Restoration thread 1969 St Albans charger

Use this forum for all your builds in progress.

Moderator: Moderators

Chargingatchya
Posts: 99
Joined: Tue Jul 21, 20 6:55 pm

Re: Restoration thread 1969 St Albans charger

Post by Chargingatchya »

Replying to me own post and going back on what I said I don’t think or has a dash pot plunger from factory.
User avatar
Blue
Posts: 14164
Joined: Sun Apr 18, 04 11:29 pm
Location: Straight outta Royston

Re: Restoration thread 1969 St Albans charger

Post by Blue »

Another Holley fan here, simple carbs that you can get parts for anywhere. I prefer double pumpers, completely mechanical in operation and the maximum of tuning options for sharp throttle response. To learn how to set up timing and Holley carbs, this is very useful https://4secondsflat.com/products/tuningtowin.html
“This ain’t no party, this ain’t no disco, this ain’t no foolin’ around”
User avatar
Pete
Posts: 21944
Joined: Sun Apr 18, 04 10:49 pm
Location: MMA Chairman

Re: Restoration thread 1969 St Albans charger

Post by Pete »

My personal advice is not to cut corners on carburation, especially with an old one.

It will have you chasing your tail for faults, and those carbs (whilst simple in construction) are not easy to diagnose and tune.

All the internal channels will be furred up and corroded and will not function as designed out of the box.

We have an ultrasonic cleaner for such purposes, but I still do not like the basic design, and feel you can do a lot better.
Pete Wiseman; Cambridge.

Mopar by the grace of God
User avatar
Pete
Posts: 21944
Joined: Sun Apr 18, 04 10:49 pm
Location: MMA Chairman

Re: Restoration thread 1969 St Albans charger

Post by Pete »

PS: Get Blue to show you his recent "Carb Porn" acquisition....
Pete Wiseman; Cambridge.

Mopar by the grace of God
Chargingatchya
Posts: 99
Joined: Tue Jul 21, 20 6:55 pm

Re: Restoration thread 1969 St Albans charger

Post by Chargingatchya »

I was planning on doing some engine upgrades during body and paint part of the resto. I was planning on pulling the engine and taking care of any tuning and upgrade plans when I pulled the engine for paint which I’m hoping to get to by April next year. I just want to get it running so I can move it around, up ramps etc just for now as I still have a little welding and protecting to do underneath. I will definitely be upgrading the carb and have been researching to find something suitable. I have found a 650 Holley that I was planning on but now will look into Double pumpers and see if the particular carb I was looking at is inline with your recommendation, thank you @ blue.

I have so much to learn with carbs honestly I have no experience, and my knowledge is VERY limited so all the advice is very much appreciated and welcomed.….
Last edited by Chargingatchya on Sun Nov 21, 21 3:12 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Chargingatchya
Posts: 99
Joined: Tue Jul 21, 20 6:55 pm

Re: Restoration thread 1969 St Albans charger

Post by Chargingatchya »

Pete wrote: Sun Nov 21, 21 12:43 pm My personal advice is not to cut corners on carburation, especially with an old one.

It will have you chasing your tail for faults, and those carbs (whilst simple in construction) are not easy to diagnose and tune.

All the internal channels will be furred up and corroded and will not function as designed out of the box.

We have an ultrasonic cleaner for such purposes, but I still do not like the basic design, and feel you can do a lot better.
Thank you mate. Sound advice, as ever.
Chargingatchya
Posts: 99
Joined: Tue Jul 21, 20 6:55 pm

Re: Restoration thread 1969 St Albans charger

Post by Chargingatchya »

Blue wrote: Sun Nov 21, 21 10:21 am Another Holley fan here, simple carbs that you can get parts for anywhere. I prefer double pumpers, completely mechanical in operation and the maximum of tuning options for sharp throttle response. To learn how to set up timing and Holley carbs, this is very useful https://4secondsflat.com/products/tuningtowin.html
Thank you mate I will definitely be researching in to this I really need to brush up and soak up as much info as possible.

Thanks!
User avatar
morgan
Posts: 4130
Joined: Sat Sep 10, 05 7:22 pm
Location: Berkhamsted - Herts.

