Fixing Eddie

[FuzzFace2]

Thanks on the truck.
No I work for a company has about 600+ people that run through out USA and I hear lately into Canada.
When I got back to my yard today From a 330 mile round trip to pick up a full cement trailer to unload they were just sorting out the 6 new Peterbilt sleepers, the boss has think 10 new trucks already on the lot.

Besides the LP & cement we also do hot liquid asphalt, rock & sand (dump trailers) and I think they are getting into flat bed trailers.

He has 3 large tow trucks and equipment to pick up wrecks when they happen.
Where I park that shop (built 2 years ago) builds / equips the new trucks and trailers and a body shop with truck spray booth. He just moved the trailer rebuild part down the street as it was getting this shop to dirty LOL.
I been with them for 6 years now and hope to retire with them in 4 years but got a feeling they will want me to stay on for the winter LP season.
Dave ----

[firefire]

Hi. Then you are working in a big trucking company compared to Norwegian standards. Our trucks ( 14 ) serve everything between local places and whole Europe. Since Norway is almost a member of the EU we are invaded by trucks from Polen, Latvia, Litauen and Romania. They have dumped the prices. 80 % of Norwegian  salmon go with these guys to the EU. When I drove this in the 80 ' and 90' it was only Norwegian trucks. So times have changed. My company does a lot of special transports which is better paid. You can check us out at   einarvalde.no   .I may also retire in 1 til 6 years from now.
What have I done to Eddie lately ? I have ordered some goodies from Holley for my Demon carburetor. I also consider changing the intake manifold. I got a Weiand intake with the carburetor.  And new exhaust, Bassani .Do you think that will be positive for the mileage ? Eddie is certainly costing me some money.. Put on seat covers to preserve the originals They are from Dash Design and fit very well. Then fixed a missing support on the back seat. Rubber from a shock absorber  Saved more money. Fixing the door lock motor. Took a hack saw and cut it in two. No wonder the motor did not run. Cleaned up the parts. With the help of another magnet I got the  rust out of the motor. With only a rag the rust stuck on the magnet inside the motor. And be careful when dissasembling the gear. I spent 30 minutes on the garage floor looking for one of the steel balls. Now it runs. Will put it in later. So thanks for now. Stein

[Gary Lewis]

The EU changed a whole bunch of things in Europe.  We traveled there both before and after and noticed a lot of change, but I'm sure you see many, many more.

As for retirement, what are your plans?  What will you do?  Travel?  Fix Fords?  

The seat covers look good.  And the use of a shock absorber grommet was ingenious.  Well done!  

But taking the door lock motor apart and fixing it was amazing.  By cutting right where you did you were able to get the shell back on?  How do you hold it on?

You are wise to use the original door lock motors.  I ordered some from Amazon and they had so little power that they wouldn't operate the mechanism.  So I used the old motors with the new skirts to protect them.

[firefire]

Hi. When Europe opened up its borders a lot of east europeans moved west. And many to Norway. They are needed as workers in many fields. You just get used to trying to get understood in english. Mostly you hope they understood what you wanted..... Any sitizen from a EU country may work here. Some have moved here to stay, others are here for the job only. Norwegian truck companies has lost a lot of work.Especially trips out of Norway. The same goes for the German, Dutch, Spanish, Italian, western members. 90% of all cargo between the member states seem to be run by trucks from Poland. Romania, Lithuania and Latvia. They work for a 1/4 of norwegian salaries. These truck companies did not even exist 15 years ago. Some are huge. 1000's of trucks. Now the authorities in Norway and the western member states sees that it has gone to far. They are trying to find the rotten apples and get them out. But Eurpean consumers/ industry have saved a lot of money on low transport costs. But as I have written before Norway needs foreign workers. our ship yards, fish industry. even the farmers are dependent on this work force. Earlier a lot of production was moved out of Norway to these low cost countries. But this is the same for the US too. We can only beat them by being smarter, higher quality. Enough of that. What to do when I retire ? I guess it will be much the same as before. Family, relaxing, hunting, shooting, fixing old Fords. May even visit the US 🙂 . And there is always a need for old truckers now and then.
The motor is held together with some water resitant heavy duty tape.  Think that will do since there is no special forces on the cut.
Greetings Stein.

[Gary Lewis]

Yes, we have similar problems.  It is due to our "global economy".

But the problems in Europe are different than in the US in that many of our benefits, like social security, are held at a national level.  But in Europe yours are done on a country by country basis.

Anyway, retirement is GOOD!  I highly recommend it.  And you'll soon wonder how you got anything done outside of your job.

On the motor, I can see that tape would work.  

[firefire]

Hi. You are right about social security and other benefits. Foreign workers mostly get well paid, and they also get social services here in Norway like Norwegians. At many workplaces they are actually costing more than Norwegians. Due to housing, trips home ,etc ,etc. But we cant find Norwegian workers. There is not enough youths that are interested in these jobs. Welders, carpenters, truck drivers , physical jobs.
Then I understand you are retired 🙂. I see you put a lot of time into this forum. Thanks to you and your other friends making this forum. I find it interesting reading about others projects. And I hope something of what I have written and done may help someone. Stein

[Gary Lewis]

Yes, I'm retired and having FUN!  The website took a lot of time initially, but now doesn't take much save for when I need to fix or update something.  And the forum has been a community effort.  A lot of people have pitched in to make it what it is.  

[firefire]

Hi.
Since Eddie runs so good, there isn`t repairs that has to be done. So I mostly enjoy driving him around. Put the door lock motor back in. Now they work in both doors with a bang  Working the switches out of the door panel is the worst. I managed of course to break the one for the door lock. After gluing   Maybe it is possible to press them out of the door panel from the backside after releasing the panel from the door.  Prying them out with a screw driver is not good.
We have had 2 months with nice weather and temperatures. 15- 25 `C or 59 - 77`F. And next week also looks good. Greetings Stein.

