Took Wednesday off to work on the car and also put in a few hours today. Wrapped up making the fuel supply lines and finished a few small items. Need to make a bracket to support the regulator yet. I also plan to pressure test all of the lines after rounding up a couple fittings to complete the testing manifold. I started tackling the wiring today. Have a handful components to get sorted out. Holley HP EFI harness, Fast Dual Sync Dis, MSD Digital 6AL box, Fuel pump/relay, and a Vintage Air unit. It was daunting at first but picked away at it and think I have a good plan now. I’m hoping to take another day off this week to keep at it.

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Looks great Ed. Good job.

Thanks Tones! :cheers:
Was out in the garage by 630 this morning. Other than stopping to mow the lawn it was a productive day on the car. Wiring is over half done and I got most of the fuel lines flushed and pressure tested. Should have time this weekend to keep plugging away.

Here’s pics of the pressure testing setup. I flushed the hoses with water then attached the valve side and blew them out with air. After that I attached the gauge and pressurized the hose. I let it sit a couple minutes listening for leaks and watching the gauge then bled off the pressure. So far no leaks. :hapdance:
http://i923.photobucket.com/albums/a...o/IMG_0527.jpg
http://i923.photobucket.com/albums/a...o/IMG_0530.jpg

Ed it looks nice and neat, and that's a nice test setup.

This certainly isn’t as big of a deal as others are experiencing for weather or flooding this year. I just thought I’d share the “excitement” we had this morning. A crazy thunderstorm rolled thru last night. It was nonstop high winds, down pouring rain, lightning and thunder for 3-4 hours. When I got up this morning I hopped in my truck to go see if anything blew away at our office and was met by our friendly law enforcement on our washed out road.

http://i923.photobucket.com/albums/a...526_090336.jpg

We have approx 1/3 mile of gravel from the concrete road of our development to the city street. It crosses a small creek about halfway. (normally 2' wide) There is a pasture on one side and backyards of another development on the other. The barbwire fence of pasture caught debris and created a dam which backed up the water enough to top the road and wash out more than half the road width. I can tell from the knocked over grass that the flow was over 100’ wide at one point last night. This road is our only way in or out.

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With it being a holiday weekend only one of the city maintenance guys were in town. Thankfully he was kind enough to come lend a hand. I spent over an hour pulling/digging away the debris on both sides to open up flow. It started raining again when I was out there so I got thoroughly soaked and covered in mud. I clipped the bottom 3 runs of barbwire covering the culvert to help prevent this from happening again. The cattle aren’t going to fit through the 24” culvert anyways…

The maintenance guy grabbed the city’s pay loader and made trips through town to bring 5 bucket loads of gravel to get us temporarily fixed up. We removed the big rocks around the gas line and backfilled around it by hand after it was inspected for damage.
http://i923.photobucket.com/albums/a...526_085101.jpg

The city has plans to pave this road when the pasture gets developed for housing. Hope that day comes soon since it'd be much nicer to drive the Camaro on.

Thanks Wayne, I appreciate the compliments!

Spent all of yesterday working on the car. All fuels lines are done and pressure tested. The supply line off the tank leaked during the pressure test. I mixed up some soapy water and found it coming from the swivel nut portion. I reassembled with a dab of thread sealant and that did the trick. Until that point I had left the male/female AN threads dry during testing.. I also got the II Much Fab fuel tank vent installed and plumbed and a few more electrical connections completed. Hope to work more on the car tonight or tomorrow. We have some misc remaining parts arriving on Tuesday so I’m hoping next week brings a more exciting update to this thread.

