big block to go in ashley's zephyr

[mygasser]

the carb kit and matching (to the rocker covers) edelbrock air filter arrived this afternoon so we can get them sorted tomorrow. that'll allow us to test the gearbox which of course is easier now the prop's fitted and the brakes work.
neil.

[mygasser]

not much today but the carb's fully rebuilt and sat back in place. we'll have it running again and set up tomorrow.
neil.

[mygasser]

with the carb bolted on and everything connected up (including the return springs we'd forgotten) we fired it up and ran it through the gears a couple of times before checking the fluid and adding another litre.
then..... disaster!! ash loaded up the box in gear and the fan chewed it's way into the ally rad' bending the fan blades at the same time. aaaarrrrrggghh! so with the option of replacement at this short notice out of the question we had to lay it flat, squeeze the damaged tubes flat and clean them with brake cleaner. then we mixed up some fibreglass filler and squeezed it into the damaged areas, waited for it to set and blacked that side of the rad's core. then refit it and run it again, only a slight drip now so ash' got a radweld (i know i don't like them either but needs must) and run it again. this appears to have stopped it, fingers crossed
we looked into the reason for so much movement to allow fan/rad' contact and what appeared to be a good gearbox mount was only hanging onto it's bonding by a thread, doh!. againg getting a replacement this late wasn't an option so we welded a couple of bits of scrap across the 'join' effectively making it solid. oh no you say but wait..... the gearbox crossmember on mk3 zephyr's is rubber mounted at the chassis so we're good. next we trimmed the plug leads to neater lengths and added roadkill wire seperators as the new ones were too loose to hold these ngk leads. now just the flip front to fit and we're done, oh and even more cleaning as everything right back to the bootlid is covered in water drop marks.
neil.

[mopar_mark]

Tough luck on the fan/rad saga, as always you seem to fight on till it’s fixed.

Good luck with the rest of the build

[mygasser]

Tough luck on the fan/rad saga, as always you seem to fight on till it’s fixed.

Good luck with the rest of the build

thanks Mark,
we had to stop and take a breath. then decide how to make the best of the bad situation
luckily my glass is half full (you need to be old enough to get that, lol).
neil.

[mygasser]

the flip front's fitted and lights connected. ash is currently polishing the slot mags as he's a tart, lol.
neil.

[mygasser]

and there it is back out in the wild

[ScottyDave]

Fantastic Neil, mission accomplished

[mygasser]

Fantastic Neil, mission accomplished

yes mate, thanks. i never doubted it .........
neil.

[mygasser]

ash' popped round after work so we could check the timing and points gap on his zephyr. it barely had 8 thou' points gap and the timing was a bit retarded. it revved much more 'crisply' afterwards. he called when he got home and said it's better but still seemed slower than the 350 chevy he had before. yes, that had a performer cam kit and headers but was otherwise similar spec to the 352 fe fitted now. probably the bigger change is going from the old 3.73 diff ratio to the new 3.25 ratio, that'll make the car noticeably less 'nippy'.
so..... on the basis i'll be having that engine once the car's rebuilt (again) with the 440 engine i've ordered an old crane cams fireball 296 cam, a set of new lifters, a double roller timing set and a full gasket set.
oh and we'll be making fenderwell headers for it too, lol.
neil.

[mygasser]

ashley's header flanges arrived from whengparts yesterday. he's bringing the zephyr back later in the week so we can start swapping parts for more power. we have cam', lifters, double row roller timing set and we'll be making fenderwell headers.
neil.

[mygasser]

it just occurred to me that we didn't get uprated valve springs for ashley's engine. so back to rock auto and we have a set on the way for a 428 cobra jet mustang. installed and open poundages are about right for the cam we're installing and they're cheaper than a 'brand' name, although they are melling so a decent well respected maker anyway.
neil.

[mygasser]

valve springs arrived today so we have everything needed to start on the engine.
neil.

[mygasser]

we've got the new big block mopar ally rad' mounted to ashley's zephyr over the weekend. handily the hose fittings are the same sides as a ford fe too so just some minor hose trimming to connect it up. we now have at least an inch and a half between the rad' core and the fan so contact there again is almost impossible.
neil.

[mygasser]

ash' drove it home yesterday. he went through the town to get a takeaway and said it started again easier and by the time he got home where the temp' gauge used to read 1/2 it was only 1/4. sounds good to me

neil.