TWO LANE BLACK TOP

Was out with Girl earlier and ran across this today...

Rare 1995 Firebird convertible..

Medium Dark Metallic Purple...(05U)

3.4 (L32) engine...140 produced...

As has been indicated...

Use lots of penetrating  oil...Starting a couple of days before attempting to loosen the nuts/bolts...If you're going to replace the entire exhaust system from the exhaust manifolds back...I would highly suggest that you Cut the head pipes off as close to the manifolds as possible....To get them out the way...Allowing you to have more clearance and a straight shot to use the tools sockets/extensions..And or wrenches/tools that you intend to use...So the tools will fit flush (not on an angle) on the fasteners...Also be Sure to use (important) 6 point box end wrenches And or sockets...

If the manifolds have one stud/nut and one Nut/Bolt at the flanges....If the nut and bolt are frozen....just go ahead and cut or ring off the bolt and be done with it...If the nut is frozen on the stud try slowly working the nut back and forth (It may help it loosen it) Sometimes the stud itself may loosen in the manifold with the nut frozen on it and come out together which is good...If not heat the just the nut until it is red hot...Then using a squirt bottle with cold water in it...aim the cold water stream at the stud once the nut is hot...The cold water concentrated on the hot stud will cause it to shrink....Thereby allowing the hot expanded nut to easily come off Hopefully without breaking/galling the threads on the stud...

If you do wind up having to replace the stud...I highly recommend that you Do not use a hardened stud to replace it...Because hardened studs in that particular application are very prone to breakage Due to all of heating/cooling cycles they are exposed too...(changes the molecular properties of the steel making them very brittle over time)... If/when the hardened stud ever breaks...It will nearly impossible to remove/drill out...Compared to soft studs...

TLBT..

Welcome...

I see that you're in High Point... Not too far from me...

Happy to see another North Carolinian here...

There are a lot of photophiles here....We do love pics...

Was out and about a little while ago....

This car has been sitting umoved in this exact same place for at least 25 years...

1989/90...?? Cutlass Supreme...Quad 4 with 5 speed manual transmission

Frosty..

Work has slacked off significantly....So have been sort of focusing on my other hobby of girls...As of late...🙂🙂

She is a MOPAR girl and has a really nice all original 64 Dodge Polara...Equipped with a Polyspherical 318 CID engine and a push button shifted Torque Flight transmission...

I'm going to Refresh the engine (stock specifications) I will pay extra attention on balancing the rotating assembly...So that it will run sewing machine Smooth for her when I'm done with it...

Went to the local cruise in at Midway N.C today...The weather is windy and chili today...Wasn't much of a turn out today...Even though I'm generally too Lazy to carry my phone...I did manage to get a couple of photos...

1979 Z/28...4 speed

1958 MG...One of the straightest/rust free one's that I have seen in a long time...

Maserati..Aka Chysler LeBaron...

Token Pontiacs...

Have been away for awhile...Now I'm back...

Something that No one has mentioned...

The best way to guage the health of the rotating assembly (rods..Mains..wrist pins..piston slap etc..) Is to get someone to get in the driver's seat and start the engine...Once the engine is at operating temperature have them put it in gear...Have them hold the brakes really tight so the car can't move...Manually from under the hood at the carburetor/throttle body gradually open the throttle just enough to load the engine up... Just  to the point that everything is tight (drive line...And straining hard against the brakes) Hold it for 30 seconds or so...Then quickly let off the throttle...If you hear a slight knock or internal rattle when quickly unloading the engine...(you will have to listen carefully/closely) to pick up on it...That is a 100% sure fire sign that the rod/main bearings  clearances are getting  loose... And the bottom end and will need to be freshened  up...Sometime in the near future

Alot of people will do a top end rebuild (cylinder heads/valve grind...valve guides and springs...etc..Which is all well and good...the down side is...When everything is new and tight at the top... the  bottom end can/will develop a new rattle/knock... Because with everything being tight at the top...Any existing looser bearing clearances... in the rotating assembly will be amplified....along with worn bores and loose/worn pistons/wrist pins...etc.

