Build Thread 1978 Mercury Cyclone. The pig is in the pen.

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#7,721
CarMichael Angelo said:
We cut, and moved hundreds of pounds of trees, brush, and junk to the curb. It still looks like hell back there. The worst part were the vines. Down here we have these freakin Tarzan vines that grow up the trees and literally choke the life out of them. Trying to get the vines cut and pulled off of the trees proved impossible. They are as strong as rope. I cut down three trees that had died for whatever reason, and they were so encased in the vines,....and the vines were so intertwined between the adjacent trees, that they wouldn't fall after they were cut at their base.
I had to leave them to fall when the vines die and finally release their death grip. I cut the vines at their base as well, so they are no longer rooted. They will die.
Then the trees will fall.
It's all I can do. It's all I wanna do. Freakin Tarzan vines.......
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Kudzu? That :poo: is nuts. My grandma says you can make tea from the leaves, about the only use Ive ever heard of.

*Edit - yep. Thats what I get from reading from the bottom up.
 
#7,723
I know exactly what you mean by the vines Mike, they can envelope trees to the point you cant even see the tree anymore. Freakin impossible to remove from the tree itself, worst part is if you dont kill the roots of the vine or pull the root ball out of the ground they will grow right back within a year.
 
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#7,724
"Oh Goody,...It's time for another one of mike's ramblings....And I was soo looking forward to going to bed...."

Meh,....See if I care.

I did in fact spend a long day on the Monster. And ended it with mixed results. I said the goal was to get the cooling system plumbed, and that's what done, but as usual, there's a hanging chad.

IMAG0097_zpsr0blsy3c.webp

The pump now hangs from a bracket welded to the side cover.
IMAG0101_zps8rx8xzcq.webp

The back side of the pump feeds the heater, and passes under the pan to feed the three holes in the side of the engine...
IMAG0098_zpscloabgjv.webp

I have all of these expensive assed push lock -12 120, 150, and 180 degree fittings...I wanted to do the whole thing in braided, but it just seems such a freakin' waste to buy new junk to do that with. Besides, the stuff I bought to make the braided stuff you see work cost 200.00 as it is..Bottom line,...the rear most fitting was plumbed in push lock junk. You can't really see it once the header is on, and it's a smaller profile than the braided fittings. It doesn't matter anyway.

Because despite jamming the fittings tightly against the block........


IMAG0104_zpsurcjnlxx.webp

Still ended up jamming against one of the header tubes.. The rear-most fitting is touching tube #6. How tightly, I got no idea. Tube #4 is barely touching the T. I also got no idea what happens to the hoses when they are attached to pieces of aluminum that are touching hot steel. I'd imagine that it'd be a bad thing, excepting that there will be water circulating through those fittings, effectively wicking out the mega heat transferring into the hoses that are attached to those fittings.
The header is mounted. The converter is tight, the O2 sensor is in, and the alternator wiring is plumbed and tight.
IMAG0105_zpsp7cvcwj2.webp

Everything that you see bolted on is actually permanent, except the ITB's. They have to come back off so that I can relocate the throttle linkage firewall hole.Once that is done, I'll plop those dudes back on, and work on the throttle linkage at the TB's. That is the last hurdle to deal with before being able to even consider starting this thing.
 
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#7,728
95BlueStallion said:
Im 34 and also ready for bed. So Mike, what keeps you from using 90's straight down out of the block to keep from hitting the header? Is that the "using what you already had" part, or more to do with circulation? Obviously you cannot leave it as is, unless you plan on wrapping the header? Would a nice thick header gasket give you more clearence?

Edit: Does your header(s) bend in toward the block instead of just running 90 degrees versus the ground? Hard to tell in the pics. 90's straight down seems like the water lines would hug the block nicely, but not if the header is also sharing that space.
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Wrongo Jeeves. I'm not changing anything. I said that the contact with the fittings would be mitigated by the fact that water is moving through the fittings. Straight fittings attached to the 90's in the block stood off even further. The 180 degree fittings allow me to tilt them against the block.
 
#7,732
It's time for the " Who's been payin attention" quiz.

Either A, you guys ARE Paying attention, and you know why I'm going through this PITA routing of the coolant hoses, or B, you are not.

So, the question for the day is Why?
 
#7,739
You guys are no fun. I bet you think that I’m doing all of this crap because I want to be different.

Here’s the deal: The factory water pump is located at the front of the block. Cold water enters the water jacket from the radiator and moves through the engine from there. Because #1 cylinder is constantly exposed to cooler water, it never gets up to a proper operating temp.

And consequently wears slap the hell out. Way faster than the rest of the cylinders. As a matter of fact, when I first tore this engine down, #1 was worn in excess of .030” compared to the other 5.

So,..by putting hoses between 1&2- 3&4, -5&6- it should even out the temps, and prolong the engine life.

That is of course dependent on the hot header not melting through the rubber hose, and all of the coolant dumping straight on the road, and causing the engine to see “ surface of the sun” engine temps.:shrug:
 
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