85 351 4door Vic **DUW**

[johnunit]

finally got the crappy cellphone pics of the Cougar wagon. Really unique, though I wish I'd gotten clearer and more pics. I'll probably be back again, and I'll bring my camera.








Bonus pics of a minty Zephyr with a mildly built 302

[johnunit]

as for my own car, I finally painted the soupcan and got it back in, and taped up the rotted vacuum line to it (which luckily had at least a foot of slack from the factory). It runs quieter, with the lifter-knock type noise almost going away. I don't know why that is, but I like it. My HVAC also functions somewhat normally now.

Unfortunately, the idle was set with the vacuum leak, so it now barely turns over at idle. I'm at a loss on how to set the idle speed on a VV7200 carb. Does anyone here know how?

[Lincolnmania]

at the sign of the cat

[1987cp]

You know, I'm pretty sure I downloaded some PDF or other about the VV just for fun ... I'll have to try to remember about it when I'm on the upstairs computer.

I have read that on some smog-era carbs (not sure about the VV), the idle mixture screws, idle speed screw, or sometimes both were covered or sealed off in one way or other to discourage the end user from "tampering" with settings that could affect vehicle emissions. Hopefully that's not the case here, because that sounds like a huge pain!

[johnunit]

yeah, I've heard that something was covered up. I hope it's not idle speed because that would be incredibly dumb. The carb doesn't look like it's ever been apart or rebuilt or anything, so I'm hoping.


was it this that you had saved? http://www.surplussales.com/Automobi...ato-77-336.pdf

I looked and couldn't find anything that was close enough to what they show for "curb idle adjustment type screws".


No wonder people bitch about the VV carb, most of them were probably horribly out of tune and never rebuilt.

[1987cp]

There's that, too.

That just might be the same picture ... looks like #42 would be the idle mixture screws, and #40 is the factory plugs to discouring "tampering". Not sure so far on the idle speed screw ... should be adjascent to the throttle lever .....


Have you tried PMing Nathan in MI?

[johnunit]

no, but I probably should. I forget he used to run (still runs?) a VV.

And I agree, it looks like 41 is where I should be adjusting, but it's covered by a cap of some sort.

[johnunit]

I followed Nathan's advice more or less. I'm not sure if I adjusted exactly what he was talking about, but it was in the right area and got my idle where I wanted it.

Tommorow I'll post some of the conversation between Nathan and I, along with pics and maybe a brief writeup, since there seems to be virtually nothing here on the basics of a VV, and there are a few people on here daring to run them.

[johnunit]

I was lucky enough to buy some bad gas last week.. That was fun, bucking and spitting every few miles and idling like a basket of assholes.


I did a bit of tuning on the carb, just playing with the idle speed and the little accelerator pump-type rod on the front driver's part of the carb. It ended up running smoother but a bit too fast at idle, I'll finish it off tommorrow.

Anyone know about what I should be gapping my plugs at? I was thinking around 0.040 but don't really know all the reasons why I would make the gap smaller or larger.

I've been doing some more minor underhood painting, and I'll probably post some pics of that and the brake pad carnage from a couple months back next weekend.


I had a good laugh at the expense of a kid in my Auto class at school who didn't believe I had a 5.8L engine.
"Nah, 5.8? Sir's truck (the teacher's 89 chevy) is only a 5.0, no way you've got a 5.8!"

"Yeah, Ford and Chevy both had 5.0s and then 5.7L for chevy and 5.8 for Ford as the big engine, it's normal."

"Damn, 5.8 litres? that thing must guzzle gas! Mine is only 2.2L!"

He was an Accord driver, nuff said.


Here is the conversation with Nathan From MI from a while back

Hey, you've been helpful in the past with this stuff, so you're probably the guy to ask:

How do I adjust the idle speed on the 7200 Variable Venturi?
This PDF http://www.surplussales.com/Automobi...ato-77-336.pdf

seems to indicate that item 41, two screws in front of the venturis, are what I need to tinker with, but they are covered by a plug or cap. Is this accurate? If not, what should I be screwing with?

Thanks,
John.

Hi John,

I think what you're looking at there are the idle mixture screws, which you'd probably rather not change unless your idle is excessively rich or lean.

Is it idling too high, or too low?

It's idling too slowly. It had apparently been tuned to compensate for a vacuum leak that I finally got around to fixing.

Okay. My suggestion would be to adjust the stop screw on the throttle shaft (should be on the driver's side of the carb). That's the only way I know of to adjust the idle. Another person to ask on this, if you want, is Mike Robbins (Velvet Elvis). He's got some experience with the VV carbs as well. He may or may not have a better answer than I do, but it might be worth a shot.

Good luck!

The only thing I'd add to all that would be that it appears the accelerator/enrichment rod type thing I mentioned at the top of this post is important to check after each time you adjust the idle in the way Nathan describe.

On the top of a 7200VV carb, front driver's, you'll see a pivot with a stamped steel rod pivoting on it, and on the driver's side is a nut and spring type arrangement, with screwing in the nut making it shorter or taller. On the other end of the rod will be a black cylindrical button type thing sticking up from the carb body. T

he end with the adjustable nut is directly connected to the throttle, so changing the idle setting will change how high up this nut is, and therefore how much it is pushing the pivoting rod into the black button, and how far the black button is being pushed into the carb body.

