Old Cars/Trucks Restoration and Modding

[Poppy]

id love to see a chevelle ss rebuilt on a all eltric chasis a eletric motor at each wheel

Why not just buy a new one?

 

[Poppy]

BTW If I understood the advertisement, GMC is going to make an all electric 4X4 Hummer.
That would be awesome.

https://www.gmc.com/electric/hummer...UOrHPGYuCt2gkGf50iIaAnffEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

[raggie33]

because i love the looks of old cars i just hate gas engines . i expect in a year or 2 we will see a eltric car run the quarter mile in 7 seconds

 

[greenpondmike]

Regarding electrical vs mechanical radiator fans, I am in favor of electrical.

A thermostat that regulates coolant flow is used in both systems. It is used primarily to allow the engine to come up to the most efficient running temperature as quickly as is reasonable.

The actual cooling of the coolant is dependent upon the radiator, and rate of flow of air through it.
Years ago, I would commonly see over-heated cars on the side of the road as we traveled south the the Jersey shore. Yeah... years ago, they all had mechanical fans. Sitting in traffic, in 90+F at an engine idle, the fan did not pull enough air through the radiator and they overheated.

Today, with computer controlled engines, (and fans); far fewer cars are on the side of the road due to over heating.

Sensors in today's cars turn the fan on high when the A/C compressor is activated. The fan/s go to high when needed. This is independent of engine speed.

Regarding rodding a radiator.
In the North East US, I suspect that it would cost more to have a radiator rodded, than it would be to buy a replacement radiator. Labor rates may be lower in other parts of the country.

Hey Poppy, It's roughly $50 cheaper to have mine rodded out than to buy a new cheap one. My original is two flue and the new one is higher capacity with 3 flues.
My brother in law's 1986 D21 EFI nissan hardbody pickup with a 4cyl won't idle or idles rough and unstabile. It might be a bouncing idle. It is intermediate I think. He thought it was the old gas where it had been sitting up, but it does it now with fresh gas in it. Seems like those early EFI trucks suffered from this and folks would just idle them up enough that they wouldn't bottom out and die. It is the same motor as my 86 720 pickup except mine had a carb on it.
I almost forgot- those original non aluminum radiators in old vehicles like mine are expensive to replace- like maybe $300-$700, so if I want to keep it original rodding out is the way to go. I just want it to work well whether original or not. This is my daily driver for now and I'm also dealing with water in my gas the way it is running. Was doing fine this morning near empty on the way home and I put some more gas in it from another station instead of where I originally got the bad gas, but it is back to bucking like a mule on the highway.

 

[greenpondmike]

If it's a cold engine idle bounce it's likely a device that controls the idle based on coolant temperature. FITV Honda calls it. Fast Idle Thermo Valve.
If it always idle bounces it could be a simple vacuum leak. If it bounces when cold it could be the what Honda calls a IACV Idle/Air Control Valve. If it fast idles fine and bounces when idle settles down to warm mode it's quite likely a vacuum leak.
Each brand uses something their own like Nissan uses an FIC (fast idle actuator) and IAC (idle air control) that both do pretty much what those Honda sensors do. Now their IAC has a gasket that can leak so that can cause a vaccum leak, which would cause an idle bounce.

My Honda fast idled fine but when warm went to bouncing. Somebody had unplugged a hose to the cruise control. Plug back and problem solved. My son continued a project I had abandoned on a real sweet 91 Prelude and he developed an idle boune. We cleaned the IACV and it stopped for a while but later the throttle position sensor screwed up and it went back to bouncing. So the throttle position sensor can also be a cause, but usually isn't.

This was how it lived except on special days.

Thanks bykfixer. I like being primed with ideals instead of going at it from scratch. I like that Ford sign.

 

[greenpondmike]

id love to see a chevelle ss rebuilt on a all eltric chasis a eletric motor at each wheel

I'm more of a Ford fan, but those chevelles were nice cars and had a full frame as compaired to thr sub frame novas and unit body mid sized Fords and dodge/plymouths. Those unit bodies worked well though. I put a fox body fairlane futura through the wringer.

