Build Thread 1978 Mercury Cyclone. The pig is in the pen.
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I laid in bed this morning thinking about my options.
When I turned 40, I decided to check one of the bucket items off of my list.
Skydiving.
If you've never been, I highly recommend it. The immediate "after" experience was about as close to experiencing euphoria as the word means for anybody.
You'll also get to experience, uncertainty, anxiety, and terror all in the same 30 minutes.
When, and if you decide to do this, and you find a service offering tandom skydiving..I'll bet you'll experience similar emotions, but for those that choose to abstain.....this is how it was for me.
The morning you get there, you pay, and sign a couple of waivers releasing the company from any liability in the unlikely event that you end up a grease spot in the middle of a field should anything go wrong. Despite that possibility, they assure you that there are literally 10's of thousands of these jumps going off without a hitch every year,..but........juuuust in case.......please sign here.
Immediately afterwards they fit you for your jump suit....a kinda baggy set of coveralls that go over your street clothes. The purpose I can only guess would be to keep said street clothes from tearing apart, or coming unbuttoned, or even coming off as you plummet at 125 MPH for the 1 full minute that you are falling.
Next is the 15 minute jump class, where they let you know what happens after you get in the plane and are now attached to your " jump master". The instructor tells you that you'll be attached via a safety harness to the front of your jump master, much like a baby harnesses you see mommy wearing when carrying little Tommy around in at the store....only for big people. The guy goes on to tell you about the low ceiling in the plane that forces everybody to walk like a duck when boarding, and that you'll more or less be sitting in a grown mans lap for the 15 minutes it'll take for the plane to get to altitude. He tells you that when the door goes up on the side of the plane after take off, you'll be at 14,500-15,000 feet, and that'll be jump altitude. You'll then allow the soloists to get out first, your cameraman ( if you elected to have your jump video'd) will be hanging outside holding onto some part of the plane, waiting on your exit. When you get to the door, your jump master will grab the opening, and start the " 1,2,3 rock" and on "3" he'll push both of you out the door. All the jump master wanted you to do, was pretend that you're executing a swan dive when you go out,...and then just enjoy the ride.
The door goes up, it's now about 20 degrees cooler than it was on the ground, the plane empties out and we duck-walk from the back, to the open door.
It was all I could do just to stay focused on going out the door. I knew if I thought about it for even a second, or looked down, the rational side of my brain would've dug my heels in, and rode that plane right back down to the ground....but I allowed the jump master to push me out instead.
Air rushes in your face so violently, you feel like you cannot breathe. On the way up, The jump master tells me that if I feel like I cannot breathe, I can cup my hands over my nose and mouth and breathe, and catch my breath. but he wants me to return my hands back to 'Swan dive" position after that so that the cameraman who's falling right in front of you can see your face.
I put one thumb up to acknowledge that I heard and understood him. ( Yes, said the thumb)
Almost immediately after leaving the plane, I can't breathe,...I cup my hands over my face. I'm perfectly content to leave them there, but the jump master grabs my wrist and pulls it away, back out to swan dive mode. He points to the cameraman right in front of us. That's all fine and dandy, but I can't breathe, and so I return to the cup hands mode in a very short time afterward. For a second time, I get my hands yanked away from my face. This happens one final time before we've fallen the 10,000 feet of free fall, and the JM pulls the rip cord.
And I thank God that I am no longer falling at 125 mph,....now perfectly content to be hanging in that harness, still 4500 feet above the ground. This is where you start to experience the euphoria.
The insane, noisy rush that preceded this part was so intense, to now be hanging in the harness is soo freaking calming that you are just flooded with awe. The jump master and you can now talk normally, so the first thing you do is apologize for being a wuss, and cupping your hands over your face......3 times. He laughs and tells you that it happens all the time....He lets you steer the canopy. You cut through clouds. It's freakin amazing.
