Fixing up a '71 Grand Safari

Well, he is less than half your age so its understandable............

And a third CS54's but I must admit, he does get a lot done, for an old guy if you know what I mean.

 

It also "helps" that I don't have steady work at the moment. It doesn't help in the stress and not being able to sleep at night department, but it does give more time to getting the wagon done. Not to mention my pace to try to get the wagon done before our daughter arrives. One company is supposed to set up an interview, but we'll see if they get back to me. In the meantime, I'm still traveling over the road.

Brandon

 

Fingers are crossed and prayers going up for you, Brandon. Let's hope the job comes through for you. One thing I know for sure, whoever is lucky enough to have you on the payroll has an employee who gives 100%, 100% of the time. Good luck getting the wagon done before the new arrival, too. You're getting there! The race is on.

 

Becoming a parent is one of the greatest gifts GOD gives us Brandon. and it takes about 101% of your time. I second the comment about any employer being lucky enough to have you on the payroll. You obviously give your all no mater what the task. Good luck with the job search, and make sure you get that beautiful wagon done soon. Spare time will soon become a thing of the past.

 

Thanks guys, I really appreciate it. We got the baby seat today, since Rose could potentially be making her appearance any time in the next two weeks. April, of course, registered for seat protectors for the baby seat, which will keep it's plastic from damaging the seats in the cars. Right now the only cars that have seat belts are The Caprice and The Clam, so Rose will be restricted to those vehicles for now.

With the long weekend over and a few more days of over-the-road driving finished I was able to get back to work on The Clam. The new hole for the TV cable stud had to be in exactly the right spot. Measuring the angles and distances would be relatively easy on a flat surface, but the measuring points were all on a different vertical plane. The flat plate I used as a straight edge and mounting surface for the paper that the angles would be drawn on was about 1/4" below the center of the shaft, which itself was about 1/4" or more below the face of the arm where the hole needed to be drilled, once the new metal was added. There were also all other kinds of components from the carburetor that were in the way, making difficult the use of the rulers and measuring devices.

The first step was adding some metal to the existing throttle arm. I searched through the scrap metal box and found one of the tabs I had removed from the four note Buick horn mounts I had installed earlier on The Clam. This piece was the exact same thickness as the metal for the throttle arm so it worked out perfectly.

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First I cut out the shape I needed so it would fit flush then I beveled the edge to give the weld good penetration.

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I used a grinding disc on the angle grinder to smooth it out.

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To remove the arm I would have had to disassemble the carburetor, which I am not equipped, skills wise, to handle, not to mention that the carburetor seems to be functioning, so far, perfectly and I have found that when an old carburetor is working good, do...not...mess with it. This meant that getting to the back of the arm was a bit difficult. I put three tack welds on the rear to give it more strength.

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With great time and difficulty I was finally able, I believe, to find the center line of the shaft to determine the perpendicular, 90 degree line as well as the 23 degree line that will serve as a guide, or plane of reference, to drill the TV stud hole. What made this difficult is that the shaft sits above the bottom of the carburetor so that means that the point where the two lines on the paper intersect, which is the center of the shaft, is a point off and above the paper, as well as a point blocked by easy measurement by all of the do-dads attached to the throttle arm shaft and carburetor.

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Because the center of the shaft and the mounting surface of the arm were on different planes it was necessary to look straight down and eye the measurement with the caliper. This meant that the carburetor had to be standing perfectly straight and that the line of sight had to be perfectly straight when looking down on the measuring points. This makes it very difficult to get exact measurements. This picture isn't exactly accurate, but it gives an idea of how the measurement was made.

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I drilled the hole and then used a grinding disc to shape up the new throttle arm. Then I primer and painted the bare metal.

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The threaded shaft for this TV stud is pretty large, about 3 times bigger than the hole that can be seen below it for the return spring. After I was finished, to the best I can tell, the hole is about 0.05" (Five Hundredths of an inch) too close to the center of the throttle shaft. According to the information I found the hole should be located with a tolerance between 1.094-1.125" away from the center of the shaft. Mine ended up being approximately 1.04". I'm going to try to find someone knowledgeable on this topic and see if I need to weld the hole back and redrill it. It could end up that the hole in the arm of this carburetor could cause substantial harm to the rebuilt 700R4.

