Slant 6 Turbo 68Dart Project

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gotta meet up with you one of these weekends and take some pictures of the cars together !
 
I was wondering if you were on Fabo cj. It would be fun to get a few people from the bay area to come out here before it rains. Have a "show". lol
 
Like to come and check out everyone's ride. Mine isn't much to look at but it is fun to drive.

Mike

Totally fine with me. I get excited every time I see an a-body. I stop them and immediately we are best friends.



I see this guy around all the time. He's cool too.
 
Well, woke up early here on Saturday - time to go do that cleanup in the engine bay -oh... so much for the drought.

Now I have to wait for it to dry up outside...

 
I got the fuel sorted out today. I backed off the idle screws a bit to make everything smoother at idle. This whole no-choke thing makes it hard to drive around in the early morning, but every other part of the day you can start it, warm it up, and go.

But the float bowl turned out to be too low. I took the sight screw out, and let the pump run, and nothing came out of the hole. You could see the fuel level and it was sitting just a little higher than the power valve, but not much. I raised the level with the pump running till fuel started running out the hole, then tightened it all back together. It no longer falls on its face while under boost.

The issue I'm chasing now is I think a mental one - but the car seems real slow when off boost. I think I am getting too used to having the boost - is this the "addiction" I'm hearing about? Otherwise it feels like a lot of acceleration is going on but no power. Maybe that's how it always was... I don't know. I think I might be ready soon to put the MBC back on and try and adjust it - only because it takes quite a bit of time to hit 5psi, and I want to get the MBC to a point where it is at 5psi at open, and then I can really adjust and tune everything.
 
when the motor is still cold but running. try double tapping the gas when you want to go. i have ran without a choke for years. there is a method to it. you will figure it out eventually.

yes your car is just that slow without the boost. put the mbc back on. there should be some adjustment in it that wont raise the boost pressure but will let the wastgate stay shut while spooling so you get to the 5 faster. almost as soon as the actuator starts seeing anything near the psi it is rated for it will start to open the wastegate. you could always shoot for a nice round number like 8. its still safe and will let you get dialed in for more in the future.
 
any luck keeping boost? sounds like a fuel issue. your afr gague should be able to tell you what is going on when it happens.
 
Still working it out. The blow off valve may be doing something - no matter how much I turn it out, it still blows back through the compressor quite a bit. The afr shows 11.2, then the whole system goes to about 20 and acts like i closed the throttle off. It probably is fuel but now that the hose is replaced I don't see a reason why it's not getting what it needs. More research I guess.
 
hmm. for ***** and grins check the rubber line before the pump. make sure that it wont collapse on itself easily. the extra draw under boost may make it pinch itself off cutting the fuel. might be worth using as much hard line as you can. something is cutting your fuel. at 5psi your base pressure should be able to fight the boost and with any rise with boost shouldnt be a problem.

the bov. have you tried pushing in the piston by hand before you put it on? was it really hard? it should be pretty easy because the boost holds it shut. did it come with any other springs?
 
Are you still using the original tank pick up? they are typically too small for real performance use, and the sock on the end is prone to clogging, showing up under high fuel demand situations as a starvation.
 
I'm going to assume it's stock unless someone replaced it in the past (which I doubt) but it seems others were not having this issue with the stock pickup, unless they replaced it with a different one I guess.

The only other thing I can think of now, is that the timing is set to 8* adv, with 10* mechanical adv, and then the vacuum advance that goes up a bit higher, but under boost, the vacuum advance shuts off, and I'd guess the car stays at 18* without moving forward or back (not sure if that's true) could this cause a limiter like that?
 
I also had another thought. There's a regular power valve in it. Could it be that the jets I have (70s) are not enough to compensate for this and the carb is just not crutched enough?
 
im gonna say no to the pickup and no on the timing. you are getting a lean condition. the timing isnt going to affect that that much and i have the stock pickup in my tank and i am pulling a lot of fuel through it with no problems what so ever.

something is causing your fuel to stop. either your bowls are draining and you are just running out of available fuel (pump isnt keeping up for some reason) or the boost is pushing the fuel back out of the line. do you have any filters in line? before or after the pump?
 