When the ground approaches he tells you that he's gonna set you on your butt, juusst like sitting in a chair,... but at the last minute, changes that and tells you that he changed his mind, and he's gonna put you on your feet instead. And now you'll just take a few steps after we touch down...He adds..
"Don't fall, or we'll both go down."
And then we land.....and its just like stepping off the porch.
Now,...What's this all got to do with today? How does jumping out a plane 20 years ago relate to the Monster today?
Maybe I need to be pushed out the door.
3 of 6 cylinders tested poorly when I did the leak down test. It's gotta be those three cylinders that are causing all of the blow by I'm experiencing. The obvious fix for that is to replace the ring set. Despite the writing on the wall, I know that I'm gonna need some sort of catch can system even if I replace the rings,..the engine will still have to be allowed to breathe.
My best friend builds race cars, and engines ( the guy I got the solenoid from). In addition to that he tunes, and pilots some 4 second drag car, so I consider him a go to for advice.
He tells me to leave it alone. But he's got a race car guy mentality.
So I solicit opinions from you guys...because you have a street car guy mentality.
Do I build the mega catch can, or pull the engine?( before you just throw out advice, remember what's involved to pull an engine,...especially this engine.)
When I turned 40, I decided to check one of the bucket items off of my list.
Skydiving.
If you've never been, I highly recommend it. The immediate "after" experience was about as close to experiencing euphoria as the word means for anybody.
You'll also get to experience, uncertainty, anxiety, and terror all in the same 30 minutes.
When, and if you decide to do this, and you find a service offering tandom skydiving..I'll bet you'll experience similar emotions, but for those that choose to abstain.....this is how it was for me.
The morning you get there, you pay, and sign a couple of waivers releasing the company from any liability in the unlikely event that you end up a grease spot in the middle of a field should anything go wrong. Despite that possibility, they assure you that there are literally 10's of thousands of these jumps going off without a hitch every year,..but........juuuust in case.......please sign here.
Immediately afterwards they fit you for your jump suit....a kinda baggy set of coveralls that go over your street clothes. The purpose I can only guess would be to keep said street clothes from tearing apart, or coming unbuttoned, or even coming off as you plummet at 125 MPH for the 1 full minute that you are falling.
Next is the 15 minute jump class, where they let you know what happens after you get in the plane and are now attached to your " jump master". The instructor tells you that you'll be attached via a safety harness to the front of your jump master, much like a baby harnesses you see mommy wearing when carrying little Tommy around in at the store....only for big people. The guy goes on to tell you about the low ceiling in the plane that forces everybody to walk like a duck when boarding, and that you'll more or less be sitting in a grown mans lap for the 15 minutes it'll take for the plane to get to altitude. He tells you that when the door goes up on the side of the plane after take off, you'll be at 14,500-15,000 feet, and that'll be jump altitude. You'll then allow the soloists to get out first, your cameraman ( if you elected to have your jump video'd) will be hanging outside holding onto some part of the plane, waiting on your exit. When you get to the door, your jump master will grab the opening, and start the " 1,2,3 rock" and on "3" he'll push both of you out the door. All the jump master wanted you to do, was pretend that you're executing a swan dive when you go out,...and then just enjoy the ride.
The door goes up, it's now about 20 degrees cooler than it was on the ground, the plane empties out and we duck-walk from the back, to the open door.
It was all I could do just to stay focused on going out the door. I knew if I thought about it for even a second, or looked down, the rational side of my brain would've dug my heels in, and rode that plane right back down to the ground....but I allowed the jump master to push me out instead.
Air rushes in your face so violently, you feel like you cannot breathe. On the way up, The jump master tells me that if I feel like I cannot breathe, I can cup my hands over my nose and mouth and breathe, and catch my breath. but he wants me to return my hands back to 'Swan dive" position after that so that the cameraman who's falling right in front of you can see your face.
