Dr.Jass
Pastor of Muppets
Might as well get a progress thread going on the 1969 Valiant Signet as well, though there won't be much to report on it at regular intervals for awhile.
Thus far, since dragging it home I've gotten it running, which was surprisingly easy despite decade-old fuel and somewhat gnarly plugs (not that I checked them first). I dropped the distributor back into it approximately where I guessed it should be and ran it on a Diet Coke bottle full of gas with a squirt hole in the cap until the really-nasty stuff in the lines and carb were flushed. It ran well, but the noise from the valvetrain was, uh, impressive. The previous owner had started a valve adjustment--he said he'd finished it--but I don't believe he quite grasped the difference between .020" and .200" as you could nearly chuck a cat between the valves and rockers on several, OK most, of the valves. I adjusted the lash and other than the exhaust, the engine is now as quiet as a Bernie Sanders supporter when asked about Venezuela. I replaced the valve cover, performed an oil and filter change, and called that done.
Of course, the engine then developed a dead miss, which I attributed to The Eternal Sucking of Points combined with the weak compression I noticed on one cylinder while setting the valve lash. As is standard practice 'round here, I ordered up a Pertronix Ignitor and flung the Kettering trash in the appropriate receptacle. Once again, I can't recommend the Ignitor enough. It's ridiculously easy, reliable as a stone ax, and works 1,000 times better than the best point setup by Chuck Kettering himself. The car started more quickly, revved better (it's a 225 Slant, don't get too excited), and had a noticeable improvement in low end torque. The remainder of the ignition system at that point was exactly as I acquired it, including cap, rotor, and wires. A quick change of the plugs and not surprisingly, it improved further.
I still have very little idea where the timing is, and the idle mixture needs to be set. Alas, I have more important things to occupy my time at the moment so those minor irritations can wait, as can the needed exhaust repairs.
Future upgrades include replacing the bad LH front rail and upgrading the front of the car to the Kelsey-Hayes small-bolt 4-piston disc brakes. Even further in the future, it might find a smallblock between the rails and 8.75" axle under its rear. Things I don't plan to change include the interior, column-shift automatic, wheels (I'll get center caps), or the paint color (I may go to a different shade of white). The vinyl top will most likely disappear, but I think I will probably go with a painted roof if/when that happens.
As she sits right now:
Thus far, since dragging it home I've gotten it running, which was surprisingly easy despite decade-old fuel and somewhat gnarly plugs (not that I checked them first). I dropped the distributor back into it approximately where I guessed it should be and ran it on a Diet Coke bottle full of gas with a squirt hole in the cap until the really-nasty stuff in the lines and carb were flushed. It ran well, but the noise from the valvetrain was, uh, impressive. The previous owner had started a valve adjustment--he said he'd finished it--but I don't believe he quite grasped the difference between .020" and .200" as you could nearly chuck a cat between the valves and rockers on several, OK most, of the valves. I adjusted the lash and other than the exhaust, the engine is now as quiet as a Bernie Sanders supporter when asked about Venezuela. I replaced the valve cover, performed an oil and filter change, and called that done.
Of course, the engine then developed a dead miss, which I attributed to The Eternal Sucking of Points combined with the weak compression I noticed on one cylinder while setting the valve lash. As is standard practice 'round here, I ordered up a Pertronix Ignitor and flung the Kettering trash in the appropriate receptacle. Once again, I can't recommend the Ignitor enough. It's ridiculously easy, reliable as a stone ax, and works 1,000 times better than the best point setup by Chuck Kettering himself. The car started more quickly, revved better (it's a 225 Slant, don't get too excited), and had a noticeable improvement in low end torque. The remainder of the ignition system at that point was exactly as I acquired it, including cap, rotor, and wires. A quick change of the plugs and not surprisingly, it improved further.
I still have very little idea where the timing is, and the idle mixture needs to be set. Alas, I have more important things to occupy my time at the moment so those minor irritations can wait, as can the needed exhaust repairs.
Future upgrades include replacing the bad LH front rail and upgrading the front of the car to the Kelsey-Hayes small-bolt 4-piston disc brakes. Even further in the future, it might find a smallblock between the rails and 8.75" axle under its rear. Things I don't plan to change include the interior, column-shift automatic, wheels (I'll get center caps), or the paint color (I may go to a different shade of white). The vinyl top will most likely disappear, but I think I will probably go with a painted roof if/when that happens.
As she sits right now:
