Took delivery of the webers last Tuesday and did a bit of a trial fitting such that I could finalize my plans to modify the water neck / fuel log to provide a coolant bypass suction port. I’ll update the modifications a little later once I’ve received the finished pieces, but to describe it a bit, I’ll be blocking off the top bypass port on the Water Pump, and modifying the lower port to accept a fabricated “T” which will allow coolant to be pulled from the Harrison Tank as well as pull coolant from the water neck / fuel log. All the fab work will be in the same style as the water neck is currently, so aside from being a bit different from your run-of-the mill unit, the added functionality will look the part and be very “tidy” in appearance.
So now on to a few photos I snapped during the trial fitting. Jim Inglese does a fantastic job!:
Next up is placing an order for some hardline to AN fittings so I can finish up the fuel shut-off valve on the fuel supply line to the mechanical pump. I’ll also be ordering some Intake Manifold gaskets and moving on to the final fitting/securing of the weber intake while I wait for the water neck to be completed at the fabricators.
Jim does do nice work ... what great looking setup!
I see each stack has a 'screen', is there some kind of foam sock that fits over each screen or is the setup intended to run with just the screen in place?
The screens (tea strainers I call them) are "piece of mind" and an option Jim offers. They do not affect the operation like the foam pieces that are frequently seen, nor to they degrade over time and send bits of foam down your stacks. They are intended to run just as you see them there on the kitchen counter. No clearance issues to the hood either.
The coolant pipe portion of the fuel log weldment basically sits right on the top bypass port of the water pump and blocks access. The original racecars running this set-up also blocked off this port, but they didn't run a thermostat so they weren't dead head-ing against the back of the thermostat until it opened. Here's an example of the situation we're up against when running this Comp Fuel log...
In the picture above, you can see the top bypass port with the coolant pipe resting on it. The bottom port is still connected to the pipe running from my Harrison tank. This is the one that will be modified to accept a "T". Both of these ports on the WP are suction.
- Allen.
Last edited by Fullchat289; 03-20-2012 at 07:08 AM..
Thanks Allen. That makes sense. I am glad you are blazing this trail. It will be easier for those of us following behind.
Is Jim fabing the connection? Will it be separate from the existing fuel/water log or part of it? It would seem that what you are doing would be needed for any Weber set up with that type manifold if run with a thermostat.
I can't take the credit for this. Guys like Rick Parker and CC user "Snakebit" (and possibly several others) have come before me. My mousetrap just has a bit different design.. Still intending to accomplish the same thing:
I have a guy local to me doing my fab work, but Jim did offer to have his guy do it when I raised the question to him. I just wasn't sure what I would need until I got the system in-hand and could do some mock up work. By that stage, it was easier to just have my guy do it. If you like what I have come up with when you see it, I'd be happy to do the same to your piece if you send it to me when the time comes.
Had a very smooth trip to Sweden..no airline delays or other travel complications and fantastic weather the entire time..I’m starting to like Goteborg…
Made some slow but steady progress after returning from my trip. While I was gone, my new Kirkey Vintage Race seat showed up as well as a few other items. What time I had available over the weekend, I focused on finishing up my fuel line changes to add a shut-off valve and made the routing to the mechanical fuel pump a bit smoother/cleaner. I also hard-mounted my fuel pressure regulator to the pump and added an auxiliary fuel pressure gauge off of one port of the regulator so I don’t have to rely on the dash-mounted gauge for accuracy and can set fuel pressure easily. In addition, I got the Kirkey seat mounted and worked on the drilling of the firewall to for the fuel pressure line bulkhead fitting. Finally, to eliminate the clash between the inside of my valve covers and my rocker stud nuts, I laminated three fel-pro 1613 3/16” gaskets together with RTV silicone. I only needed about 3/8” of clearance, and this arrangement should be a effective and economical spacing solution.
This week, I would like to get the intake final mounted, the valve covers bolted down, the sidepipes ready for a coating of black VHT flameproof, and hopefully the fuel log/water neck will be finished at the fabricators. I still have yet to receive the revised bell crank tower from Jim. Hopefully that will be in my hands by the end of the week as well.
Here are a few shots of the Fuel Shut Off valve I utilized:
Components include Jegs 3/8 hard fuel line to -6 AN adapter, -6 AN male to 3/8NPT coupler, and the Earls 3/8 NPT fuel shut off valve.
I’ll take a few shots of my regulator and aux. fuel pressure gauge and edit this post a little later.
Here they are:
- Allen.
Last edited by Fullchat289; 03-26-2012 at 06:01 PM..
FIA Comp Fuel Log/Water Neck Bypass Modification..
I spoke previously about my utilization of a thermostat in combination with the FIA Comp Fuel Log/Water Neck. Back in the day, they didn’t use a thermostat so there was always water circulating through the block/heads/radiator, and subsequently, no utilization of the bypass circuit of the water pump, save for system fill/expansion/pressurization via the Harrison Tank. My car will be street driven, so I wanted to allow for water circulation prior to the opening of the thermostat as a belts-n-braces approach to reliability and operating temperature stabilization. There is a thread by Rick Parker in the “Weber” forum that illustrates some different approaches to this, but the following pictures show what I came up with.
