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Vintage Vehicle Engines Life of a Lifter, 2 Vehicle Power & Performance Knowledge for Professionals
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ÂŽ Christopher M. Ayers, Jr. Publisher / Editorial Director cayers@performancetechnician.com Bob Freudenberger Editor bfreud@performancetechnician.com Greg McConiga Executive Technical Editor gmcconiga@performancetechnician.com Tom Nash Managing Editor tnash@performancetechnician.com
FEATURES Life of a Lifter, Part 2 6 Last time we looked at some complicated dynamics and compared flats to rollers. Now for the hands-on.
The Big Science of Pushrods, Part 2 14
A discussion of resonance, clearances, length, geometry, and lubrication.
Timing A Vintage Engine For Modern Gasoline 22 Henry Olsen teams up with Lars Grimsrud
Christopher Ayers, III Art Director, Webmaster ayersc3@performancetechnician.com Tamra Ayers VP Business Development tayers@performancetechnician.com Contributors:
Ali Afshar, Steve Campbell, Henry Olsen, John Galt, Frank Walker, Glenn Quagmire, Adam Smith
Editorial, Circulation, Advertising Sales & Business Office: 134B River Rd. Montague, NJ 07827 P.330.620.3929 Performance Technician is published by Automotive Data Media, LLC. The publisher and editors of this magazine and website accept no responsibility for statements made herein by advertisers or for the opinions expressed by authors of bylined articles or contributed text. The current Issue of the Performance Technician Emag and information posted to www.performancetechnician.com, is free on a subscription basis to professional vehicle service technicians, repair shop owners & managers, and automotive performance enthusiasts who have agreed to the terms and conditions as part of registering for access. Contact ayersc3@performancetechnician.com for more information. If you have a letter to the editor, a Tech Tip or a story idea, Email: bfreud@performancetechnician.com or visit: www.performancetechnician.com. No reproduction of any content is permissable without written permission.
DEPARTMENTS Starting Line 4 LeMay’s Collection 30 Information Station 42 Finish Line 44
PERFORMANCE TECHNICIAN
FROM THE EDITOR
Starting Line -Bob Freudenberger
Why couldn’t I write a saleable program that would give good advice on how to modify your car?
Somewhat less than a million years ago, I took my first computer programming class as an elective. The professor was a genius, and I really mean that. But I was a moron kid, and I was out of my depth completely among all those electronics and math "tools," as we called them, in my class. First, the logic trees, then Fortran IV, just knocked me over. I really tried to understand, though, and after a while I started to actually get the picture -- and get interested.
Add a thicker stabilizer bar, put one at the rear, upgrade your shock absorbers, and perhaps lower the chassis by various means.
It was a struggle for my lame brain, but by the time we got our big project assignment I actually could write a program. It would often "loop" (keep going back to the same place) because I'd missed some detail, but with a little help I'd get it to run.
Shortly thereafter, I went to work for one of the major automotive aftermarket manual companies, part of a huge, huge publishing empire. That division was run by -- there's no nice way to say it -- incompetents and Neanderthals. They didn't know very much about auto technology, either. I had to write everything about early emissions controls because nobody else on the staff had a clue about the science of combustion, or service work in general. PCV? No idea. EGR? Even less. Thermostatic air cleaners, air injection reactors, EVAP? I might as well have been speaking Navaho.
The prof did a good thing. He said we had to write something commercially viable, that could do something in the real world, not just solve a puzzle or do some fancy math. Well, the main thing I was interested in (besides girls, of course) was cars in general, and high-performance in particular. Why couldn't I write a saleable program that would give good advice on how to modify your car? At least I knew something about that, unlike, say, calculus. A customer could fill out a simple info card by blacking in little circles, I could put this data into a shared mainframe teletype (no personal computers until five years later), print out each person's results, and charge, what, $9.95? With diligence, I got my program to run very well indeed. If you wanted to increase the performance of a V8 Mustang, for example, the results would tell you to install a 271 hp cam, a four-barrel manifold, a set of headers, and a dual-point distributor. Notes were included that would suggest a lower rear axle ratio and traction bars, all within the monetary limit you'd checked. Or, handling.
What an opportunity! It could be sold at speed shops, and maybe be advertised in Hot Rod and Car Craft. The idea of mass marketing may've been uncharted territory to a penniless college student, but I was still thrilled by what I perceived was the potential. No capital to pursue it, though.
Regardless, I took my roll of perforated yellow paper tape and the sheaf of program printouts to the "editorial manager" to see if he had any ideas about how to integrate it into the company's marketing. Do you know the acronym MEGO (My Eyes Glaze Over)? This was a textbook case. I can imagine him making the sign of the cross to keep vampires away. So, all my hard work languished until it was very much out of date. I still have the neat roll of paper tape somewhere, and I'd love to see exactly what's on it. But, is there a reader for that ancient medium left anywhere in the world today? Something that would let me put the data on my laptop's hard drive? If anybody knows, please write to me at bfreud@bellsouth.net.
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Basics Series:
The Life of a Lifter, Part 2 -Greg McConiga
Last time we looked at some complicated dynamics and compared flats to rollers. Now for the hands-on.
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FEATURE
This off-the-shelf hydraulic lifter has .140 in. of total travel. Stock adjustment procedures suggest that the plunger be depressed roughly half the total travel, or about .070 in. in this case. I don’t normally set them this deep. I normally only put them about .025 in. down in the bore and I measure it with a wire gauge between the plunger and the retaining clip.
Opposite Page: This is a pair of Comp full length hydraulic roller lifters that utilize a link bar system. You can see the arrow pointing up -- the link bar faces inside the valley. This lifter has about the same amount of travel as the flat hydraulic, about .150 in. total plunger travel.
Once you’ve made the move to roller lifters, your choices and options get better. Obviously, friction is reduced because you’re rolling over the lobe instead of dragging over it. Where the flat lifter is velocity-limited, the roller lifter is acceleration-limited. You can only achieve so much rate of lift before the pressure imposed by the wheel on the lobe initiates contact failures. The pressure angle is the angle formed as the roller impacts the lobe. The advantage of a roller is that you can shorten duration while maintaining high lift, but in doing so the wheel almost gets driven into the side of the lobe on the opening ramp. By necessity, the first point of contact has to be something above the centerline of the cam core, otherwise the lobe just tries to knock the wheel off of the lifter. If you look at some of the photos, you can see where the roller wheel marks the lobe. There is considerable side thrust generated and this will be seen as increased wear in the lifter bushing, often in an hourglass pattern, wide at the top and bottom and at or near specification in the center of the bore. Using a larger diameter cam core helps reduce pressure angle, as does using a roller lifter with a larger wheel. If you use a larger wheel, remember that while the lift will be unchanged, a larger wheel will increase the effective duration of the cam, opening the valve earlier and closing it later. You will need to account for this when you talk to your cam grinder.