I put one thumb up to acknowledge that I heard and understood him. ( Yes, said the thumb)
Almost immediately after leaving the plane, I can't breathe,...I cup my hands over my face. I'm perfectly content to leave them there, but the jump master grabs my wrist and pulls it away, back out to swan dive mode. He points to the cameraman right in front of us. That's all fine and dandy, but I can't breathe, and so I return to the cup hands mode in a very short time afterward. For a second time, I get my hands yanked away from my face. This happens one final time before we've fallen the 10,000 feet of free fall, and the JM pulls the rip cord.
And I thank God that I am no longer falling at 125 mph,....now perfectly content to be hanging in that harness, still 4500 feet above the ground. This is where you start to experience the euphoria.
The insane, noisy rush that preceded this part was so intense, to now be hanging in the harness is soo freaking calming that you are just flooded with awe. The jump master and you can now talk normally, so the first thing you do is apologize for being a wuss, and cupping your hands over your face......3 times. He laughs and tells you that it happens all the time....He lets you steer the canopy. You cut through clouds. It's freakin amazing.
When the ground approaches he tells you that he's gonna set you on your butt, juusst like sitting in a chair,... but at the last minute, changes that and tells you that he changed his mind, and he's gonna put you on your feet instead. And now you'll just take a few steps after we touch down...He adds..
"Don't fall, or we'll both go down."
And then we land.....and its just like stepping off the porch.
Now,...What's this all got to do with today? How does jumping out a plane 20 years ago relate to the Monster today?
Maybe I need to be pushed out the door.
3 of 6 cylinders tested poorly when I did the leak down test. It's gotta be those three cylinders that are causing all of the blow by I'm experiencing. The obvious fix for that is to replace the ring set. Despite the writing on the wall, I know that I'm gonna need some sort of catch can system even if I replace the rings,..the engine will still have to be allowed to breathe.
My best friend builds race cars, and engines ( the guy I got the solenoid from). In addition to that he tunes, and pilots some 4 second drag car, so I consider him a go to for advice.
He tells me to leave it alone. But he's got a race car guy mentality.
So I solicit opinions from you guys...because you have a street car guy mentality.
Do I build the mega catch can, or pull the engine?( before you just throw out advice, remember what's involved to pull an engine,...especially this engine.)
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Your making stupid crazy ridiculous power with that 6 banger and having fun. So have fun Mike catch can that thing and drive it like you stole it.
I was going to agree with steve but changed my mind.
Gather up your tools and fix them slugs. Your gonna do it anyway it's just a matter of time till your tired of dealing with the drooling, sloppy, stink'n, worked ok till it puked on my hot motor and made the prius behind me cough and die ( which is really not a bad thing) vapor thing.
Too bad you can't drop them slugs out the bottom.
Gather up your tools and fix them slugs. Your gonna do it anyway it's just a matter of time till your tired of dealing with the drooling, sloppy, stink'n, worked ok till it puked on my hot motor and made the prius behind me cough and die ( which is really not a bad thing) vapor thing.
Too bad you can't drop them slugs out the bottom.
I think new rings and that custom head gasket would make a good winter project
- Mar 2, 2015
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Think about this.....
Its now getting warm again. Your out on one of your 40 mike trips to a car show after a gruelling day explaining how a BMW works to a guy that still has as flip phone....
You're on the freeway and notice a little loss in power.... The Monster cruises on....but when you get off the freeway you notice a weird shake in the engine....and clouds of smoke trailing behind you....bellowing out your tail pipes. ....Now you can either kill all the mosquito's on your " cheek puckering " cruise back home....or call the dreaded tow truck rescue squad.... Then you get to sit at home rebuilding the Monster during the best weather of the year.
I say to pull it and straighten out the ring situation. You and I both know that bad rings only get worse....to the point where the oil starts slipping by fowling plugs and pushing all kinds of oily black crud through your turbo and out the pipes. That situation leads to carbon build up in the turbo, which isn't a good thing. It robs power due to low compression....destabilizes crank harmonics...and turns the Monster into a smoke screening orange version of night rider.
