Logan's Intake Project: 1964 Fleetwood - Progress Report #4

[Logan Robb]

Well, it has certainly been a while. As with all projects, I had gotten sidetracked on other odd jobs around the house, a new position within my company, and life in general. 

I finally took the time to get the 1406 carb mounted up to the intake with the Edelbrock (#8723) spacer and gaskets. I had gotten the intake painted Cadillac Blue a long while ago, and it looks really great with the carb mounted up. I applied the gaskets dry. From my research, that appears to be best as no sealants are truly gas resistant. They are just that. Resistant. 

I need to consult the manual for the correct torque specs for the 4 carb mounting nuts and the intake bolts/studs

I also transferred the power break/transmission vacuum line fitting from the old Carter to the new 1406. I think there are a few more things I need to transfer over as well, but I need to do one more look over. The fuel line I think I will need to make some modifications for. 

As for the rest of the project, well, I struggled with the "well, while I am this far in here" mentality. 

Once I got the intake and carb off, I noticed the valley pan was quite....gross. Someone had also made a makeshift PCV tube out of a small section of red garden hose. Nope, that wont be returning. So I went ahead and pulled the valley cover off to inspect and clean as needed. Luckily, Jason had a primed and painted valley cover for a very resonable price, that'll save me some time and elbow grease!

Since I was already elbow deep in the valley, I went a head and pulled the valve covers. I figured after I got my new, freshly painted air cleaner, new shiny carb, new valley cover all installed, the valve covers would stick out like a sore thumb. 

So I pulled the rocker covers, cleaned, degreased, sanded (more like scuffed), and painted in the same Cadillac Blue. In hindsight, I should have taken these to be bead blasted, or dry ice blasted to prevent warpage. While they certainly look better, they are not perfect. But that is OK, the car isn't perfect. I can't make things perfect, but I can strive to make them better!

Overall, there really isn't much to this job. It's been A LOT of cleaning so far. I didn't have to remove too many components. I did totally remove the A/C compressor as it is shot anyhow and easiest to get it out of the way. I did take the coil off and paint the new one Cad Blue and I have a Gold Cad plated mount for it as well. I also removed the A/C bracket and painted that, also with some new bling from Jason to brighten the area up. 

At this point, I am waiting on some more parts and have to do some more cleaning yet. I do have a few questions I'll pose to the group. 

1) The PCV that runs to the front of the carb, the old Carter has a small what I think is maybe a check valve or something. Will I need to replace this? Or can I leave it off?

2) Have you used any sealants when doing similar work? I did pick up some Permatex Hi Tack to help with getting gaskets aligned and some Ultra Black if needed. Where would you put some extra sealant? What sealant would you use?

3) Throttle Linkage. The 1406 has a totally different setup and I admit, I need to take some time to really study it, but hoping someone has some decent advice for me regarding this. 

I think thats it for now! If I remember, Ill get some photos posted 

Thanks all!

Logan Robb

1964 Fleetwood. 

[Dennis P. DiBari]

Hi Logan,

     You really accomplished a lot of work on your car.  It really looks great and will pay off in the long run.  Keep up the good work and the new carburetor will run good when it's all done!

Dennis DiBari, NY

[Jason Edge]

Logan, Everything is looking great. Yes you do want to replace the PCV Valve with a new one. You can get them at most local auto parts stores if not I stock them for $5. I am not a fan of sealant unless absolutely necessary. I hardly used any on my engine rebuild, and/or carb project. If you have to remove something later they can make it difficult.   Proper torque is important. make sure mating surfaces are clean and threads on all bolts and female threads are clean.  If you are tightening thru grease and grime it can throw off the torque reading. You should be able to finger thread most nuts and bolts. 

Jason.