LocostUSA.com

Yah, one of the enjoyable aspects of the car. My wife goes along with it also, even the pretty girls. Except for one time.

We were both sitting in the car and this absolute Babe, wearing, uh, a pretty summer smock and standing on the curb, leaned way down sort of in my wife's face and said "I love your car". "Thanks" said my wife in an icy tone, I'm sure with clenched fingers. I was smiling for the rest of the day.

Ron

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They say a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. By the time you finish the car it'll feel like you've done it on your knees.

Nice to hear from you Ron. I finally got broke down and modified the exhaust on my loud 4AGE. I routed the exhaust out the back, plus added a motorcycle muffler on the end. Made a big difference.
DaveW

Pictures or it didn't happen?

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Geek49203 aka
Tim Wohlford
Louisville, KY
Hayes front, S10 +2 rear, Lalo body.

Ron typing his post after he took a picture of the Babe.

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Martin


My build log:
viewtopic.php?f=35&t=14520&start=0
My build video:
https://vimeo.com/143524140 password "matovid"

Picture? I have a picture, it's etched permanently in my brain.

Ron

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They say a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. By the time you finish the car it'll feel like you've done it on your knees.

I'll bet it gets better every time you look at it, too!

The crazy thing is, I can see her too!! Um...wow!

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Scratch building, at continental-drift speed, a custom McSoreley-design framed, dual-Weber 45DCOE carburated, Zetec-engined, ridiculously fast money pit.

http://zetec7.webs.com/

Knowing you both make this that much funnier..

Im only going to put one seat in my car now and avoid that situation all together.

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build log http://locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=2142

I obviously did something wrong... I'm pretty sure the Slotus actually repels women...

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JD, father of Quinn, Son of a... Build Log
Quinn the Slotus:Ford 302 Powered, Mallock-Inspired, Tube Frame, Hillclimb Special
"Gonzo and friends: Last night must have been quite a night. Camelot moments, mechanical marvels, Rustoleum launches, flying squirrels, fru-fru tea cuppers, V8 envy, Ensure catch cans -- and it wasn't even a full moon." -- SeattleTom

Well, win some, loose some.

I did two things over the winter before the car went back on the road, make a tonneau cover and add a small catalytic converter.

One was the tonneau cover. It's a winner. Despite being vinyl that doesn't have much stretch in it, it's worked our perfectly. Goes off and on easily and gives a nice feel to driving with it on.

The catalytic converter is a mixed bag. I can't hear much difference in the exhaust note. A little steel wool up the muffler works better.

So then I got insurance for 5 months and went for my first drive of the season. Serious mis-firing kicks in about 3500 rpm.

I immediately put in premium gas thinking that I might have a little condensation from the cold in the garage but that hasn't made any difference. Then I checked the distributor cap and plugs and they look good. Then I pulled off the catalytic converter and replaced it with a straight section of tube. No difference. So I've put the catalytic converter back on.

I'm a little surprised, the engine's ran flawlessly for 8 years. Guess i have to get the manual out and start trouble-shooting.

Ron

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They say a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. By the time you finish the car it'll feel like you've done it on your knees.

Ron
Time for some new spark plugs. My 4AGE is very sensitive to plug gap, with a 30yr old coil. The new plugs need to be set at .032" . [verify new the plugs, must are to wide from the factory] I put in new plugs every 5000 miles, It would probably cheaper if I just bought a coil. DaveW

Are you saying that you hadn't used premium? If you had regular in your float bowls, they are probably full of gunk. Unfortunately none of the additives will get rid of it completely. I just bought a small dirt bike for my daughter, and I had to completely disassemble the carb and clean it manually. I don't know what they are using to stretch regular these days, but it looks like drywall compound and gorilla snot are a favourite.

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Martin


My build log:
viewtopic.php?f=35&t=14520&start=0
My build video:
https://vimeo.com/143524140 password "matovid"

An awful lot of the country also has ethanol in Premium so it wouldn't make a difference.

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mobilito ergo sum
I drive therefore I am

I can explain it to you,
but I can't understand it for you.

Martin, I usually use mid-grade or premium and I always leave it topped up with premium for winter storage. I just put in some fresh gas as the first thing to do when this problem started.

OK, I put in new plugs, went down to the highway, revved out to 4000 or so in 3 gears and started chanting, "Dave, you the man." Then I turned around and it started missing again sometimes and sometimes not.

But there's a mystery. This engine has run flawlessly for 8 years. It wasn't even the intended engine but it ran so well it just got left in the car. So I've never done anything to it.

I thought that it'd be good to check the timing. I dug out my very old light and I was surprised that I couldn't pick up the yellow painted mark on the crankshaft pulley.

I put #1 to TDC using a dowel to indicate precise TDC. The #1 rotor position was correct and agreed with the distributor cap. The mark on the crankshaft pulley was way down in about the 4 o'clock position. If I put the timing mark on "0" degrees the piston is nowhere near TDC. Can't for the life of me figure out how this could be. There can't be any change in the relationship between the crankshaft pulley and #1 piston.

I punched a new mark for TDC and advanced the timing a bit. Still a miss about 3500 especially when accelerating in 3rd. 1st and 2nd acceleration now seem pretty good.

I might sub in another coil that I have but it's condition is unkown.

I'm starting to wonder if it's some form of fuel starvation. Maybe I should be changing the fuel filter etc.

This is going to drive me nuts until its solved. I hate intermittent problems.

Ron

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They say a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. By the time you finish the car it'll feel like you've done it on your knees.

Ron
Check your fuel pressure. It should be about 40 PSI. If it is below a couple PSI lower then 40, then try running with the vacuum line to the pressure reg removed and plug at the line to manifold. Then if still low back, track to verify if the problem is either the reg or the pump or possibly a filter. If pressure is good then then fueling issue is probably injectors. I made a cleaning set-up using a 9V battery , switch and epoxy a carb clean straw to a fitting to clean my injectors. I would also place the injector thru a jar lid so, to prevent a big mess while spraying cleaner thru the injector. plus you can see the spray pattern. See photo of a VERY high tech 4AGE injector cleaning system.
The timing issue is probably the crank damper outer ring moving. The rubber bonding on the pulley allows the outer ring to slowing move, which throughs off the timing notch. Find TDC and just file a new notch. I put a paint mark on one of my old pulleys inner/outer rings, to be able to verify possible timing mark movement. DaveW

Ron
Does the engine continue to mis-fire above 4000 RPM. If it mis-fires just in a small 1,500 RPM or less range then, cleans out in the 6 to 7000 range, it could be the a wear spot in the TPS. If you have a VOM, you verify the TPS function. My old TPS had a dead spot just under 2000 RPM. DaveW