http://i923.photobucket.com/albums/a...o/IMG_0538.jpg

Between lat-g, google and you tube I’m starting to feel like I could rule the world! :sarcasm_smiley: J/K But I have been learning a lot as I go with this project. Pretty much everything I’m doing is a first for me. Yesterday I did find TDC for the first time in my life after some reading and watching a video. I gutted an old spark plug, drilled it out, ran a piece of all thread thru it, then ground down a jamb nut so it would fit into the head threads. Our old cast iron heads are laying around yet so I had something to test fit before trying on our aluminum RHS heads. I verified I was on the compression stroke by holding my finger over the #1 plug hole as I manually turned the crank. Then I inserted the piston stop into cylinder 1, placed a piece of tape on the balancer, turned the crank slowly until it stopped and marked the 0 location on the tape. Then I spun it the opposite direction until it stopped and marked the 0 location on the tape again. Wrapped a small piece of paper around the balancer, transferred both marks to it, matched up the two marks while folding in half to find the center point, then wrapped it back around the balancer and marked the center point on the tape. Not too surprising but it matched perfectly to the original line on the balancer.

http://i923.photobucket.com/albums/a...pistonstop.jpg

Took some time but since we bought the engine preassembled and I was not around the shop when it was installed I would have been making an assumption that it was right. I’ve learned the hard way on this car that ASSumptions only cost us more money and time later. Time to get the distributor installed and verify the plug wires still fit.

Better safe than sorry!

Thanks Ratman!

Holley's TB says 1000cfm. Yes, this system uses an O2 sensor.

It was a long week of ups a lot of downs and some ups again. Sometimes these cars just kick you square in the nuts! :bang: Chased a ton of gremlins. Most of them came from a couple wiring issues (my mistake) and a usb driver/old ECU firmware issue (bought the Holley setup 2 years ago). Worked till midnight a couple nights and took some extra time off work. On Thursday I started over and worked thru the instructions several times and found the wiring issues. Friday morning we could get it to fire but it wouldn’t stay running. The timing was bouncing around and couldn’t be adjusted. In the afternoon we called Holley’s tech line and that’s when we figured out the firmware/software weren’t jiving. I hadn’t thought that was an issue since the computer and ECU were talking. After updating everything we prevailed and got the car running. It started off pretty rough but began to smooth out after we got the timing synced to the software. It is pretty cool to watch the system learn and self-adjust.

Unfortunately the issues kept us from making a local cruise night. On the plus side working through the issues has given me a thorough understanding of all of the new system components. Another positive thing from this week is that my dad came over last Sunday afternoon and Monday evening to lend a hand. We run a business together but haven’t spent that kind of personal time together in years. Really hope to keep that going.

Still have a list of things to button up before the first drive. She’s getting close but time for a short breather.

http://i923.photobucket.com/albums/a...o/IMG_0578.jpg

Awesome Ed....


The time spent with "others" doing these projects -- to me -- is the very best part of the whole deal.

I agree Greg. Other than the initial motor/trans swap, I've done about all the work myself. I don't mind working alone... But I must say it was great sharing the experience with my dad. Plus there are few things that just require an extra set of hands. He stopped by for a few minutes Friday night just to see how it was looking and hear me fire it up. I think he was more excited to hear it run then I was.

That's great, I miss the time I had with my father. Glad its on the tail end and you'll be driving soon.

I know this is from an older post, but I love this photo Ed!

Thanks Wayne.

Thanks Tones. I've got a few more things to clean up under the hood. I'll be sure to keep posting pics for your viewing enjoyment!

Been a long couple of months since we fired up the car and I last posted an update. Illness and death in the family along with a crazy work load can really burn a person out. Thankfully things are normalizing.

Took a little time off work this week and got some things buttoned up on the car.
Heat shield on fuel lines
Adjusted exhaust to add clearance to fuel lines and built new/better muffler hangers
Installed speedo gear/adapter
Wrapped up AC wiring and cleaned up wiring under dash
Fixed a clearance issue between the throttle linkage and air cleaner base and took slack out of throttle cable
Installed seat belts in the back seat and a hook in the package tray for our son’s car seat
Got the AC charged
Buttoned up the engine bay and cleaned the interior.

