Progress is being made

[shaggimo]

Sooooooo, does this mean you've decided to keep it? 

[83Eagle!]

Yes it does mean I am going to keep it.

Although if all this doesn't make it run better that decision may change quickly.

[Pat]

Good luck with everything Brandon. Sounds like you're gonna be busy between school, the normal stuff around the house, & the Eagle. Hope it all works out for you.

[83Eagle!]

Thanks Pat.  We have sub zero wind chill right now, so nothing will be done on the eagle for awhile.

[Prafeston]

Love the push bar setup.

[83Eagle!]

Love the push bar setup.

Thanks.  I believe there are still pictures of that build on here.  The details were lost when a separate post was deleted.

[Prafeston]

I saw the detailed photos. Looked like a little bit of fabricating. What was it originally made for?

[83Eagle!]

I saw the detailed photos. Looked like a little bit of fabricating. What was it originally made for?

Not sure how I missed this question.  The push bar is a JC Whitney one.  It is a model set up for the XJ Cherokee and Ford Bronco II/Ranger (82-92). 

Update:  I picked up the Motorcraft set up from Kenny's yesterday.  My buddy Dustin and I are planning on attacking both on Saturday. 

[83Eagle!]

Got the Motorcraft Upgrade done today.  Took some Redneck Engineering with the help of my  friend Dustin.  We ran out of daylight when messing with the timing, so we didn't get the HEI upgrade done tonight.  Maybe next weekend.  Pictures and video of the adventure are to come.

[83Eagle!]

After lunch today I headed up to my friend Dustin's place with the goal of getting both the HEI and the motorcraft upgrades done on the Eagle.  We ran out of daylight to do the HEI, due to an issue with the throttle linkage.  Here are some pictures and video...

Here we are taking off the Carter.  Boy it was running really rich on the way up here.





Here are some pictures of the swap in progress...




Here are some shots of our work area.  This is maybe an 1/8 of Dustin's shop.  He has a nice place.  The whole shop is heated and he has an insulated double car paint booth that doubles as a man cave/gathering place.  It has AC and has appliances for food and beverages.   

[83Eagle!]

Next, came the adventure.  We got all the lines hooked up and everything ready to go, except for the throttle linkage.  The new Motorcraft did not have the little ball on the throttle for the linkage to connect to.  So we tried and tried to drill it to be able to put a bolt through.  No luck...

[83Eagle!]

After we tried to drill it we went over to Dustin's friend Boomer's place to try his drill press; no luck with the drill press.  So we improvised...


A little welding later we had a workable throttle linkage.  It won't win any beauty awards, but it is functional.  

[83Eagle!]

Why are these stupid pictures loading in the opposite order I enter them???

[83Eagle!]

And without further ado, here's the motorcraft....

[83Eagle!]

I was amazed at the difference between starting the Eagle with the Carter and starting the Eagle with the motorcraft.  It is like night and day difference.  I don't have to fight the old bird to get her to start anymore. 

We went through and pulled out a lot of the vacuum crap.  It looks so much better in the engine bay now.  We also has to replace a fuel line.  It was a lot of fun pulling out unneeded vacuum crap, capping stuff off and making a big pile on the shop floor. 


I believe there is a lot more that can be eliminated, but I'll need someone who is more familiar with 258s than Dustin and I to make that happen. 

I forgot to get a video of the Eagle running with the Carter.  I wish I would have filmed it as I was backing it into the shop.  It sounded horrible.  I did get some video footage of it running after.  What a difference.  Working on figuring out what order the video clips go in.  After I have them organized I will post them.