Re: Restoration thread 1969 St Albans charger

Post by morgan »

Pete wrote: Sun Nov 21, 21 12:44 pm PS: Get Blue to show you his recent "Carb Porn" acquisition....
Blue. Show me your carb-porn acquisition.
"Cum homine de cane debeo congredi." Woof.

Current Charger status - "Working !"
User avatar
Blue
Posts: 14164
Joined: Sun Apr 18, 04 11:29 pm
Location: Straight outta Royston

Re: Restoration thread 1969 St Albans charger

Post by Blue »

At the risk of a thread hijack, this is my custom built billet carb for the Barracuda..
Attachments
C606374F-E31D-4FAE-B52D-F67FF1442346.jpeg
C606374F-E31D-4FAE-B52D-F67FF1442346.jpeg (153.75 KiB) Viewed 14341 times
“This ain’t no party, this ain’t no disco, this ain’t no foolin’ around”
Chargingatchya
Posts: 99
Joined: Tue Jul 21, 20 6:55 pm

Re: Restoration thread 1969 St Albans charger

Post by Chargingatchya »

Blue wrote: Mon Nov 22, 21 7:34 pm At the risk of a thread hijack, this is my custom built billet carb for the Barracuda..
Hijack all you like… that’s inspiration right there 😍
User avatar
Dave999
Posts: 9427
Joined: Thu Feb 24, 05 10:31 am
Location: Twickenham,London, England

Re: Restoration thread 1969 St Albans charger

Post by Dave999 »

https://vevor.co.uk/products/6l-ultraso ... 67e5&_ss=r

:) :)

parts washer fluid or distlled water and a slop of floor detergent
clean then blow dry or warm in oven if you have removed all rubbery and plasticy bits
the cavitation should remove any flakes and furry bits

has to be said a new carb is always going to be easier than an old unknown quantity

had edelbrock, was alright never quite got there, before i spent some money on 3 webers and never quite got there
both hard work :)

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/384495389701 ... lsrc=aw.ds


fuel injection might be nice

kit with throttle body injection

Or
basic throttle body
injectors
injector bosses
modified inlet manifold
fuel rail
regulator
pump
return line
pre and post pump filters
2 barb fuel sender/outlet for tank
ECU
water temp sender
TPS
MAP (usually in ECU)
some kind of trigger, 36-1 wheel on front, a cam sensor or a basic locked out Dizzy/ELB dizzy for batch fire basic injection


will you want to end up here in 2 - 3 years ? now is you chance to re plumb or wire for FI


Dave
The Greater Knapweed near the Mugwort by the Buckthorn tree is dying
Chargingatchya
Posts: 99
Joined: Tue Jul 21, 20 6:55 pm

Re: Restoration thread 1969 St Albans charger

Post by Chargingatchya »

Okay it’s been a while and I have been a busy boy. Not as productive as I’d like in all honesty, I painted up some engine parts because we all know paining fans and pulleys makes the car go faster 🤣
80499F7E-E0A2-400B-AB99-7D08A7F059F4.jpeg
80499F7E-E0A2-400B-AB99-7D08A7F059F4.jpeg (190.56 KiB) Viewed 14155 times
But, my goal was to get her running early 2022 and whilst I have achieved that, the plan was more to be putting the key in and moving her around, not bypassing the ballast to keep her running…

I’m getting ahead of the thread… il back Track a tad..

So having decided a new vac secondary, manual choke 750cfm Holley. I decided to go with a slightly bigger carb than I had planned because, as recommended by the seasoned veterans on this page, one does seem to get sucked in to the “let’s make it go faster” bandwagon. It’s all quite addictive and I do see myself upgrading quite a bit in future. I installed all new fuel system, and adding huge amounts of horsepower by spending hours to clean and de-grease the engine bay I managed to get the confidence together to fire her up.
61C87883-6BE9-4364-98E5-4989F515D49D.jpeg
61C87883-6BE9-4364-98E5-4989F515D49D.jpeg (183.61 KiB) Viewed 14155 times
Whilst she ran, and she ran well! She did reveal a few issues for me. My concerns are…
390B6326-427C-4347-87C8-934CAFC78156.jpeg
390B6326-427C-4347-87C8-934CAFC78156.jpeg (246.61 KiB) Viewed 14155 times
Milky residue under valve cover so I need to investigate the head gasket. It may well be because it’s been sitting for so long however I think il have to do the gaskets as the car came with a nice set of pure copper Milodon gaskets and I can’t help but think why would they be there otherwise!
115F5534-4ED8-4335-AC00-989363681468.jpeg
115F5534-4ED8-4335-AC00-989363681468.jpeg (186.33 KiB) Viewed 14155 times
The car would not stay on with key ignition unless I had the key in “crank” at all times. I had to bypass this at which point the car stayed running. I have installed new ballast resistor, ignition relay and ignition coil because, well, they are cheap and easy to do and why not at this point. I have not tried re starting the car since doing these but I’m hopeful that has sorted that issue.

