cj5walt
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Jul 28, 2009
- Location
- mooresville, nc
your welcome hope its helpful. sorry to hijack but are those the same headers you had on the 304? if so what brand are they and did they tap against the frame much
401 swap into my CJ7
- Thread starter TKFireman
- Start date
the 304 had stock manifolds. Those are Flowtech headers. I didn't see much difference in them between the Flowtech, headman or hookers besides the price. I have a picture posted above of the frame/header clearance on the driver side. The passenger side is much tighter and touches the rear spring mount. Can get a picture of the passenger side if you want.
When I bought my CJ it had a 304 with the performer intake, the Holley 670 truck avenger, and ran like crap. It had multiple vacuum leaks, no PCV valve, no baffle under the intake, timing was off, ran extremely rich and the heater hoses where routed wrong among other issues. I fixed and tuned it the best I could, but it definitely had a rough time. I'm hoping the rebuild kit and a good cleaning will fix the carb to like new. I plan to put the stock jets in it and return to the stock 6.5 power valve. I reckon that will be the best place to start and tune from there, any suggestions?
I was able to prime the oil system for the first time yesterday, held about 60 psi oil pressure spinning it with my 18v Ryobi drill, didn't see any leaks yet. No puddles under it this morning. It has 5 quarts of 10W-30 in it and a bottle of Lucas engine break-in zinc additive. Still need to pull the valve covers, spin the engine over and make sure oil is getting to the top of all the rockers, then seal the valve covers.
When I bought my CJ it had a 304 with the performer intake, the Holley 670 truck avenger, and ran like crap. It had multiple vacuum leaks, no PCV valve, no baffle under the intake, timing was off, ran extremely rich and the heater hoses where routed wrong among other issues. I fixed and tuned it the best I could, but it definitely had a rough time. I'm hoping the rebuild kit and a good cleaning will fix the carb to like new. I plan to put the stock jets in it and return to the stock 6.5 power valve. I reckon that will be the best place to start and tune from there, any suggestions?
I was able to prime the oil system for the first time yesterday, held about 60 psi oil pressure spinning it with my 18v Ryobi drill, didn't see any leaks yet. No puddles under it this morning. It has 5 quarts of 10W-30 in it and a bottle of Lucas engine break-in zinc additive. Still need to pull the valve covers, spin the engine over and make sure oil is getting to the top of all the rockers, then seal the valve covers.
RickyR
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Jul 26, 2006
- Location
- Charleston, South Carolina
That looks great.
The 401 has all kinds of low end torque. I hope you have one piece rear axles in the AMC 20.
I broke my axle the first run down the street with my new 401. Had to come home with the front axle.
The AMC engines will suck all of the oil out of the oil pan at extended high rpm's. I have a Milodon 8 qt pan and a Moroso oil accumulator.. So far so good. Have had my 401 in 2 jeeps and about 8 years. Rolled it over in TN and ran with no oil pressure on and off for about 30 minutes. The Amsoil saved the engine and internals.
If you have overheating problems, find a 4 row brass radiator, and an external oil cooler. My new build wouldn't allow for the oil cooler, and wish I had made room. The part number for the radiator is 436010, Summit sells them, but they are pretty expensive. I got mine way back and was $200 or so, they are $390 now.
I can help if you need more help, just shoot me a PM...
Good luck, Ricky
The 401 has all kinds of low end torque. I hope you have one piece rear axles in the AMC 20.
I broke my axle the first run down the street with my new 401. Had to come home with the front axle.
The AMC engines will suck all of the oil out of the oil pan at extended high rpm's. I have a Milodon 8 qt pan and a Moroso oil accumulator.. So far so good. Have had my 401 in 2 jeeps and about 8 years. Rolled it over in TN and ran with no oil pressure on and off for about 30 minutes. The Amsoil saved the engine and internals.