 

[bykfixer]

The Ford sign is actually a giant sticker from the 1980's when I was restoring a 66 Mustang. I bought a bunch of business card sized sticky magnets and turned it into a big ole magnet to go onto the back of my tool chest

 

[greenpondmike]

I need to get one of those for my tool shed.

 

[Poppy]

Hey Poppy, It's roughly $50 cheaper to have mine rodded out than to buy a new cheap one. My original is two flue and the new one is higher capacity with 3 flues.
I almost forgot- those original non aluminum radiators in old vehicles like mine are expensive to replace- like maybe $300-$700, so if I want to keep it original rodding out is the way to go. I just want it to work well whether original or not.

Mike, since you already priced it out, I guess you made your decision. Rodding definitely works, and if those engines have a problem with electrolysis, then you are better off without an aluminum radiator.

My brother in law's 1986 D21 EFI nissan hardbody pickup with a 4cyl won't idle or idles rough and unstabile. It might be a bouncing idle. It is intermediate I think. He thought it was the old gas where it had been sitting up, but it does it now with fresh gas in it. Seems like those early EFI trucks suffered from this and folks would just idle them up enough that they wouldn't bottom out and die. It is the same motor as my 86 720 pickup except mine had a carb on it.

I am not familiar with nissans, although, I am with Fords.
1. vacuum leak is probably the most frequent cause of a surging idle.
2. fuel pressure, a weak fuel pump, clogged fuel filter, faulty fuel pressure regulator
Early EFI Fords had a two pump system, a low pressure high volume one in the tank, and a high pressure one attached to the frame closer to the engine.
3. faulty TPS throttle position sensor... that's the least likely of the three. When it goes bad, it will more often give a HIGH idle.
4. edit... I forgot to include your IAC idle air control module
5. electronic ignition module.
6. That engine is old enough that capacitors in the engine control computer may start to fail. You might pull it and take a look for leaking capacitors.

A Haynes, or Chilton's manual should walk you through how to test most of the components mentioned above.
Beyond that, I am sure there are many Nissan forums, where members help members troubleshoot their cars/trucks. I suggest that you find a good one (one where there are some knowledgeable people who help out, vs one that has members who just blow smoke).

Certainly, pulling engine troubleshooting codes (after looking for a vacuum leak) is a great place to start.
Did you pull codes?
What were they?

This is my daily driver for now and I'm also dealing with water in my gas the way it is running. Was doing fine this morning near empty on the way home and I put some more gas in it from another station instead of where I originally got the bad gas, but it is back to bucking like a mule on the highway.

Water settles to the bottom of the tank, and since the gas is pumped from the bottom of the tank, the water, if there is any is the first to get pumped out. Therefore... full tank, or empty tank doesn't matter when it comes to pumping water from it.

Unless your County was under water, it seems very unlikely that you could have gotten bad gas from two different stations. I suspect that your problem is with YOUR truck, and not from buying bad gas.

On a carbed engine if I remember correctly, fuel pressure should be between 5-7 PSI. Check the specs for your truck/engine. Also take a look at your fuel line. I once had a rubber hose that connected my gas tank to the metal fuel line. It dry rotted out, and caused a vacuum leak. It allowed enough fuel at idle, and low speeds, but not at high way speeds the fuel pump was sucking some air into the fuel line. The engine bogged down on the highway.

If you are convinced that your problem is water in the fuel, pull your fuel filter, and dump it into a clear container, and examine it.

