Thread: For Don Shilady

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Read the tech data on the radio and amp. List it exactly and I'll calculate the circuit. But there is something still amiss. If it was a matter of insufficient power in circuit then the fuse should have blown.

Originally Posted by Don Shillady

However I would still like to hear from the "Techinspector" regarding choice of a Howard cam.

Don, I will be pleased to help, but I don't remember your combination. Can you help me a little?

Cubic inches
Static compression ratio
Primary use, street, street and drag or what
Transmission type
How many gears if stick, 3, 4, 5, 6
How many gears if auto 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Converter stall rpm if auto
Rear differential gear ratio
Flat tappet, aftermarket roller or OEM roller
.

Well the weather is finally summer and the roadster seems to be running fine after I discovered I could clean out the carb the easy way with a few squirts of ether. Evidently, the combination of sitting over the winter months and a few gallons of stored stale gas really messed up the carb for a while. When nearly running out of gas I used a few gallons of gas that was stored in the lawn mower shed over the winter and the engine really did not like that stuff! Fortunately a can of Seafoam and setting the idle up to 950 solved the problem and it has been running so good that I can postpone a cam change or aluminum heads a little while longer. However, the Vega steering box is really annoying. I had a second brand new Vega box installed along with a new drag link and if you tighten the worm gear to eliminate the slack, parking the car is a real chore. If you let more slack in the steering you have to constantly correct the path when driving. My big 2011 Impala and my little 1998 Sunfire both steer steady as a rock easily due to the rack and pinion setup. I don't see much on this Forum for Model A rack and pinion setups even though the Speedway unit has been available since about 2015. I found one picture of a deuce frame with the Speedway unit on the HAMBE site but is there anyone here with pictures and/or experience with the Speedway unit? I am considering spending what funds I have this year on the Speedway rack and pinion unit but there are some negative comments here and there about this unit among some raves about easier steering and more precise control. In my opinion the Vega box may be OK for a Vega with a light engine but with a 550 pound SBC it is terrible in my experience. Comments please!

Best Wishes,
Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder

Don, a company named Unisteer makes a rack and pinion steering system for early Fords, take a look......
https://www.unisteer.com/1928-1940-s...ss-steers.html
.

Thanks Tech1,
Those prices are about $100 more than the same units on the Speedway page at present, BUT Speedway is only accepting back orders at this time so maybe the prices have gone up due to demand for a good product? I was hoping for a testimonial from a Club Hot Rod member?

Best Wishes,
Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder

Still here after a long pause. Since last message a rack and pinion from Speedway was installed on the Brookville-29 frame. It was supposed to be a 2 hour installation, HAH! A week is more like it since an added steering rod standoff had to be welded into the side of the frame with the usual delays waiting for small parts but it steers much easier and precise now. Then in August on a 100 degree F. day I went to a local Friday meet and the electric water pump failed. I learned that the lifetime of electric water pumps is measured in MINUTES (3000 minutes) not thousands of miles (only about 3000 miles over four years) and so the pump had to come off. On my Model A front end the radiator and hood had to be removed along with headlight wiring and oil cooler lines which gave access to the same removals for a cam change so I bit the economic bullet and purchased an Edelbrock performer plus cam (lift 0.420/0.442 and 204/214 degrees at 0.050") which is only at the "stage 1" level above my previous Blue Racer street cam along with a Stage one water pump and replaced the Edelbrock RPM intake with an Edelbrock EPS intake, preferring low rpm torque rather than high rpm H.P. The prices for the cam and EPS intake were enticingly low through Walmart on-line ordering. It was good to check on other things while making the changes and two of the"Sportsman roller tip rockers" were found to have bent roller pins so all the rockers were replaced by Comp aluminum roller tip rockers. The main reason for this message is that removing the electric pump required a short water pump bracket for the alternator. However, I now need to add a second belt to make sure I am driving the water pump sooooo can anyone suggest a belt tension idler for the second belt? There are two grooves for a 3/8" V-belt on the pump and the crank but I need to add a tension pulley for the second belt. The present alternator is on the upper passenger-side head to fit under the narrow hood. I ignored the modern serpentine belts and pulleys in favor of a V-belt for ease of replacement if I lose a belt out somewhere out of cell phone range so I need a 3/8" V-belt tension pulley that can use some of the remaining accessory holes in the 882 heads. I previously traded a set of camel hump heads for exhaust porting of the 882 heads just to get the extra accessory bolt holes and I hope that will pay off now. Short water pump setups with V-belts are less common than the elaborate March serpentine setups but I want a V-belt setup with two belts. Any suggestions with a part number? I won't know about new performance of cooling until I can run the motor to break in the cam but I am hoping so get a reliable setup that will last for quite a few thousand miles.

Retired Scientist/Teen age rodder
Don Shillady

Hello Don.Good to see you again. Sorry to read that the chevy is hungry for more parts.

I already feel sure I know the answer but, why do you think you need two belts? It cannot be because you will be spinning that motor that fast! Many Many cars ran a zillion miles on 1 belt for decades and never had an issue.

Even my own coupe runs a single 3/8ths belt, with a 100 amp alternator and never an issue. Do as you wish, it's your car of course.. but I think you're making work for nothing. My two cents. Hope you had a good Turkey Day?!?!?