I have one filter directly before the pump. I have another wix inline filter I can put in if it'd do anything. Would there really be enough of a pressure increase in the bowl to force fuel back out of the needle and seat though? and I think I see what you're getting at with the filter, maybe it would keep the fuel from flowing back to the regulator if I add one after the reg?
 
Also videos disappeared off the thread, so here's this again:

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShEXj4EoeMs"]1968 Dodge Dart Turbo 5psi - YouTube[/ame]
 
filter before the pump is good. is it the clear kind that you see if its clogged or not? filter wouldnt keep the fuel from flowing backwards but a check valve would. the bowls see the same pressure as everything else in the system. if the boost pressure is higher then the fuel pressure its gonna push the fuel out. what are you running for fuel pressure? if you are only pushing 5psi boost try 6psi fuel pressure. the holley should be able to hold it. run it with the hat off just to be sure before you go driving it.

if your boost reference on the regulator is good (hose isnt blowing up or leaking) and your lines are clear there isnt a whole lot left. its a pretty basic system. i would look for collapsing lines before the pump. its gotta be something simple.

its a shame you dont live closer. i would love to help you figure this out in person. planning any east coast trips soon? lol.
 
Well figured that out. Wasn't fuel related at all - the blow off valve was leaking on the lower part of the gasket and it would slowly discharge when you let off the gas, then let it all out at once through the turbine hence the undulating noise. The blow off valve was not working, and essentially when it hit 5 you'd hear air escaping then the car slowed down. It will now hold 4 psi, and still opens at 5, but the car doesn't act like it hit a net anymore. I am curious if adding a BRPV to the setup will be a viable option to go for now.

I will also hook up the mbc and get that functioning once I figure out my kickdown. It was not operating properly and the car was really - really slow to start out, like it was starting in 3rd gear. I jerry-rigged a system to make it work ok momentarily, and it solved the problem, but now i need to build some permanent bracketry. I bought some more steel flat stock to make brackets, and will also use the stock to make some brackets to hold the boost hosing and wiring so it's not dangling in space. I may also choose another color for the engine bay. Not sure yet, but I'd like to clean this up and make it a little more cool. I am really a stickler for details like that, and right now, it's just not "pretty enough". ALso had someone look at it and they said "well it's rough, but if it works, it works" pah! jerk. It's not that bad. lol.

Here's how it sits now with some detailed close-ups.










GOPR0087_zpscdbaff43.jpg


I'm trying to find a rubber grommet for the valve cover i redid. The opening is not the same size as the chrome one so I have to find a different rubber part. I'll find one, get a new valve cover gasket, and then set that all up. Also thinking about painting the intake piping as the aluminum is just getting tarnished real fast. The piping on the uptake to the carb seems to be hitting a hood support as evidenced with scratches and some aluminum scuffed, so I'll have to cut that out of the hood brace section, but only a 3" wide piece or so. There's no making the piping any lower, as it already floats just slightly above the valve cover and alternator. Maybe the piping can be black? I don't know - trying to decide what would contrast well with a blue motor.
 
Well figured that out. Wasn't fuel related at all - the blow off valve was leaking on the lower part of the gasket and it would slowly discharge when you let off the gas, then let it all out at once through the turbine hence the undulating noise. The blow off valve was not working, and essentially when it hit 5 you'd hear air escaping then the car slowed down. It will now hold 4 psi, and still opens at 5, but the car doesn't act like it hit a net anymore. I am curious if adding a BRPV to the setup will be a viable option to go for now.

the bov isnt supposed to open until you let off the gas and it sees vacuum.

is your bov ran to a "t" in line with your pcv valve? it looks that way in the pics. if thats the case its not gonna work how its supposed to. the pcv will bleed off the vacuum signal and make the bov not work properly. sounds like it could be the reason for the slow discharge. is that line running your boost gauge too?
 
Yes and yes -gauge and bov are there. I originally had a line on the brake booster port, but I couldn't get something with the correct threads and they're likely messed up, so I had to go for option two since it leaked like seive. I figured the pcv port was just a port under the throttle blades so it would read manifold pressure. Now that makes sense though. Still learning... I'll find another way to get it to the manifold hopefully or find the correct thread fitting for the manifold. The black line on the back of the carb hat goes to the FPR.
 
just take the pcv valve out of the equation and cap off that part of the T for now until you figure something else out. its not going to make much of a difference as far as engine management goes. your breather might get a little oily though. it will save your turbo and make the bov work when its supposed to. the bov and boost gague from the same source is ok. do you have any other vacuum ports on the carb? if you ask what the thread is on slantsix.org im sure someone knows off of the top of their head. use some teflon tape and maybe some rtv if it is really buggered and it will seal. learning takes time and lots of mistakes. mistakes are the difference between being smart or wise.
 
