rob83ke70

The problem with using old british technology is that every tom dick and harry has already tried to have a go at it... I've got a pair of SU's on a worked 4k in a ke55 and they aren't too bad, very fussy on vacuum leaks, and a bit of a headache to set up and get to the standard they need to be, but once they are all good, everything right, they don't need retuning all the time.... pretty low maintainence... If you are going to drive it around on the street, I'd suggest SU's or EFI, I'm under the impression that twin side draught webers are very on/off, no in between... Robert.

is it a stock 4ac engine? as a wild stab in the dark, i'd suggest that you check your spark plug condition, lead condition, points/distributor condition, and make sure all that is ok (i can't for the life of me remember if a 4ac had points or is electronic) when all that is ok, check for any vacuum leaks and adjust your idle mixture, and it shouldn't stall when in drive. it will always load the engine up a bit when in drive, but you should be able to set the idle around 800-900rpm and have it not stall in drive at idle. Oh and I know I'm being a bit picky here, but can you possibly use proper spelling/punctuation, I had to read that about three times to understand what you meant... Maybe its because Its been a long day at work, and I haven't had enough sleep :P

that is a thought... might save the competition loop for the ke20... will need to move the exhaust and/or brake/fuel lines though, probably move the lines myself, cut and join them (with proper joiners). going to see exhaust shop about the exhaust. its hitting on the body and needs moving anyway. robert.

if you put a pair of su's on, make sure you get the throttle shafts rebushed even if they seem reasonably ok, they are really really really fussy about vacuum leaks. also wouldn't be a bad idea to remote mount the float overflow so its away from a hot exhaust manifold.... put any thought into efi? i can tell you now that a pair of su's is going to be much the same in terms of time spent money spent and general stress caused.... and you need to either do the work yourself or find the RIGHT mechanic... a lot of mechanics don't want to know anything about them (i don't know why i think they are great) Robert.

the compression of each cylinder will change before and after the valves are adjusted because the valves will seat properly and stay closed for longer with the valve clearances adjusted correctly. electronic distributor and coil will make it start heaps easier and rev and run heaps smoother... been there done that too :P robert.

if you have absolutely no idea what cam you are running, i'd probably have a go at setting it to say 0.35mm and 0.4mm inlet and exhaust. if its a bit big the engine will just be noisy. its fairly normal with a lumpy cam anyway to have bigger than stock clearances. way to tell for sure is to do a compression test before and after valve clearances are adjusted. robert.

I wouldn't use any sort of grease or goop at all. Especially not something that would harden... I would be checking what Teddy said, that the nuts that hold it down are not bottomed out or even better, that nothing is caught between the gasket and the sealing surface. nice new gasket, everything clean, tightened down, shouldn't leak. I'd rather not use any form of goop, grease, sealant, silastic or anything of that nature unless the application specifically called for it, such as either side of a semi circle rise for a camshaft or crankshaft bearing cap... those gaskets are normally good for a few remove/replace when valve clearances are done (every 20,000km) before the rubber hardens and cracks, I wouldn't use goop because you will have to replace the gasket every time it is removed. Robert.

I'm a motor mechanic. I'm going to offer my two cents, that the valve clearances were not set right. I have a reground cam in my 4k in the ke55, and if i set it to stock clearances i lose all compression when cranking, its hard to start and it produces a lot less power, but if set to what the cam manufacturer reccommends then the compression comes right up (along with audible valve noise) and it runs quite well. stock clearances i think are 0.20mm inlet and 0.25mm exhaust. I think mine are set at 0.35mm inlet and 0.40mm exhaust. Have to be carefuel that its on the very most bottom part of the base circle of the cam lobe when setting them too. These figures are for a warm/hot engine... I hope you took it to a general mechanical workshop not a dealership.... valve clearances and old cars are a bit of a lost cause with younger motor mechanics these days like what you would find at dealerships. You have to find a mechanic thats been in the trade a while, and that is really into cars especially old school performance mods and so on. It is difficult to find a mechanic that is really good, but they are out there. The number of motor mechanics that I would let work on my own cars I could count on one hand.... and I'm in the trade!! Robert.

