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1968 144S - Simple Motoring

DD Ranch said:
All the paint work looks great. Did you clear over the valve cover and block? I love the way they turned out.
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Thanks!
I didn’t use any clearcoat. The valve cover is Duplicolor wheel paint and the block is Duplicolor engine paint. I used the wheel paint because it holds up well to chips and scuffs, and has that nice satin gloss to it.

MikeJr. said:
Definitely complemented. I was thinking about doing that in my 164
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😂 thanks man!
I’d say go for it. I spent the most time cleaning. The more you unbolt the better, to address the small parts but also to give yourself room to reach way down.
If I did it over, I’d try and have a bunch of new hardware ahead of time simply to avoid having to scrub nuts and bolts.
 
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I only had a few hours to work on the 144 today due to some family commitments. I spent most of it cleaning the gasket surfaces on the block and head.

Previously I had already scraped all the gasket material off with a razor blade and brake cleaner. Today I cleaned both surfaces with isopropyl alcohol and a green scotch brite, scrubbing a lot until no more black came off. I failed to get more pics because my hands were dirty.

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I also spent a lot of time cleaning out the head bolt holes. They all had some sludge at the bottom. My method was to use a flathead screwdriver to scoop out the thick stuff, then I sprayed some brake cleaner in there, rolled up a paper towel into a fine point and jammed that down into the hole, spun it around with the screwdriver, pulled it out too see how gross, then repeated until it came out clean. Once it was acceptable, I sprayed out the holes with brake cleaner, ran a wire brush bottle cleaner inside the threads, then dried it out again with the rolled paper towel. It took quite a while, but I’m confident the bolts will now torque properly.

Once that was done I put the head down. Only a few bolts are in place and lightly tightened for now but check it out!

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I wish I didn’t have to put that huge AC compressor in place. It looks so open and clean like this. But then again, AC is awesome.
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Just mocked up for now, but I’m stoked. Hopefully tomorrow I’ll torque the head down and bolt most of the rest of the stuff down. Then I can fill it up, fire it up, time it, and find out what’s still leaking. lol
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The synchronous linkage on the carb means it's a 38/38 instead of the more common progressive 32/36. It usually requires a spacer under the carb so the linkage gears don't contact the manifold which will prevent it from getting full throttle. The spacer is specific to the 38/38 because the opening in the 32/36 spacer is smaller and the throttle blade will hit the spacer which will also prevent full throttle.
t_dgvspacer-weber-dgv-dgav-dgev-spacer-isolator-block-carburettor-parts-shop.jpg
t_dgasspacer_weber_dgas_dgms_bakelite_spacer_gasket_carburettor_shop.jpg
 
hiperfauto said:
The synchronous linkage on the carb means it's a 38/38 instead of the more common progressive 32/36. It usually requires a spacer under the carb so the linkage gears don't contact the manifold which will prevent it from getting full throttle. The spacer is specific to the 38/38 because the opening in the 32/36 spacer is smaller and the throttle blade will hit the spacer which will also prevent full throttle.
t_dgvspacer-weber-dgv-dgav-dgev-spacer-isolator-block-carburettor-parts-shop.jpg
t_dgasspacer_weber_dgas_dgms_bakelite_spacer_gasket_carburettor_shop.jpg
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Oooh! Thank you! That explains why this car had 3 intake gaskets stacked up. I’ll look up a spacer like that.
 
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Great news!
I started it and got it up to temp last night. And no leaks! (Well, one where I forgot to tighten the upper radiator hose, but that was quick to fix)

I did confirm that the linkage hits the manifold, just as @hiperfauto cautioned. So the spacer is ordered and on the way.

I haven’t driven it or adjusted the timing yet. The engine sounds healthy. It actually sounds smoother at the tail pipe (might be my imagination). It’s hitting on all cylinders, not leaking, and not smoking. Oh, and the air conditioning works and blew somewhat cold air! Incredible.
 
Very nice work.

At first I thought the A/C hoses were jerry-rigged by an amateur. (I cannot imagine normal radiator clamps would hold high side pressure well.) But then I notice an extra do-hickey. Any idea whassup, and is it legit? I thought hydraulic crimping was the only suitable approach.
 
Harry Tuttle said:
Looks great! Nice work. Is that a B18? What does it have for an alternator mount?
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Thanks dude!
Yes, B18. Not sure who makes the alternator mount but it seems aftermarket. The mount is a 3 bolt bracket with a long Allen head bolt.
It’s an AC Delco modern style alternator.


Toybox said:
Very nice work.

At first I thought the A/C hoses were jerry-rigged by an amateur. (I cannot imagine normal radiator clamps would hold high side pressure well.) But then I notice an extra do-hickey. Any idea whassup, and is it legit? I thought hydraulic crimping was the only suitable approach.
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I thought the same! They’re legit refrigerant clamps. I don’t know much about how they perform, but I can attest that this car is still holding a charge and it hasn’t been touched in several years.

