Super Six install on 1974 Dart

[rich006]

The temperature sensor bung is actually 3/8" NPT as RRR said. The 3/8 plug seemed too big at first, but it went in after I cleaned out some residual plastic from the old temperature sensor. I used a little pipe thread sealer to prevent vacuum leaks, just in case.

 

[volaredon]

Should have bought 2 plugs. The other one would be for the EGR port under 1 of the carb barrel holes. Mine were caked with carbon but I was able to chase the threads with a pipe tap. Only difference is that I used plenty of red loctite on that one. Not pipe dope.
Never know with the one that you are showing, might be some reason later that you might want a vacuum nipple in there, (add on cruise control maybe?) With the pipe dope you should be able to get it out if the need arises.
For my application I hope it never does

 

[rich006]

The other one would be for the EGR port under 1 of the carb barrel holes

I didn't know that hole was threaded. Anyway, I plan to keep EGR functional. All components of it are working on my existing 1bbl setup except for the actual venturi signal from the carburetor. So I expect it should work OK with the new carburetor. I have the coolant temperature control, where the thermostat on the radiator blocks the vacuum signal when the coolant is cold. But I don't have any timer system that would use the now-missing air charge temperature sensor.

 

[volaredon]

Well it is, sure don't look like it is with the carbon that gets built up within it.
I bead blasted the one that I put into my son's truck and exposed parts of the threads...then I had t pick away at the rest of the buildup to expose enough thread so the pipe tap could start. I basically cut the rest of the carbon out with the tap.
Might want to check that if you want egr to work to be sure you got enough flow
Carbon/coking up is a common problem with egr systems, the newer stuff with it will set a code for insufficient flow.
If it don't set a check engine light i'd just about rather see them plug themselves to death. One less headache to worry about.

 

[Princess Valiant]

What a cool thread, thanks. This is the kind of stuff that keeps me dependent on fabo. I am fixin to this same swap on a 72 swinger. It's a Manual so no kick down linkage problem but same basic idea.

 

[volaredon]

Yeah doing this on a stick equipped vehicle is somewhat easier.
That said I've heard people say that you can go to the junkyard and pilfer the parts needed for the kickdown linkage from a Dakota or cherokee

 

[barbee6043]

I have been running one of those China knock off 2 bbl carbs ($80!) for about a year, no issues at all, works fine. I figured for $80 I would give it a try.

 

[rich006]

I have been running one of those China knock off 2 bbl carbs ($80!) for about a year, no issues at all, works fine.

Good to know!

I applied some epoxy with fairing compound to the air cleaner to smooth it out. Somewhere I saw a tip to add some talc to the mix to make it spread smoother.

 

[volaredon]

what is "fairing compound"?

 

[rich006]

what is "fairing compound"?

I guess it's a term used mainly in working on boats. It's basically like making your own Bondo out of 2-part epoxy with a powder filler, and you mix in the amount of filler for how thick you want it. I have two kinds of filler. The one I used here is easier to sand and goes on smoother, so it's good for the final coat. The other kind is more structural, very hard to sand but can fill big gaps. Either way you mix the two-part epoxy, then mix in the powder until it has the consistency you want: ketchup, mayo, or peanut butter. I used both kinds to patch my quarter panels, and it has held up well for several years.

 

[rich006]

I decided to make a carb heat shield out of 1/8” T6 alum. So that it fits under the carb and covers most of the manifold runners toward the valve cover.

I'd like to see a picture if you have one. Where will it mount?

 

[rich006]

I found material for a new air cleaner lid seal. "Ideal for automotive use." $4 at my local hardware store.

 

[rich006]

What is this gadget for? It goes in the vacuum line that controls the heated air inlet door. I've been playing with it while I'm waiting for a chance to sand and paint the air cleaner. When I apply vacuum to the large (white) side, equal vacuum appears on the small side, but if I then release the vacuum on the large side, the small-side vacuum slowly leaks down to zero. Is this thing just a "screen door closer" for the heated air inlet door, to keep it from slamming shut?

The white side says "SENSOR" on it. I guess that is to remind me that the white side goes toward the temperature sensor instead of toward the inlet door.