hey just about to commence putting the tailshaft loop in kylie's ke55, put it up in the air and had a bit of a preliminary look... the loop i have is a standard competition loop, two L shaped brackets and two you shaped brackets, it all bolts together. The car is a ke55 with 4k and extractors, standard k40 box with borgwarner diff. now where I want to put the loop, I will have to shorten the L brackets so they don't poke up into the (small) transmission tunnel, and it appears like I will have to relocate the exhaust and the fuel/brake line piping. has anyone done this before and if so, do you have some photos? I'm not liking the lack of exhaust ground clearance, but it's not going to be that much worse than what I've got I suppose. The exhaust will probably come down under the crossmember on the passenger's side of the car, I will have a resonator in that little raised part of the floorpan and then straight back and over the diff. Robert.

we hoist the car up and have a look manually at brakes suspension components etc at work, but the limits they give you...... i replace things long before they are a rego fail... stupid how it varies from state to state. what the eye don't see the heart don't grieve over, if you do a neat job of it they won't even notice its there. probably the only time someone would notice is if you took it in for suspension/wheel alignment problems and it was dodgy... you'll be fine.

with a worked 4k the lighter the car the better it will be. 4k is the one to use because a 5k is just a smidge too big to fall into the "owner certified minor modifications" and requires (if only a basic) engineers report. the 4k will be lumpy. it will chomp fuel, and it will attract attention. oh and people will laugh when you pop the bonnet. but they can be made to go faster than a v6 commodore... oh and you will end up spending a lot more money on it than you think if you want it to go faster than a commodore. 4ag i have had nothing to do with yet. I would assume more reliable, faster and quieter/easier to drive. but you have to do a lot more wiring, and you need an engineers report. possibly bigger brakes as well.

Ok, i'm going to simplify this a whole lot. You should pull the carburettor off the car, clean it thoroughly, and put a rebuild kit through it, when it is off the car you should make sure that the vacuum secondary butterfly is free to open. if there is ANY play in the throttle shafts you will need to get them rebushed. when it is all clean and back together, hook the vacuum hoses up as follows. PORTED vacuum goes to the distributor vacuum advance diaphragm. PORTED vacuum also goes to the vacuum secondary diaphragm. MANIFOLD vacuum goes to the hot idle compensator (if fitted), this is a bimetallic spring that is in your carburettor somewhere on the side, when your engine overheats it will introduce air into the manifold thus lifting engine rpm slightly and spinning the cooling fan a bit faster allowing your engine to cool if you spend a long time in traffic on a hot day. MANIFOLD vacuum (on a big hose) goes to the PCV valve. MANIFOLD vacuum (on a big hose again) goes to the brake booster. these two come out of the inlet manifold not the carburettor. I wouldn't worry about anything else. Remove what you can, and plug anything that is not connected. Make it all look neat, make sure there are no cracked or hardened hoses leaking. Make sure your manifold bolts are all present and are tight. make sure your carburettor bolts are tight. Basically make sure that you have no manifold vacuum leaks anywhere at all. Unless the jets have been pulled out and changed I would not worry about it, the smaller numbers always go on the primary side. I can't see why anyone would want to change stock jetting in a stock carburettor though. Robert.

if its just a stock 4kc engine, i would pull the carburettor off, order a rebuild kit, dismantle the carburettor, clean everything with a toothbrush until its cleaner than your dinner plates, if there is ANY play in the throttle shafts then I would get them rebushed, and then I would carefully reassemble and reinstall it... probably get the best results rather than changing it and going to all that trouble. trust me, its not that hard to rebuild it. oh and make sure when you pull the top cover off it you note where the ball bearings come from and remember to put them back in the same spot. Also, before taking each jet out, put the screwdriver on it, and tap it with a hammer quite hard, then undo the jet (they will come out without breaking/stripping). make sure your spark plugs are good, and your points/distributor cap/leads are all good too. You should be getting well under 10lt per 100km ideally.