Clean sheet
If you’re starting off with a clean-sheet engine build, your best options are to use a tall deck block; a raised cam bore centerline (to reduce pushrod length); the largest cam core you can fit with roller needle bearing cam bearings; a DLC-coated keyed tool steel roller lifter with a large wheel; bushings instead of MAY 2015
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needle bearings on the axle; and low pushrod seats, with no pushrod seat offset in the lifter to prevent side loading the lifter bore bushing either axially or longitudinally, all riding in a bronze lifter bore bushing. Now that’s a pretty tall order and it’s going to cost at least $14,000-$18,000 to get it all done. Plus heads, dry sump, rocker system, pushrods, cam drive, rods, pistons, pins, rings, bearings and crankshaft, just to name a few of the big parts. Are we having fun yet? Now that we’ve seen that side of things, it’s back to reality…
Hydraulics If you’re going with the convenience of hydraulic lifters, you have conventional and short-travel variants available. For a pure racing application, the short-travel lifter makes the most sense. Rather than the approximately .120 in. of travel found in a standard lifter, the short travels have less than half of that. Over the years, there have been a number of theories about adjusting hydraulic lifter travel. The factory said to put them in the middle of travel, roughly .060 in. down or 1-½ turns down on a 3/8-24 stud. Some racers later determined that it was preferred
I opened up this Comp Cams hydraulic lifter. The piece on my index finger is the oil metering disc that controls oil flow up the pushrod and to the valve springs. 8
Life of a Lifter, 2
On the bottom of the internal plunger is the check ball that unseats with oil pressure when the lifter is on the base circle so oil can flow through the lifter body. The check ball is spring-loaded against the bottom of the plunger and when the outer body accelerates up it seals the oil inside the main body thus transmitting lobe lift to the rocker arm.
The stamped-steel check ball & spring cage is snapped to the inner plunger body.
On modern high performance cylinder heads, it’s difficult to get the pushrod from the lifter to the rocker seat with the larger intake ports that are being developed. This Jesel rocker has a canted trunnion axle, an offset pushrod seat, and the tip that rides on the valve stem is bent at an angle to locate over the stem center. Plus, it’s just damned pretty work. MAY 2015
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to only put about .010 in. preload on them, about a quarter turn after zero lash, but it was discovered that the lifters would collapse at times, losing duration and lift. As it turns out, the best solution was to bury the plunger and only leave about .010 in. under the plunger before going solid. It was found that the engine oil in the column under the plunger was becoming aerated and therefore compressible, so minimizing the volume under the plunger gave the best results -as long as there was sufficient valve spring pressure and as long as no clearance opened up in the valve train during operation. If clearance developed, then the lifters pumped up, with predictable and often catastrophic results. All this led to the evolution of the short-travel racing hydraulic lifter, which addresses the issue by simply shortening the oil column below the plunger thereby making the lifter operate more consistently.
The stamped steel spring housing has slots in it through which the oil flows, and if you look closely you’ll see the bottom of the check ball and the spring sitting against it holding it closed.
There’s not really too much to it. There’s the internal plunger, which houses the check ball and spring, the lower spring between the main body and the plunger that keeps the inner plunger pushed to the top of the bore, the oil metering disc, the pushrod set, and the retaining clip. 10
Life of a Lifter, 2
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Further considerations Other things to consider and look for as you install your cam and lifters: • Make sure the lifter bores are clean and right sized, particularly with a new or unknown block. • Make sure the bores are not galled or scored and not worn enough to cause an oil pressure leak. You’d like to see .0015.002 in. of lifter-to-bore oil clearance. • Always verify that you have a drilled lifter gallery if you change blocks. Left: If you have to run an offset pushrod seat, this is the way to do it. This keyed lifter has a low seat height and the seat is down into the bore, which gives more support above and below the level of the seat. If the bore is in good shape, the wheel offset load on the lobe is minimized. Sometimes you just can’t get from lifter to rocker without offsetting the pushrod seat.
Here is where stock cam tunnels and stock cam bearing sizes create an issue. You can see where the base circle is undercut in the photo. Obviously, this cam will not be a stiff as something built on a bigger core and it will suffer deflection. This is not optimal for a performance application, but sometimes it’s all you have to work with. 12 Life of a Lifter, 2
There are engines out there that come with both drilled and undrilled lifter oil galleries. While we’re on it, read all the literature that comes with your parts. Some manufacturers are very specific about NOT restricting gallery oil flow. • If you’re running a tie-bar roller, verify that the link bar doesn’t hit the top of the lifter boss and that the link bar system doesn’t bind at full travel. You also need to visually confirm that the oil groove in the body of the lifter isn’t lifted up far enough to shut off oil flow, or up out of the lifter bore, and confirm that it doesn’t drop out of the bottom of the bore (particularly true if you are running either a large diameter or reduced base circle cam). Put the cam in place with the lifters on it one at a time from rear to front and look down the oil gallery to visually confirm that the oiling route stays open and that the oil band isn’t exposed at either the top or bottom. • Not all lifter bore heights are the same. There are new-generation engines that have taller lifter bores and require a special tall lifter to fit the block correctly.
If you have a choice, never offset the pushrod seat in the lifter. In some cases with some heads you won’t have a choice, but to the extent that you can you should try to keep the load centered in the lifter body and therefore over the lobe center, and the pushrod seat should be as deep in the body as possible to keep the bore load low and centered in the bore. If you are forced to choose between weight savings and strength, choose strength on the pushrod side of the rocker arm. The spring force multiplied by the rocker ratio is your friend at this point. On the valve side of the rocker? That’s a different matter. As Warren Johnson once famously said, “If you throw it up in the air and it comes back down, it’s too heavy.” There are hydraulic roller lifter cams that pull past 9,000 rpm, and there are advances going on with the pro teams that we won’t hear about for 10 years. For us mere mortals, life is a little simpler. We can pick a cam and lifters right off the shelf and go have a barrel of fun and not even lose the house or the wife over it! n
Here’s what a keyed lifter bore bushing looks like. There’s no complication from link bars or pins and the seat height is very low keeping the loads centered low in the bushings. MAY 2015
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The Big Science of Pushrods, Part 2 -Greg McConiga
A discussion of resonance, clearances, length, geometry, and lubrication.