Enjoy your new home and the Monsters lab. Rebuild it while its cold as hell outside. Enjoy the thrill of driving it when the weather turns around and cruise with only small concerns.
Its now getting warm again. Your out on one of your 40 mike trips to a car show after a gruelling day explaining how a BMW works to a guy that still has as flip phone....
You're on the freeway and notice a little loss in power.... The Monster cruises on....but when you get off the freeway you notice a weird shake in the engine....and clouds of smoke trailing behind you....bellowing out your tail pipes. ....Now you can either kill all the mosquito's on your " cheek puckering " cruise back home....or call the dreaded tow truck rescue squad.... Then you get to sit at home rebuilding the Monster during the best weather of the year.
I say to pull it and straighten out the ring situation. You and I both know that bad rings only get worse....to the point where the oil starts slipping by fowling plugs and pushing all kinds of oily black crud through your turbo and out the pipes. That situation leads to carbon build up in the turbo, which isn't a good thing. It robs power due to low compression....destabilizes crank harmonics...and turns the Monster into a smoke screening orange version of night rider.
Enjoy your new home and the Monsters lab. Rebuild it while its cold as hell outside. Enjoy the thrill of driving it when the weather turns around and cruise with only small concerns.
Honestly Joe, I think Mike has it somewhat right here
.The seperator for my paint booth works on air pressure close to 130-140psi. I’m not sure how efficient it would be at lower pressures. It wouldn’t be like a cork at all like suggested though. It might work somewhat too since it would provide a slight Venturi effect on the air flow as well as cooling the air/oil mixture allowing the oil particles to fall out of suspension.
Others have referred to it as an oil/water seperator, it isn’t that at all. We have a seperate chamber for that as well as a larger filter filled with desiccant beads that absorb water from the air (like those little packets you find in your beef jerky, just on a really big scale).
The air/oil seperator is designed to remove oil from the air, not water.
My only lack of humor, non-sarcastic, advice is this:
If it were my car and you were completely, emotionally detached from the project...
What would your advise be to me (about just the car)?
that was harder
than I thought
It's better with dry humor
HotFox
15 Year Member
Don't forget it should be easy...only one head gasket and six pistons...unlike on a V8 two head gaskets and eight pistons.
stangboy
Founding Member
You seem to think like I do. So here's the gist of it. Deep down in your gut you know there's maybe a 5% chance the catch can will work satisfactorily. But you've convinced yourself you really don't want to pull the engine (motors are electric). So you then convince yourself that spending the time and money on the catch call will actually fall in that 5% zone and you'll make it work. Then after all the time and effort, it's NOT in the 5% zone. At first you convince yourself you were a genius. You were smarter than everyone else and you made it work. Then reality sits in as oil drips out of everything.
You proceed to yell, cuss, maybe throw some things, sit and say some more cuss words about pulling the engine out. Then you pull the engine out and rebuild it and it goes back in way easier than you thought. You then cuss some more saying why did I waste all that time and energy on the damn catch can, when I could have just man'd up and pulled the damn engine to start with.
Right?
You proceed to yell, cuss, maybe throw some things, sit and say some more cuss words about pulling the engine out. Then you pull the engine out and rebuild it and it goes back in way easier than you thought. You then cuss some more saying why did I waste all that time and energy on the damn catch can, when I could have just man'd up and pulled the damn engine to start with.
Right?
My only lack of humor, non-sarcastic, advice is this:
If it were my car and you were completely, emotionally detached from the project...
What would your advise be to me (about just the car)?
that was harder
than I thought
It's better with dry humor
notoriously cheap, but doing it neat
Its always better when the Mrs is the decorator, Mike....
I'd predict the cast iron rods and rings will be done at the next 300000 mile service....
I think it makes most sense to tear it down while its cold so its fresh and ready for show season. I would keep making your PCV box as planned also. And when youre done with all that, come replace my clutch I just put in.
