My '67 318

Here she is all cleaned up and ready to go back in!

that is looking real nice..

REALLY looks fantastic!

Has anyone installed a clutch fan on their van? I think anything to help quiet down that mechanical fan, and maybe help in the mileage department would be a good thing.
Tom

STOP...
i see a very nice job in progress here but i see an all to common and overlooked problem. it is not a serious thing but could help in the long run performance wise, and we all think about fuel econemy. you are doing the right thing asking for help here and documenting your work. the small problem i see is minor in detail but is proven to cause issues.
you have done a lot of work replaced a lot of parts, and made some performance upgrades. the edelbrock intake is a good piece, and needs a carb. hopefully no bigger than a 600 cfm. but the problem i see is the EXHAUST MANIFOLDS.
your trying to get more air and fuel mix into your engine with the intake and carb but your choking the crap out of it by using the original exhaust manifolds from the 60's. go to a salvage yard and find a set of 360 cast manifolds and compare them to what you have there now. those 60's manifolds are meant for strictly stock and thats all. you won't be able to get the fuel mixture through the engine if theres a restriction and you have one with those old manifolds. it might sound crazy but you have wasted money on a carb and intake if you don't address it now. the cast manifolds from a 360 or a newer 5.2 would be a wise investment as they are almost 1 1/2 as much open as the originals. if you had a set on the bench you would see what i mean. i ran the originals on my 9.5:1 360 with a 2bbl carb and was not happy. made the swap to newer ones and a noticable performance gain and the engine ran cooler. that was the biggest difference for me, almost 20 degrees cooler, no restrictions in the exhaust. nobody puts performance parts on their vehicle and then put an inch and a half exhaust on it.............
............ just my 2 cents worth.......... jeff

ps; i think you will be very close to the rad with any chrysler type clutch fan. been there, done that. shirts in the closet

Thanks for the heads up! I may make a run to the local pick-a-part tomorrow and see what the newer manifolds look like. I was always of the impression that center dump style manifolds were desirable and had a better flow. I know when I was building a street stock circle track car the old chevy rams horn manifolds were considered cheating because of that.
I ran the edelbrock manifold and 600 CFM carb most of the summer last year and was pretty happy with it, but if I can get a little better performance and mileage I am all for it.

Tom

jkr wrote:STOP...
... the edelbrock intake is a good piece, and needs a carb. hopefully no bigger than a 600 cfm. but the problem i see is the EXHAUST MANIFOLDS.
... your trying to get more air and fuel mix into your engine with the intake and carb but your choking the crap out of it by using the original exhaust ...
... you won't be able to get the fuel mixture through the engine if theres a restriction and you have one with those old manifolds. it might sound crazy but you have wasted money on a carb and intake if you don't address it now.

Good post Jeff.

Back when I rebuilt mine the only electric choke carb that was available was a Carter 625 CFM and it always seemed kinda boggish, even though I was running duel exhausts (with original exh manifolds). Recently changed to Edelbrock electric choke carb #1801 with 500 CFM and it now seems more responsive at all levels. Had I changed the exhaust manifolds as you are suggesting, my old Carter probably would have performed better. So no, your comments don't sound crazy to me.