Well today I'm waiting to get my cordless drill back from my sister who borrowed it, so I can drill out some holes in a throttle lever I'm making. It's going to extend the throttle arm that's on there. The stock one has a very small travel that doesn't allow the carb to open all the way when the pedal is floored no matter how I adjust the cable. Did some math, and got a nice position about 1 1/4" past the arm that I am going to use. This will also be a great spot for a straight down rod to operate the kickdown.

I've been using the stock kickdown for all the carbs I've put on the slant just with a different bent rod to the bellcrank for each different one. This one the arm on the throttle is too short even for that to work right - so this will solve two issues really.

Then I'll take a cruise to the hardware store again and see what I can do about the brake booster port.
 
Well got my brand new throttle cable ran during the kids' nap, and decided on just ousting the entire old one all together. It was fraying and not pulling all the way and doing weird junk so I tossed it, and put one of the Mr.Gasket cables and sheathes in. It was plenty long enough to go about 1' more if you need it to. Getting the old cable out was as simple as cutting the end off and pulling a clip ring off the inside, then it just all fell out, pulled the old cable through the pedal and tossed it. I bolted the new one up to the rubber grommets, and secured it, checked the pedal travel (you don't get that much pedal travel at all) and measured out a spot on the lever I just added to the carb to attach the other end. I measured the radius of both travels and the degree arc of both so they traveled the same distance, so I now get WOT. Before it was only opening about 3/4 of the way. I also adjusted the kickdown a bit, so that it now pulls all the way forward and back.
 
Invisible wall issue returned... so...

...dug into fuel a lot today. I've been doing a lot of test runs on the freeway. It seemed like if you hit 70mph, the car "ran out of gas" and in the last instance it actually died while doing 70. Luckily not far from an offramp and I was able to pull neutral and restart it instantly like nothing had happened.

I looked behind the fuel reg at the rubber line that came from the metal pump line to the reg and it had started doing a harsh 90* turn in a small space. I started the car, got out, headed over to the kinked up fuel line, pushed it so it bent more, and the car starved for fuel. ahhhhhhhhhh..... maybe this can be a problem. I removed all the rubber lines going to/from the reg and replaced them with braided metal lines, and moved the regulator forward in the engine bay to eliminate the harsh turn. I added a inline filter in the carb feed line just because I felt it could be a good addition if the rear filter ever fails for some reason, or just doesn't filter that well.

Anyway, I started it and that puppy was running so rich it was unbelievable. you could just smell it. Obviously i had adjusted the reg on top of the blockage which had just meant it was way out of control. I saw a lot of smoke blowing out the tail pipe too (white/grey/blue couldn't tell it's kind of dark). I adjusted the pressure down and the engine calmed down again and you could no longer smell gas, and it was running fine. I have yet to run it again after adjusting it in park, but it may or may not help the situation. The engine now also runs a lot smoother.

The thing I'm concerned with now is when I was driving on an offramp earlier, there was a stoplight, and the car behind me stopped a good 40 feet behind me at a red light... that's weird, normally people do that if your car looks off... I figured something is either leaking or it's blowing fire out the pipe or something. I revved it a lot in the driveway and at higher RPM's smoke comes out of the tail pipe. Still not sure which color to indicate what fluid, but there was also drops of stuff that shot out on the ground. I did the taste test and it tastes like nothing. Maybe dirty water, but not coolant - which is odd. This car had just run the freeway about 5 miles and 5 miles back, got up to temp, and drove back home in town, and it is acting like there is moisture in the pipe still.

The other thing is I can smell burning coolant, like I have a small leak somewhere, but can't find it. I know what it smells like, and those who also do know what I'm talking about. Oil has that specific smell when it burns off on something, and so does gas. This is definitly coolant - There's no evidence of it leaking, and the rad is still at a really good level and has not lowered any. - I'm stumped on that one, but I know what I'm smelling for sure.

More fun... right Jr and Bill? lol...
 
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