TLBT

WTF...??....What is the Brand/Part number and Grind of the camshaft...?? The numbers should be on the front cam bearing journal and visible with the cam (top) timing gear removed...

The show is pretty much just a local Cruise in...Rather than a formal show...Takes place Every second Sunday of the month...Year around....Unless there is really crappy weather ...Takes place In Midway NC...About 5 miles from here...Sometimes there is very little Turnout...Other times you can't get near the place...Just luck of the Draw as to Turnout...There is a couple more shows taking place over the next two weekends...One in Walburg NC....2 miles (as the crow flies) To the Northeast of my location...The other is about a 15 minute ride from here...Just Inside the city limits of Winston-salem...Will more than likely attend both....Even though generally I'm too lazy to carry my phone around with me...I will make an effort to get some pics....For all you photophiles out there....🙂🙂

Cruise in today....Expected better turn out ....Was beautiful weather...

 One owner 1973 Dodge Charger...

 Token Pontiacs...

Have to acknowledge the Edsel...

Must have been Corvette day...

Fitzy... 

Some seem to think that removing the Intake cross over...Will give them a power gain ... By Isolating/Eliminating any  heat soak issues...Caused by the hot coolant flowing through the cross over...Theoretically... Allowing the gas in the Carburetor/carburetors fuel bowls... To maintain a cooler temperature...

I have never done it (removed the crossover)...I personally think that any perceived gain would be negligible at most...and Not Worth the Time...Money...effort/hassle....And realistically would probably cause other problems/issues...Especially on street driven cars...

A phenolic spacer between the carburetor and the intake manifold is a far better way of dealing with heat soak...

Just my two cents...

There Has been a rash of theft around my locality recently too...Have been making sure I keep everything locked up...But if they persist...

The coolant leak is more the likely coming from the intake manifold where the front timing cover slips into it... below the thermostat housing...Probably a bad 0 ring...

Thieves are the lowest of the low...Should be dealt with in a Very Harsh and Unpleasant manor... The first time...

Getting caught is never a good thing...Although everytime that I've gone to traffic court...I always run into someone that I know and haven't seen in years...Kinda like a reunion of sorts...I've also found out the hardway... That if the cops are close enough to see them in the rearview...You're already caught...You can't out run a Motorola...☹☹

I tried one time 40 plus years ago...While riding a Kawasaki KZ 1000... The North Carolina State trooper that finally got me was driving a mid 1970s Dodge...That had a dual quad 440 CID engine that had been Specially prepped and tuned by Maurice Petty...(Cheif engine builder for Richard Petty Racing) Specifically  For the state of NC...If I remember correctly the state had 10 of those "special" cars back in the day...

Forgot to mention it in my earlier post...

Something to be Very aware of...Pontiac and Chevrolet lifters are dimensionally the same...Height and Diameter...The difference between the two is the height of the oiling band/hole...On Pontiac specific lifters the oiling band/ hole is higher up on the lifter body from the bottom of the lifter....On Chevy lifters the oiling band/hole is lower (closer to bottom of the lifter body)...And alot of after market suppliers send the dimensionally same Chevrolet lifters...Which is normally Not an issue...

But with certain Pontiac specific Small Base Circle cam grinds...The oil band/oiling hole on the Chevy lifters will drop down below the bottom of the lifter bores on Pontiac engine blocks...Causing oil pressure/ lifter pump up issues...It is something to Pay Close Attention too...When installing your new lifters...

TLBT

Hope everything goes well with your epidermis issue...

Was looking at the test/ adjustment procedure for the voltage regulator and requires a specialty combination volt meter/ ampere tester ...That would have been common in most shops 60 years ago...But today not so much...My dad had one...But I haven't personally seen it in at least 30 years...and was probably liquidated during the estate sale 20 years ago...That being said...If you happen know an old school mechanic who may still have one then you may be in luck...Anyway here is the procedure for testing/adjusting the generator/voltage regulator...Hope this is legible enough to read...As I have no other way than the camera on my phone...