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After you are done you can go to a shop that will measure your fluid pressure.

 

Brandon you were so carefull to protect that carb but the worst thing you can do to one is turn it on its side or upside down.



and that plate you were working on should come off of there by removing those 2 7/16th nuts.

 

I had no idea turning them on their side was bad. When I just read that I went outside in the garage and turned it back down flat. What does that do to them?

Concerning the throttle plate.......

DAG NABBIT

I never even noticed that the plate would come off. I saw those bolts, but I've looked as so many plates that are pressed onto the shaft it never even occurred to me that it might come off and it never even entered my mind. I probably could have gone to the junk yard and found a plate off of a Caprice that came with a 700r4 and with a little modification just bolted it right on. Haha. Oh well.


Also, thanks for the tip Mug. I planned to borrow a trans gauge and check my pressure before I drove the car much so I could check then.

 

Cable TV

Today I made the mount for the TV cable. Before reinstalling the carburetor I taped off a few places and repainted parts of the manifold that had become dirty due to the modifications I have been making. After reinstalling the carburetor I got some preliminary ideas on where to begin by holding the pieces in place. Then, I started cutting away at the mount I had ordered which was originally intended for some other type of car's application.

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I was very fortunate here because up until this time I had thought that the mount would need to be completely cut apart and rewelded back together with various angles and measurements. It first appeared that it would need to be a completely separate mount that would bolt to the manifold in two different places. After getting the mount cut down to a size that allowed me to hold it closer to the area that it needed to be I was able to determine that it would fit onto the existing bracketry and work very well, giving me the geometry I needed to keep the TV cable in line with the mounting stud.

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I first thought I might drill two holes and bolt the parts together but then I decided that tack welding it together would be the best route. I put some ugly tack welds on the piece rather than a solid weld because I didn't want it to be completely permanent. Also, since the new mount covered up the rear return spring hole, labeled "P" in the picture below, I drilled it out to allow the spring to be placed back in its original location.

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After tack welding both sides and drilling the hole out I primer and painted the new mount. I decided to go with a cast iron finish.

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The cable is physically in place, but has not been adjusted yet, so there is no tension on the line. By putting the "L" shape part of the TV bracket on the passenger side of the original mount it gave a placement that was close to perfect alignment with the TV stud on the carburetor arm. I had some clearance issues with the bolt that holds the mount to the manifold. It was necessary to remove the washer and lock washer to give clearance, so I used blue locktite on this bolt as a substitute. I was glad that everything turned out nice and tidy and all of the original components were able to remain in their original locations.

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The left to right alignment is pretty good. I'll be able to tell more about it when the line is adjusted and tight. If it is not aligned just right I can bend the arm of the TV mount to give the cable a straight mode of travel.

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Wow! That sure looks impressive! I'm not sure about all the technical details but it sounds like you've learned a lot doing this conversion. Now if I can only get the carb on my Murray straightened out!

 

Turning them at different angles after they have been used for a while tends to make the the float stick just watch it when you fire it up.Seeing as how it looks to be a newer rebuild you will probably be ok. IF it does stick(and overflow fuel) Tap it lightly with a small hammer on top right above the fuel bowl area(this is just inside the filter housing) and that usually helps realign things.

As for that unboltable piece on the carb . the newer ones are all press and peen one's only the older ones are like that and some of the caddys were till 76. And as for finding the correct kick down type in that style factory wise ya wouldn't, The kickdowns ran into the firewall and to the gas pedal for the detent back then in those years.

 

Hmm? No Brandon since the 3rd?? Wonder if April had the baby?? :confused:

 

that or maybe he found some work.

 

He may be delivering a vehicle somewhere........but if April is due, hmm.....he may be staying close to home.

 

k...i'll give ya that............

I knew there was a catch...dam...now i have to retire and hang with Saf all the time