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FEATURE
Left: Checking pushrods are available from several manufacturers and in lengths from as little as six ins. to as long as thirteen ins. They come in ball-to-ball and cup-to-ball configurations, with at least three cup sizes to accommodate the different sizes of ball adjusters commonly found on stock engines and on racing rockers adjusters. They are a must-have if you intend to get the right pushrod length the first time every time. Can’t do without ‘em.
It’s still possible to buy the tube and make your own pushrods. Here are just a few of the pushrod end types available should that be something you need to do. MAY 2015
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A pushrod selection consideration is the tuning effect of size, length, and stiffness of the components in the valve train. Pushrods dance, jiggle, and vibrate as they operate and the “tuning” factor we need to consider has to do with resonance and harmonics. Any part has a natural resonant frequency at which it will vibrate and a point at which a small periodic input or disturbance coincides with the resonant frequency will cause the vibration to increase with each excitation input. Essentially, the small input becomes additive. Think about bouncing a basketball. If you were to apply a constant amount of pressure over and above that needed to compensate for the losses from the ball hitting the floor, gravity, and any wind resistance, each bounce would be higher and higher and higher.
Here you see that the adjuster is screwed in to the maximum setting and it should be obvious to the casual observer that the pushrod seat is moving out far enough to lose the support of the rocker body. As seen previously, you are also nearing the end of where the internal oil passages will align allowing oil to flow into the shaft support bearings. 16
Pushrods, 2
An example of a problem with natural resonant frequencies and input disturbances matching arose some years ago as auto bodies became stiffer. The auto makers managed to make the car body’s natural resonant frequency the same frequency as that of an unbalanced tire at 60 mph. Suddenly, the smallest tire disturbance shook the car like crazy. In a single model year, we had to have a completely different tire mounting and balancing system to quell the shake. What introduces input disturbances into the pushrod? The spring, the cam, the crankshaft, and the firing impulses it transmits via the cam drive system (another reason that belt drives are found on so many racing engines today), and the valve itself as it bounces on
The pushrod end of the rocker arm is counterbored to allow the pushrod cup to seat deep into the rocker body for added strength and support. If you don’t get the pushrod length right, you can compromise valve train strength by overextending the adjusting screw.
This is an example of a pushrod cleaning brush. Cleaning the oil passageways in a pushrod is just as critical as cleaning the oil galleries in an engine block. The first time I pulled one of these brushes through a new pushrod I was stunned at how much swarf was trapped inside that tiny little passage. The brushes are a little fragile, so order a couple of them. If you have heavy-wall pushrods and the oil passage is small, I’ve had good luck pushing the metal rod in first and pulling the brush through backwards.
When ordering pushrods, you must specify if you are running them with guideplates. Most come hardened and will be guideplate-compatible, but there are some that lack case hardening and will wear rapidly on the guideplate. Now you’ve got two problems: a damaged pushrod and metal in the engine. This three-piece is a street-only part in my opinion. I only run one piece in high-performance applications.
Here you can see the difference between a pushrod with standard clearance and one with 210 degree clearance for a high-lift application. If the pushrod contacts the rocker body, it will try to push the pushrod out of the cup and dump the valve train. MAY 2015
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its seat at close. It’s interesting to note here that there are two reasons we use high-tech dampers on racing engines. One, to control the torsional twist that might fracture the crank, and, two, to reduce or dampen out those varying frequencies generated by the engine as it changes rpm that might be shared with the valve train and put it into resonance.
Space jam Beyond clearance issues around the intake runner, what other installation considerations are there? Clearance issues at the rocker and lifter end are also something to think about. Putting a larger diameter pushrod down into a lifter to reach the seat might create side contact so tip clearance options might be needed. If lift is high enough, you may need to go to a ball end rocker and a cupped lifter
Made for high-horsepower engines like those found in ProStock, Top Sportsman, and the mountain motor classes, the pressed-in bronze seat helps prevent galling when opening the valves against extreme pressure.
At the arrows you can see where the adjuster screw has been drilled to allow oil to pass from the pushrod up into the rocker body. You can also see where the rocker body has been drilled to move oil into the needle bearings that ride on the trunnion shaft. If you order the wrong length pushrod, you will possibly misalign these passages to the point where there is no oil being delivered to the bearings and they will fail in short order. Read your rocker arm literature! You may have as little as three turns of adjustment. 18
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to accommodate the pushrod-to-rocker angle and to keep enough oil in the joint to prevent galling. The cup acts like an oil reservoir that holds oil and cools and lubricates the interface, and offers more clearance than even a high-clearance conventional pushrod. All pushrods need to be cleaned thoroughly before installation. Pushrod brushes are available from Trend and Goodson that do the job nicely. A high-quality highpressure assembly lube is applied to both ends of the pushrod on assembly to prevent galling, and, last, but certainly not least, the pushrod must be the correct length.
Geometry
Here’s an economy roller rocker mounted on a Ford FE engine. This is a shaft-lubricated system with solid pushrods so the rocker ball on the adjuster and the pushrod cup should be lubricated by pumping oil through the rocker body and adjuster screw and into the ball/cup interface. Since drilling all that is expensive, they just drilled a small spray hole that is supposed to somehow get oil into the space between the ball and cup. I suppose it might work if the spring pressures are very low, but this is not the kind of system I’d recommend for any serious engine.
