Ken's Engine Project...

[Rowdy1]

Chet Herbert

I'm sure you listed it in here but I don't remember, are you using a Herbert cam and if so, which one?

 

[Ken]

Isky, but don't ask me for the specs, I had the card in my hand the other day at the shop, but forgot it there.

I'll fill you guys in when I get it back. Right now he is re-doing the heads we got from Edelbrock to ensure no coil bind or anything else. We'll be using titanium retainers when they go back together.

_ken

 

[Drewser]

Unforgiven

and Clint Eastwood was a very wise man

Clint isn't dead yet, is he?:L

 

[johnny]

 

[Chris N]

CA smog nazis?

Hey Ken, great to see and hear your story; I'm frequently lurking around.

I'm sorry to bring up a negative, but what about our California smog nazis (C.A.R.B.) Your cam, intake, and displacement will take you out of specs; not gonna pass visual either without that air pump, EGR,... Does LA county require smog II dyno test to renew registration every other year? In Tuolumne county where I live we only need a check for title transfer, cool. :cool
Should I have kept quite and not blown your cover?

Good luck with the project, enjoy it, and try to remember to keep yourself alive when driving that beast; your new skid lid will only do so much.

Chris N

 

[69MyWay]

Air Pump

Chris N,

I have no idea about the CA emission laws, but feel like I struck a real winner out my way. That is I found that retrofitting a 92-96 style electric LT-1 Air Pump is nothing but hooking up wires, and running plumbing with the check valves to the exhaust. As you know, the LT-1 engine does not have an air pump on the belt drive.

Anyway, this is not confirmed, but I have been told that putting newer technology into cars is not a no-no emissions wise. So, with a good hi flow cat, and the electric air pump tucked away in the fender well pushing nice fresh air into the Cat and exhaust, you are right back to where you started if not better because it pushes the same amount of air no matter the engine RPM.

It works good for me on the older model, but I have not had to make any visual test.

Good question though.

Ken...........what is the plan?

 

[Ken]

Chris N, if I'm still around next time the registration/smog is due, I'll address the issue. In the meantime, we all know that hot rodders run a cleaner engine than the average Joe anyhow, so I'm not concerned that I'll be polluting the planet any more than factory emissions specs, it'll probably run cleaner.

I'm thinking of having the L98 rebuilt and use that when the time comes; true gearheads do it all the time, eh? I've already purchased a cradle for it and I have storage room under my workbench. :gap

Hey McSpeed, don't you know it's the Feds (EPA) that says you cannot alter or remove any factory installed emissions device. If they had their way, you wouldn't be able to open the hood.

The jury is still out on my end whether or not I'm even going to run a cat, although the air pump will definitely be gone - the headers aren't even plumbed for it.

_ken

 

[Chris N]

Ken's smog

Hey folks don't get me wrong, I'm not implying that you are going to be gross poluters. I'm sure that Ken's rig will run perfect; not rich, not lean. Although, it will definately burn more fuel (more potential energy=more power) which means more byproducts/smog. Any way, I'm into torque and horsepower and wish Ken 400+.

If I was Ken I'd omit the catalist, air pump, EGR and PCV on his new set of hot rods.

It is my guess that a newer electric air pump would pass as a retrofit on an older vehicle. It does the same job, pushes the same air volume, and would produce the same tail pipe gasses. Has anyone noticed that government agencies sometimes don't use common sense though? :confused

15 years ago it was easy to get a smog cert. for about $100 with just your registration, but I haven't tried since then and I'm pretty sure that its against the law; but so are a lot of things I do. (read confession) :eyerole

Great project Ken, I'm hoping to do the same for my truck some day. My vette is fast enough stock. Well...maybe a little more torque.

Chris N

 

[Ken]

The air pump is definitely history, and the Mini Ram doesn't use an EGR so that's out too. :gap

There is nothing wrong with the PCV valve; the engine has to ventilate and it can benefit from the slight amount of oil sent back through the intake side. And as long as your rocker covers are baffled to prevent an excessive amount of oil being splashed back through the PCV you're alright.

That leaves the catalytic converter. Again, as I've stated already, there is nothing wrong with what is offered on todays aftermarket shelves as "high-flow" converters. As for hampering flow, there is little if any restriction when used in a closed system. Open headers of course offer the least restiction to flow. :L

Hell, they even have mufflers now, such as some offered by Flowmaster, that increase torque yet at the same time maintain sufficient noise reduction that they can be used at small tracks where there is a limit to the level of sound allowed, such as "Run what ya brung" nights.

As for the final horsepower figures. If we use the "rule of thumb" that says 15-18 percent will be lost to the drivetrain, I should still come out with around 435-440 horses and 450-460 (lbs/ft? - ft/lbs? ROTFLMAO) of torque at the rear wheels. :J

_ken

 

[Drewser]

This conversation make me glad I live in the middle of friggin nowhere 'cause out here they don't have any smog testing. No safety tests, no tailpipe test--they barely have a drivers test here in Indiana. If you spell your name right they give you 50%. (maybe that is why there are so many idiots on the road here)
--Drew

 

[JHL]

Hey McSpeed, don't you know it's the Feds (EPA) that says you cannot alter or remove any factory installed emissions device. If they had their way, you wouldn't be able to open the hood.

You might laugh at Ken`s comment but recently there has been an Audi on sale over here in the UK and the hood is sealed at the factory and can only be opened by the dealer for service. The front grill flips down to let you check and top up fluids and thats it. It`s to be hoped it`s an idea that doesn`t catch on

J.

 

[Drewser]

It`s to be hoped it`s an idea that doesn`t catch on

Here Here!

 

[Chris N]

California smog

Hey folks, I'm not advocating smog checks, I dislike them because it makes it difficult to modify my engine as a hobby even if the results are cleanburning. It is a reality of living in California which many of us do. At least my county is not as bad as others like LA and Sacramento.

Well tuned high performance engines have similar percentages of emission gasses as stock engine types. What I was trying to say was, that if you want more power you usually need to burn more fuel which is the energy source. More pounds of fuel in equates to more pounds of emission gasses out. (NOx,H20, HCs...) So more smog is being made, but a very insignificant portion of the big problem.

I'm not sure if adding oil expelled through the PCV into intake is good for performance though. Complete lubrication of bore, rods, valve train etc is taken care of; oil in intake richens and thickens intake mixture after ECM sprays proper fuel amount so it seems to me that it is not helping anything other than not venting oily gasses to the atmosphere through a breather?

Oh well; my solution is to keep my new cars smogable (smog legal upgrades only) and hot rod my old cars which don't need smog devices. Chris N

 

[Ken]

Let's go DRAG RACING!

Oh yeah! We set the date today for our day at Frank Hawley's Drag Racing School. It's set for Thursday, March 21, 2002. :J

_ken

 

[Tom Bryant]

That wouldn't be your camber brace would it Ken? As for the Drag Racing School, I have decided that you are having far too much fun for someone of your advanced years. STOP IT RIGHT NOW!

 

[RalleyRed]

I thought that might be the new heavy duty handle for your wife's purse, somebody's got to lug all the cash.

I do agree your havin way too much fun. Keep it up.

Rick

 

[Rowdy1]

KEWL

Which course did you sign up for at the Frank Hawley school?

 

[Ken]

Re: KEWL

Which course did you sign up for at the Frank Hawley school?

Lou, we'll be doing both of those courses that you see. We'll be there all day.

 

[Ken]

Tom is "In The Know!"

It's a Camber Brace from R-D Racing!

_ken

 

[Ken]

I thought that might be the new heavy duty handle for your wife's purse...

Wife?? She left years ago Rick. :L

_ken