martybose

I wouldn't worry about pegging the ammeter. I've got an 80 amp alternator on my car, and if I run it slowly (so the alternator doesn't energize) and have the headlights on, then raise the RPM a bit the gauge shows a maximum of about 30-35 amps, but just for a few seconds, then it goes down. Unless you charging into a dead short or a HUGE bank of lights, you'll normally see just a small charge. If memory serves, my alternator is wired to the old batt terminal off of the old voltage regulator. My voltage meter simply picks up power from the ignition switch. The excitor wire isn't really needed. I had one installed from the coil (with a diode in the circuit) when I had my 6V alternator installed, but installed my 12V alternator without one. It doesn't charge immediately until the RPM is raised a bit, then charges continuously until the engine is shut off. It's not a big deal. Marty

I have been having just a little pinging on very light acceleration, but it would stop under full or near full throttle. So I took off the vacuum advance to see what would happen. What I found is that it didn't ping under any circumstance, but it would pop back through the exhaust system if I took my foot off of the gas. As a result of this experiment I tried limiting the amount of vacuum advance to just 10 degrees, which has improved the situation a little. I'm slowly approaching the idea of spending way too much money for a dual channel wide range A/F gauge system, as my current suspicion is that my Carter-Weber/Edmunds combo may be going lean under light acceleration until either the secondary or the power valve gets involved. I'll need instrumentation to prove it. Marty

My mechanic said that it does two things. It prevents fuel from condensing on a cold manifold, and it aids in vaporization of the fuel. Both seem a good thing to me. Marty

Interesting. I was conducting an experiment with my ignition system a week ago, and was driving it with initial timing at TDC, no centrifugal advance and the vacuum advance disconnected, and it was popping like crazy on deceleration. Reconnecting the vacuum advance quieted it down significantly. Marty

Not always true. My 47 is running a pump with the later 6 blade cast impeller and no thermostat or restrictor. It runs at 160 degrees around town and 170 on the freeway, according to my recalibrated temp gauge. The only time it heats up more is when it is sitting still, since I don't have an engine-driven fan anymore; it heats up to about 180 degrees and then the electric fans come on. I've been driving around in 95 degree weather with these results. Marty

A week ago I was driving my 47 and a Corvette club was coming out of a parking lot. It was a 4-way stop, and I waved one of them ( a late model Vette, all tricked up) through. The guy was showing off for his buddy and stood on it as he made the turn which then started fishtailing, only missed me by about a foot when he over-corrected and finally banged it off of the street curb, which at least stopped him from further oscillations. Definitely scratched up his polished rims, if they didn't bend them. Don't you just love mid-life crisis drivers? Marty

I also have a set of CW's on my car; I took them out of the box, bolted them to the adapters, connected the fuel lines, ran power to the electric chokes, and started the car up. I haven't touched them since. Marty

One name on the tip of your tongue is Rhode Island Wiring. Marty

Yep, and a modern speaker will work just fine that way. Marty

Made my donation this morning; keep up the good work, GTK! Marty

A Radio Shack speaker will work just fine. When I cleverly put a screwdriver through the cone of the original speaker in my 47 , I got a Radio Shack speaker, wired it up and it worked perfectly. Marty

My wife bought me one recently that says "I NEED my garage time!" Marty

Two possibilities could account for that: 1. The gauge is wired backwards. You didn't by any chance change to negative ground on the electrical system? 2. The headlights don't draw power through the ammeter. If you have a relay in the headlight circuit and the relay draws power directly from the battery (like mine does), turning on the headlights will make the generator/alternator work harder, which will show as a higher charging rate. Marty

If mounted as Langdon recommends (fuel fitting forward), the throttle lever works in the opposite direction from the standard carb. If you are using a short manifold, a cable system and the system shown above works great. If you are using a tall manifold, like my Edmunds, you can make something that works with the original linkage, but it ain't cheap!! Here's an old picture of my engine showing the linkage; the engine is much cleaner and polished now. Marty

Just make sure that you torque everything to the appropriate values. Most studs have a fine thread on the nut end, and use a much lower torque setting. For example, a head bolt might be torqued to 70 lb-ft, but a head stud would only need 55 lb-ft to achieve the same clamping power. Marty

Why not just put a 100 ft hose on a reel and just run it from your garage to the basement when you need it? Seems a lot cheaper than buying another compressor .......... Marty

Why not try letting it go into 2nd OD? I've found that 2nd OD is the perfect gear for merging into traffic on the freeway, then shift directly into 3rd OD and cruise on down the road. Marty

I've got the Carter-Webers, and like them a lot. The only issue with them is to make sure that there is enough distance between the carb mounts so that the rather large electric choke on the front carb clears the rear carb. Mine didn't clear on my Edmunds manifold, which required some re-engineering to work. My guess is that either carb will work fine, with the added benefit that both have vacuum-operated power valves, which really make a difference. I had previously tried the hotrod standard, dual Stromberg 97's, and despite lots of time invested, I could never get them to work well at all engine speeds. I couldn't get to the manual power valves before the engine started detonating rather severely. I bolted the Carter-Webers on, connected the fuel lines, and haven't touched them since I got the linkages synchronized. A far superior carburation system! Marty

I too couldn't get my head studs to seal using the ARP paste, but had good success with the Permatex Aviation form-a-gasket as recommended by one of the other forum members. Marty

My 2003 Honda. I bought it new, kept the service current, and it was up to 178,000 miles and still wasn't using any oil yet. Then it got rearended while I was standing still by a Chevelle doing 60 who wasn't paying attention, jammed me under the back of a pickup with the tailgate just inches from my windshield. Tweeked every body panel, I bent the seatback about 10 inches when it got hit. I drove it home that night, but it had pulled almost every weld in the body, so my insurance totalled it. Marty

Darn; I thought they were going to do front turn signals first. Marty

Being out in the sun accelerates the deterioration of the tires, but not being in the sun does not prevent deterioration ............ Marty

I hope you know WHY the old battery exploded. When I bought my 47 it started and ran just fine, but every time I took it for a longer drive the battery would boil over. It turned out that the previous owner had put a 12V generator and regulator in the car as a first step for a 12V conversion, then decided to sell it to me, and put the 6V battery back in it without mentioning the changed generator! Marty

Ed, I'm pretty sure that my extra one is like this one. Unfortunately, it is apparently in one of the boxes in my loft, so it will have to wait until the weekend so that I can dig it out. Marty