Rocker stand mounting height and pushrod length work hand-in-hand when trying to get the correct valve train geometry. Ideally, you would like the roller tip of the rocker arm to roll across the center of the valve tip -- say about the middle third. The roller should start out slightly on the exhaust side, move to the center at mid-lift and move slightly inboard at full lift. The narrower the pattern the better, and getting it right means adjusting the rocker stands or trunnion mounts up and down and then ordering the correct pushrod to fit the finished application. More than that, the pushrod must be right-sized to allow oil flow, either from the pushrod up through the rocker cup to the rocker bearings, or from a pressurized shaft system through the rocker to the upper pushrod cup. There are two major considerations in play. First, the rocker pushrod cup must not be extended out so far that it becomes unsupported by the rocker body and gets rocked back and forth and weakened. Second, the rocker adjuster cannot be turned out so far that it shuts off the oil passage from MAY 2015
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the cup up and into the rocker body. On both T and D and Jesel systems, as well as many others I’m sure, you’re limited to an operating range of as little as three turns total from seat, and you should be at one and one half turns at the end of the build so that you have some room to adjust the valves during the season. I can’t tell you the trouble I’ve seen from people not reading the directions that come with their rocker systems regarding how far in and out the adjusting screw can be in the rocker body. If you don’t have a set of lengthchecking pushrods, buy them -- and use them. Set your rocker adjuster to the middle of the specified operating range, put the correct feeler gauge between the roller and valve tip, tighten up your checking pushrod, and read the length off the scale on the pushrod. When you order your pushrods, take advantage of your supplier’s technical service department. Talk to the salespeople about your specific application, the power levels, rpm, spring pressures, and power output, and they will help you find the right product for your application. If you have questions prebuild, they will also help you find solutions to problems you might not be able to foresee. The people I’ve talked to are more than willing to help you with pre-build engineering. The pushrod might be a simple-looking device, but it has big responsibilities. It is a key component in translating the cam into valve lift and duration and it is subject to far more stress than we imagine. Recent discoveries made with the Spintron have made quantum leaps in pushrod technology possible, but you still have to take a craftsman’s view of what you buy and how you install it. If you follow the few basic suggestions here, your pushrods will last you through several successful seasons. n 20
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This is an example of someone not paying attention to details when building. The previous builder installed the rocker arms and ordered custom length pushrods, but got them too long. Instead of checking how much engagement into the cup he had, he just backed out the adjuster screw until the pushrod bottomed on the rocker body. Not good -- it wore a receiver cup into the aluminum body of the lifter.
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Timing A Vintage Engine For Modern Gasoline -Henry Olsen, with supporting technical input from Lars Grimsrud
(Editor’s Note: Combined, Henry and Lars have well over 60 years of experience tuning carburetor-equipped engines)
The back venturis of this carburetor show evidence 22 that the engine is in need of tuning help.
FEATURE
The changes in how today’s reformulated unleaded gasoline burns in a vintage carburetor-equipped engine will often cause it to not perform as it should. These new blends are not as volatile, but still burn somewhat faster than the leaded gasoline of the distant past. The initial timing setting, amount of spark advance, the rate of mechanical advance, and the amount of vacuum spark advance that was used when the vintage carburetorequipped vehicles were new was designed for a blend of gasoline that no longer exists.
engine to have its best idle quality, throttle response, run cooler, and provide the power that was built into it. The amount of spark advance an engine needs varies with engine load, speed, coolant and air temperature, air/fuel mixture, and the formulation of the gasoline. The systems that control the spark timing of a vintage carburetor-equipped engine are the initial timing setting, and the centrifugal and vacuum advance systems.
The easiest and most often ignored method for unlocking the power, drivability, and fuel economy of such a vintage engine is to optimize the ignition spark timing for the blend of gasoline that the engine is actually burning today. Optimizing spark timing at idle, cruise, and during acceleration will allow an
Since gasoline formulation has changed so much over the years, the initial timing setting the factory specified may no longer allow an engine to idle properly. The guideline we refer to when we are trying to determine the optimum initial timing is based on the lift and duration of the camshaft.
Initial Timing
This map shows the various blends of reformulated and oxygenated unleaded gasoline that are sold throughout the United States.
PERFORMANCE TECHNICIAN
This guideline can be found at the Demon carburetor website: www.demoncarbs.com/. In short, it recommends 10 to 12 degrees of initial timing for an engine with a stock/ mild cam, 14 to 16 degrees of initial timing for an engine with a performance cam, and 18 to 20 degrees of initial timing for an engine with a radical cam. Note: Keep in mind that whenever you change the initial timing setting, the total timing must be checked and properly adjusted. Engine damage will result if the amount of spark advance is too much for the needs of the engine.
Mechanical/Centrifugal Advance As engine rpm increases, the “fire� in the cylinder must be started earlier in order for the air/fuel mixture to have time to fully
A distributor test stand can allow you to easily check the spark advance at any rpm or vacuum level.
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Timing a Vintage Engine
A five-gas exhaust analyzer is one of the best tuning tools that you can have. The readings show the air/fuel mixture, the misfire rate, the efficiency of the engine, and inform the user if the spark timing is too far advanced.
burn. The mechanical advance mechanism in the distributor pushes the spark ahead as the rpm increases via the weights and springs. With a high-performance engine, this should start advancing the spark just above idle speed, and in most cases should be “all in” by 2,800-3,400 rpm. The total mechanical spark advance must be reduced whenever you increase the initial timing so that the total spark advance does not exceed the needs of the engine.
Vacuum Advance The vacuum advance system is used to provide additional spark timing advance when the load on the engine is light to moderate. This is needed because the flame travel in the combustion chamber is slower due to the leaner air/fuel mixtures and lower cylinder fill conditions that are seen at the low load/ part throttle operating conditions. When the load on the engine increases, the engine vacuum drops, thus the spark advance from the vacuum mechanism will be reduced or eliminated. The additional advance from
The MSD advance system for Pro Billet distributors is very tuner -friendly.
the vacuum system can both increase fuel efficiency and help the engine to run cooler because the engine is converting more of the energy in the gasoline into power.
Ported Vacuum vs. Manifold Vacuum The best vacuum source for the vacuum advance (ported vacuum vs manifold vacuum) is more based on personal preference and experience than it is on anything else. I personally prefer to use ported vacuum (while Lars prefers manifold vacuum) for most of the vehicles we tune as long as the initial timing setting has been optimized for the needs of the engine. But if the engine wants more spark advance at idle than it gets from the initial timing setting, connecting the vacuum advance can to manifold vacuum can be a good way to get additional advance at idle. The selection of ported vacuum or manifold vacuum can be used as a tuning tool to match with the timing needs of the specific engine.