If you have overheating problems, find a 4 row brass radiator, and an external oil cooler. My new build wouldn't allow for the oil cooler, and wish I had made room. The part number for the radiator is 436010, Summit sells them, but they are pretty expensive. I got mine way back and was $200 or so, they are $390 now.
I can help if you need more help, just shoot me a PM...
Good luck, Ricky
cj5walt
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Jul 28, 2009
- Location
- mooresville, nc
x2 on the oil cooler they help some with oil psi loss assosiated with high engine temp also. Check out BullTear.com for the oil cooler setup. They carry some of the highest quality AMC parts I have used.
Thanks for the advice on cooling, plan to run it stock and see what happens, but if I have problems I will try the oil cooler
Pulled the valve covers this morning, primed the oiling system, and turned the engine over by hand, got oil to the top of all the rockers, looked good, turns out this is very hard on a battery drill though, need an electric. After that I re-installed the valve covers, sealed and torqued them. Figured I can re-prime right before I fire the engine.
Got the Carb re-built. Overall it wasn't difficult, disassemble, and reassemble with new parts, but cleaning all the crap off in all the little places took a while. It appears that the secondaries weren't opening when it was on the 304, the gas that came out of the bowl was very dark and smelled like varnish, see picture. Carb kits fit several carbs, so had to pick through the parts to figure out which ones fit my particular carb. Put the stock jets in, 68 primary and 89 secondary. Set the floats dry, set them to parallel. The new power valve in the kit only had a 5 stamped in it, stock is a 6.5, so either its a 5 or a miss-stamp. Idle mixture screws are 1 1/2 turns out. Any other adjustments I can pre-set before install? I know that I have to run engine at 2000 rpm for 20 minutes at first fire to break in cam and want the carb to be close enough to do it.
Pulled the valve covers this morning, primed the oiling system, and turned the engine over by hand, got oil to the top of all the rockers, looked good, turns out this is very hard on a battery drill though, need an electric. After that I re-installed the valve covers, sealed and torqued them. Figured I can re-prime right before I fire the engine.
Got the Carb re-built. Overall it wasn't difficult, disassemble, and reassemble with new parts, but cleaning all the crap off in all the little places took a while. It appears that the secondaries weren't opening when it was on the 304, the gas that came out of the bowl was very dark and smelled like varnish, see picture. Carb kits fit several carbs, so had to pick through the parts to figure out which ones fit my particular carb. Put the stock jets in, 68 primary and 89 secondary. Set the floats dry, set them to parallel. The new power valve in the kit only had a 5 stamped in it, stock is a 6.5, so either its a 5 or a miss-stamp. Idle mixture screws are 1 1/2 turns out. Any other adjustments I can pre-set before install? I know that I have to run engine at 2000 rpm for 20 minutes at first fire to break in cam and want the carb to be close enough to do it.
Got some good progress done today. Mounted the Carb and a few hoses and wires. Removed the CJ clutch pedal, cut the pad off and welded it onto the YJ pedal to make it look stock. Installed clutch master cylinder, but my random bolt drawer let me down and I need to go buy another bolt to hold it on. I was able to relocate the fuel lines just enough and make a heat shield that should protect the fuel and brake lines. Need to go buy another can of high heat black paint to put on the shield. While the dash is out to mess with the pedal, I installed a new speedo gauge from rugged ridge that I got cheap locally, my CJ currently has 00000.3 miles on it.:Rockon:
I didn't notice it until today but the header pipe from the #1 cylinder is touching the steering shaft. Only options I can think of is to either just let it rub and see if it becomes an issue or to remove the steering shaft and slightly modify the header pipe with the ol' ball peen hammer, haven't decided yet.
I didn't notice it until today but the header pipe from the #1 cylinder is touching the steering shaft. Only options I can think of is to either just let it rub and see if it becomes an issue or to remove the steering shaft and slightly modify the header pipe with the ol' ball peen hammer, haven't decided yet.
