Request help with M1 alky

[wirenut]

Hi All,
If there are any experienced, seasoned M1 alky users here that would be willing to mentor me from time to time please PM me. I am runing a carbed 440 1/4 mile abody.
Thanks and Happy New year to all

 

[bOb shingler]

what do you need to know? maybe I can help.

 

[440outlawdart]

need to know more info on what you want to know,i run alky,also they talk about alky on yellowbullet too,lots of info between the 2

 

[wirenut]

I need to replace The carb bowls due to corrosion. is there anything better than direct replacement holley parts. I saw some quick fuel peices that were aluminum and anodized, and or saw some parts that are designed for ethanol. Maybey they would last longer.

How do you red the plugs or can you. They all come out looking brand new except for 2 cylinders (2 & 4) they always come out kinda rusty looking. Could that indicate a problem lurking? Like water or oil in the cylinder?

I have read that the fuel should be stored in metal containers. Why? I have some stored in good quality heavy plastic jugs. Is this a problem?

How would I know if there was ever moisture in the fuel. How would it effect the performance, what would be the signs?



Thanks for responding

 

[bOb shingler]

I need to replace The carb bowls due to corrosion. is there anything better than direct replacement holley parts. I saw some quick fuel peices that were aluminum and anodized, and or saw some parts that are designed for ethanol. Maybe they would last longer.

How do you red the plugs or can you. They all come out looking brand new except for 2 cylinders (2 & 4) they always come out kinda rusty looking. Could that indicate a problem lurking? Like water or oil in the cylinder?

I have read that the fuel should be stored in metal containers. Why? I have some stored in good quality heavy plastic jugs. Is this a problem?

How would I know if there was ever moisture in the fuel. How would it effect the performance, what would be the signs?



Thanks for responding

I trust you have a carb set up for alcohol use and not a gas carb?
the anodizied bowels are best. always drain the fuel system, air dry all the lines and spray wd-40 in the carb and pump when the hotrod is not being used for a few weeks. always use a top lube in the drum, and always buy it by the drum. never pour any back into the drum and always keep it tightly sealed. always use plastic cans never metal. you may have water sneaking in 2 & 4, check the head gasket or use a leak tester on those two.
everything you know about reading plugs toss in the trash can and only use ngk plugs, bp9es is a good start. what you are going to be looking at is timing mark on the ground strap. it should be at the 90* bend, no further. you can use less timing but never no more. you never want the timing mark to be pass the 90* bend and down torward the plug base ring. heat in the motor or power it's making is how much cadium is burnt off the metal plug base. it turns from the gold to a frost/gray color. this needs to be all the way around the base ring and up to no more than 3 threads. you do this by leaning main jets out.

 

[wirenut]

I dont really know if the carb is alky specific. It is a holley 750 vac sec.. It is jetted for alchohol, and I suspect the needle and seat are sized correctly. The only corrosion damage I can find is in the interior of teh bowls. I puchased the car as is. It was a succesful bracket car that was run in the south. I ran it this past year here in the north and it is fast consistent, so I think the basic set up is correct.

Yes I suspect a head gasket issue. It seamed I was losing some water. After about 8 passes the water would be down a quart or more, but the system is so small I wasnt sure if it was steaming off, and there was always a 1/2 quart or so in the overflow bottle. I thought maybe the small loss was efecting the engine temp because there wasnt much coolant there to begin with.

Im not sure I am following you re the plugs? But I will do some research and see if I can figure it out. Are you saying I should see a mark on the ground strap of the plug? On the side that faces the plug or on the side that faces the cylinder?

Does an UGO sensor/meter set up make sense for alky?

Thanks for your help Bob

 

[bOb shingler]

go to dragstuff.com, there is a tech article by mike canter that will clear your mind on plug reading.

 

[bOb shingler]

let me know how the reading goes?