Replacement Vacuum Advance Control Units The vacuum advance control units we use most for General Motors ignition point distributors, including the non-HEI style MSD Billet distributors and the Pertronix Flame Thrower Billet electronic distributors is the Standard Motor Products Part Number VC181, which is also sold by Echlin as Part Number VC1765 (stamped “B26”). This starts advancing at six in. Hg of vacuum, and is fully MAY 2015
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advanced at 12 inches Hg. This works well with most engines with ported vacuum, or an engine that has over 14 in. Hg at idle if it is connected to the manifold. When we are tuning an engine with a GM HEI distributor, we use the Standard Motor Products Part Number VC302 vacuum advance. The selection of vacuum advance units for Ford and Chrysler is somewhat more limited, but those that are still available are sometimes adjustable for different vacuum situations.
The amount of vacuum-based spark advance
The original equipment manufacturer (OEM) and replacement vacuum advance units often supply the engine with as much as 16 to 25 deg. of advance. That much vacuum-based advance worked fine with the factory mechanical advance curves and initial timing settings that were used with the leaded gasoline back in the day, but will often create drivability problems with today’s unleaded and reformulated gasoline blends, especially if the initial timing settings or mechanical advance curve is changed. The total spark advance combined with the advance from the vacuum mechanism should be limited to about 48 deg. maximum with any of today’s blends of commercial unleaded and reformulated gasoline blends. The problems an engine will exhibit when it has too much spark advance at cruise are engine misfire (often to the point that you can both feel and hear the engine misfiring during cruise driving conditions), or a complaint that the vehicle seems to be “bucking” while it is being driven down the road at light throttle. If you were to disconnect the vacuum advance from its vacuum source, the misfire and drivability problems would disappear, thus confirming that the problem is related to vacuum advance. 26 Timing a Vintage Engine
Pertronix Flame Thrower Billet electronic distributors for GM applications come with an assortment of advance stops and springs to allow you to tune the spark advance curve.
This Mallory-designed advance system is from a replacement Direct Connection (Mopar) distributor that is very tunable.
Today, most tuners are limiting the amount of spark advance from the vacuum system to 10 to 12 deg., but it seems to be almost impossible to find a vacuum advance unit that matches that target. We have not been able find a source other than the beforementioned unit for HEI-style distributors, therefore we are modifying them to limit the amount of spark advance to what the engine needs. The modifications involve fabricating some type of mechanical stop to limit the amount of vacuum spark advance.
Here’s the VAC vacuum advance limit plate we use to limit the advance of the GM, MSD, and Pertronic distributors that have B28-style vacuum advance units to the 10 to 12 deg. of vacuum advance we target.
Ole’s Carburetor & Electric of San Bruno California (www.olesautoparts.com) working with Lars Grimsrud from Colorado (V8FastCars@msn.com) developed a product that can be can be used to limit the advance of the vacuum advance system to 10 to 12 degrees on all GM points-type distributors, T.I. distributors, and Unitized Ignition distributors from 1962 through 1974. A second version of this can also be used on all MSD smalldiameter vacuum advance distributors for GM, Ford, and Mopar applications, and the Pertronix Flame Thrower billet electronic
The VAC advance limit plate installed in a GM distributor. MAY 2015
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PERFORMANCE TECHNICIAN
distributors for GM applications. This “Vacuum Advance Corrector” allows total timing to be set for maximum power, yet eliminates the problems associated with over-advanced timing at cruise by limiting the vacuumbased spark advance to 10 to 12 deg. Calibrating the initial timing, the mechanical advance curve, and the vacuum advance system is the first step in the process of tuning an engine for today’s blends of gasoline, and it is one of the best investments in time you will
ever spend when tuning your engine. Once the ignition advance systems are properly adapted for today’s reformulated gasoline, the next step in the tuning process is to adjust the air/fuel mixture the engine is getting from its carburetor for the new gasoline. A properly tuned carburetor-equipped engine should perform every bit as well as, or maybe even better, than it did when the vehicle was fresh off the show room floor and running on the leaded gasoline of the day! n
The cotter pin that is installed in this Ford vacuum mechanism limits the vacuum-based spark advance to our 10-12 deg. target.
We used a flat washer (that we cut so we could put it i n place) to limit the advance from this Chrysler vacuum advance.
Before we tuned the ignition advance systems of this 427/435 hp 1967 Corvette with side exhaust, you could hear the engine miss when it was driven at highway speeds. Now it sounds and performs as good as it looks! 28
Timing a Vintage Engine
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PERFORMANCE TECHNICIAN
Twice the fun and worth the trip -Glenn Quagmire
Fun things for “car guys” (and girls) to do on a weekend or longer excursion…
Favorite cars of America’s Car Museum • 1917 Crane Simplex Model 5. Owned By J.D Rockefeller. The car is only one of two Crane Simplex cars owned by Rockefeller known to still exist. The chassis itself cost $7,000 compared to the “commoner car” price of $400 for the Model T of the time. • 1930 Duesenberg Model J • The Flintstone mobile • 1981 DeLorean DMC12, which is always a hit with Back to the Future fans. These and others can be seen at www.americascarmuseum.org/explore/collection/
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WEEKEND WARRIOR
Let’s face it. We’ve all heard about how beautiful the Pacific Northwest is, with towering mountains, lakes and streams with fish that almost want to jump into your net, gorgeous coastline, plus other tourist attractions like the Seattle Space Needle. There are also major league sports teams where attendance can make for a pleasant afternoon or evening. And rumors of too many restaurants to choose from and fresh and interesting seafood dishes make the area all the more appealing. So you’ve probably had the thought in the back of your head that this is an area you’d like to visit. It may even be high on your bucket list, with you just waiting for the right excuse to pop up to spur you into planning a trip to the northwest.
Well here’s your chance. Thanks to the enthusiasm, forethought, and generosity of a benefactor in the Tacoma, Washington area, there are two spectacular collections of antique, classic, and other interesting vehicles and memorabilia within a couple of miles of each other, either of which is worth the trip. Together, they’re evidence of collections you’re unlikely to find so close together anywhere in the country. The late Harold LeMay started out modestly, founding a bus transit company in the early 1940s, part of which he bartered for a trash collection company before spending two years serving in the Navy’s
America’s Car Museum MAY 2015
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All photos this page: America’s Car Museum 32
Harold LeMay
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All photos this page: America’s Car Museum 34
Harold LeMay
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Seabees in World War II. Eventually he met his future wife Nancy, whom he married in 1963, learning that they shared a passion, not only for classic cars, but also for models, sales materials, and other memorabilia related to older cars, primarily U.S.-built models.
the Harold E. LeMay Museum organization in anticipation of the construction of a suitable facility in which many of his cars would be displayed, and where automotive enthusiasts from near and far could celebrate the evolution of the automobile in the U.S.