Tom@Hilltop_Machine
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Mar 31, 2005
- Location
- Rural Retreat, VA
Looks good.
I have a built 360 in my CJ. Heres some things to think about doing.
High flow alum water pump.
As mentioned earlier you will need a bigger radiator. I went with an aluminum one.
Rerouting the fuel lines away from the headers will help alot.
Heat wrap the headers to keep the heat down.
Vent the hood.
I have a built 360 in my CJ. Heres some things to think about doing.
High flow alum water pump.
As mentioned earlier you will need a bigger radiator. I went with an aluminum one.
Rerouting the fuel lines away from the headers will help alot.
Heat wrap the headers to keep the heat down.
Vent the hood.
BERTIE RENEGADE
Active Member
- Joined
- Jul 25, 2009
Just another tip... when using the drill type oil primer make sure the drill shaft is not touching the distributor drive gear on the camshaft or it will cause a flat spot on the gear and premature drive gear failure. Ask me how I know!
More progress today, I'm getting close. Finished installing the clutch master cylinder and pedal. I used a YJ clutch pedal which is slightly different than a CJ pedal, anyone know if I need a clutch pedal return spring on here or will the hydraulics push it back up? Is DOT3 ok to use in the clutch, I have a bottle or two on hand.
I removed the steering shaft, which was harder than anticipated, it wouldn't slide on itself so I had to remove the driver side fender and unbolt the steering column and move the entire column towards the driver seat to get it unhooked. Once it was out it took a large hammer to shorten and lengthen the shaft, never did get it completely freed up. I "modified" the headers with a hammer and now the shaft and headers do not touch. Not the prettiest thing I have ever done, but it'll work
I replaced a few of the rubber fuel lines and got them all hooked up. I installed the power steering pump. I went to install the alternator and found that the upper mounting hole was stripped out, along with one the the compressor mounting holes, so I drilled, tapped and installed heli-coils in them and then installed the alternator. The belts in the pictures are not the ones I will use, just some I had and put on just because I could. I will buy all new ones when the time comes, but I'm waiting on a stock 2 groove compressor pulley I bought used to arrive to hook up my OBA.
I'm hoping this thing will be ready to fire next week, got a few more things to button up, distributor wires, clutch hose, compressor, and re-install grill, radiator and battery wires and it'll be ready....I think....
I removed the steering shaft, which was harder than anticipated, it wouldn't slide on itself so I had to remove the driver side fender and unbolt the steering column and move the entire column towards the driver seat to get it unhooked. Once it was out it took a large hammer to shorten and lengthen the shaft, never did get it completely freed up. I "modified" the headers with a hammer and now the shaft and headers do not touch. Not the prettiest thing I have ever done, but it'll work
I replaced a few of the rubber fuel lines and got them all hooked up. I installed the power steering pump. I went to install the alternator and found that the upper mounting hole was stripped out, along with one the the compressor mounting holes, so I drilled, tapped and installed heli-coils in them and then installed the alternator. The belts in the pictures are not the ones I will use, just some I had and put on just because I could. I will buy all new ones when the time comes, but I'm waiting on a stock 2 groove compressor pulley I bought used to arrive to hook up my OBA.
I'm hoping this thing will be ready to fire next week, got a few more things to button up, distributor wires, clutch hose, compressor, and re-install grill, radiator and battery wires and it'll be ready....I think....
BERTIE RENEGADE
Active Member
- Joined
- Jul 25, 2009
Thats purdy, got to love jeep porn. I'm not concerned about color, mine is Ford Blue. Your CJ is obviously a lot more modified than mine. I've never seen an alternator mounted like that on an AMC, mine mounts under the heater hose and the AC compressor mounts where your alternator is. I use the York for OBA
BERTIE RENEGADE
Active Member
- Joined
- Jul 25, 2009
Thanks for the "purdy" compliment. It's a father son project, seems to be geting out of hand with the custom parts and detail, almost like we don't want to finish it. The custom alternator mount was to get it up high and dry. Good luck with the build and keep up with the updates.
