Maybe but still got a bit of assembly work to do and also working with my neighbor to get the carb/timing set, he's an older gear head so its good to have him show me his tricks...

 

Drive it over to Joss Technical & put it on the dyno. You'll come away far happier than all your guess work.

 

Yes I did chat to him about that when I picked up that stone shield from him, that's on my list of things to do soon...

 

I have an Olds with the stand pipe. I am trying to decide if any of the three lines going to the fuel tank are blocked. I can blow air through the line going to the front canister and the center line. I am not able to do that with the outside lines. Does that mean I need to find a new standpipe? And is so who sells those things? Thank you.

 

Allan R, How can you tell if the Standpipe is working properly? I am waiting to install my fuel tank until I know if it is. I can get air to flow from the center tank line through the line going to the charcoal canister but not through the two outside lines. Thank you.

 

Got a new toy for the winter.

 

I was able to get the standpipe cleared. I took two wires from a CAT5 cable and ran them into the two lines that were blocked then blew air in them using a small compressor and the lines cleared.

 

I Just read this entire thread, great job on the car. This is my first post and your car is very similar to a driver I'd like to do in a year or so. I'm very curious to hear how the atomic works out. All the reviews I've read have been great.

 

^ +1. I'm very curious how the MSD operates and how fussy she is to dial in? Totally a benchmark project overall. Well executed. (jealous) Great to think how it may run as built now. Please review the pull and torque experience stuffin' the go pedal.

Ha, that thing should be a "Rocket" Sled!!

 

You bet guys, I originally had planned to do a dyno pull with the carb, but since I picked up this MSD kit I probably will hold off until after as I don't want to pay for two pulls. Plus from what I heard the power is very similar its just the response, idle and starting that is much better with the efi. I'll post results as I get it installed but planning to take my time over the next few months so stay tuned!!

 

Awesome job on the car, looking forward to see how the EFI works out.

 

Amazing job on the build, really digging the color and stance!

 

Well I pulled the carb and started to mock up the MSD atomic. Ran the fuel lines and also did some of the wiring. I have been reading lots on how 91-96 B-Body Caprice/Impala/Roadmaster fuel tanks fit into our a-body cars. I found a guy that is parting a 92 Roadmaster that I think I am going to buy the tank and sender from. These tanks are supposed to work really good for efi as they have a built in sump and you can swap a Walbro pump into the in tank sender.

 

Do you guys know who makes a carb bracket that works with the olds cables, and also I need some of the linkage bolts to be able to attach the cables just not sure what to search for?

Think I found what I need on Summit, ordered a universal aluminum bracket.

 

Is there a problem with mounting a coil close to a CDI box? For some reason I thought they needed to be a certain distance apart.

If you look at the pic above you can see my CDI mounted on the passenger firewall. The fuel regulator is below it and I have an e-core coil that I was going to mount beside the fuel regulator, which would be directly below the CDI.

Will this be ok?

 

I managed to track down a fuel tank from a 92 Caprice, fitment looks really good, I will need to trim a little off the rear frame rails as you can see in the pics below, and also I will need to modify the trunk floor where the sender is as the tank bumps up by about an inch in that area. Overall I think this is a really good efi/electric pump in-tank mod for us A-body guys.

Next I will order a replacement strap from a Caprice and modify it to bolt up the the Cutlass, should not be that tough just need to make some brackets for he rear mounting points.

 

I don't think you'll have a problem with the coil, but if in doubt call MSD. Its looking really great, did you find your throttle connection pieces yet? When you modify the trunk, think about making it an access so you don't have to drop the tank for maintenance.

 

Thank you for the compliments and advice oldcutlass, yes I ordered a universal throttle bracket should give me lots of adaptability to make it all work.

I also pulled the intake, heads and headers, I planned to get the headers ceramic coated and the VHT silver did not hold up at all and looks like crap. I wanted to take a look at the cylinders, valves and cam to see how it looks in there and everything looks really good.

I then came across a brand new polished Performance Products Crosswind intake, I know its about 1.5" taller than my current Edelbrock Performer but it has the square bore flange to fit the MSD Atomic, its a air gap style manifold and its polished. I think it would fit with about a quarter inch to spare with my current drop filter, but I may need to re-work the air filter lid to gain some more clearance.

Not sure what to do and what would be the best intake for my setup, I want it to look good but I don't want to loose performance for something shiny... I could also have my Edelbrock Performer Ceramic Coated too but not sure what the better intake would be?

 

I talked to Cutlassefi (Mark) and he said with my setup the Performer would be the best intake power wise. So I think I may get it ceramic coated or powder coated along with the headers.

The intake is completely stock right now, do you think there is any benefit to port matching it to the heads? What about the center divider it is not cut should I cut it? I was going to use this square bore spacer.

Here's a pic of the throttle bracket I found too.

 

So the Performer intake is a spread bore, and the MSD Atomic EFI is a square bore 4160 style. Edelbrock advertises the Performer as a Spread & Square bore as it does have both bolt patters but its shape makes it look like a spread bore.

Three questions:
-which spacer/adapter should I use? (pics below)
-should I also cut the center divider on the intake, how far?
-what about porting the performer intake, does it have any gains that would make it worth my time?

Remember I am planning to have this intake Ceramic Coated too so would like to mod it first.

 

Got the fuel tank mocked up, here's a few pics of the setup. You can see how the tank has the baffle in it. After trimming a little off the frame rails it fit quite good. Still need to make a strap to hold the tank in place.

 

All you need to bolt the square bore EFI unit to a performer is the flat metal adapter plate per install instructions.
http://www.edelbrock.com/automotive/.../2000/2151.pdf

 

Thanks Eric, I recognize that plate and think its hiding somewhere in my garage. I also ordered that adapter, thinking it will give a bit of a spacer effect and allow some crossover between the sides of the intake too. We'll see if there's any difference between the two.

