1964 Catalina Safari Wagon

Ah. :O Don't tell me that. I wanted you to tell me I can get the same mileage as a hybrid vehicle by............
Oh well. I don't need that much speed. But I do want to be able to make it up hills and all. I want a really smooth cruiser.

 

-Pull the diesel out of your Dodge truck and put it in the wagon. Mileage and power!-----This summer I nearly traded my Hemi Dodge on an HHR panel with a lawn mower engine till reality sunk in. What's another gallon or two of gas? arrrk! More power, as Tim the Toolman says! Since you are getting brand name performance parts at a good price go the modified route with a decent carb.

 

I wish I could put that Diesel in there. It's a Cummins Diesel so low maintenance. Also, its nickname is "The Rocket" you can get it to chirp while already on the freeway. Plus it usually gets at least 18-20 mpg on that big truck, even towing doesn't really reduce the mpg or power. Exhaust brakes (freak people out when you take your foot off the gas, also cops wont see brake lights if you don't press them).

I just want to be able to take this baby on a trip without stopping every 20 miles to fill up. ;( only 13 gallon tank.

 

Good luck on the engine rebuild and the wagon build. 13 gallon tank? What girl designed that?-------Hope fannie doesn't read this!

 

I think its because of the 9 passenger feature. The tank is above and behind the wheel in the quarter panel. Right where the spare is on the opposing side. Wagons were made for taking trips why would you go so low on the tank.

Maybe a better idea than getting good gas mileage is adding a tank.

 

Sorry to double post but who doesn't like a good double post?

Do hydraulic roller lifters improve mileage? Less friction more efficiency?

Make your suggestions.

 

Ok, I purchased a 1974 400 Engine. The deal was too good to pass up. It came with a tranny that I may not end up using. So, I had a busy weekend. Picked up the motor on Friday and drove it to my work. Unloaded it with a forklift and chain. (Forgot to bring my cherry picker). Put it on a couple of pallets and left. I really wanted to work on it and start tearing it apart but the wife wanted me home.



So, I started removing the tranny today after church and lunch. Luckily, I still had the forklift available to lift it and get the flexplate cover off. Unluckily, you can see how tilted the engine is? Well, the bolt that he put in the head to lift it broke off while I was lifting it up. I had to put a new bolt in and lift it up.



The tranny off.



And the QJet that the guy cut all of the connections off.



All in all I had a fun day and an air impact wrench helps too.

 

Mounting holes

Jacob;
Make sure that 400 has 5 mounting holes. If it does not then you need to have the other two bosses drilled or you need an adapter for the engine to fit the early 2 bolt engine mounts. I see that it is using the newer 3 bolt mount.

Dave

 

Thanks for the tip. I will check it out at work tomorrow.
I joined Performance Years forum and they keep telling me to rebuild the one I have, but they all are under the assumption that I can get fuel for a 10.5:1 CR. Thing is, I am getting all kinds of weird noises from it now. It sounds like the oil is low but the oil level is fine. Tick Tick Tick.

 

Well that could be a few things. Best thing about non-adjustable valvetrain is that you torque it and forget it. Torque the rocker arm nuts to 20lbs and you are done.


What about timing? Did you adjust the carb? Set for highest vacuum and set the idle?

 

Yep. I adjusted it and it was soooo smooth. Took it for a test drive and it was pinging like crazy as soon as the rpm's got up. I had to go way easy on the gas.
So, I adjusted the timing to about 12* ATDC ( I think that's how you type it). Runs but I think I may have messed something up when I adjusted the timing earlier because after that the noise came. Doesn't sound like lifters to me but I don't have too much experience. Maybe I'll give you a call and let you hear it sometime.
Hopefully it lasts through the rebuild.

 

I haven't read this from page one, but I do know Pontiac engines very well. They had a bad tendency to sludge up unless you faithfully changed the oil and filter every 3000 miles. After 60,000 miles, the timing chains were shot, and if you didn't change them, the first thing you would notice was pinging and then a loss of power. If you ignored those symptoms, then the chain would eventually jump to the point, that the valves were closed when the piston was in the up stroke, and bam.. the connecting rod would fly out the side of the block. If you don't know the complete history of this vehicle, then take a valve cover off and see how much sludge is in there. If it is clean, then remove the water pump, and pull the timing cover and check the chain and gears. If it is good with NO slop, then put it back together. If there is any slop, change the gears and chain. It isn't a difficult job, and the rewards are knowing that you are not going to destroy the engine. If the engine has a lot of sludge, then come back and let me know. I will give you the old timers method of cleaning out sludge from a Pontiac engine so you can get many more years of dependable service out of it... barring that the rings are not shot..

 

Hey Junk thanks for stopping by. I recently had it at a shop. The timing chain was replaced and they had the valve covers removed and they said one was loose.
They also said the oil was very clean.

 

Your car has the same tank in it as my 1962 Chevy. It is a 20 gallon tank, unless you have 7 quart gallons in California...

 

It doesn't look big enough to be a twenty. The guy who had it before me said he ran empty and filled it with about 13. Are you accounting for the 9 passenger? This tank is in the quarter panel only.

Of course I would love to be wrong. That would be great to have 20 gallons. Any way to double check without running out of gas? My fuel gauge isn't working yet. She hasn't let me take it to my work to work on it yet.