The condenser, dryer and compressor all have the same clamps. I searched a bit and apparently barbed AC components were somewhat common back in the day with R12 systems. The clamps are available on amazon:


Here’s a thread with some info on the barbed R12 fittings:


And here’s an article on maybe a more modern version for R134, the EZ Clip fittings:

inthegaragemedia.com

How To Install EZ Clip AC Fittings To Keep Your Hot Rod Cool

We retrofit our AC lines in our hotrod project with Vintage Air EZ clip hose kit. Unlike beadlock AC fittings, the EZ Clip system doesn't require a special set of crimpers and dies for each hose and fitting size. These are perfect for DIY car builds, like ours.
inthegaragemedia.com inthegaragemedia.com
 
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I drove it down the road to fill up the tank last night. It runs so much better!
It's not just my imagination. The engine idles smoother, it seems quieter, didn't have any detonation, and it makes a bit more power down low.
I don't have that carb spacer yet so I didn't get more than 1/2 throttle or so, but it certainly has more grunt off the line.
More and more I am thinking of keeping it...
 
Got the spacer installed last night, and now the linkage clears. Thanks again, @hiperfauto !

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I decided that a test drive was in order, so I drove it down to the next town over to pick up some groceries. In doing so, I noticed a couple of things. There seems to be a bit of a flat spot at about 1/4 throttle. And there's a ticking noise coming from the distributor at times. If those two things are related, maybe the advance isn't working as it should.

I'm not too surprised, but having access to full throttle didn't make all that much difference. :lol:
It's definitely picked up power with the new head gasket, but going from 3/4 to full throttle is basically the same. The induction sound is a bit louder and meaner though.
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New rear shocks this evening!

These shocks that came off didn’t look to be worn that badly. No branding that I could find, just black shocks that said made in USA. They were still pretty stiff to compress, but then they pull apart with no resistance for the first 2 inches, then are stiff to pull apart.

New KYBs fresh out of the box!
(Thanks again, Bryan!)

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These are the spacers and sleeves that came with the shocks. The silver sleeve is thicker wall than the black sleeve, and didn’t fit over my bolt. So I used the black sleeve inside the shock eyelet and didn’t use the silver one at all.

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This car does not have the upgrade lower shock bolt, so I put it together with what was provided. I put one of those smaller spacers on either side of the trailing arm, with the stock spacer inside the trailing arm. And tightened it down nice and tight.

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Took it out for a test drive around the block and no more clunks. Feels maybe slightly tighter and smoother, but not a massive difference. Maybe itll make a bigger difference out on the open road.

Fronts should go on tomorrow.
 
I did not get to the front shocks yesterday. I only had an hour window to mess with the 144 so I tuned the carb and timing instead.

I read that Weber 38/38 DGAS carbs can be a bit sensitive to changes. After the work done on the head gasket and the carb spacer, the car wasn’t running as perfectly as it used to. At 1/4 throttle it had a flat spot. Which was annoying when you were driving away from a stop- the car would feel like it was going to die as you slipped the clutch.

I found this instruction on how to tune the 38 DGAS and followed it exactly:
Redline Weber 38 DGAS tuning
I found out the choke was not opening fully , so I adjusted that. I also found the mixture screws were a few turns different from one another- like it had been mistakenly tuned like a 32/36.

I was relieved to find that after the adjustment was complete, the idle mixture screws were about 1.5 to 2 turns out, right where they’re supposed to be according to Redline. So the jetting is appropriate.

I also advanced the timing a few degrees. It’s a bit tricky to see the timing marks because the AC compressor is in the way. But it’s at about 15* at idle, and around 40* full advance. I know that’s a bit on the high side, so I may back that down later. Especially in hot weather.

On the test drive, the car felt better! No more flat spot, and no pinging. It just drove like it supposed to, like it did before the head gasket replacement. The only thing is that I may have the idle set too high. It hangs sometimes, like it’s getting into the timing advance.
I’m curious to see how it starts up in the cold tomorrow morning. I’ll check the choke, and maybe back that idle down.
 
toms_elleck said:
I did not get to the front shocks yesterday. I only had an hour window to mess with the 144 so I tuned the carb and timing instead.

I read that Weber 38/38 DGAS carbs can be a bit sensitive to changes. After the work done on the head gasket and the carb spacer, the car wasn’t running as perfectly as it used to. At 1/4 throttle it had a flat spot. Which was annoying when you were driving away from a stop- the car would feel like it was going to die as you slipped the clutch.

I found this instruction on how to tune the 38 DGAS and followed it exactly:
Redline Weber 38 DGAS tuning
I found out the choke was not opening fully , so I adjusted that. I also found the mixture screws were a few turns different from one another- like it had been mistakenly tuned like a 32/36.

I was relieved to find that after the adjustment was complete, the idle mixture screws were about 1.5 to 2 turns out, right where they’re supposed to be according to Redline. So the jetting is appropriate.

I also advanced the timing a few degrees. It’s a bit tricky to see the timing marks because the AC compressor is in the way. But it’s at about 15* at idle, and around 40* full advance. I know that’s a bit on the high side, so I may back that down later. Especially in hot weather.

On the test drive, the car felt better! No more flat spot, and no pinging. It just drove like it supposed to, like it did before the head gasket replacement. The only thing is that I may have the idle set too high. It hangs sometimes, like it’s getting into the timing advance.
I’m curious to see how it starts up in the cold tomorrow morning. I’ll check the choke, and maybe back that idle down.
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Well done!

Did you buy it or is it still for sale? This would a cool car to bring back to Sweden. My wife does not agree, yet.
 
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