Berite Renegade, I looked at your thread and that is a good looking CJ, I'm not doing anything that extreme, I'm actually thinking of going from 35" tires down to 33" when it comes time to replace the ones I have. I'm not sure keeping your alternator dry is going to be a problem when its 7' off the ground anyway. 
Went to the local performance shop this morning and got a 36" -4 line and adapters to hook up the clutch. It was tight without elbows, the store didn't have any -4 lines with elbows, and didn't have the correct adapters for -3, but I made it work. If anyone is wondering, it is possible to manually bleed a new clutch system by yourself, it just ain't easy, see pictures. It all seems to work, just by pushing the CJ back and forth in the garage and playing with the pedal.
I re-installed the fender and was going to re-install the dash, but decided to hook up the battery and test the new speedo. Good thing I did because the fuel gauge read 1/2 with just ignition on, and Full with head lights on. The fuel gauge didn't work with the old gauge, it just said Full all the time, so I'm not sure if it was a gauge or a sending unit problem or both, but I'll do some reading and testing and figure it out.
Went to the local performance shop this morning and got a 36" -4 line and adapters to hook up the clutch. It was tight without elbows, the store didn't have any -4 lines with elbows, and didn't have the correct adapters for -3, but I made it work. If anyone is wondering, it is possible to manually bleed a new clutch system by yourself, it just ain't easy, see pictures. It all seems to work, just by pushing the CJ back and forth in the garage and playing with the pedal.
I re-installed the fender and was going to re-install the dash, but decided to hook up the battery and test the new speedo. Good thing I did because the fuel gauge read 1/2 with just ignition on, and Full with head lights on. The fuel gauge didn't work with the old gauge, it just said Full all the time, so I'm not sure if it was a gauge or a sending unit problem or both, but I'll do some reading and testing and figure it out.
Good progress today. Finished the wiring, put the dash back together, installed grille, headlights, radiator and fan. Filled the radiator with straight water, figured I could check for leaks, and if there is an issue, I can drain it a lot easier than if it was coolant.
I set the engine to 8 Degrees BTDC according to the balancer, and went to stab the distributor, and I can't get it to go in. I turned the oil pump in small increments with a large screwdriver all the way around. The gears start to engage because the rotor turns slightly, but it just won't seat all the way in. Only thing I can think of is the oil pump shaft will not fit up into the cam gear on the bottom of the distributor. I'll have to play with it more later, Only thing left to fire it is getting the distributor in, spark plug wires and priming the carb.
What is the best way to prime the carb? The bowl vent is a loop and tilts slightly towards the rear, so if I fill it there, it would all go to the rear bowl, thinking about removing the front sight glass and filling it through there somehow.
I set the engine to 8 Degrees BTDC according to the balancer, and went to stab the distributor, and I can't get it to go in. I turned the oil pump in small increments with a large screwdriver all the way around. The gears start to engage because the rotor turns slightly, but it just won't seat all the way in. Only thing I can think of is the oil pump shaft will not fit up into the cam gear on the bottom of the distributor. I'll have to play with it more later, Only thing left to fire it is getting the distributor in, spark plug wires and priming the carb.
What is the best way to prime the carb? The bowl vent is a loop and tilts slightly towards the rear, so if I fill it there, it would all go to the rear bowl, thinking about removing the front sight glass and filling it through there somehow.
Thanks guys, with a little help from my wonderful wife, we got the distributor in. I rolled her over while she wiggled it and it went right in Set the timing to as close to 8* BTDC on the compression stroke as I could without it running. I re-checked the gaps on the spark plugs and put them in with a little anti-seize. I hooked up all the plug wires and the vacuum advance hose.
All I can think of to do is prime the carb and fire it up. Anyone have a pre-start check list for me to go through, or just give me one off the top of your head? I want to make sure I'm not forgetting something.
