my old and new lines in for evaluation. Their team was a delight to work with, and the response was quick too. The new lines came a few days later. They were able to make exact copies of my existing lines which look great. I inquired about the problem and was told that their techs were still investigating the issue. Differences in factory master cylinders or changes during the ‘81 model were all possible culprits at the moment. The rep said they had saved my bend dimensions. Interestingly, there’s a good chance that if you order a set of stainless master cylinder brake lines for an ‘81 Trans Am, you could very well be receiving an exact copy of my lines. What a neat thought.
Tags: Classic Tube, National Parts Depot
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Saturday, April 10th, 2010
The brake booster and master cylinder were installed on the firewall. The two pieces were painted with Eastwood Brake Gray which has a nice cast appearance. Today I got a hard lesson in double checking the headers to make sure there’s nothing contacting them before starting the engine. The steering column is not yet connected to the steering box. The plastic cylindrical case that snaps around the steering column was touching the headers as they heated and melted. This left a round black spot of melted plastic on the header. I bought some plastic scrapers to try and remove the burn mark next week.
Tags: Eastwood
Posted in Engine, Progress, Trans Am | No Comments »
Saturday, March 27th, 2010
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Thursday, March 25th, 2010
Today marked the installation of the second fuel pump. I thought the first fuel pump was bad since it quickly stopped pumping fuel. Enough to fill the lines to the pump but sent no fuel to the carburetor. The pump’s lever arm could be depressed a slight amount which was enough to produce noticeable suction. After turning the motor over for a few revolutions with the pump installed, no more suction. It appears that the pump is being damaged. The fuel lines were then disconnected and the inlet tube was placed directly into a bottle of fuel. Curiously, the inlet tube pushes air into the bottle of fuel every revolution instead of sucking. When the pump was removed and operated by hand, no more suction like before. The two pumps were for a Pontiac 301 motor. This pump was chosen for the correct direction of the fuel inlet tube. I stopped by CLC Machine Shop in Lynchburg to pick up a pump for a ‘73 400 motor. I’ll try this pump to eliminate any possibility that there may be a difference between the two pumps. If anyone has any ideas, please feel free to leave a comment.
**Update, 3/27/2010** CLC supplied a fuel pump for a ‘73 Bonneville which had the fuel inlets pointing to the driver’s side which is correct for the ‘81 Trans Am. It is still unclear whether the fuel pump for the 81 was the problem or it was actually two bad pumps. At any rate the pump for the Bonneville works fine.
Tags: CLC
Posted in Engine, Progress, Trans Am | No Comments »
Wednesday, March 24th, 2010
Tags: Be Cool, Summit
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Monday, March 1st, 2010
All of the front end brackets are now finally installed. A hex nut was welded to the rear power steering pump bracket in order fasten the lower alternator bolt. I machined a spacer out of 1″ aluminum bar stock to match the original spacer height minus the hex nut height. This was necessary since the cylinder heads don’t have a tapped hole like the later heads.
More importantly though, today the engine turned over by the starter for the first time! The motor was primed and oil pressure gauge connected. With some starter fluid and gas in the carb the motor turned over and fired for a few strokes. Unfortunately that was about it. It looks like the fuel pump may be bad. The pump pulled some fuel up to the inlet but nothing in the outlet of the pump after quite a while. I’ll try again after the new pump is installed.
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Sunday, February 21st, 2010
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Monday, February 15th, 2010
Today the aluminum valley pan from Butler Performance was installed. I’m glad pan was finally changed out since there was still crud coming out of the old pan when tapped lighly. As per the instructions, the cork gasket was glued to the pan with high temp gasket maker. Studs were installed into the block at no more than 0.75″ as any further may cause cam bearing damage. I elected to install my studs roughly 5/8″ deep. After the studs were measured and installed to depth, gasket maker was applied in a continuous bead all the way around, slightly heavy on both ends of the block. The studs were held in place with an allen wrench and the nylon lock nuts tightened until there was pressure on both ends of the gasket. I’m uneasy about how well the pan is going to seal and how tight is “too tight” for the nuts. I’m not overly impressed with the fitment. Unfortunately I had to bevel the edges heavily to get the Tomahawk intake to clear. The baffeling in the PCV hole was very slight. I guess only time will tell if there will be any problems. If I had it to do all over again I’d go with the Tomahawk two piece stamped steel valley pan that will also clear roller lifters.
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Monday, February 8th, 2010
I finally made a little progress after two consecutive snow storms that conveniently happened to both fall on weekends. The distributor and Taylor custom fit spark plug wires were installed. Unfortunately I’ll have to remove the intake to replace the valley pan. I’ve decided to use an aluminum valley pan from Butler Performance. I mistakingly left the PCV grommet in place before I dropped off the valley pan to the machine shop. Not long after installing the intake, it quickly became evident that the grommet could not be removed without breaking apart and falling into the motor. The ‘73 fuel pump was swapped out at Napa for an ‘81 style. They are practically identical except for the direction of the fuel inlet tubes. The ‘81 style faces the opposite direction from the ‘73. To finish out the day, a rebuilt quadrajet carburetor from Sean Murphy Induction was mounted to the Tomahawk intake.
Tags: NAPA, Sean Murphy Induction, Taylor, Tomahawk
Posted in Engine, Progress, Trans Am | No Comments »
