martybose

I finally gave up and took a chisel to free up one of the door locks. Then I made up a steel ring with a setscrew to retain the new one. Marty

If you've hit the movement limit on the bolt into the block, don't forget that there is also a range of adjustment on the bolt that goes up into the distributor housing on that same arm. Marty

Mine was both C6 and C7. The operation is not a big deal; they just carefully used the medical equivalent of a Dremel tool to open them up. It took less than an hour in the operating room, and I went home that afternoon. I was back to work in a little over a week. Definitely time for a new doctor! Marty

Reach is indeed the thread depth. The stock head takes a 3/8" reach plug, so far it seems that the Edmunds (mine) and Fentons (other folks) take 1/2" reach plugs. I ran an Autolite 306 until I figured out the reach issue, then switched to an Autolite AP425 which is 1/2" reach ( I called the Autolite tech line for their recommendation). Any variation in the 425 designation will be right, the AP is what I could find to try. But you do have to chase the threads first if you've been running 3/8" plugs for a while! Marty

Pat, When I was having similar problems with my left arm they put me in all sorts of therapy, which did nothing. After I complained loudly, they did an MRI on my neck and discovered that the nerve bundles that control the arm and hand were being pinched where they came out of two vertebrae (sic). The holes they come through were closing up! They operated on my neck 5 years ago, no problem since. MRI can be a pain, but they can tell you things you'll never find out about otherwise. Marty

Looks like your Fenton head requires a 1/2" reach plug, just like my Edmunds does. I used an Autolite AP425 in mine; a little pricey, but then nothing but the best for my flattie! Marty PS You will probably want to chase the sparkplug threads before you put the 1/2" reach plugs in!

If you've already checked your valve clearances and they are okay, have you checked your compression? It could be one valve that is leaking slightly. Or it could be one cam lobe that is worn down. Or several other equally expensive problems ..... Marty

I'm with you on this issue. I actually like doing wiring, I've got the tools etc., but when I did my 47 I call Rhode Island Wiring, specified 6 or 8 changes I wanted, and they built it for me. It was worth every cent. Marty

I have run my 47 with no bypass and no thermostat for a couple of years. For all practical purposes, I couldn't tell the difference! My car ran at about 180-190 in either case, and it is warmed up within a mile from my house. The engine is apart to fix a sparkplug hole problem in my Edmunds head, and I will probably add a washer of some sort to add a little restriction in the thermostat location. My mechanic thinks doing so will help get more cool water to the back of the block, as well as circulate a little more hot water through my intake manifold. Right now I'm working on sealing up all of the head and waterpump bolts/studs! Marty

This surprised me, as I've never had any starter issues with my hopped up 230. Are you sure that you've got good grounds to the block and 0 or 00 gauge wiring to the battery and starter? Marty

Maybe it depends on how big an alternator you have. Mine is an 80 amp, and rarely pegs the ammeter more than a second or two. Marty

You probably want to get a 12V coil and switch the wiring. You also want to be sure about whether you need to add a ballast resister (wired with a bypass from the starter solenoid) or not (if you have an internal resistance coil). Marty

Assuming you are setting up 12V negative ground, just switch the wires on the amp gauge and it will be fine. Get a 12V starter solenoid. As far as the OD, if you're talking about the solenoid bolted to the tranny, I'm told it should be fine. If you're talking about the control circuit, there are 12V alternatives available. Marty

Rodney, I can relate to your story! Yesterday I picked up my 89 year old mother to bring her to my daughter's birthday party, and she was disappointed that I didn't pick her up in my 47. I had to explain that I had the motor apart (again), then she made me promise to give her a ride once it is back together again. Marty

I was on the old forum under the same name. I've owned my 47 since 1994, when I bought it as a partially restored stock car. It's been a project in progress since then, and probably always will be! It's had two different heads, three different induction systems, two different transmissions, and the engine is apart again while I clean up some details that were bugging me. Hope to be driving it again by this summer. Marty

Good point! I've already purchased a new hose just in case. Marty

An Edmunds alloy manifold has more sex appeal, but I suspect that the Asche setup probably works as well. Marty

I used a universal V-8 MSD sparkplug wire kit; 90's at the distributor, straights at the plugs. Marty

It's just a 12V battery split into two banks with a series/parallel switch. It is in parallel normally, but switches to series when you hit the starter button. I had one in an old 6V Volvo that I put a later 12V motor into a LONG time ago. Marty

Do you have a combo valve or a standalone proportioning valve? A combo valve would have two lines from the master cylinder (generally to a pair of center fittings) and another pair of lines to the front and rear brakes. A standalone proportioning valve would be in the rear brake line only, so it would have a single line in and a single line out. Marty

Generally a proportioning valve is used on a car with front disk/rear drum brakes. Since disk brakes typically require higher line pressure than drum brakes, a proportioning valve is there to limit the pressure to the drum brakes, since otherwise the drums would lock up long before the disk brakes start working effectively. Most OEM proportioning valves have no adjustment, as they were set by the factory. Aftermarket valves have an adjustment, since there is no way of knowing what the correct ratio should be. My first thought is a simple one; is there any chance that it is plumbed backwards? If it was you would have virtually no pressure to the front disk brakes, and would be stopping on the rear drums only. Boy, would that be slow stopping! Marty

I've never used JB Weld, but I had always thought of it as something to stick two broken parts together, not something to repair a rough surface. Can it be sanded to a really smooth surface, or would it have to be epoxied after it was smoothed? I'm running Evans NPG coolant, and it will find any imperfection to leak out of! Marty

the part of the bracket with the two holes in it looks a lot like something that would be bolted to the drivers side of the head, but I can't imagine what would go in the clamp, as it would be going across the head. The brackets like that on my 47 are going length-wise. Marty

The upper radiator connection on my 47 looks like it is an iron casting that is bolted or riveted to the upper tank. Over the years there has been significant corrosion both inside and outside of this piece. There is enough material still there for structural integrity, but not enough for good hose sealing. I've tried a couple of rather bush league fixes without success, and last time I wound up using a pair of T-bolt hose clamps torqued to 100 in-oz and it still didn't quite seal. Has anyone come up with a way to repair this casting and come up with a smooth surface to seal a hose to? Would a relatively high temp epoxy work, or is there something else that someone has come up with? Marty

If I remember right, the standard was 1000 revs/mile. When they calibrated my car, they used a gearbox to get the count down to 1000/mile, then used a 1000 RPM bench source to calibrate my speedo head to 60 MPH. Marty