So, its been a while without an update. I know this is a pretty lousy build thread, but I promise I am still lurking. I'm really trying to get thru the summer months without downtime for the Monte, so occasions for turning wrenches have been few and far between. But I am learning a lot and trying to educate myself.
I did make some progress however since my last post. When I first got her, she had a notable wobble in the water pulley, so assuming the bearing was toast, I decided to replace the pump in April - fun fact, there are 2 different colors of "Chevy Orange" engine paint at Advance Auto Parts...ask me how I know. Note the 50 years of dirt and grime on the frame, suspension etc- this will be relevant in the near future
SInce I had the front of the engine apart anyway, I decided to dive headfirst down the project-creep rabbit hole and took the opportunity to clean the aforementioned half-century's worth of South Carolina grime out off the fram and out of the engine bay. Aaaand, since it was gonna be so clean, I decided to brush on POR-15 wherever I could reach (which, without the worlds largest fan shroud in the way, turns out to be quite a lot of places). For those that dont know, POR-15 is a rust encapsulating material that goes on like paint, but if you do all the prep, the way the instructions say, and apply it correctly and in a low humidity environment, its bulletproof. and far superior to paint. Part of the prep is applying an acidic etching agent that turns everything white (the white stuff is something like phosphorous or potasium or one of the elements - this is what the encapsulator bonds with to adhere to the metal). First you clean with degreaser, then you apply the etching agent liberally with a spray bottle:
It looks grimy above, but its actually very clean and nearly raw metal. After the prep, you end up with the white stuff I mentioned:
From there, after donning a good quality respirator (cuz the fumes are super noxious) and a paint suit (because POR-15 bonds to skin like ticks to a deer's ass), you just use 827 disposable chip brushes to apply the stuff all over the place. It actually flows relatively well off a brush, but I suggest buying many small cans of the stuff vs 1 big one. The big can is good for a large job like a floor pan or a naked frame, where youre going to do a large area at once. But the stuff has a short-ish pot life, and if you open the can, it will need to be tossed once you complete the task. Just the air inside partially used and then closed can will cause it to continue to cure. Ive heard tale that using plastic wrap on top of the surface of unused POR-15 might help prolong a in-use can, but I wouldnt count on it lasting more than a few days that way. The smaller cans allow you to do a smaller project without tossing a bunch of the stuff. Anyway, the results were better than I expected.
All in all it was about 2 days of prep (mostly cleaning, only about 2 hours if that was the etching process - spray, wait 15 min, spray, wait 15 min repeat x4) and another day of application. Then 2 days to cure. I couldnt be happier with the results. It just looks like paint, but I can rest easy knowing that at least the front frame and suspension will last a long while. The rest of the frame (that I can get to without going body-off) will get its turn this coming winter. If you look closely at this shot, you can see the front frame and the upper A-arms poking thru
Also of note, I decided to have the TH350 automatic rebuilt in April as well - it was leaking from every place it could leak. Now it shifts super firmly...no shift kit, and a stock converter, just now with super crisp shifts. No pics, but imagine a hot-tanked and now very clean automatic transmission that otherwise is not exciting in any possible way.
Now, back to the carb...
I watched a lot of Uncle Tony (great suggestions from the forum, thanks!) and started with basics - getting float, idle, and mixes close to right. Pete was right above, the jets are probably too restrictive because it takes a lot of mix screw to make small impacts to the carbs behavior. I bought a vacuum gauge and will be working to fine tune things vs just "that sounds better" this winter. With that said, earlier in the year, I replaced the accelerator pump squirt nozzle, going up one size. I also added what may be the same equivalent muscle car snake oil as Warm air Intakes are to the tuner crowd - a Thompson performance Powerblast Plate. This is a little brass plate, bent on a brake, that sits under the squirter nozzle and is supposed to atomize the spray by spreading it off the cut edge of the brass plate versus the nozzle just acting like a squirt gun aimed down the gullet of the carb. IDK if it works, but Im still of the opinion that I have significantly more carb than I need, so this is probably super unnecessary anyway. Between the new nozzle and the plate I was maybe $45 in, so it was worth it to try a potential cheap fix.
I did have someone suggest that it may be my power-valve in the carb - apparently, these can get bent and become sticky after a lean condition carb backfire. The valve could also be over/undersized to the engine . A mismatch could contribute to an off-idle stumble if youre making too much vacuum (which I could be given its a 2 barrel engine with stock exhaust manifolds and cam, while wearing a moderately sized 4 barrel carb) and the valve isnt opening at the right time/rate. More to come - again, i dont want to have downtime in the summer, so a carb rebuild will be coming in the winter months. A vacuum test will help determine which valve that I should be using, so we shall see.
Lastly, have a few other maybe-projects planned for the off season - new headers, new front swaybar mounts and end links, install a rear swaybar with tubular rear control arms, and maybe a rear disc brake conversion. Im also earily suspicious that i have bad piston rings/cylinder bores. On the freeway cruisng at 60, when you let off the gas to coast, she'll produce a not-inconsiderable puff of blue smoke. She has a real drinking problem - probably consumes about a quarter quart of dinosaur juice every 2-3 times i take her out. Between that and her declining oil pressure at idle after she warms up tells me we probably need to get a good look inside. Probably gonna get a scope and go in thru the spark plug holes/do a compression test.
Regardless, onward and upward. The summer isnt over yet and Im still having more fun per dollar than anyone has any right to. The Monte found her way to several shows and cruise-ins this summer (and hopefully more to come). She gets a ton of attention everywhere, though no hardware yet. Every time I have her out, someone stops to tell me about the sweet Monte that their uncle had or the one they sold after high school that they wish desperately to have back...its regular as clockwork. So here are some obligatory pics from this summer (nevermind the silly effects, i was playing with pic editing apps...)
Thanks for allowing me to rant and ramble. Any and all ideas or feedback are welcome.
