New to the forum and have questions?

[fescj428]

First off I'll say that I'm really enjoying this forum! Not certain why it took me so long to get here, but I'm here. Great people, very informative and fun! I think that's what it's all about! Very well done!

My question; I have a 69 Mach 1 that I'm restoring with a 428. I built this engine using a Holley street dominator intake/780 carb combo. I'll be running my Shaker and was wondering if I can utilize a one inch spacer and still be ok? I cannot mock anything up yet as the engine is not in the car, but I am aware that those particular intakes are better with a spacer. Any info would be much appreciated.

Last question; looking for an inexpensive engine dolly/stand to break in engine before installing in car. I am aware of Stumpy's fabrication, but was just wondering if anything else was out there?

Again, great site!

Brian N

[machoneman]

Wood!

https://www.google.com/search?q=wooden+engine+test+stand&sa=X&rlz=1C1SAVS_enUS541US568&espv=2&nfpr=1&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&ved=0ahUKEwjCvb2qxYPTAhUK4YMKHfidDLUQ7AkIMg&biw=1024&bih=490&dpr=1.88

[gdaddy01]

you have the right ideal about a test stand . run it on stand make sure of not any leaks , wiped out cam , I know about that one , break every thing in well . I would say run it it for a hour or so . pulling these things out of tight engine compartments is no fun .

[shady]

believe it or not, I recently run a 390 on a harbor freight furniture dolly. the $18 one with the 4 casters. I used a piece of 4x4 under the front to keep the pulley clear & that was it. I use these to move engines around & they seemed real stable on them. Put a bell & starter on it hot wired a conventional dist. & just sat the radiator in front of it with a box fan. didn't use the water pump fan just in case it fell over. The most it shook was right when it fired, but after that was real smooth. My neighbor stuck around to watch & call 911. Keep a fire extinguisher around, just in case. I shoulda made a video of it.

[gdaddy01]

good ideal there ; fire extinguisher around, just in case. I shoulda made a video of it.

[jgkurz]

Just rolled my 427 to the dyno on a Stumpy stand. Worked great.

[wsu0702]

It should work but obviously the shaker will sit proud of the hood by quite a bit more than with a stock CJ manifold.  A Holley street dominator with a 1" spacer will move the carb up 7/8" of an inch from the stock height.  For reference here is a pic of the shaker on a car running the Blue Thunder intake which raises the carb 3/4" over the stock height.   

upload images

 

[wsu0702]

The Holley Street Dominator is already an open plenum single plane intake so you might not see a huge performance improvement by going right to a very tall spacer.  I would test it with several different spacer thicknesses (1/2", 3/4" and 1") and then pick the one that provided the best performance while also considering acceptable shaker height.  Just my .02 cents.   

[fescj428]

I truly appreciate all of the responses! I am going to enjoy being a part of this forum very much!

I had honestly not thought about building a wooden engine dolly or using an furniture type dolly from Harbor freight. Something to think about for sure. I'm not opposed to buying one from Stumpy either, but, I'm just not certain how much I'll need it in the future? After this Mustang is finished, I'm gonna take a little break from building and just enjoy the car.

On the shaker/spacer question, I had heard that the street dominator performed better with a one or two inch spacer? I have nothing to compare it to as I've never run this manifold before? A friend had a 69 Mustang a while back with a port o sonic, and I believe it sat correct without a spacer........not too high. I don't mind the shaker a bit higher than normal if there is a performance benefit. So, I guess you are correct, something that I'll need to test out.

Thanks for all the help!

Brian N

[bn69stang]

Welcome to the forum , i currently run a blue thunder dual plane with a 3/8 inch phenolic spacer on my 428 in my 69 mach , and have a shaker and it works , it s pushed up proud for sure .. So im sure you could run a 1 inch spacer the holley intake , and prolly a 1 inch open spacer ..  so good luck with project .. Bud         

[Lowrider]

believe it or not, I recently run a 390 on a harbor freight furniture dolly. the $18 one with the 4 casters. I used a piece of 4x4 under the front to keep the pulley clear & that was it. I use these to move engines around & they seemed real stable on them. Put a bell & starter on it hot wired a conventional dist. & just sat the radiator in front of it with a box fan. didn't use the water pump fan just in case it fell over. The most it shook was right when it fired, but after that was real smooth. My neighbor stuck around to watch & call 911. Keep a fire extinguisher around, just in case. I shoulda made a video of it.