Harold and Nancy were shrewd business people, and their waste collection business prospered, allowing them to begin collecting interesting cars in earnest in the mid 1960’s. What started out as a sideline blossomed into a passion, with the collection growing at a dizzying pace. And by 1998, the LeMay family collection was listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the “Largest Antique & Vintage Vehicle Collection” with more than 1,900 vehicles, and at one point they owned more than 3,000 individual vehicles of all types.
Thanks to a generous donation of some nine acres of prime real estate from the city of Tacoma, the die was cast for development and construction of a new and exciting facility. Nancy LeMay committed some fifteen million dollars as seed money, and promised that nearly a thousand cars from
With a need for space large enough to store his collection and a desire to share his treasures with other enthusiasts, in the late 1980’s LeMay purchased an estate that had served as both a military academy and a retirement and convalescent community for the Sisters of Saint Dominic. Many of his vehicles were moved there, even as his collection grew, and he also used it as a display arena for period memorabilia that so fascinated his wife Nancy. Sadly Harold LeMay passed away in 2000, leaving a mandate that his massive collection not be broken up and sold off, like so many others, but preserved and made available to the public to memorialize the legacy and ingenuity of the American automobile. He had already formed 36
Harold LeMay
America’s Car Museum
America’s Car Museum
“Must see” vehicles at the LeMay Family Collection at Marymount • 1948 Tucker, #7 of 50 built. Purchased after Harold’s death by Nancy in memory of Harold. Rear engine, rear wheel drive, three headlights with center one moving to follow direction of car. • 1932 Ford roadster hot rod. Only one in world powered by gas turbine engine. Built by Boeing engineer Len Williams in 1961-62. • 1969 Dodge Charger “General Lee”. One of 17 documented survivors from the TV show Dukes of Hazzard • 1907 Locomobile model E 5 passenger touring car. Once part of the Bill Hara collection. • 1940 Cadillac convertible sedan series 90 V16. 1 of 2. Only 60 V16’s produced in 1940, all body styles. • 1923 American LaFrance ladder truck. Has original wooden ladders, original 855cid 6 cyl engine. Not restored – original condition. • 1942 International KB-8 Semi tractor. Restored by LeMay restoration shop. • 1958 Buick Century Caballero station wagon. Four door hardtop station wagon built in response to the popularity of the 2 door hard top Chevrolet Nomad and the Pontiac Safari. Only made in 1957 and 58. • 1936’37 Cord Westchester 4 door sedan 812. Originally built as a 36 but was not sold. Returned to factory, modified into a 37, retitled and sold as a 37. Lycoming v8, 125 hp, front wheel drive. • 1929 Kissel White Eagle Speedster. Thought to be 1 of 2 speedsters surviving, and 1 of about 150 Kassel’s of all years and body styles to exist. • Drakko the Dragon. Built in Eugene Oregon to be used to entertain crowds at drag strips. Shoots smoke from nostrils and flame from mouth. • Red Stiletto shoe car. 3 wheeled, powered by motor cycle engine. Not street legal.
Click the bold titles to view image.
the collection would be provided to form the initial collection. The effort received substantial support from the collector car community, with corporate sponsorships and partnerships with General Motors, AAA, International Speedway Corporation, NAPA Auto Parts, State Farm Insurance, and Hagerty Collector Car Insurance, among others.
And Then There Were Two... Construction of the new museum began with a groundbreaking ceremony in 2010, with a Grand Opening gala celebrated in June, 2012. More than a thousand guests partied while savoring the humor and automotive stories from noted car collector Jay Leno. Nearly ten thousand people toured the museum that first weekend, and more than 100,000 had passed through the gates by summer’s end. But, you may ask, “Why two facilities?” The wise-crack answer would be because three was too many and one wasn’t enough. But the fact of the matter is, the two facilities, just a couple miles apart, complement each other enough to make you want to saddle up and “Go West Young Man -- and Woman…” The Museum, officially known as America’s Car Museum is a fourstory structure encompassing some 165,000 square feet of exhibit space, and housing more than 300 cars, trucks, and motorcycles spanning the 20th century. There are 15 MAY 2015
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display areas -- 3 main galleries 6 ramps that can accommodate a dozen cars each, and three end galleries. The museum displays, of course, the cars from the LeMay collection, as well as rotating exhibits of individuals’ collections, or vehicles with a common theme. Some recent themed exhibits include British Invasion, Custom Coachworks, Legends of Motorsports -- The NASCAR Story, vintage station wagons, and a separate display dedicated to the F-series pickup trucks that grew up with America. In addition, the facility houses a theater, banquet hall, meeting rooms, car storage, cafÊ, and administrative offices, along with a 3.5 acre show field that regularly accommodates more than 300 vehicles. The Museum also offers a massive educational program, including scholarships and grants for students, as well as a dedicated education center that offers curricula for K through 12-graders. More than 100,000 children attend the museum and its education center each year. The Museum hosts groups such as car clubs, special events such as marque38
Harold LeMay
All Photos This Page: LeMay Family Collection
specific car shows, banquets, parties, and other celebrations. Recent events include their Wheels & Heels gala in honor of the Kentucky Derby, Cars & Cigars for those who enjoy a stogie and a cognac with their classic cars, a vintage motorcycle festival, and their annual and highly-regarded Pacific Northwest Concours d’Elegance which draws more than 150 of the finest original and restored vehicles you can imagine. Other special events include tributes to American muscle cars, vintage station wagons, and even drive-in movies on its 3.5 acre show field.