Huge leak from valve cover, a cracked corner of the valve cover was present so replaced them as the existing covers were in quite a state, quite happy to do that as, because, well…. Race car :)
AD933DBF-F077-4A95-B2C6-2D30475D168A.jpeg
AD933DBF-F077-4A95-B2C6-2D30475D168A.jpeg (127.7 KiB) Viewed 14155 times

I have an oil leak where the sump meets the timing chain cover. I installed a double roller timing chain set and realised that the bolt that meets the cover to the sump was threaded and believe this is the issue. I won’t be changing the timing chain cover at this point, will just put a nut in order to get it tight enough to stop the leak.


After installing the Holley the carb was binding when throttle was activated. I over come this by fabricating a 5mm thick aluminium plate between the intake and carb. Works a treat now but I may well take the intake for machining at a later date.

I need to force start her! I literally need to poor fuel in the carb to start every time. Fuel delivery LOOKS to be good, not really sure the reason for this, if anyone has an opinion or better still, a fix :lol: I’d love to hear it. I have not done any adjustments to new Holley. Literally just thrown it on.

Radiator leaking all over the place. A new aluminium rad should be delivered today or tomorrow. I know this isn’t for the purist but I honestly just want the car to cool well and at this point most of my car was made in Taiwan so at this point that Im just happy the car may well see the road again :lol:

Good things, all the dash seems to work! Bizaare! And, When I did trick her to run, she ran well. I didn’t expect to start her and off for a drive, so none of the above surprise me and pretty much on parr with my expectations. Hopefully il be able to get these bit installed this weekend and post some new pics and footage. If the wind doesn’t blow me away, it will be a productive weekend…

Managed to acquire transmission Kick down parts from our one and only blue il have to piece together.

So much has been done that I’m forgetting to mention. Ordered inner fenders from AMD, installed Trunk extensions, heater box and blower motor rebuilt/installed, All new hoses, fluids, oils, u joints, wiring, dash restored and re installed (part re installed anyway) Iv done some gap adjustments, and so much else. Il throw some pics in below, I have not stopped!
BA21990E-D87D-42D0-8BEA-E4C2AE008EFE.jpeg
BA21990E-D87D-42D0-8BEA-E4C2AE008EFE.jpeg (218.5 KiB) Viewed 14155 times
A97D1B3D-BC77-4526-BDB4-A61CC8D5A4E3.jpeg
A97D1B3D-BC77-4526-BDB4-A61CC8D5A4E3.jpeg (213.39 KiB) Viewed 14155 times
E190AD89-F5AD-49D9-9638-F2903EE0169D.jpeg
E190AD89-F5AD-49D9-9638-F2903EE0169D.jpeg (126.54 KiB) Viewed 14155 times
E108689A-9BD6-4955-8FBC-EF3527FDC2FE.jpeg
E108689A-9BD6-4955-8FBC-EF3527FDC2FE.jpeg (209.19 KiB) Viewed 14155 times
Attachments
10EA8E70-FF07-496A-929E-1ADBF7CFA37F.jpeg
10EA8E70-FF07-496A-929E-1ADBF7CFA37F.jpeg (117.12 KiB) Viewed 14155 times
49759187-C7B4-4FE9-84D7-6159C6DE73F5.jpeg
49759187-C7B4-4FE9-84D7-6159C6DE73F5.jpeg (120.63 KiB) Viewed 14155 times
394E1487-DD76-4FDF-92A3-FC5F7EE85C0C.jpeg
394E1487-DD76-4FDF-92A3-FC5F7EE85C0C.jpeg (163.61 KiB) Viewed 14155 times
9FA6040D-6DF6-41E6-AC35-029FF4EAEB01.jpeg
9FA6040D-6DF6-41E6-AC35-029FF4EAEB01.jpeg (101.11 KiB) Viewed 14155 times
55192CE3-9FFD-4259-AE6A-AAA1D471A957.jpeg
55192CE3-9FFD-4259-AE6A-AAA1D471A957.jpeg (178.72 KiB) Viewed 14155 times
User avatar
Dave999
Posts: 9427
Joined: Thu Feb 24, 05 10:31 am
Location: Twickenham,London, England