The thing is underway. I gotta try and build this, otherwise I'll always have that "I shoulda" thing lurking in the back of my head.
The floor is pented. It angles downward from the center. The two -12 hoses don't have fittings to attach, so I'm waiting till tomorrow to drill them, and cut the hoses accordingly. I haven't installed the baffles, or the chambers as of this progress shot.
I'll be finished with the thing tomorrow. Hopefully my friend will have a scrap 2.25" j bend, in addition to the two 90 degree fittings that I had to order from summit, that won't be here till tomorrow night. If he does, then I'll be able to finish it as its pictured in my head.
It's stupid high, hanging just behind the radiator. I would have figured that this would be hood interference territory, but so far it clears.
This box is the separation chamber. Spewed Oil will be returned to the engine via the two -10 lines at the bottom. Vented vapors will come in on top of the box, and have to go through a series of baffles, screens, and mesh to get to the filters that will be oriented backwards, pointing back towards the engine.
This is my " last hurrah" before I justify a tear down..if I control the engine breathing with this contraption w/o any spooge, then I'll be more likely to postpone the inevitable.
But winters coming,..and the night is full of terrors.
The floor is pented. It angles downward from the center. The two -12 hoses don't have fittings to attach, so I'm waiting till tomorrow to drill them, and cut the hoses accordingly. I haven't installed the baffles, or the chambers as of this progress shot.
I'll be finished with the thing tomorrow. Hopefully my friend will have a scrap 2.25" j bend, in addition to the two 90 degree fittings that I had to order from summit, that won't be here till tomorrow night. If he does, then I'll be able to finish it as its pictured in my head.
It's stupid high, hanging just behind the radiator. I would have figured that this would be hood interference territory, but so far it clears.
This box is the separation chamber. Spewed Oil will be returned to the engine via the two -10 lines at the bottom. Vented vapors will come in on top of the box, and have to go through a series of baffles, screens, and mesh to get to the filters that will be oriented backwards, pointing back towards the engine.
This is my " last hurrah" before I justify a tear down..if I control the engine breathing with this contraption w/o any spooge, then I'll be more likely to postpone the inevitable.
But winters coming,..and the night is full of terrors.
- Mar 2, 2015
- 6,842
- 5,870
- 203
When the crank case is pressurized its the same from top to bottom, right ?
So...will pressure also try to enter through the drain back hoses. Or...are you installing some check valves ?
Just asking because I had a Chevy truck with bad rings....that thing would pop the dipstick out every time I mashed the gas.
So...will pressure also try to enter through the drain back hoses. Or...are you installing some check valves ?
Just asking because I had a Chevy truck with bad rings....that thing would pop the dipstick out every time I mashed the gas.
Ok....update time.
Here,...take a minute....try and guess if I got the thing finished............................
Why hell no.
It is very involved,...cutting all of those little stupid pieces of steel, and trying to think like crankcase pressure.
Wondering in your head..."If I was blow by, and I'm carrying a buttload of oil with me,..what would slow me down?...How many obstacles would I have to pass before the wet oil was trapped, or suspended, and only gaseous vapors remain?Annd ..Is it even possible?"
With no actual science to work off from, I did like I always do,......I baked a cake from scratch.
Behold! The"Mikeroso Vac-U-Peen system.
I.I.I.I.I... I dont have a clue if the thing will work or not,..but I like building junk, and when its finished, I think it'll look pretty cool.
The baffles meet in the middle, and there are two layers of perforated steel to get through before the vapors travel down the shaft....
In the shaft, I will loosely jam one of these little stainless steel afro balls...
And cap it with one of the 2" ID filters that came with the original puke tank.
Right now, I'm undecided if I add two 1" pipe nipples to accommodate the smaller filters, but I probably will.
wet paint,...the ribs match the valve cover. When the silver dries, I'll tape up the ribs, and paint the whole thing in a truck bed coating that'll match the texture of the valve cover.