The cam Don has chosen has a Hydraulic Intensity number of 74. It is a very "easy on the valvetrain" grind that eases the valves open and eases them shut, unlike one of those Fosdick Extreme Energy grinds that I despise so much for yanking the valves open and closed. This easy grind should last a long time and provide good performance down low where it is needed for a street driver.
.

Thanks for useful comments Techinspector and 34-40. I am installing a 100 amp one-wire alternator using a short water pump bracket from speedway said to be the best seller for narrow frame early Fords. I am concerned whether only about 20 degrees contact of the belt with the water pump pulley will move the 100 amp alternator and the pump. I added a smaller diameter alternator pulley because I want both of my electric fans to come on more of the time, maybe all the time. One fan at idle is not enough. 34-40 says there will not really be a problem but I am still waiting for the nut and lock washer for the alternator pulley due to the holiday. Actually Denny suggested the "Stage 1" performance level but Techinspector's comments carry a lot of weight with me as well as the Walmart prices! Hopefully the Stewart Stage One water pump and both electric fans will prevent overheating?

Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder

2020 Report

Thanks for the kind words about the cam from TechInspector. I was hoping to give a performance report sooner but right after the cam installation the fuel pump failed and it was back to the shop for a new pump and checkup to find an annoying miss in the engine. I am 82 now and I still wonder at how I readily crawled all over and under the early construction of my BeBops '29 in 2005. Now in the winter the unheated garage is not a welcome place so I farm out the work to Bruce Orlandi at nearby Precision Transmission. Bruce installed the Edelbrock Stage 1 cam and the Stage 1 water pump while I helped figure out the new 100 amp alternator mount after the electric water pump was removed. Bruce checked the compression in each cylinder which was OK at 118-119 psi in each cylinder and during that check Bruce found one spark plug short-circuit with a very large carbon deposit on the underside of the plug, not readily seen. Bruce replaced that plug for free but charged for the compression check! Now the motor is seat-of-the-pants stronger and it idles like a sewing machine; it runs the best it has ever been! I have been watching the Motor Trend channel a lot and most of the "supercars" weigh over 3000 pounds while my fiberglass roadster weighs only about 2400 pounds (2600 with me in it) depending on how much extra "stuff" I keep in the rumble-trunk so at just the Stage 1 level it easily spins the rear tires with only a 3.55 rear ratio and large 15" tires. Well that is enough performance for me at 82 years old and at least my engine is at the Stage 1 level and closer to 300 HP than it was with the previous cam for a SBC 355 with mild exhaust porting of 882 heads. A 160 degree thermostat keeps the cooling below boiling and at 260 degrees when moving with the small Model A radiator in mild 60 F temperatures. It remains to be seen what will happen in 95 F August temperatures!
Along the way I did not give a report on the rack and pinion performance. The installation was definitely more than the two hour time stated on the directions, more like a week, BUT (!) it steers so much more easily than the Vega box worm gear that it is a dream to drive with just one hand and no wander underway. Since the purchase of the Be Bops kit in 2005 it took seven years to get the car on the road but now it has gained a few valuable added modifications while spreading out the expense. Thanks again for all the help from members of this Club which were very valuable.

Best Wishes,
Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder

2020 Report (continued)

I want to add two comments.

The first new comment to 34-40 is regarding the Stage 1 water pump v-belt. The upper alternator mount only allows about a 15-20 degree contact with the water pump pulley and the water pump was the main reason for this overall change so we stretched a smaller v-belt over the second pulley set on the crank and the water pump. It does squeal if you just go right to the starter but for some wonderful reason if I allow about 3 seconds to let the electric fans start with just the "On" part of the starter key and then turn the switch fully to the right to turn on the starter it starts without a squeal!

The second new comment is that I was surprised that (118 psi/14.7 psi/atm) = 8.03 CR because I originally had the 882 heads cc-ed for a 9:1 CR. I do not have any previous experience with spark plug pressure readings, are they usually low?

Best Wishes,
Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder

Thanks for the update Don, good hearing from you! Eventually it should be spring and we can all get back to enjoying our toys!

Originally Posted by Don Shillady

2020 Report (continued)

I want to add two comments.

The first new comment to 34-40 is regarding the Stage 1 water pump v-belt. The upper alternator mount only allows about a 15-20 degree contact with the water pump pulley and the water pump was the main reason for this overall change so we stretched a smaller v-belt over the second pulley set on the crank and the water pump. It does squeal if you just go right to the starter but for some wonderful reason if I allow about 3 seconds to let the electric fans start with just the "On" part of the starter key and then turn the switch fully to the right to turn on the starter it starts without a squeal!

The second new comment is that I was surprised that (118 psi/14.7 psi/atm) = 8.03 CR because I originally had the 882 heads cc-ed for a 9:1 CR. I do not have any previous experience with spark plug pressure readings, are they usually low?

Best Wishes,
Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder

Well good for you Don. Sounds like you've figured a work around to a squeal and that's just fine. If I crank mine a lot and run the battery down , when it does fire off the belt will squeal for a bit, but I just let the battery build back up a minute or two than all is well. Your PSI readings seem a bit low to me. but as long as they are even across them all, you're good to go. 9 to 1 would've been preferred but - no matter now. She's making enough power to spin the wheels - that's all the trouble you need to get into right??

Compression ratio is swept volume compared to total volume of cylinder including the head CCs

Compression reading pressure is relavant to where the valves open and close on overlap------and block carb open when doing compression check -----

Check out PowerMaster for alternators and brackets---