I'm hoping to fire it up tomorrow (Tuesday) if I can find anyone around here to give me a hand. My plan is to get someone to turn the key and throttle to 2000 rpm and monitor gauges. I do a quick leak check, then set idle screw on carb so the person doesn't have to hold the gas pedal for 20 minutes, then continue to check for leaks, problems and monitor gauges. Am I missing anything?
All I can think of to do is prime the carb and fire it up. Anyone have a pre-start check list for me to go through, or just give me one off the top of your head? I want to make sure I'm not forgetting something.
I'm hoping to fire it up tomorrow (Tuesday) if I can find anyone around here to give me a hand. My plan is to get someone to turn the key and throttle to 2000 rpm and monitor gauges. I do a quick leak check, then set idle screw on carb so the person doesn't have to hold the gas pedal for 20 minutes, then continue to check for leaks, problems and monitor gauges. Am I missing anything?
ITS ALIVE!!!!!! Fired it up today, one or two backfires, a small turn of the dizzy and it fired right up. went to 2000 rpm and I noticed fuel coming from the bowl vents. Shut it down, took off the bowls off and found that I had installed the needles in the float adjustments upside down. Got that straightened out, put it back together and finished the break in. Had 60 PSI oil pressure cold and was down to 40 PSI after 20 minutes. I use the term cold loosely as its currently 97 degrees with a heat index of 106.
Engine did start running hot, but wasn't hugely surprised running 2000 rpm sitting still for so long. I cut the electric fan off, and ran the garden hose over the radiator for a few minutes and cooled it right down . Got up to 210 degrees after 10 to 15 minutes...
I did notice that the header paint smoked a lot, started peeling and cracking. Also not a huge surprise. hopefully my cheap headers will last for a while at least.
I'm currently letting the engine, and myself, cool down some and I'll go hook up the timing light and vacuum gauge and start tuning.
Engine did start running hot, but wasn't hugely surprised running 2000 rpm sitting still for so long. I cut the electric fan off, and ran the garden hose over the radiator for a few minutes and cooled it right down . Got up to 210 degrees after 10 to 15 minutes...
I did notice that the header paint smoked a lot, started peeling and cracking. Also not a huge surprise. hopefully my cheap headers will last for a while at least.
I'm currently letting the engine, and myself, cool down some and I'll go hook up the timing light and vacuum gauge and start tuning.
Thanks guys, I've been saving money and working on this thing right at a year, to hear it run is SWEET. For it to fire up with so little issues was even sweeter. I hooked up the vacuum gauge, and adjusted the idle mixture screws to the highest vacuum, 16 in HG. I set the timing to 8* BTDC and the idle RPM is between 700 and 750. At idle it was a constant 200 degrees and about 17 PSI oil pressure. It sounds mean, a little too mean, Does this count as an exhaust leak? See Pic. Good thing I'm typing to ya'll because I'm now deaf. I pushed it out of the garage, but drove it back in, clutch worked great. Gonna let it cool some more and re-install hood, try to fix my exhaust leak.
Exhaust leak fixed. Odometer now has 10 miles on it, She is strong and she is smooth. The hydraulic clutch works great, should have done that years ago, much smoother than the mechanical linkage. I'll try to get a video and post it up, but may be next week before I do. I'll keep ya'll posted on how it goes. Can anyone recommend a chassis dyno around the Raleigh area to see what this thing can do and help me dial it in?
criket
Blue Ridge 4x4
- Joined
- Aug 18, 2010
- Location
- Dobson, NC
Congrats on the engine build man!!!! I've been reading this thread over and over because I plan to build a 350 SB in the near future. Great Job on this and it's been fun reading it.
BERTIE RENEGADE
Active Member
- Joined
- Jul 25, 2009
Good build, there seems to always be problems but with patience you will figure it out and usually something simple just overlooked. As for bleeding the clutch, I work by myself a lot and if there's a will there is a way! You will love the 401, I started with the original 304 moved up to 360 and now the 401 awesome power at any speed.