To answer your question Scott, Yes, all four hoses will pressurize the box. I wanted them to also serve as vents. The hope is that when I shut the engine off, the accumulated oil will drain back.
Two 3/4" id hoses, and two 1/2" id hoses mean that I have approximately 2.5" of open vent on the valve cover now. The one filter is 2", and the other two are 1" If I add all three, I'll have 4" of vent breather. Hopefully this piece of sht wont need all of that volume to breathe.
Guess I'll find out soon enough.
The weather turns cold this week end. and today was my day off. I wont see another opportunity to test this thing till next week end,....(when it's cold)...
The box is welded shut. If it don't work, it'll go on a nail,..right next to the Tail pipe (The G hole), the original orange glued together valve cover, and the stupid copper head gasket. Or maybe in a drawer,...that has the original fuel system, and the chinese waste gates. Or in a box that has the hoses from one of a myriad of failed other hair brain schemes...
Or maybe I'll just throw it in the trash.
I think it'll work.
But I'm still gonna pull the engine nonetheless.
I've prepped the wife, she knows the reasons, and she knows what it's gonna cost. All I gotta do is convince myself.
Which I'll think about.
Right after I test the Evac-u-peen.
Here,...take a minute....try and guess if I got the thing finished............................
Why hell no.
It is very involved,...cutting all of those little stupid pieces of steel, and trying to think like crankcase pressure.
Wondering in your head..."If I was blow by, and I'm carrying a buttload of oil with me,..what would slow me down?...How many obstacles would I have to pass before the wet oil was trapped, or suspended, and only gaseous vapors remain?Annd ..Is it even possible?"
With no actual science to work off from, I did like I always do,......I baked a cake from scratch.
Behold! The"Mikeroso Vac-U-Peen system.
I.I.I.I.I... I dont have a clue if the thing will work or not,..but I like building junk, and when its finished, I think it'll look pretty cool.
The baffles meet in the middle, and there are two layers of perforated steel to get through before the vapors travel down the shaft....
In the shaft, I will loosely jam one of these little stainless steel afro balls...
And cap it with one of the 2" ID filters that came with the original puke tank.
Right now, I'm undecided if I add two 1" pipe nipples to accommodate the smaller filters, but I probably will.
wet paint,...the ribs match the valve cover. When the silver dries, I'll tape up the ribs, and paint the whole thing in a truck bed coating that'll match the texture of the valve cover.
To answer your question Scott, Yes, all four hoses will pressurize the box. I wanted them to also serve as vents. The hope is that when I shut the engine off, the accumulated oil will drain back.
Two 3/4" id hoses, and two 1/2" id hoses mean that I have approximately 2.5" of open vent on the valve cover now. The one filter is 2", and the other two are 1" If I add all three, I'll have 4" of vent breather. Hopefully this piece of sht wont need all of that volume to breathe.
Guess I'll find out soon enough.
The weather turns cold this week end. and today was my day off. I wont see another opportunity to test this thing till next week end,....(when it's cold)...
The box is welded shut. If it don't work, it'll go on a nail,..right next to the Tail pipe (The G hole), the original orange glued together valve cover, and the stupid copper head gasket. Or maybe in a drawer,...that has the original fuel system, and the chinese waste gates. Or in a box that has the hoses from one of a myriad of failed other hair brain schemes...
Or maybe I'll just throw it in the trash.
I think it'll work.
But I'm still gonna pull the engine nonetheless.
I've prepped the wife, she knows the reasons, and she knows what it's gonna cost. All I gotta do is convince myself.
Which I'll think about.
Right after I test the Evac-u-peen.
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You have the tinkering disease really bad Mike.
At least Kate knows about the engine tear down, you're married to a good woman Mike. I believe mine would have to be sedated.
At least Kate knows about the engine tear down, you're married to a good woman Mike. I believe mine would have to be sedated.
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