This particular manual is for a Buick...

None of my Pontiac shop manuals go back far enough to cover cars with a generator and the voltage regulator adjustment procedure...

For GM cars with an alternator (1963 forward) the external Voltage Regulator adjustment procedure is different and way less complicated...

I'm 99% sure that the same Generator/Regulator adjustment Procedure...is universal across all the GM brands...

Yes I managed to survive (just barely) My dinner date ...With a real girl ( even though she is partial MOPARs🤔) and will do it again within the next few days...

Yes your voltage regulator is definitely adjustable...Kind of pressed for time at the moment...(have a dinner date with a real girl).. Will post up the adjustment Parameters/ Procedure within the next 24 hrs.... If you're interested...

TLBT....

I'm sure that this will ruffle some feathers and get some hate...Polylocks on a basically stock valve train hydraulic lifter engine...Are not worth the effort or hassle....And there is No real advantage to using them...Unless you're running a Solid Roller or flat tappet cam... With roller rockers....

First things first...Remove all the rockers...Once the rockers are out of the way...Use a precision Straight edge ruler that is long enough to reach all of the valve stems at the same time...Put the edge of the ruler across the top of all the valve stems...To make sure that they are all the same height....If the straight edge is not touching all the valve stems...Use a feeler guage Set at .002 between the straight edge and the valve stems to tell if any of the valves are lower than the others...If the feeler guage slips in between the straight edge and valve stems on a couple of the valves...That is an Excellent Indicator that the Valve Springs are Weak or a possible retainer and lock issue.... And not pulling the valves closed all the way tight as they should...Which has an adverse effect on the valve seat pressure....Not to mention all the other related issues associated with that including bent pushrods...If one or two of the valves are higher than all the rest of the them...That is an Excellent Indicator of substandard Machine work...(Usually the valve seats cut too deep)...Can and will cause the pushrods to bend/brake...Pay special attention to the valve heights on the cylinder where the pushrods were bent/broken...

To properly set the Valve Lash/Lifter Preload...(hydraulic lifters) You can't just lock them down to 25 ft.lbs of torque...

Install the Rockers/Pushrods Loosely/Finger tight...Using a Breaker bar...Slowly rotate the engine (clockwise) by hand...Don't try to bumb it with the starter...When the exhaust valve on the #1 cylinder opens half way...Stop there... ( intake lifter is on the base circle/heel of the cam) Once the exhaust valve is halfway open...Then you can set the lash/preload on the #1 Intake valve...The best way to find zero lash is to using two fingers gently move the pushrod up and down (rotating the push rod can/will give you a false zero on the valve lash)...While slowly tightening down the rocker nut... Just as soon as the slack/movement of the pushrod stops...That is zero lash...then tighten the rocker 1/4 of a turn...

That should set the lifter preload to between .010 to .020....Measured from the bottom the the retainer in the lifter body to the top of the Pushrod cup...

Once the preload is set on the intake valve...Rotate the engine (by hand) all the way around until the #1 Intake valve opens All the way...And then Closes Half Way...Stop at that point...Then repeat the sequence of of finding zero lash then tighten 1/4 turn...On the #1 Exhaust valve... Then do the same thing on the rest of the cylinders in order...1-8-4-3-6-5-7-2...

Also while setting the valve lash look and make sure that the valve springs are not coil b inding...(Spring coils  collapsing in on each other when the valves are fully open) If the cylinder heads were just resurfaced (usually around .010 to .015 maybe .020 If they have never been cut before...The pushrod length/geometry should not be an issue....

As far as the lifters go...Unless the liters are mushroomed or excessively worn...they are probably Ok...Sometimes if the hydraulic lifters don't appear to pump up like they're supposed to it could very well be some crap in the oiling holes/ on the inside of the lifter body...The hydraulic lifters are easily disassembled/reassembled order to thoroughly clean them out...

Has been a long day.... Ya'll have good evening

TLBT...