I have an 86 berlinetta that i have posted about before and discussed with some of the members of this board. The acctual engine swap is being done at this point but im running into problems. the 350 is in the 1969-1979 range, so the oil pan from the 86 305 didn't work. No problem, i got a new one. Then the flexplate didn't fit on the crank. No problem, i got a new one. Then the starter didn't line up with the holes in the block. No problem, i got a new one. I put the engine in the car, everything goes reasonably smooth. I get the exhaust manifolds bolted on. Then i realize where the dipstick is, Right between the number 5 and number 7 cylinders..... and you know where that is? exactly where the exhaust manifold comes down to the y-pipe. I took the manifold off and in the process broke both studs, easy fix tho, just heated and drilled them out. Then i bent the dipstick to hell and back to curve around the manifold. It works now, but its not easy to get the dipstick in the tube, even after i cut it down.
That problem is fixed. I then realize that the hole in the intake for the brake booster is blocked by the holley DP carb i got. So it has to get plugged with pipe plugs just like the other 2 holes in the intake that were for sensors that i no longer need. Now im going to have to run the pcv valve and the brake booster off the same ported vacume line off the carb. Not exactly the best thing to do, but i have no choice.
Then i start to look at how high the engine is sitting, i measure the air filter, the carb and the distance from the top of the intake to where i think the hood is going to be. There is a very good chance that i wont be able to close my hood. And buying a new one is kinda out of the question right now. Im beginning to think that the car will never run again.
If anyone has any tips about what to do with the vacume lines, or any problems that i may yet run into feel free to tell me. How come noone ever talks about all the little things that are so frustrating?

btw.... im doing this in school autoshop, and school is done as of last thursday, and im on an extremly tight schedual before it has got to be out of the shop finished or not.

 

Here's your brake booster special FITTING for the intake with the DP carb.
As far as the air cleaner to hood clearance problem goes, it's a shame you don't live in Alabama. Most guys just leave the hood off. If you're going to keep the stock hood you're going to have to fabricate an air cleaner. This might be better waiting until the car comes home. The engine will be ok without an air filter for the trip home if you don't live at the end of a long dirt road. Whatever you do, don't forget to take out the threaded rod and punch a hole in your hood. I've seen this about a dozen times and it never gets fixed. Good luck with the vacuum hoses, this is always different depending on your setup.

 

Good luck with that fitting... lol

I have an edelbrock performer EPS and a holley 700cfm double pumper, i could barely get a hex head pipe pulg to clear the float bowl. I had to yank on that thing hard enough i though i was going to split the manifold just to get the plug low enough to clear!


The best thing to do is pull the manifold back off and drill/tap another hole farther back on the manifold to run the booster off of. I currently just put a T on my line and ran the PCV and booster together, the brakes are a little more stiff than usual but its not like you dont have any brakes at all... Im also not running the check valve on the booster line, so i imagine the brakes would still be great if you had one.

 

yeah im not takin the intake off to tap a hole, im gonna have to use a t on the vac line. I also need to figure out how the accessories are gonna bolt up, thats another big set back right now, i searched for bracket diagrams on the board and on google. A few people have asked for them, but no one has gotten a reply with anything useful to figuring out where things go.

 

That's really not an advisable way to do things.

 

What kind of intake do you have? My Performer RPM and Holley carb fit under my stock hood. I didn't have to cut the bracing out but did anyhow just for a little extra clearance.

 

Another suggestion for getting the clearance to use your brake booster vacuum source would be to use a 1/2" or 1" carb spacer plate underneath the carb. Unfortunately, this will only exaggerate your air cleaner/hood clearance problem. Which style air cleaner are you running, a standard base or drop down base? If you're using the standard base, you'll gain a lot of clearance by switching to the drop down style. They have the shape of the holley float bowls stamped into the base so that it can sit lower on the carb without interfering with anything. If you're using an Edelcrock intake, it's always a PITA to get the brake booster line to hook up with a Holley carb. My brother went through this on his car when he was using the Performer RPM intake with a Holley carb. He replaced it with a Weiand Stealth intake, and has no problem with the vacuum port. It's located a lot further back on one of the runners. This makes sense because Weiand is owned by Holley, so of course they design their intake to work good with a Holley carb. Edelcrock wants you to use one of their pathetic, Carter style carbs with their manifolds.

 

sorry for the late reply. I got the car towed to my uncles house today, so its not at the shop anymore, so time isnt an issue. We got everything set up to check the hood clearence, and i accually have 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch clearence. I may end up getting a 1/2 inch spacer, or getting the fitting that was linked in the first reply. I have that triangle shaped edelbrock air filter. I havent cut anything off that yet, but i guess i could if i have too. What is this drop down style your talking about?

 

That's the famous "triangle of death." It's made of a dense foam that chokes the engine, at least until the gasoline vapours soak into it and it crumbles and gets sucked into your engine, or catches fire, which ever comes first.

 

what should i get then? keep in mind that i need clearence so a big round air filter might not work.

 

oh wow man.. dont get discouraged.. like many people say and have experienced, $hit happens.. i, myself have had to rebuild my motor 3 times not including the initial build, all within 5000 miles.. got a tubular torque arm, had to modify my true duals to make it fit.. broke a few wheel studs right before drags, had to skip drags and wait till the monday after for the parts store to open.. a month after we painted the car, we drop in the motor.. if you look at my sig, the scoop on my hood is not for looks..

so trust me, dont get discouraged with all the things that go wrong.. everyone goes through it.. be encouraged when things go right..

well as for your PCV situation, dont run a T-fitting that includes the line for your brake booster.. you'll want those brakes getting all the vacuum they can get.. and for a filter, if you can, i would get the normal round filter with a drop base.. if it doesnt fit, modify it and make it fit.. you may have to drop the base even more.. you never know until you try.. you can always return it too..

good luck

 

Yeah im trying to stay positive about it, its at my uncles house now, so time isnt an issue, kinda takes off some of the stress. Can somone link me a drop base air filter? im not sure i know what one looks like.

 

A drop base air cleaner looks just like any other air cleaner from the outside, but the area inside that goes over the carb air horn is higher than the bottom of the air filter on the outside.

 

ah, i see. ill look into one of those.

 

Yeah, the drop down style air cleaners are way common. Almost as easy to find as the standard ones. If you can't find one at a local parts store for some reason, Summit or Jegs definitely has them.