 

Got the ceramic coated headers and intake back, bolted the headers in, just have the intake sitting on top for now, but this is how it will look, pretty shiny. Should be able to get all the wiring and everything else back together over the next month then we'll see how the Atomic runs.

 

Well the day finally arrived where I got to fire up the engine with the MSD Atomic. I have to say, this efi kit is amazing. After double checking everything as per the instructions it started right up. The car never ran this smooth and the pedal response is crazy (in a good way!) compared to before. I do suspect my previous carb was not dialed in all that well so that would add to the difference also. I gotta say if you are in the market for an efi kit, this one does what they say and I have no affiliation to MSD.

The weather has been pretty good for southern Alberta the past few weeks so I was able to take it out for a drive today too. It ran great, so smooth... I got into the pedal a couple of times while also checking the readings on the MSD handheld unit and everything was running right on spec. I plan to do some fine tuning over the next few months and into spring, then hopefully I can do a dyno run this summer. I did not do a pull with the carb but it will be nice to see what this engine is putting down.

 

Have been able to take the car out for a couple more cruises as the weather has been beautiful this past week. Still running great very impressed with how it turned out. Cold starts are now the same as a new car.


Headed to the pick a part this weekend, next mod on the list is doing a Jeep Grand Cherokee steering box and Chev Astro hydroboost brake conversion. Looks like a fairly straightforward install with a few small mods along the way. Will post some pics of the progress as long as I can find some good used parts.

 

Here a look at the parts to be used for the steering box and hydroboost swap. The hydroboost and power steering reservoir came out of a late 90's GM 2500 truck, the chev Astro/Safari also used this setup. Notice the dual return fittings on the reservoir. The steering box was on a 94 Jeep Grand Cherokee.

Two reasons for the swap, these steering boxes are a bolt on, you just need a different rag joint. They have a better turning ratio and have a little firmer steering, thus helping the pinky steer that this generation of GM vehicles has.

The hydroboost will replace the brake booster, no more need for vacuum instead the power steering system supplys the booster to make the power brakes function. My booster was weak and my vacuum level is also border line to be able to supply the booster.

I also picked up a CS144 alternator 140 amp out of a mid 90's Buick, it took a little finessing to get it in the Cutlass but the stock mount worked. This should boost the idle and overall charging as my current alternator was struggling to keep up with electric fans, MSD ignition, fuel pump, lights, etc...

Overall a good pick a part run! More to come on the hydroboost and steering box update, stay tuned for pics.

 

Got the hydroboost unit test fitted and painted. The size is actually very similar to the booster, but when you turn the unit 180 degrees then the canister is on the right and it gives you a ton more room above the valve cover.

To mod it I needed to cut off part of the adapter plate and drilled 2 new holes then cut out the two remaining bolts to have 4 mounting holes. These 4 holes lined up to the 4 studs already on the firewall. Then I looked at the rod that attaches to the pedal, it was about 1/2 inch too short and not adjustable so I cut it off, threaded it and installed the hardware from the original booster.

 

Got the hydroboost mounted, re-bent some of the lines to make them fit better in the Olds vs the GM truck they came out of. All the lines will now be and o-ring style instead of tube flare. Had to drill a new hole in the brake pedal arm as the angle of the hydroboost is closer to level than the booster.

Next will be to get the steering box swapped and change out the power steering reservoir. Waiting on a dorman rag joint 31011 for the Grand Cherokee steering box, with it the box should easily bolt right up.

 

Finally got the rag joint and bolted the steering box in, bolted right up like stock. I also ran the hydroboost lines and bled the power steering system. Should be able to go for a test drive in the next couple days pending the weather, will report back with some results.

 

Was able to put some miles on the car this past weekend, the brakes are night and day different, so much more braking power than before. The steering also has much more different feel and the quicker ratio makes it way easier to turn. I highly recommend both of these mods.

Now to do some more fine tuning to get the MSD Atomic running perfect.

 

Season opener in Medicine Hat is the last weekend in May. Hope to see you there.

 

Going from a Gbody, my 70 S is a nice improvement already. I am sure there is a ton of parts to make them better. I may be tempted to try the Holley Sniper set up down the road, good to know about the Caprice tanks.

 

Picked up a set of 92-02 Camaro front brakes the other week, finally got around to cleaning them up and bolting them onto the car. With the brackets they bolt on easily, just need to use front drum hubs that are milled a little smaller in diameter. This is another good update that should give some better braking.

Also got some new wheels, still need to get the rear tires but here's a sneak peek with both front wheels on the passenger side. The front is still on jack stands so the rake is not accurate. Actual rear tires will be about an inch and a half larger in diameter too.

 

Car looks really nice Rob. You'll have to make a list of the changes so you know what parts to order when something needs replacing.

 

Thanks Allan, that's a great point!!

 

Got the new wheels on, also planning to hit the dyno in the next few weeks, should have some numbers to share soon.

 

Missed you at the P2P event in Medicine Hat yesterday. I was the only Olds running.


Your car looks great. Looking forward to seeing your dyno numbers.

Dave

 

Just got home from the dyno session at Joss Technical, it went great, numbers where a little better than expected!!

I did 5 pulls, changed the timing around a little to get it to where we ended. To the rear wheels 362 hp and 423 ft/lb, to the flywheel that is about 440 hp and 515 ft/lb

 

Congratulations. I am glad that the dyno session proved useful. You have built a very driveable car with great power. Now get out & drive her. Looking forward to seeing it make a pass in Medicine Hat & see how it performs.