Adjust it so that the rod is at "zero lash" with the black button, not depressing it into the carb, but not able to be lifted off of it easily either. Too much play or having it pre-loading the black button/cylinder will cause weird off-idle issues, usually resulting in bogging.

[johnunit]

I forgot to add that it seems my harmonic balancer(?) is loose/broken. The big pulley, the lowest one on the engine, is wobbling noticeably, at least at idle. I'm assuming this isn't normal. Where could the break/warping be? How big a whore will it be to fix(time and money)?

[packman]

Your harmonic balancer might be starting to separate. It was starting to happen with my Malibu and my father's C-20. Though, I'm assuming that Ford harmonic balancers are a two-piece design.

Crapola!!!!!! I just realized I never posted in this thread, even though I have read through it half a dozen times. Sophia is really nice!



Packman

[johnunit]

yeah, it's two piece. I guess getting in there and inspecting it for being off-center or cracked or whatever is my next step.

Thanks, I've grown fond of her over the last few months, it's nice to hear other people appreciate her.

[johnunit]

Just putting some stuff down as a future-parts list:

Maintanence (known to be worn/in need):
Rotors ($60)
low-beam headlights ($40)
A/C refridgerant universal re-charge ($30)
rear tires, snows and summers ($100 X2)
U-joints ($40 for both)
Valvecover gaskets ($25)
Block heater plug ($10?)
Glove box latch ($10)

Maintanence (check for need to replace):
Plugs and wires ($60)
Thermostat (<$10?)
Harmonic Balancer ($50?)
Drums ?out of round? and shoes ($150 for both sides?)
Distributor cap ($30)
Front end [right wheel bearing, steering arms, etc]
Rear springs
trak-lock rebuild (<$100)
Timing chain (<$50)
Calipers

Mechanical parts (worn/broken):
Cat or air piping (rusted and leaking) ($150 for 2 hi-flows)
Brake booster ($100)
fuel warning light and gauge reading erraticly
Right side lifter(s) collapsed


Cosmetic and interior:
Primer and fiberglass for bottom of doors, trunk($35)
Front and rear bumpers, prefer base model or aluminum($50 each?)
rear driver's side door with good matching paint ($100?)
Grille, prefer original style ($50?)
Mirror, non-power remote ($10-30)
Tail Lights, or chrome surround ($10-20 a piece?)
Remove pin striping, replace with real painted ($200-500)
Dog-dish caps for winter ?wheels to fit? ($20)
Winter floormats ($50 for all 4)
passenger front window switch bezel, no window control ($10-20)
Carpet shampooing ($100?)
right headlight bezel, turn signal lenses ($10-30)
new vinyl half-roof (>$300)
Red centrecaps ($20-40 for 4)
Dew Wipes ($100-200 for all 4 doors?)
60s-ford style chrome/rubber pedals ($50)
Windshield ($150)
Refurbish silver strip on trunk ?any ideas on how? ($3 in paint)

Performance/underhood:
GT40 heads from Explorer ?porting, polishing? (>$250)
Valve springs and lifters ($200?)
HO or Explorer cam (>$50)
Performance mufflers ?glasspacks? ($100 for pair)
Mustang/performance catted H (>$200)
Mustang HO headers ($50 + fitment work)
Cast valvecovers ($50-100)
E-fan ?taurus, aftermarket? (>$100)
Shiftkit (<$100)
hi-po valvebody ($200?)
4-barrel carb ?(>$300)
4-barrel intake ?($200)
3G alternator ($50)
3.27-73 rear gears ($300+ with install)
A few hours on the dyno ($300?)


Frame/chassis/suspension upgrades:
PI swaybars ($150 with bushings)
PI springs(?)
Wagon/TC frame and fender braces (>$100 for all)
All bushings to poly (>$150)
undercoat all of frame ($30-50)

Gauges/audio/gadgets:
Pigtail for head unit ($20)
Run speaker wire ($50)
Front speakers ($100)
water temp, oil pressure, tach, under center dash ($150)
secondary Horn ?80s cadillac? ($30)
GPS ($100)
Alarm ($150)




I think that's it.

6800 dollars later, I think I'd have a hell of a car.
Oh yeah, plus hundreds of dollars in tools to do that
plus gas to go and fetch this stuff
plus the stuff that'd have to be replaced in the mean time...

so for about 10 grand. Damn. Ouch. Anyone got some lucky lottery numbers I can borrow?

On the plus side, I fixed yet another vacuum leak (don't ask me where the line is supposed to go, I don't know), and it now runs slightly less like a basket of assholes at idle. Next weekend I'm going to install a fire extinguisher my dad gave me in the trunk. It's probably a good idea with old ford wiring...

As always, any advice, comments, or questions about anything in here would be appreciated.

[87gtVIC]

some list. It would be great to see you checking them off one by one as the months go by.

[1987cp]

I agree about carrying a fire extinguisher in anything Ford.



BTW, you need my old catback system!