 

[greenpondmike]

Thank you Poppy. I think my brother in law has a code checker, but I don't know if he checked any codes yet. I considered that with all this rain I could have gotten water in 2 different places.
I just replaced the fuel pump. I had the gas cap off as I came home from work this morning to see if the lines might be collasping on the inside where I can't see it. I figured the vacuum in the tank (the tank is unvented whereas the original was vented) might be sucking the lines closed.
I've had water in the tank before and it did the same way it does now except it seemed to clear up faster than this time. It also left me stranded twice this time, but hasn't anymore (praise God) since I put on the new fuel pump.
I also checked my vacuum lines.
You misunderstood me about the radiator. I want to fix the original, but it is a 2 flue and the new aluminum one that comes with 2 electric fans is 3 flue. I assume the original one barely kept it cool enough when the truck was new since the engine turns high rpms because of it's low geared rear end. I had already ordered the aluminium one this past Thursday and a water pump.

 

[bykfixer]

I've never gotten a check engine light when idle bounce was a thing.
Now being a combustion motor is a giant vaccum system the idle bounce means vacuum is not in spec somewhere. And the computer is confused. "To rev or not to rev?" it keeps processing. So it's just a matter of figuring out what is out of spec.
Agreed Poppy, forums are great sources for what typically goes wrong, yes. Yet there are times when it is none of the usual suspects so one has to put on their Sherlock Holmes thinking cap and begin analyzing. That's when the fun begins.

Modern shops have diagnistic machines that can check out all over the system be it vacuum or electronic. I'm not above paying somebody $75 to diagnose an issue I just can't figure out. Then decide either DIY or pay the shop.

 

[Poppy]

Trying to think of different sensors that may trigger a CEL check engine light when one of the symptoms is a surging idle include:
IAT intake air temperature sensor... common cause of surging idle
MAF Mass air flow sensor (has the IAT built into it) ... surging, stalling
MAP Manifold absolute pressure sensor (works similar to MAF)
O2 sensors, running RICH, or running LEAN codes may be set depending upon where a vacuum leak is, among other things, such as incomplete ignition.
EGR valve malfunction may cause the EGR valve position sensor to trigger a code.
EGR Differential Pressure sensor may send a code... What are the symptoms of a bad EGR pressure sensor?As with any EGR issue, the most common symptoms noticed when the exhaust gas recirculation pressure feedback sensor fails are rough idling, hesitation accelerating from a stop, lack of engine power, misfires, and, of course, illumination of the dreaded check engine light.




Pulling DTC codes (Diagnostic Troubleshooting Codes) is very easy to do and can REALLY point one in the right direction for troubleshooting a problem.

 

[raggie33]

any of you al recall checking a ford ecm with a papper clip and a volt meter?

 

[Poppy]

Yes, I wrote an instruction how to do that and in slightly newer Ford s you can count the blinks of the CEL👍

 

[raggie33]

i used to do it on my ford exp i loved this car the stereo in it was worth more then the total price i psyed for it used. it wasnt cool but i drove thr hell out of it only time it left me stranded was when iran out of gas. i recall drilling a hole in the engine compartment to get to the crank shaftbolt for a timeing belt change. it was this or buy a specailtooll

 

[greenpondmike]

Thanks Poppy for that info. I like having an old raggity Ford that people would not think much of till it eats their chevies. I want it to be perfect mechanically and on the inside and sound good and have no rust- just look kind of rough on the outside, but easily fixable if I want it to look good. I like the old LTDS and galaxies, but I also like the mid sized offerings. I still wouldn't mind having a modified pinto with a fuel cell or plastic boat tank. Those little cars were tough and people used to put them through the wringer down here. One had a 302 off in it. You had to take the motor mounts loose and jack up the motor just to change the oil filter. Now they make kits to reroute the oil filter where it can easily be changed.

 

[Poppy]

Raggie,, you know more than you let on 👍😉
Creating access holes can be a real time saver.

 

[greenpondmike]

Raggie,, you know more than you let on 👍😉
Creating access holes can be a real time saver.

I agree- +1

 

[raggie33]

Raggie,, you know more than you let on 👍😉
Creating access holes can be a real time saver.

ive been told i can fix anything my mind works that way. from ac to computers i can fix most anything. butbin life im a moron lol

 

[raggie33]

lol one time i changed a entire engine with no egine hoist just a floor jack. its how i used to feed my self by fixing stuff