It is a 445 running about 10 to 1 compression in a '69 F100 4WD. I'm running Sanderson Shorty Headers, so I don't think I have an fitment problem. Was running a stock Starter for the past 18 years, and who knows before that because this is the starter that came on the old 360.

Tried to start it yesterday and I forgot to open the fuel cut off, so cranked it for 5 seconds, stopped, tried again and the starter stayed engaged. Pulled the ground off the battery to stop it. A friend and old Ford hand said he had seen that occasionally when the battery was low (mine was at around 12.3 v, but it would normally start at that level), so I charged it and when I put the ground back on it started trying to crank but it made a loud bang.

I'll pull it today, but it is time for a new starter.

My neighbour and friend (and Dr. Carburetor here on Vancouver Island) suggested to me today that if I was willing to give up the choke on my QFT SS 830 I could switch to one of the new style main bodies and pick up close to 50 hp at 5,500 rpm.

Pretty cheap power if it is true. Not that I don't trust Percy, but I don't know how well the new style body compares to the main body QFT used on the Super Street series carbs.

Does anyone have any insights? He said before he made any changes he'd want to put a calliper on the venturi on my carb. Giving up the choke is not a big deal.

The 445 is running very nicely. Idles around 800 very happily, starts easily and the manual choke works very well. It just likes to keep running after I shut it down. I don't have it open too much, so time to try something else.

I know Barry R suggested a solenoid to close the throttle completely, and my neighbour tried to get a shut off solenoid for a Holley (he is the local go-to guy for carb tuning), but the autoparts place never came up with the part.

Looking for a specific suggestion on what part we can adapt most easily for this purpose. I have switched 12v available (unused electric choke wire), and a handy fabricator (my neighbour), just need a good starting point.

I'm noticing some seepage from the covers, and it is not surprising since I've had the covers off half a dozen times without replacing them, but I'm about to make a cap for the rear breather hole on my Anson covers, and drill a new front hole on the driver side (clearance issues with the brake booster mean I can't run a breather back there).

Wondering if there is a particular gasket that will seal better - I made the mistake of putting a high flow pump in and I get a LOT of oil in the heads. The ones I have are a rubber/cork combo.

While I'm at it, I currently run a Ford Racing cap with some foam filtering, a 1" push in style. Should I be concerned about contaminants getting through?

Percy, my neighbour and engine building/carb tuning buddy, suggested I consider replacing the MDS 6AL box with a Pertronix Digital  HP box and pinning the distributor at max timing.

On the one hand having an easier start is nice, I don't run the vacuum retard now and timing is set at 26 initial and 34 total. Getting initial down under 20 would probably help the starter last, although it doesn't seem to struggle - but I do occasionally hear it kick back during cranking.

My question is, what is the benefit of running the engine at total (i.e. max) timing all the time except on start up? Percy did say that I may get few benefits other than easier starting (and the claimed better spark characteristics of the Petronix box) since I already run fairly big initial timing.

I have the 445 running, but decided to go back and check pre-load (just a precaution), then play with timing and idle settings. Initial timing was last set at 3,500 feet, now at sea level (well, 8 ft above sea level). Initial was around 18, so pushed up and got a happier engine until around 24-25 degrees (as predicted by Drew and a few others on another thread), but at 25 total shows 45 (with a timing light and someone on the throttle looking at the tach).

Going to dial back mechanical advance, question is - what is wise for total timing?

So I didn't really read the installation instructions closely enough and didn't notice that it said "should be installed ... with the motor motor on top." It would have been helpful if it was in BOLD and CAPS, but still no excuse for not reading them carefully. Anyway, I installed it with the  motor under the pump, and it worked fine for 3 years and a total of about 50 hours of running time (tops).

Went to move the truck from Calgary to Vancouver Island, and the mover was going to put the truck in the moving van. It was -30 out the day it moved, truck was outside overnight so we could get the garage ready to load, and I put a space heater (small electric) under the hood so it would start. No problem, but as it was being driven up onto the tow truck bed to lift it up to the moving van the tow operator was hooking the straps to the frame and noticed the pump was smoking. Shut it down, got it into the van, and about a month later had the truck delivered to the new house.

Went out to sort it out today and the pump had failed. Pulled it off and it was fried. Gas had gotten in and it is burnt. I think I'd like to change to a quieter pump and have been told Carter pumps are quieter. Now I am running a 445, hydraulic roller cam with 234/240 duration at 0.050 lift, BBM heads, a Holley Street Dominator intake, and a Quick Fuel 830 SS. The Holley is rated for 110 gph at 9 PSI, and it is preset for 14 PSI.

Do I need 110 GPH? What can an engine like this actually use? Also, I see Carter has some pumps preset for 7 PSI. Is this a better idea than regulating a 14 PSI pump down to 7 PSI?

I'm over on Vancouver Island hiding from winter, and thinking about moving here to leave winter forever. Questions about moving from 3,500 feet to sea level:

• Is the engine less sensitive to octane and less susceptible to pre-ignition?
• Aside from resetting the jets (downed the jet sizes by two according to QFT's recommendation), will the idle and mixture need adjusting?

Have to go home and have my hip repaired, but should be able to start and work on the truck by June, not much later than I would have given when the weather finally breaks in Alberta.