 

[rich006]

Once I get the manifolds off I'm going to take a better look at the freeze plugs, which seem to be oozing sealant or something. It's a dark odorless fluid. I don't know what kind of sealant the machinist used when he installed the plugs. I used Permatex #2 non-hardening on the oil pan, water pump, and other places and some of it seems to be sort of melting out, so I'm thinking the freeze plugs might have the same stuff. I'm not sure if that's normal but it is disconcerting. I haven't seen any oil or water leaks...yet.

 

[rich006]

I got the air cleaner painted. It's not perfect, but good enough for my car. The vacuum pod for the heater door is mounted in a small vise.

 

[rich006]

I bought the Remflex gaskets in case the donor two-barrel intake manifold doesn't match up perfectly with my original exhaust manifold.

 

[rich006]

Got a lot done yesterday- removed the one barrel carb and manifolds, mounted the 2-barrel intake on the original exhaust, and reinstalled. I also swapped in the 2-barrel kickdown linkage.

I did a little unintentional welding of my wrench on the starter terminal. Stupidly, I decided I didn't need to disconnect the negative battery terminal before removing the manifolds. Fortunately I wasn't hurt, just scared.

The solution:

Here's the combination of extensions that works well to get the lower center manifold nuts off (or on). The short extension just before the socket is the perfect length so that by rotating the extension you can get it to meet the nut. For installing the nuts, I followed Doug Dutra's suggestion to use a spare nut inside the socket so that the nut you're installing is positioned at the end of the socket rather than down inside.

When I had my engine rebuilt, the machinist told me the center stud was a bolt from the factory. He may be right about some years, but I know for certain that mine had a stud originally. Anyway, he lost one of the studs, so I used a bolt instead. When I went to remove it, coolant started leaking out into the channel in the top center of the intake manifold. So I put the bolt back in while I went looking for a stud.

I had some studs from the donor manifolds, but they had nuts frozen onto them. Unfortunately I couldn't get them off with soaking in PB and double-nutting on the other end. The doubled nuts just stripped off, even when I used Grade 5 nuts. Grade 8 nuts might have worked, but I decided discretion was the better part of valor in this case. Fortunately my True Value hardware store had replacement automotive studs the right size for just a couple bucks. A spray paint lid did make a pretty good soaking tub for small parts, but in the end this stud is trash.

 

[rich006]

Working smarter, not harder. For installation, the hoist helped me install the manifolds as high as possible on the head, as recommended by Doug Dutra for best airflow. I used a rope around the intake manifold center runners, and the intake/exhaust set was pretty well balanced like that.

 

[rich006]

The manifolds actually line up pretty well. It took me a few tries to get them bolted together straight, but once I did, the ports follow a straight edge pretty well. I think the Remflex gasket will be able to compensate for any unevenness.

 

[rich006]

I noticed there's a pretty significant slope to the carburetor mounting face. Looking at my original one-barrel manifold, it has the same feature, maybe a bit less exaggerated. I don't know if that's by design or just loose design tolerances. And now that I see the picture up close, I see that I probably should go back and clean up that EGR gasket surface...

 

[rich006]

I thought I needed to replace the bracket on the end of the kickdown linkage, because I'd been told that the D is oriented differently on the Super Six. However, the bracket original to my Dart is the same as the one that came from the donor 1979 Lebaron.

 

[/sixchall]

When I changed over to the Super Six set up awhile ago. I am using an after market chrome 14x3 air cleaner. I saw what you’ve been doing to restore your Super Six air cleaner and your doing a real good job. Heres a couple of pics of my Super six air cleaner with lid that I cleaned up. I also have the plastic pick up tube. I had thought of using the factory cold air set up but have been dragging my feet on it. Since using the open element air cleaner.

 

[rich006]

A cold-air intake tube would probably help a lot since my engine compartment gets pretty hot (block reads about 250 with a laser thermometer). Some time soon I'll try to run a tube forward to the headlight area.

 

[RustyRatRod]

I like how your air cleaner turned out. I think you did a nice job on it.

 

[rich006]

I like how your air cleaner turned out. I think you did a nice job on it.

Thanks! It looks pretty good on the internet, not as good up close. You might say it's a good 10 foot paint job. It will look better with the decal... The car itself has original paint with dings and all, so I'm not going for a show look anyway. I just want it to look clean and cared for.

I used Rustoleum Engine Enamel on the air cleaner, in case anyone is interested.