But What About the Rest of the Collection? Not to worry. In keeping with LeMay’s wishes and his wife’s efforts, the remainder of the collection remains essentially intact, with some 500 vehicles on continuous display at the abovementioned estate and another thousand vehicles in storage and available for rotation within the permanent display. Roughly 600 of the cars in the collection had been donated to the Museum. It is officially known as The LeMay Family Collection at Marymount, showcases vehicles that are still owned by the LeMay family, and represents more than just cars – it represents all the other related collections that have All Photos This Page: LeMay Family Collection
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been accumulated by the LeMay family over many decades, including Americana, signage, gas pumps, dolls and toys, library materials, etc. The web site for the Family Collection, www.lemaymarymount.org, even includes a clever search tool with which you can search for any make, model, or year of vehicle in the collection. In addition to the vehicles and memorabilia on display, the facility features indoor and outdoor event space for small or large car shows, private events, corporate events, or weddings. There are three exhibit buildings on the grounds. One is presented for self-guided tours, the other two are conducted by tour guides who are intimately familiar with the collection and can answer most questions folks can think of. The collection includes examples from nearly every vehicle manufacturer imaginable, from Rolls-Royce and Auburn to Acme trucks. The collection is roughly 85 percent domestic and 15 percent foreign vehicles, and also includes buses, motorcycles, and tractors and other farm implements. In addition, it offers an extraordinary collection of all types of items from early twentieth century America, including gas pumps, dolls and toys, signage and other objects too numerous to mention. The two facilities, America’s Car Museum and The LeMay Family Collection Foundation, are geographically close, mutually supportive, and automotively complementary, so it’s possible to visit both in a single day if you 40
Harold LeMay
choose. Both are wheelchair-accessible, and both charge a modest admission fee. Parking on the grounds of both is free, and visitors are encouraged to take photos. Café food service is available and there are souvenirs sure to please every age and taste. About the only thing you can’t do there is buy one of their cars... n
More information: www.americascarmuseum.org www.lemaymarymount.org
LeMay Family Collection
LeMay Family Collection
Engine and Transmission Repair Stand by Werner Weitner WW-MG-600V
Applicable in all automobile workshops. Developed for repairing engines and transmissions, up to 1,102 lbs. / 500 kg (especially for 8 up to 12 cylinders). Easy to maneuver even with engine or transmission placed in the stand. 260-degree rotations with load. Compact space-saving design. Selflocking worn gear and lockable rear wheels allow safe positioning. Hydraulic adjustment of load holder height up to 180 mm. Ready to use with removable oil pan and handy tool reack. Engine and transmission support sold seperately. • • • • • •
360o rotatable Single-person operation. Adjustable height Time and space saving. Safe in all positions. Ready to use with oil pan & tool rack.
• • • • •
Max. Width: 31.1” (790 mm). Max. Length: 41.73” (1060 mm). Total Height at Center: 35.43” (900 mm). Flange diameter: 8.66” (220 mm). Load capacity: 1,322 lbs. (600 kg).
Universal Transmission Adaptor
Universal Engine Adapter
WW-GA-400
• Load capacity 400kg. • Perfect accessibility for all types of transmissions. Suitable for common transmissions and axles. • Quick and easy fixing possibilty. • Also suitable for Mercedes-Benz OM651 & M271 EVO. • Designed for the stands MG-250, MG-500 and MG-600V.
WW-6/140
Designed for stands MG-150V, MG-250, MG-500 and MG-600V
Mobile Workshop Crane by Werner Weltner WW-WSK-1000
Applicable in all automobile and commercial vehicle workshops. Perfectly suitable for assembling and disassembling of engines, components and transmissions. Usable for 8 up to 12 cylinder engines. Boom can be adjusted to 5 positions (in increments of 125 mm) and can be applied in different kind of works. Press and Go! An automatic, process Equipped with highcontrolled spot welder with performance hydraulic inverter technology. Very pump. Maneuverable easy to handle and safe in tilted position, easy to use while always giving and space-saving reliable welding results. storage. Designed for • The InvertaSpot GT parallel carriage in automatically recognizes Euro-pallet width. and measures the configuration and thickness of the panels. • Clamping force, amps and welding time are automatically calculated. • The parameters are set Like us on Facebook at: and there is no need for facebook.com/ReliableAutomotiveEquipment manual adjustments. MAY 2015
Spot Welder
Phone: 732-495-7900 e-mail: info@rae1.com www.raeservice.com
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PERFORMANCE TECHNICIAN
Information Station Redesigned Website
Damper for Hellcat Engine
Prolong Super Lubricants has updated its website with a new design, enhanced features and streamlined navigation. The new site offers detailed descriptions of the entire line of products for automotive, industrial, commercial fleet and racing applications. Customers can easily purchase products and receive special offers using the site’s e-commerce page. To learn more, visit www.Prolong.com.
ATI Performance Products has introduced its new Super Damper for the 2015 HEMI Hellcat 6.2L Supercharged engine for street and high performance racing applications. The company says the new aluminum-shell, steel-hub damper is a direct fit replacement for the stock OEM unit and is better capable of handling a wider variety of driving habits that Hellcat owners will put their new cars through. For more info, check out www.atiracing.com or call 866-203-5094.
Mustang The new Hellwig front sway bar for the 2015 Ford Mustang is made from 1-3/8” 1026 DOM tubing to minimize the added weight while increasing performance. It replaces the factory sway bar, installing in the same location, and only requires basic hand tools for the installation; no drilling or welding required. It includes polyurethane bushings and is powder coated. It’s made in the USA and has a lifetime warranty. A matching rear sway bar is also available. For details, visit www.hellwigproducts.com.
Hellwig front sway bar 42
Touch Up Paint AutomotiveTouchup offers the affordable alternative to use custom-formulated, precisely-matched automotive touchup paint. The company says it has the most comprehensive library of OEM colors in the industry, and paints are
DEPARTMENT
created per order in a simple three-step online ordering process using a vehicle’s specific make, model and year. Available in paint pens, bottles or aerosol cans, the products offer a convenient and cost-effective way to make nicks, scratches and chips disappear. Visit AutomotiveTouchup.com or call 888-710-5192.
Front Sway Bar for 2015 Discussion Forums Added to Websites Tenneco has introduced “Tech Talk” discussion forums to its Monroe Brakes, Monroe Shocks and Struts and Walker Exhaust Products websites to help vehicle repair professionals more quickly and accurately diagnose a wide range of vehicle performance issues and select and install the correct replacement ride control, brake and emissions control products. Customers can use the Tech Talk forums to monitor discussions, and once registered as a user, they can post questions regarding any Monroe or Walker product or related repair. Visit the websites at www.monroe.com, monroebrakes.com and walkerexhaust.com.