This picture shows the fuel log/water neck and “T” tube fabricated to tap into the bypass port of the water pump and draw coolant from the Harrison tank:
This photo shows another view from the back of the fuel log/ water neck. On the water neck, you can see the extra pipe that was added to draw coolant from the intake outlets and return it, via the “T” tube back to the water pump bypass port. I like how my fab guy did this so cohesively such as it retains the construction style of the overall weldment..:
This photo shows the water pump. You will see that the top bypass port has been welded shut. This port cannot be accessed due to its proximity relative to the water neck. The bottom port has a rubber junction to accept the “T” tube:
The following is a few pictures showing the entire thing bench-fitted to illustrate the concept. You can see that a small ¾” ID rubber elbow is all that’s required to complete the bypass plumbing. Also pictured is the thermostat housing from Jim Inglese that is coupled to the exit of the Water Neck. The long tube coming from the “T” tube runs up and connects to the Harrison Tank:
Next up is to install it and see if it actually works!!
-Allen.
Last edited by Fullchat289; 04-12-2012 at 06:43 AM..
Excellent post! Very nice work. Looks like it will blend in well.
Did Jim Ingelese participate in this mod?
Question: where will the thermostat be located? Seems closer to the neck would ensure the hot coolant would cause it to open timely, but not sure it would make much difference.
Jim was not involved, but his feedback was similar to yours when I showed him some pictures.
Yes, the thermostat housing will be coupled directly after the exit of the water neck. Other's like Rick Parker have used smaller diameter thermostats and fixed them mechanically to the outlet of the water neck. I'm going to see how this remote thermostat housing from Jim works before going that route..
Time for a bit of an update as I’ve received the last few parts, and made my final visits to the auto parts/hardware stores, allowing me now to get all the Winter modifications buttoned up in prep for “The Grand Fire-up” as my mother wrote in an email to me this morning…
Earlier this week, I received the modified Bellcrank tower from Jim Inglese that allows compatibility with SFI approved flywheel scatter shields. Here’s a re-cap of what was originally sent and what resulted from Jim’s alterations. He’s had a batch of these made up to accommodate anyone using scatter shields from here on out. Earlier concerns from the group were focused on the stiffness of the bracket when the bottom attachment hole is removed and replaced by the inner-upper hole on the back of the head. After hooking up my linkage and trying things out, I can report that the revised bracket appears sufficiently stiff.
This is what we had originally and what many have used in the past.
…and this is the result of the modifications. Jim’s fab guy does a fantastic job. The bracket and spacers are made from stainless and everything appears to be laser cut!!
Here is what the bracket looks like in place on the back of the head. There is no tell-tale visual difference from this viewpoint:
Next up is a couple shots of the engine as it sits currently. These pictures show the fitting of the FIA Comp Fuel Log/Water Neck and how nicely the bypass mod has packaged. I hope this works..lol
So this Saturday is the planned day for the “Grand Fire-up”. I have a few more things to button up, namely the coolant system, but there is definitely light at the end of the tunnel. I’m nervously looking forward to it. I’ll see if I can’t get my wonderful wife to take a bit of a video..
The bell crank looks great! I set mine up from the original 4bbl carb link. I haven't had any problems with it, but I'd like to do the bell crank at some point also. Just looks nicer!
Last Tuesday I was all set to start the car after a weekend of bad weather and other activities; however, the proceedings were halted after I found that I had no spark. There wasn’t enough time to troubleshoot before having to rush off to coach my daughter’s soccer game followed by the start of a 2-day business trip in Greensboro, NC, so we pushed the car back in the basement. While in Greensboro, I called ERA with wiring questions, and spoke to Pertronix about IgnitorII module tests, plus exchanged a few emails with other car guys about coil isolation tests….I basically tried to cover everything from the coil to the sparkplugs so that once I could get back on the troubleshooting, things could be found quickly. As luck would have it, the first tests I did with the coil isolation proved out the problem area. The coil didn’t show any visual signs of failure, and tested the proper amount of resistance between the terminals, but it wasn’t producing spark. I ended up snagging one off my MG, hooked it up, and verified that it was good. I then went on to test that the Pertronix module in the dizzy was good – and it was. At that time, I knew we had a pretty good chance now of getting the engine to start.
About 10am, Dad arrived and we pushed the car outside, my wife took some video, and the rest is history. In the following “First Start” vid, there’s no hooligan rev-ing. This is the real deal with fuel pressure, timing, synchronization, and idle circuit trimming adjustments still to be made. I had to laugh at myself after seeing this video b/c I appeared to be so full of nerves – it’s amazing what you can tell from body language..
So following the initial start, I set the timing and fuel pressure, then went on to the syncro & idle setting, followed by the idle circuit trimming. It smoothed out quite nicely and rev’d up to infinity quite nicely with no hesitation at all. The road test then proved how well Jim’s initial jetting works and I really can’t perceive anything I would want to change in that regard…progression from low to high circuits is virtually seamless. I’m very pleased.
One thing I have yet to correct is a bit of a coolant consumption problem that I’m suspecting is coming from possibly both the #1 and #5 cylinders due to their proximity to the Intake coolant ports. I followed the torqueing sequence and recommendations on gasket preparation/installation, but we shall see following my re-torque how the consumption looks. I’m not seeing anything visual coming from the pipes, but the coolant level is definitely reducing significantly (as in more than just system burping) after each drive and the #1 & #5 plugs are visually “cleaner” than the others. More to come on this. Worst case, I’m going to pull the carbs/intake, and replace the Fel-pro printoseal 1262S-3 intake gaskets with some thicker gaskets from SCE.
Here are a few shots of ERA#2124 and the completed IDA set-up. The system runs as good as it looks!
Sounds like a weber carbureted 289... Nice work. I'm sure you have already, but check the oil for coolant. That's where mine would leak into when I changed the manifold to webers. Let me know what gaskets you use & how they work out. I need to pull my manifold again at some point...
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They are intended to run just as you see them there on the kitchen counter. No clearance issues to the hood either. 
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