Took the car to the track today, didn't get there till about two, so I missed out on being in the time competition. Well missing the starting time by six hours ain't that bad is it?. So there was some waiting but finally the ladders cleared up and I could sneak in a few runs, most of them with a late 90's mustang. I know the times aren't impressing, but at least they're there and I've got few things I could have done to improve them a bit.
Cool! Good to see another Centurion going down the track.. Makes me want to dig out the timeslips from Milan and Salem to scan..hmm.....
Here's a shot of the action. I thought that when you take a photo of a burnout you'd take it when things are hppening, not before ou: oh well.. So the runs went, girlfriend in car in 1,4 all tools, tire, junk left in the trunk, and I used the 235/ 75 tires I just picked up at the yard. If I would have changed these things, maybe the times would have been shaved a tenth or three, but that we'll see another day. 1st run, off the line good, just slight bogging in the end. 2nd run, the car started bogging at the end and I had to get in and out of the gas, the car keptshifting back and forth between 2nd/3rd for the last five seconds. 3rd run, A tire let go and I just kept it floord, thought it was kind of funny, didn't care. The car came strong at the end tough. 4th run. A bit of bogging at the middle and end, it's like slight backfiring.. I'll have that sorted by Christmas..
I'd fix that bogging asap, if I were you. Be sure all your rubber fuel line from the tank to the carb is new. Back almost 30 years ago I had a 326 Lemans that would fall on it's face under WOT. The 12" of rubber fuel line from the tank to the metal line in the frame was dry rotted. Send the carb to John Osborne and have him do a build-up on it. Check over your ignition. Power time your 455. Start it at about 10* advanced and see how it runs. If you have it set at factory spec you're leaving a lot of torque and HP on the table. Nice looking ride, BTW. I love a boat on the starting line.
The bogging will be dealt with, I'll just have to take i one section at a time, since I'm not sure what's causing it. I'm going to start with changing the distributor to an HEI which is sitting in the trunk, I'm just afraid I'll scew up and I can't get it running again. Next is the carb I guess, I was looking at this one: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=4544961825&category=34198 but now the rest of the world is too... I thought it might be good to get another one cheap and then use it while the other one was being rebuilt, or if it would be fine, just change it. As I've understood it, the carb needs to be tuned to match your engine set up, how much would it be to have Mr. Osborne take a look at the carb? The thing is, everything of this is new to me, I've never tinkered with an engine before, I don't know what 10*, initial vacuum, vacuum advance, recurved, etc. really means. I just bought a timing light for when I change over to the HEI so I can get the timing right hopefully when it's in there. I've never used one before so we'll see how that goes. I asked someone from the local club what he thought, he said, get the HEI, that's a good start, takes out a lot of possibilities for the problem and improves the ignition system too. I got it and asked if he would help me swap it over, sure he'd done it many times. Never called back... I don't really feel like spending 160$ on having a shop doing it, so I'll have to wait until other things clear up and I can have the car sitting in the garage for a few days, and I can work on it. It will be done, and to improve the 18.43 uzzled: I'd like to: 1. Fix the bogging. 2. Install the HEI, now "recurved" is a word that keeps being mentioned, so I'll have to figure out what that means and get it set up properly. 3. The blown mufflers, I'm not sure if they're really helping the situation here, it's just that it will be the third set of mufflers to be on the car in a year, and it's not that funny to have to go to the exhaust shop all the time. 4. Take all the junk out of the car, including girlfriend (not junk tough). 5. Put the smaller tires on it, I won't burn those since they're new, but they'd change the gearing and they're a little bit wider.235/75 > 255/60 6. Do something about the air filter, I have another thread going about this, we'll se what's recommended. 7. The carb, now that one I'll do if the HEI doesn't help the bogging situation. So at least I've got some things lined up for when ever the next track day will be up. Most of them are free, some just needs to get done, and some will cost a bit. Regarding the fuel line, I'll have to check it, I shorted out the strater on it and burned a hole in it, (that was a fantastic week :shock: )fixed it pretty good, but there could be a problem somewhere else I guess. The hose in the front is new, but I'm not sure on what it looks like at the back.
Cool!!! :TU: Ain't it a blast to finally get your ride on a track and get some real numbers? :TU: :TU: :TU: I'll second what Yardley says about the carb and ignition...that's basically how my LeSabre 350 is set up, it ran 18.2 @ 85 spinning the pegleg rear with an empty trunk, so there's a comparison (350 vs. a bogging 455...I'm gonna get stomped when you fix that... :laugh: ) Love the picture! :beer
They let you go down the track with a passenger??? uzzled: Anyways, basically, all the lingo is referring to X* (X degrees) of crankshaft rotation before (or after) the #1 piston reaches the absolute top of its stroke, known as BTDC (before top dead center) or ATDC (after...). HowStuffWorks has a pretty good article on the basics of ignition. HEI units have centrifugal weights, springs, a centerpiece, and a vacuum can that all control the advance curve (how much advance, and when = "ignition curve"), and you can swap them around to get the curve you want (recurving the dist) My recommendations/opinions, worth half of what you're paying :laugh: 1. Do some reading on ignition timing, there's a good sticky at the top of the Sparky's Corner forum. Then do the recurve thing on the HEI and swap it in. 2. Do some searching of the carb forums on "Q-jet" and "bog", then take a look at some of the common sources of bogs (usually the secondary air valves too loose) 3. Get a carb rebuild kit, lay out some newspapers, and rebuild your carb. Pay close attention to how it comes apart, etc. It looks harder than it is if you take it one step at a time. Cleanliness IS godliness when you put it back together. If you decide to send it to John O, it'll run about $250 for him to work his magic. He does good work, I can attest to that. :TU: 4. Blown mufflers??? An open/leaking exhaust would probably help the engine breathe better...do you mean the rear resonators? (Dad's old '74 Electra would go through them, he finally left them off.) Need more info...what size pipes, what kind of muffler, how installed (welded or clamped)...
Got to run, quick reply.. The mufflers are 2.25 x 2 & H pipe. They now look like this, but I've strapped down a piece of sheet metal around them and tightened the package.
YOW!!! I'd say either you've got a major restriction in the tailpipes, or those are some really cheap mufflers. YOW!!!
KabOOm... came off another centurion in one piece. The first set I had lost the middle bolt and dropped the mufflers in to the ground. Then the pipe cracked and it was hanging out the back like a golf club. Aren't we having fun :ball:
Sure looks like it! :Brow: :laugh: :laugh: Kaboom? Sounds like your bogging might have led to some unburned fuel igniting inside the pipes... Again, YOW! :shock:
Car wouldn't start, just kept pumping more and more fuel into it, then some ether on top of that, then four people's heads under the hood, then turn the key :laugh: Everything went blurry and appeared in slow motion for a few seconds. Kids, don't try this at home, goes for not grown up adults too.