Re: Restoration thread 1969 St Albans charger

Post by Dave999 »

with no choke there is a knack to starting and if running orginal dizzy you probably have way too little initial timing but can't set it to what it wants becasue that will result in far too much total timing

worry abou that later.

cold winters day start up after a bit of a lay up

correct mental attitude is key. " I expect it to start"

pump acclerator twice or thrice shifts some nasty old petrol through makes some space for new in the bowl
turn key wub wub wub wub wub
stop
relax, breath in. breathe out
pump acclerator 3 times (fuel bowls will have filled some what with new fuel)
turn key
a tiny crack of throttle
wub wub wub catch catch
blip throttle a few time and it should start
if not
relax etc etc
try again

would be odd for it not to start 3rd go.

if you sit with foot to floor labouring away naaaa too lean
or stamping throttle too much..flood.... wet plugs don't spark

Then it won't start just to spite you, walk way for 15 minutes otherwise you just head down the path of looking for the battery charger

once in use and you have blown the cobwebs away it will realise what is expected of it... :) and play nice from then on
i.e the rings losen up, the cylinder walls have a bit of lube the ring seal gets better, compresion gets a smidge better, any valve that has sat open for 40 days or 40 years will lose its slight crust of corrosion, gummy plugs clean up a bit it just wakes up.

unless its a totally worn out smokeing chugger of a motor you should be alright

Dave
The Greater Knapweed near the Mugwort by the Buckthorn tree is dying
Chargingatchya
Posts: 99
Joined: Tue Jul 21, 20 6:55 pm

Re: Restoration thread 1969 St Albans charger

Post by Chargingatchya »

Dave999 wrote: Wed Feb 23, 22 11:58 am with no choke there is a knack to starting and if running orginal dizzy you probably have way too little initial timing but can't set it to what it wants becasue that will result in far too much total timing

worry abou that later.

cold winters day start up after a bit of a lay up

correct mental attitude is key. " I expect it to start"

pump acclerator twice or thrice shifts some nasty old petrol through makes some space for new in the bowl
turn key wub wub wub wub wub
stop
relax, breath in. breathe out
pump acclerator 3 times (fuel bowls will have filled some what with new fuel)
turn key
a tiny crack of throttle
wub wub wub catch catch
blip throttle a few time and it should start
if not
relax etc etc
try again

would be odd for it not to start 3rd go.

if you sit with foot to floor labouring away naaaa too lean
or stamping throttle too much..flood.... wet plugs don't spark

Then it won't start just to spite you, walk way for 15 minutes otherwise you just head down the path of looking for the battery charger

once in use and you have blown the cobwebs away it will realise what is expected of it... :) and play nice from then on
i.e the rings losen up, the cylinder walls have a bit of lube the ring seal gets better, compresion gets a smidge better, any valve that has sat open for 40 days or 40 years will lose its slight crust of corrosion, gummy plugs clean up a bit it just wakes up.

unless its a totally worn out smokeing chugger of a motor you should be alright

Dave
Thank you mate, always a wealth of good advice and information from you. 👌🏽
User avatar
Blue
Posts: 14164
Joined: Sun Apr 18, 04 11:29 pm
Location: Straight outta Royston

Re: Restoration thread 1969 St Albans charger

Post by Blue »

Happy to take those nasty old valve covers off your hands if you want rid of them! I wouldn't use the copper head gaskets, there's no need and regular composite are perfectly adequate and hassle free.
“This ain’t no party, this ain’t no disco, this ain’t no foolin’ around”
Post Reply