Driving to the AC appointment Wednesday was the first time the car has been on the road in 2 years. Man, it’s crazy to think about that… After picking it up I put on 20 miles of town and hi-way driving. There is a bit of a stumble when taking off with too low of RPM that I still need to figure out. But other than that the EFI really lets the car pull strong and smooth.

Yesterday our town had a cruise night. It was great to finally be able to load the family up and go for a drive. Made a couple laps around town then met up with some friends. They had never seen the car out of the garage before. Hung out with them a while and then decided to take a couple more laps and head home. Traffic was bumper to bumper at a snail pace which really sucks with a torquey big block and manual trans. We decided to head towards the edge of town and do a loop around the industrial park then head home.

A couple blocks away from home the exhaust fumes/gas smell got really strong. We’ve got a header leak and the tune seems to be running rich so I assumed it was coming from that. We got her pulled into the garage and I noticed wet spots on the driveway and floor. It was gas! I did a once over of all the fittings I could easily access and did not see an drips. I cycled the fuel pump a few times and finally found the leak. It was a pretty rapid drip coming out of the braid hose that runs from the driver side fuel rail behind the distributor to the regulator. It was dripping onto the EFI wire harness then down on to the bell housing. Thank God nothing caused it to ignite! :confused59: I was not able to pin point where the leak originates from. It seemed to be coming through the braided ss at the low spot but I could not see an obvious hole. It could be coming from a hose end and traveling down to the low spot. There are no pinch points and the hose is not rubbing on anything. Everything was hot so I did not dig into it too much. I wiped up what I could and put a fan blowing on the engine bay to cool it down and dry it off. I had pressure tested every hose before final install and fire up. Hopefully I find something obvious and can get it remedied quickly.


Here's some obligatory crappy cell phone pics from Wednesday.. Will shoot some better pics and maybe a video next time we take the car out.
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And just for fun, I thought I’d share how my uncle packages his sweet corn. He works pretty hard all year long to stock piling these boxes. :happy23: :lol:
http://i923.photobucket.com/albums/a...808_174521.jpg

Sometimes the AN 37* stuff can be tricky to get to seal.... So I'd back off the fitting and then sneak up on it three or four times - backing off - and then tightening it again.

Sorry to hear you've had "issues"! Life has a habit of getting involved while we're making other plans...


Looks great Ed!

I hope you get it figured out and its an easy fix.

Thanks for the tip Greg. I'll give that a shot first when I get back out there.

Yes, life can be a b*tch at times!

Thanks man!

Thanks Wayne, me too.

If your uncle needs help generating carriers, let me know. :happy23:

I hope you find the cause soon Ed. Car looks killer man!

HA HA! I know, right? :cheers:

Thanks Tones!

I think he's got it covered! But it's always good to have drink'n buddies. :cheers:

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NICE!!! :D

Motor looks amazing bro---reminds me a lot of Chris Robinsons and Todd Akes setup---and both of those cars engine compartments are some of the best looking out there---you are hanging right with them-----nicely done man!

D

Damn Doug, thanks for the compliments! Both of their builds were inspiration to me. Definitely flattered to be considered in their ranks. :thankyou:

I took a minute today and pulled the leaking fuel line. My plan was to pressure test it again but there was an obvious burn spot on the braided SS. :brix:
I investigated a bit and found the wires that shorted on the line. Looks like some electrical tape came undone and exposed a couple bare wires. This bit of wiring is another lovely thing that makes me want to slap the previous owner/builder. :twak: I don’t understand the laziness in leaving bare wires so long when crimping ends on them… :sieg:

I can’t totally blame them for this incident. I really should have traced these down and cleaned this crap up when I was installing the EFI. I’ve got some more braided line on the way and should have it fixed up this weekend.

I am extremely thankful things did not get out of control the other night! It certainly could have gone horribly bad in a hurry.

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Yikes! Keep checking the rest of the wiring--it would be worth your efforts it looks like. Glad you found out the easy way bro!

D

I learned the hard way to NEVER wire tie a wire to braided ANYTHING... that stuff is like 80 grit!!


I don't run braided next to anything I don't want a hole in!


LOL

Nice build, just read through it.

Glad you find the culprit Ed. Hopefully that is the only "mistake" you find. Yeah, braided wire can be a bit abrasive.
Good luck man! :thumbsup:

For sure! I had a spare moment today so I looked over the wiring some more. I found a 12" section that had all of the insulation burnt completely off. That must have been cooking a while.. These wires are bundled with sensor wires that go back to the gauge cluster. I don’t recall losing any gauges so I’m going to have to do some investigating. Looks like I have a bit of a re-wire project ahead of me.

Wasn't tied to it but I left the wires loose and didn't prevent them from touching the braided line. The wiring will be much improved when I’m done. I'm also going to sleeve the new hose with a heat shield when I replace it for an extra layer of protection.

Thanks Wan Man!!

Looks like I have more to track down but we’ll keep after it and get it all sorted out. Hope to drive it to a show on Sunday.

Spent all day yesterday doing yard work and did not get out to work on the car. I made it out there today while our son was napping.

The fried wire was originally pink and was bundled with a white wire that was labeled as a ground. The pink was too destroyed to see any wording. I started tracing their path and pulling them loose. They were taped together with most of the main wiring harness. One bundle went to the starter, another that went to the electrical bulkhead and the others were all of the gauge senders. Getting at wires between the bell housing and firewall is a PITA. My hands had to contort in in ways they never have before. :lol: Some of the electrical taped was soft and slimey. I’m not sure if that’s from heat or from the fuel leak. It was quite the mess.

Here’s some of the carnage.
http://i923.photobucket.com/albums/a...o/IMG_2271.jpg

Here’s the 2 larger wires/terminals I found them connected to. The white was labeled ground and the pink said it was an ignition feed. Thankfully the car has an AAW setup and I could reference a diagram. These appear to be what hooked up to an old distributer. That must have been a while ago since they’re not used with my current Fast or the MSD Pro Billet that came on the car. These 2 connectors were placed right next to each other in a ball of electrical tape with no insulation between them. If the other ends hadn’t shorted out then these might have later anways.

http://i923.photobucket.com/albums/a...o/IMG_2273.jpg

Should be able to get these cleaned up and make up the new fuel line next time I’m in the garage.

Had a little more time this evening so I started cleaning up the wiring. Got a couple of the runs done. Still need to handle the gauge sender wires.

Capped off the larger white and pink wires. They appear “ok” so I decided to leave them in the area in case I ever need them.
http://i923.photobucket.com/albums/a...o/IMG_2297.jpg

I’m replacing the electrical tape with DEI heat sleeves and locking it in place with heat shrink.
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Much better Ed.
Kind of like a blessing in disguise, huh?

:thankyou: Yeah, I'm glad to find the issues before anything crazy happened.

Woke up early and got out to the garage by 6am. I wanted to get some work done while everyone was sleeping and before it got hot outside. 90+ temps with humidity make the garage no fun..

Wrapped up the wiring cleanup project and got the new fuel line made up. I sleeved it with a piece of DEI Fire Sleeve. That combined with getting the wires secured should be a major safety improvement. I also went back over all of the AN connections and loosened/re-tightened them 3-4 times as Greg suggested.
http://i923.photobucket.com/albums/a...o/IMG_2405.jpg

I threw on a Holley fuel pressure transducer while I was at it.
http://i923.photobucket.com/albums/a...o/IMG_2411.jpg

As previously promised, here are a few better quality engine bay pics.
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http://i923.photobucket.com/albums/a...o/IMG_2410.jpg

I like the black MSD bock looks much better.

Doing a great job in the wiring. Looks better and will be safer.

Keep it up.

Looks great Ed. My only constructive criticism is the upper radiator hose. I don't think it fits the car.

Thanks Jeff. Repainting the box was real easy. The kitchen appliance enamel I used is holding up well.

Thanks Todd. I got out voted on that one.

Looking VERY nice! would love to EFI my BBC one day! Nice Pics