I’ve worked through my to-do list: the manifold is now sealed, and the cover is back in place—adding a bit of felt underneath has actually made it quieter. Today I started fine-tuning the carburetor; fixing those leaks makes the process much easier now. The Weber was actually a pretty good fit to begin with, but I increased the idle jet from 55 to 60 and the main jet from 140 to 150. I plan to tweak these settings again tomorrow for further testing; the AFR reading shifted immediately from 14.5 to a range of 12.2–12.5. I’m going to move the 145 jet from the primary circuit to the secondary and put the 150 jet into the second stage—let's see if I can get the AFR closer to 13. Best regards, Harald.
Swapping the jets around worked; the AFR is hovering between 13 and 13.5, even at speeds close to 100 km/h, and the flat spot when the second stage opens is gone, too—so I’m going to leave it as is for now. The engine also feels like it’s running more smoothly—less harsh. Best regards, Harald.
Looking really good Harald... I always do a sanity check pulling spark plugs for a visual check. The siamese intake ports create a lean/rich situation between the cylinders where the first in the firing order wins in the air/fuel charge. My experience is that 1 and 4 are richer and 2 and 3 are leaner....so after some cylinder wall scoring episodes from elevated piston temps due to lean fuel and long duration running at full throttle, I set up the carburation so the 2 and 3 plugs visually appear in the 'brown' color range and 1 and 4 are rich with some carbon black....my good A buddy here and I have adopted a saying.... "A/B bangers like rich"... I also always check the exhaust header temps with a Flir thermal imaging camera it is remarkable the difference between cylinders...I recognize your power demands and motoring environment may grossly differ..... Glad you are getting things sorted and having fun with your beautiful build Larry
Thanks for the tips; I’ll check it on my next ride. I checked the spark plugs early on, and they looked gray to dark gray. With the current tuning, the color should shift more towards dark gray—though determining the plug color has become trickier with unleaded fuel. Cheers Harald
Still waiting to get our 4 banger Cragar OHV back so we can get to this point. Cam ground by a well known and so called USA guru , bent cam with two bad lobes bad and two lifters not turning., fubared cam and all lifters. Think the boy was told to grind a cam on his first day on the job with zero instruction. and an expensive STIPE adjustable timing gear loosing its whatever coating and the coating saying hello to the bearings etc. all in all poop. Stuff the expensive timing gear, going back to nos stock . Less than 400 miles and it needs a rebuild. AAARgh. I just want to drive it ,
I built a bumper that swings upwards to allow for hitching up the small caravan; it can be locked in the raised position. It’s made of 40mm stainless steel tubing and two stainless steel plates—custom-fitted to the existing mounting points and welded together. Nothing too complicated. The speedometer is working now, too; a piece of the old speedo cable was stuck in the drive unit, preventing it from turning. When I removed the "turtle" housing, oil immediately started pouring out of the differential—I’ll need to replace the seal, but that’s a job for the winter. The coupé is still running great; I’m currently commuting 20km each way between my workshop and home, and it gets to show what it can do on the city expressway. Best regards, Harald.
Drove to the workshop via back roads to swap cars and pick up the '62 C10; someone is coming by today to pick up the camper top. Best regards, Harald.
Clever work on the bumper, Harald. Glad you're getting to enjoy your fine car so much. I bet that Volvo gearbox is a delight.
My coupé... is it a traditional hot rod? Or what exactly have I built here? I don't really know much about hot rods; I just had a vision in my head of what I wanted to drive. I deliberately kept the four-banger engine and focused on making it more drivable and lowering the stance, while avoiding a chopped roof. I wanted to keep the fenders, too. It drives beautifully—the coupé keeps up with traffic effortlessly. I cruise at 2,000–2,300 rpm and haven't even come close to my self-imposed 3,000 rpm limit; it’s a very pleasant drive, tracks straight, and brakes well. I’m basically finished with the coupé for now and ready to enjoy it. A few things might change down the line, but not right away. Maybe you guys can help me—a bit of a novice in this area—figure out how to cl***ify it. Thanks for following along and for all the tips. Best regards, Harald.
I would cl***ify it as a 'Hop Up' I have buddys that basically have purpose built banger 'hot rods' to race and trailer them to events...yours is a trailer pulling Queen My event attending is as much about the journey as the destination...I get a sense that you are of the same mind I just call mine 'fun to drive' and if I have to cl***ify ...a Hopped Up Banger You have done a marvelous job
Today we visited the Harz National Park and drove to the Oker Dam; the restaurant there is famous for its cream puff creations. I imagine you have something similar where you are—they are delicious. We drove up to an al***ude of 700 meters—a great test for the coupé—and covered a total of around 170 km today. Here are a few photos. Best regards, Harald.
Call it whatever you want to. You won't get any arguments from me. To my eye, it's definitely traditional, and I have no problem calling it a hot rod, but I'm no expert. It's damn sure a nice car, and the way you are using it is inspiring.
I would say so. It may not be as hot as others, but you still hopped up the engine, the trans and the ch***is modifications are very "bended rods", and you're some way off an original car. But; why the need for labeling it?
First of all, thanks to everyone for your ***essments. Why do I want to know in the first place? Good question. As you’ve seen, I refer to it as "the coupé" or "the old Ford," and right at the start I called it a "mild hot rod"—but the term "hopped-up 4-banger" really appeals to me; that hits the nail on the head. Best regards, Harald.
Tonight (remember, it’s 23:01 over here) I had the utmost pleasure of being offered a ride in Haralds well driving hot rod- as for the previous distingtion question, I am no longer in any doubt. The setup in that great car is just fantastic! The surplus of power, the lowering and stance, the sliding fabric roof, the well done interiour, but most of all; the smooooth shifting M40!… I’m in love! You, my friend, has build a great hot rod!
I met up with Daniel (Dannerr) yesterday and got a new fan belt from him. Thanks again for your help. I'm glad you like the coupé; it was a lot of fun meeting you. It’s great to receive such wonderful ***istance while on the road; it was an exciting evening. Best regards, Harald.
I wanted to visit Dannerr during the technical inspection in Skærbæk, but didn't stand a chance—we must have arrived too late. I had my hands full just trying to get through the town; there wasn't a single parking space available nearby, and unfortunately, I couldn't take any photos either—everything was packed with cars and spectators. It was a m***ive event. Greetings Harald
We’re back home now, what an event; this Motor Festival is a fantastic experience. I only saw Phil from a distance and managed to snap a photo, and I only saw Dannerr on Thursday evening. The weather was mixed, ranging from sun to rain and very strong winds, but it didn't bother anyone; everyone was happy amidst the sea of vintage cars and hot rods. That’s exactly how it should be. The Danish Community has once again put together a truly excellent meet, I take my hat off to them. Not mine Not mine Departure from the beach, an event that takes hours. Best regards Harald
The Jalopy Journal