Lock Catalog Now Available The new 2015 BOLT lock catalog features a wide selection of automotive-grade lock products designed to work with a vehicle’s ignition key, eliminating the need for multiple
keys to secure valuable equipment. The catalog showcases lock products available for a wide range of cars, light trucks, Jeeps, SUVs and CUVs, with all vehicle applications updated through model year 2015. They come with a limited lifetime warranty. For more information, visit www.boltlock.com.
New Air Lift Catalog Available Air Lift Company's 2015 Load Support Product Catalog features the company's wide range of easy to use air spring suspension products available for towing and hauling use and automotive performance applications. The catalog describes the company’s towing safety and ride comfort products for half-ton, 3/4-ton and one-ton pickups, vans SUVs and CUVs. To help consumers understand load support technology and choose the best suspension solution, the catalog includes a frequently asked questions section. The catalog is available at Air Lift dealers nationwide and can also be reviewed on the company's website at www.airliftcompany.com. n MAY 2015
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PERFORMANCE TECHNICIAN
-Greg McConiga, Executive Technical Editor Wandering Fulminations on High-Performance
FINISH Line
It’s Fun Because It’s SUPPOSED To Be Fun! I used to head out to the track every weekend, but I’m not much for race tracks anymore. I don’t go out anymore -- don’t go to movies or restaurants. I buy tools and I work on dirty old cars and build dirty old car engines. When I tell my wife that I just love touching those dirty parts, she just shakes her head and laughs at me and calls me a fool. I’m not sure what that means, but it doesn’t sound very nice. Perhaps she’s implying that I meant something I didn’t intend…
golf because it seems like a waste of time. I don’t bowl because I’m not too good at drinking beer. The Navy ruined me insofar as lakes and the ocean is concerned, and it’s hard to sit through a two-hour movie when I could be building something or welding something or fixing something. For me, a car has pulse, it’s not an appliance -- it’s part artwork, part mechanical marvel, and it looks, feels, and smells like freedom to me. Cars are drive-ins, drag races, cruising
In a word, I’m old and boring. My wife, my kids, and my friends will all concur. I am both blessed and cursed because I work at what I love to do and so my work and my hobby -- my vocation and my vacation -- are inextricably intertwined. I don’t like
The Liberty Cruisers meet once a month through the summer at the Liberty Diner and as often as once a week at another local eatery, the Athenian Diner, as well as hosting other events around the area.
There have been quite a few cars with tight quarters and full engine bay aprons that required a set of fenderwell headers. Cutting into a new or nearly new car to bolt on a set of headers took a certain mindset. Had we known what these cars would eventually be worth, we might have made a different decision.
FROM THE TECHNICAL EDITOR
from north to south and back to north again with your high school sweetheart sitting close and making your mind wander.
local car enthusiasts’ gatherings at a local restaurant here in Fort Wayne. We have a lot of car guys with a lot of cool cars around here. Fort Wayne used to be home to Dana, It was a complete surprise to all who know International Harvester, Mahle, GE, Slater Steel me when I decided to show up for one of the and other big automotive and industrial concerns, and there are remnants of those companies still around, although they’re just shadows of what they once were. The Auburn Cord Duesenberg museum is just up the road and, of course, we’re only about three hours from Detroit, once mighty and proud, the economic juggernaut that drove a country’s economy for four or five generations. There’s something for everyone. This Lingenfelter prepared In my opinion, Sandberg Corvette boasted some impressive power. Local racer John got it wrong: It was Lingenfelter died after a racing accident some years ago, but Detroit that was the City his company soldiers on. of Broad Shoulders. And, of course, we’re just two hours north of Indianapolis. One need say nothing about that other than it’s Indy.
Car clubs are like America: full of individuals who do what they do because what they produce is a reflection of their individuality. There are some real craftsman in this group.
I’m more than a little disappointed in my country and our leaders. I think we’ve lost our heart and soul. Now we export our manufacturing, break our inter-generational compacts, lose our tribal knowledge --
PERFORMANCE TECHNICIAN
how to do things efficiently and affordably is slowly fading -- and we forget how to take raw materials from Mother Earth and shape them into cars and ships and airplanes and gigantic things of value. Our legacy of freedom and innovation is slowly being stolen from us while we train our cultural and
economic enemies on how best to supplant us as the engine of the world’s economy. But what do I know? I’m just a car guy…
This is the kind of thing that makes it fun. Who would’ve thought about building a six banger with three carbs on it? Of course, it’s a lot nicer to work on than a monster V8 stuffed into that tiny engine bay. Offenhauser heads and headers and chrome. It’s all good….
This GTO and Chevy II were two of my favorites. 46
I’m not a huge AMC fan, but this AMX was a beauty. You don’t see many of these around anymore.
Yes, I know it’s a slant six -- but it’s Plum Crazy! I just love a color that shouts “look at me!”
When you think car clubs, you don’t think classic Volvos, and yet here is one sitting shoulder-to-shoulder with the muscle cars. It got an amazing amount of attention because it was so well done.
Below: Loved this guy’s sign: “If you’re not with us you’re behind us.” Mopar guys are among the most dedicated enthusiasts out there. MAY 2015
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I digress. The Liberty Diner sits on the end of what is known as Coliseum Boulevard and the first gathering of the Hot Rods of Spring was last weekend. After considerable nagging by several of my friends, I managed to suppress my antisocial nature and went over for an hour, just to look around. What a hoot! There were round fendered cars from the fifties (an era that I’m not that familiar with…) hot rods, street cars, muscle cars, classic cars, and survivor cars. There was a little something for everybody. All the people were friendly and enthusiastic, and cheerfully shared the story of their car and how it had evolved to its current state. I heard all about how long they had it, what iterations it had been through, how it got passed along through the family and how many times it had been redone, rebuilt, and resurrected from either the steel termites or a fender bender. And then I realized this is what you do when you lock up the shop. You go find a bunch of like-minded car guys and gals and you go hang out and talk about what we all love -- dirty old cars. It’s fun. It’s fun because it’s supposed to be fun! n 48
There’s no mistaking this one. This is what I love about older cars -- they’re distinctive and sexy. They have hips and waists and flowing lines. I don’t have to see the nameplate to know what they are.
This one is still with the original owner, and apparently he has a little time on his hands and a need for speed. I didn’t see it with the hood closed, but it looks like all that hardware sticking up out of the hood might make checking traffic a challenge.
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