[firefire]

Hi. Weather is still good here at the Norwegian north west coast. Its been one of the best summers ever 🙂. I finally got the box with parts from Holley. I changed the metering rods from size .60/.52  to .62/54.  The metering rods affects fuel amounts when cruising and full throttle. I hoped Eddie would get less thirsty. And he did. The fuel consumption was reduced with 10 % on my test route. But I did not notice any negative change in power. I suspected Eddie of running to rich. But checking the spark plugs I dont think he does  I leave it as it is for now. In Norway we measure fuel consumption in litres pr. 10 km. Eddie used 1,8 l / 10 km. Those of you who wants a challenge may convert it to mpg 🤔 Greetings Stein.

[grumpin]

I came up with 13.08 MPG.

If that’s correct, not bad for a carbureted 351 and a C6 transmission.

[Gary Lewis]

Well done!  That's reasonable MPG, and if it still drives well you should be good on the AFR.  

[firefire]

Hi.
I have a Weiand Stealth intake that came with the Street Demon Carburetor. So since Eddie runs so good, why not try to put in a new intake ? First out with the coolant and then dismounting carburetor and more. silicon hose sweating oil ? The EGR system will go.  And I dont understand the need of  high idle when engaging gear or ac. The normal idle does not drop at all when engaging gear or ac. So the vacuum hoses for throttle kicker will go. Tested screw holes for the intake, they are all good. The screws were easy to loosen. So now its ready to put in the new manifold. Tested the gasket for fit. Mr.Gasket # 5831. Needs a little trimming between the notches at the ends to lay perfectly flat. I wonder if this gasket will withstand the heat/ pressure from the two exhaust ports for the EGR system ? Any experience with that ? Greetings Stein

[ArdWrknTrk]

The exhaust crossover is as much to provide heat and atomize fuel from the plenum floor directly beneath the carburetor as it is to provide inert gas to the EGR.

I realize Eddie is not your everyday transportation, but in cold weather the crossover is important for driveability until the engine is fully warm.

[firefire]

Hi. Thanks for feedback.
There is exhaust crossover on the new intake. I blew through to make sure  But there is no EGR. The picture shows the crossover holes and 2 new gaskets and one old.  The new gaskets are of a softer character while the old one is a much stiffer quality. The new gaskets which came with the complete set ( carburetor, air filter, intake, screws and more )for a 351W , is for a 302 older version. With gaskets like the originals I will keep the crossover function. So I must postpone putting in the intake and wait for new gaskets instead. Greetings Stein.

[ArdWrknTrk]

I'm not certain why you can't just cut holes in the gaskets you have using the old ones as a template?
If the gasket material is soft be sure to keep re-torquing the bolts after heat cycles until they don't seem to lose clamping any more.
Also (depending on your heads) make sure to apply sealant to the bolt threads if they meet the coolant crossovers front and rear.
I use Loctite PST for this, as I only want a seal and not to hold the bolt, so I can re-tighten.

That new carb and intake look good!  

[firefire]

Hi. You are right, I could cut holes but I dont feel confident in the quality and fit of the gaskets. Maybe they are not made for hot exhaust gases ? Old vs New.   I have ordered new from Mahle and FelPro. Regarding the coolant crossovers, there is only at the front. Isn`t that weird ? Neither the new or old manifold has coolant crossover at the rear. Greetings Stein.

[ArdWrknTrk]

The heads are cast so they can be finished for either side, but the coolant passes from the water pump through the block to the rear, and then forward through the heads and has to meet at the thermostat housing to get to the radiator.
A rear crossover would short circuit that flow pattern.

I guess I should have said "anywhere a bolt might pass to the water jacket" (should have the threads sealed)

Gary has said before that he doesn't like the quality of Mr Gasket products.
I think Mahle or Fel-Pro are probably superior.

[firefire]

Hi. I see. Ford makes one model of the heads that will fit both sides of the engine . They just add 2 more chances for a coolant leak. None of the bolts goes through a waterway. Today I have put on a new lower coolant hose. Found my old torque wrench ( 30 years since I used it , torquening the head on my fathers Fiat Uno). Then I have to convert ft/lbs to Nm. Just preparing for the new gaskets. Luckily I had some new screws, 5/16 x 18, to replace the old ones holding the termostat housing. The old ones were 8mm bolts. Did not want to force 8 mm screws into the new intake. Greetings Stein

[firefire]

Hi.
Think Grumpin is correct about 13.08 mpg  Thought I could spend some time in the nice weather this weekend to change the pins in the drivers side door hinges. Of course I ended up using much more time then I thought it would take. Maybe it is possible to change the pins after removing only the door but I ended up taking the hinges off .  A good advice is to mark as good as you can the hinges position before taking them off. After drilling the crimp off, knock the old pin and bushings out. you can fix up some rust on hinges and door beam. The new bushings and pins were easy to get in. The upper hinge needed a washer inside and under the clip to make it snug.  I think I put the door on and off 10 - 15 times before I got the hinges right. The bolt for the door lock also had to be moved. But finally it ended up better than before  10 hours work ?? After a week of rain the sun shines again. But its getting colder, 11 - 18`C. Monday I may get the gaskets for the intake. Greetings Stein.

[Gary Lewis]

Well done!  I'll bet those pins and bushings make a big difference.  

As for the temp, I think that's about 50 to 65 F.  Here it is supposed to get to 100F today, which is 38C.  Kinda warm.