Edelbrock flats and the right stuff, sit for 24 hrs. got it. And yeah man, ever since that radiator exploded it's been nothing but grief, really put my Unibody on the back burner. I gotta get this thing right, can't be showing up to the F100 Nationals smoking like a broken stove!

 

Don't let the fact that the intake is 200 lbs of cast iron fool you. Suggest you measure clearances more accurately during dry fit to see exactly whats going on. You'd be surprised (or maybe not) how much you can tweak the intake by changing your torque sequence.

 

First of all, Thanks to all who replied! You gave me the confidence to believe I could fix this without pulling the heads back off. So, since my last post I ordererd a set of Edelbrock gasakets that were supposed to show up by closing Friday. A wreck on the 15 Southbound made those undeliverable. Ordered another set from a pimple faced kid that didn't know who didn't know what make an F100 was from a parts store close to my house and they turned out to be FelPro when I went to pick them up. GRrrrr.
End Of Rant. Got my Fel prto gaskets, a tube of The Right Stuff for $26.50!! Cleaned everything so it shined, fat bead on the china walls, bead around all intake and water ports. Let it cure till I got everything else put together, couldnt wait 24 hours, and It fired on the first turn of the key. No smoke. No leaks. No funny noises. As long as you don't count the fuel pump that sounds like a lifter. I can get it into high gear, downshift to slow down, then accelerate and NO MORE SMOKE! I'm overjoyed. Thanks again guys!
Dan, TK65

 

Good info in this thread!!! Noted for future reference!

 

That's GREAT news! I'm glad it worked out. Might need a bit of tuning now that it's properly sealed up and not leaking. Mine certainly needed it.

 

That's awesome news!

I was reading the posts before this, and was going to say:

1) Always chase the bolt holes with a tap. Make sure they are nice and clean.
2) Always check the length of the bolts to make sure they don't bottom out. Common thing to do when putting on an aftermarket intake (aluminum) - reuse the old bolts with a washer underneath. Nope, too long on an Edelbrock Performer 390 (I know, oddly specific, but I did it once - never again!)
3) When assembling, rub some oil on the bolt threads. Don't make 'em dripping wet, just enough to lubricate the threads. This will give a more accurate torque reading. Dry threads, and dirty threads, combined, make for not enough torque.

Again, awesome job

 

Thanks again guys for all the encouragement and tips.
Funny thing here is that I do this (Fixing cars) for a living, have been for over 30 years, and I have never had an intake manifold give me so much grief! And I have done plenty of FE manifolds, both cast iron boat anchors and aluminum. Maybe its because I was doing this one on my own time, after working a full day, not getting paid for it, my old lady calling every half hour asking when I'll be home. Just goes to show, once again, that it's worth taking the time to pay attention to details and do it right the first time, even if it means being without your favorite ride for another day or two. Because it will still be faster than doing the whole shebang again. Old dog new tricks or something like that.
DRIVE THAT THING!!

 

Big difference from the work shop and the home shop... When at work, you're not being told to go out and mow the lawn, or go get ice cream for the kids, hahah.

 

And the saga continues...

Truck runs pretty good. Fired up with the first tap of the key, went for a little joy ride to prove out the repair and everything seemed fine. didn't drive much over the weekend then took it to work Monday. About halfway on my 20-mile drive, I start to get a weird misfire/backfire developing. Like a "Chuff Chuff chuff" if I back out of the throttle it goes away until I crack the throttle too much, then it's back. If I stay out of it far a couple of minutes it gets better and I can accelerate. It's fine around town. I have also noted higher coolant temps. Maybe 20-30 degrees above average. It has been hot this week, but nothing I haven't encountered with no temp rise. Since this has started I have, in no order,
Played with the timing, retard a little, advance a little. Seems to run a bit cooler advancedof course, but no change in miss.
Changed fuel filter. No plugged but not new. No change
Swapped out coil (MSD Blaster 2) with a newish one from a customers great running car. No change
Raised the float level in the front bowl a scosh and fattened up the idle mix. Seemed to help a little, not fixed
Replaced a badly overdue and hard to find dist cap on my older Mallory electronic dizzy. Lots better, but not fixed
Drove it to near empty and got a full tank at a different gas station. This was right after I changed the dizzy cap
Raced (and beat) a hopped-up all-wheel-drive Mitsubishi. I only used 2nd and 3rd gear and was still pulling away when I backed out of it for an upcoming light. No miss
What ya'll think, got some crap broke loose in the carb bowl and plugged something up? Pickup in dizzy going out? Water in fuel? Truck ran great before I pulled the intake. Except for the blue cloud behind me, haha. Or maybe it's the Autolite 45's that replaced the Motorcraft BSF42CA Spark plugs?
When it was mis/backfiring one day I pulled over and looked at a couple of plugs. They were as white as Casper, that's when I raised the float and fattened up the idle.

Any and all ideas welcome. I am driving this truck to the Western F100 Nationals in a week and don't need problems.
Thanks, Dan. TK65

 

There's a home brew youtube series I watched, about a guy in England that did a do it yourself home rebuild of a carburetor Ferrari 308 V-8 (four Weber downdrafts) engine. At the end of the series he took the car to be looked over by the leading Ferrari restorer/expert. Something the restorer said on a test drive after some minor adjustments got me thinking. He said that "These cars are meant to be driven, the more you drive them, the better they run" which means not sitting for weeks or months at a time. Run out the fuel in the tank, fresh gas, go from there. IIRC, Autolite discontinued the next step colder spark plug the 34, and 32's are at the bottom of the heat range.

 

I'd personally say the plugs are suspect. I don't personally use Autolite in anything I own, not even a lawnmower, I've had too many bad plugs out of the box over the years. I know lots of guys swear by them, I've just not had good luck.

 

I'm with you there. I took the Motorcraft out cause they looked like crap from, the oil burning, there was a set of Autolite here that were supposed to be for a customer's car and I borrowed them cause they were handy. A new set of Motorcraft plugs just got delivered, I'm going to pop them in at lunch and go for a spin. Fingers crossed.

 

I am a firm believer in the "Italian Tune-up" and perform this service for a few of my more timid customers. Always amazing how much better they run afterward.

As for the gas, it was pretty low, like almost on E, where I run dry, before I filled it up so I think the gas is fine at this poi9nt especially at the times the miss occurs.

Thanks for your reply

 

I will say this... the autolite 45's I put in had one weak *** spark. I am changing them out also. Probably go with the old reliable NGK's I have run forever in my jap vehicles. Unless theres a tried and true plug for these FE's?

 

My truck ran great on the Motorcraft BSF42CA, and I am about to put a new set in. Busy day. I'll post after I drive home to let Ya'll know.