Back in the 60's when I was 16 I had picked up a 241 Dodge Red Ram Hemi. Don't remember what I used to support the rear of the engine but I used an old 50's chrome kitchen chair frame to support the front. No rad, little coolant and no exhaust I fired it up and of course I reved the piss out of it. It's a wonder the thing just didn't roll off my "stand" down the driveway but it stayed there. My Mom was worried about the neighbors complaining about the loud exhaust but when my old man came home (he was a mechanic) he made me disassemble it and threatened me with bodily harm if I fired it up again.

[fescj428]

As I think about this engine dolly thing, Stumpy may just be the way to go? It's really a small expenditure considering how much money is already in the car. I just need to move on it sooner than later.

I had no idea that the Holley street dominator intake was virtually the same height as the factory CJ intake? Clearly I need to buy Jay's book! The other "height" factor I need to consider is the engine as a whole. I decided to run super comps with this car, and I made 1/4 inch spacers for the motor mounts in an attempt to better clear the reinforced shock towers with the headers. I've heard it works well, so I'm trying it, but it could affect shaker height as well? I think I'll hold off on the spacer till the engine is in the car to mock things up.

Breaking the engine in on a dolly seems a no brainer to me. I want to know that this thing is gonna live before all of the work involved in getting it into my Mustang. In addition, I chose a high temp silver powder coating for the headers. It's suppose to be good stuff, but seeing is believing, and we shall see?

I'm behind the curve on getting this car done. The last few years have been rough with family issues, etc. My mother passed away last year and I followed that up with a heart attack of my own in February of this year. Trust me, a heart attack has a way of aligning your priorities, and getting this car done is on that list!

Thanks guys,
Brian N

[HTM101]

[As I think about this engine dolly thing, Stumpy may just be the way to go? It's really a small expenditure considering how much money is already in the car. I just need to move on it sooner than later.]


I bought a Stumpy cradle.  He offers a standard, wide or tall.  I asked him build me a cradle that included the tall and wide features.  I love it.  There's room to work on and around the engine.  I added the bellhousing, clutch and transmission and it still rolled around easily and was steady.  It was money well spent.

[gregb]

I had no idea that the Holley street dominator intake was virtually the same height as the factory CJ intake? Clearly I need to buy Jay's book! The other "height" factor I need to consider is the engine as a whole. I decided to run super comps with this car, and I made 1/4 inch spacers for the motor mounts in an attempt to better clear the reinforced shock towers with the headers. I've heard it works well, so I'm trying it, but it could affect shaker height as well? I think I'll hold off on the spacer till the engine is in the car to mock things up.

I've done this and it works, I used 3/16 plate though.  Eventually I took the plates off and trimmed the offending flange to lower the engine.  I did it to straighten out the driveline angle when I switched to a 5 speed, it wasn't an issue with the 4 speed.  Probably would have been ok with the 5 speed to, just wanted to remove that variable.  It is the top of the first and third port on the passenger side that usually hits the tower.  With Hooker headers the flange is slotted in the first position so if you just choose to not run a bolt there it is usually not an issue (depends on the tower bracing).  On the driver side the front port will hit if you put a bolt in the top hole.  I've run 2 bolts in each port with Hookers and with FPA headers and never had a leak.  Here's a pic of the headers I removed many moons ago, you can see the place where I cut the top of the flange off so it didn't touch. 

[fescj428]

Who makes a nice selection of the black phenolic open plenum spacers? I figure I'll try several including ones that keep the shaker near stock height.......which would mean a spacer around 1/4 or 3/8ths inch. All I am finding are 1/2, 1 inch and 2 inch spacers?

Thanks for any thoughts!

Brian N