Thanks guys, its been fun and educational. Will be the weekend before I can put some more miles on it, I'm looking forward to getting planted in the seat again
Criket, If you haven't built an engine before. I highly recommend a video from box wrench on basic engine building, helped me a lot, best $30 I spent on my engine build. It goes through the whole process from pulling the engine, disassemble, machine shop work, reassemble and install.
http://store.boxwrench.net/Basic-Engine-Building-DVD_p_8.html
Criket, If you haven't built an engine before. I highly recommend a video from box wrench on basic engine building, helped me a lot, best $30 I spent on my engine build. It goes through the whole process from pulling the engine, disassemble, machine shop work, reassemble and install.
http://store.boxwrench.net/Basic-Engine-Building-DVD_p_8.html
criket
Blue Ridge 4x4
- Joined
- Aug 18, 2010
- Location
- Dobson, NC
Thank you sir. I have one ordered now. I've already bought and read 2 books on how to rebuild SBC but a video would be even better. Thanks for the info and i wish you the best and that you get a LOT of miles outta that motor you built.
Toby
Tom@Hilltop_Machine
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Mar 31, 2005
- Location
- Rural Retreat, VA
Congrats. I was like a kid a christmas when I first fired up my 360 after its build.
I walked out into the garage today and decided I need to clean and organize tools before I worked on the jeep, so I didn't get much done. I did adjust the choke, with the choke on, it was idling around 1000, I turned it up to around 1200 to 1250. Choke was also staying on way too long so I turned it down some.
I ran a vacuum line from a full manifold vacuum source into the cab and hooked up the vacuum gauge and went for a drive. At idle I got 16 to 16.5 in. At around 55 mph and about 2200 rpm on flat ground, to my surprise I had around 17.5 in. I stopped and hooked the vacuum gauge to a ported vacuum source and got about 3 in at idle and again around 17.5 in at 55mph on flat ground. Only thing I can think of is that this engine is so strong and the jeep is so light that it isn't loading the engine at all when cruising on flat ground? Do these numbers seem right? Does this mean that If I keep my foot out of it and keep the vacuum high that my fuel mileage may actually be good cruising down the highway?
Other thing I noticed with the vacuum gauge is that when I got on it hard, at slow speeds and higher speeds, the vacuum only dropped to around 8 or so. It was a little scary to take my eyes off the road to look at the gauge while driving this thing, but I never saw it drop down to the 6.5 in that it would take to open the power valve. So I'm thinking about putting the 9.5 power valve I was running in the 304 in it to see what it does. What do ya'll think?
I hope to check my timing curves tomorrow and borrow the neighbor's vacuum pump and see what the timing is doing.
I ran a vacuum line from a full manifold vacuum source into the cab and hooked up the vacuum gauge and went for a drive. At idle I got 16 to 16.5 in. At around 55 mph and about 2200 rpm on flat ground, to my surprise I had around 17.5 in. I stopped and hooked the vacuum gauge to a ported vacuum source and got about 3 in at idle and again around 17.5 in at 55mph on flat ground. Only thing I can think of is that this engine is so strong and the jeep is so light that it isn't loading the engine at all when cruising on flat ground? Do these numbers seem right? Does this mean that If I keep my foot out of it and keep the vacuum high that my fuel mileage may actually be good cruising down the highway?
Other thing I noticed with the vacuum gauge is that when I got on it hard, at slow speeds and higher speeds, the vacuum only dropped to around 8 or so. It was a little scary to take my eyes off the road to look at the gauge while driving this thing, but I never saw it drop down to the 6.5 in that it would take to open the power valve. So I'm thinking about putting the 9.5 power valve I was running in the 304 in it to see what it does. What do ya'll think?
I hope to check my timing curves tomorrow and borrow the neighbor's vacuum pump and see what the timing is doing.