1977 400 gets a 4-barrel

[Barry Wolk]

Out of curiousity, Dan, did your intake manifold gaskets breach the center exhaust ports to the intake ports on either side like the 460's did? That's why mine ran so poorly, even though it had only 13,000 miles on it when I changed the gaskets. That was the heaviest intake manifold I've ever lifted.

Would powder coating with that material work on brake drums. I had the rest of the boat trailer galvanized and I'm thinking about powdercoating the drums instead.

[Dan Szwarc]

Out of curiousity, Dan, did your intake manifold gaskets breach the center exhaust ports to the intake ports on either side like the 460's did? That's why mine ran so poorly, even though it had only 13,000 miles on it when I changed the gaskets. That was the heaviest intake manifold I've ever lifted.

It was hard to tell. The metal valley pan gasket was a stamped piece of metal and could not have provided much sealing. There were oil leaks here and there. The new gaskets will not leak.

Would powder coating with that material work on brake drums. I had the rest of the boat trailer galvanized and I'm thinking about powdercoating the drums instead.

Brake drums can be PCd easily (just the outside, obviously. ). Do you have the powder of choice? I could powder them for a reasonable price if you bring them pre-blasted.

[Kuripiiritus]

have you already mounted an air cleaner on top of the carb. I didn't order it yet, as not sure how high the new combo will be.

[Barry Wolk]

Do you have the powder of choice? I could powder them for a reasonable price if you bring them pre-blasted.

Something high-temp in black or silver would be fine. How much?

[Dan Szwarc]

Do you have the powder of choice? I could powder them for a reasonable price if you bring them pre-blasted.

Something high-temp in black or silver would be fine. How much?

How about satin black. Temp rated to 300F.
$20 a drum, pre-blasted, or $50 for two.

They should fit in my oven since I can powder coat 15" rims and the drums fit inside.

[Dan Szwarc]

I did a test drive today. The fast idle is too high and needs to be lowered. The car starts right up and stays running. The choke works great. The first pull-away from the driveway had a significant improvement in throttle response. The car also seems lighter due to the reduction in weight up front, but...


...but the part-throttle response is very flat. The car goes, and seems to go pretty well, but definitely is running a bit lean and has little part-throttle get up. I think I have to adjust my timing back down because of the advance in the timing chain.

I'll be working on the tuning this weekend. So far, I am not disappointed.

The pictures on my web site are updated. Enjoy!
http://www.dannann.net/eriamjh/1977_Lincoln_Continental

[Kuripiiritus]

for me the link goes to nowhere.. page not found.

[Dan Szwarc]

for me the link goes to nowhere.. page not found.

It works for me.

[Kuripiiritus]

works now from different network.

Looks like there was enough room for a normal width air cleaner.

[Dan Szwarc]

works now from different network.

Looks like there was enough room for a normal width air cleaner.

Edelbrock 1221 has a low offset. With a 16mm spacer, 1/8" thick gasket, it clears linkage and the AC compressor lines.

[AndyMarkV]

I did a test drive today. The fast idle is too high and needs to be lowered. The car starts right up and stays running. The choke works great. The first pull-away from the driveway had a significant improvement in throttle response. The car also seems lighter due to the reduction in weight up front, but...

...but the part-throttle response is very flat. The car goes, and seems to go pretty well, but definitely is running a bit lean and has little part-throttle get up. I think I have to adjust my timing back down because of the advance in the timing chain.

I'll be working on the tuning this weekend. So far, I am not disappointed.

The pictures on my web site are updated. Enjoy!
http://www.dannann.net/eriamjh/1977_Lincoln_Continental

Dan, You may have to open up the carb and go one stage richer. You might get away with just a rod change. You can try different step-up springs first and also adjust your accelerator pump for a slightly larger shot. (If I remember right, the accel pump is in the middle hole from the factory)
What are you running for timing? (Initial, and total, at what RPM?)
Have you recurved your distributor? Most of these smog cars don't reach full advance until way out of the power range. But the stock 400 with huge piston below deck distance may make for different timing requirements than a 460. I think you'll be much happier with a recurved dist. It isn't that hard to do, from your other posts I know you can figure it out. If you do it yourself without a dist machine, you'll need a tach, a helper and a dial back timing light or balancer timing tape(to read more timing than the factory 20)
You might want to talk to this guy. He has tons of experience and did an almost exact replica of your combo. He might be able to help you fine tune this beast!
http://www.460ford.com/forum/showthread.php?t=120093
This is his shop.
http://reincarnation-automotive.com/
This is a link from his web site. You have to pay for the porting site, this is the freebe part.
You might be interested in the unsmogging your smogger
http://www.reincarnation-automotive.com ... Page2.html
How to recurve.
http://www.reincarnation-automotive.com ... index.html

I'm still pissed I din't get you to throw in a small cheap $89 cam while you were there! You were right there, so close I could taste it!!
You'd have been very impressed with the improved performance, response and fuel mileage.

[Dan Szwarc]

I haven't started the tuning process due to weather and work. I will do some tweaking this weekend.

You can be pissed about the cam. I am happy so far, but still plan on pulling the motor and doing heads and an engine bay detailing and maybe the whole motor anyway so it's not really lost. I have to control my spending on this project at this time and wanted to get it done.

[AndyMarkV]

I haven't started the tuning process due to weather and work. I will do some tweaking this weekend.

You can be pissed about the cam. I am happy so far, but still plan on pulling the motor and doing heads and an engine bay detailing and maybe the whole motor anyway so it's not really lost. I have to control my spending on this project at this time and wanted to get it done.

Please don't get the wrong idea, I'm not pissed at you, I'm pissed that we didn't have a chance to just talk about a cam before you did all this work! I truely realize what a pain in the ass (and back) doing the amount of work you did already!! In car motor work on these beasts require some major over extending to reach into the engine bay. And the dang intake manifold must weigh 50-60 pounds!!
I would have liked to talk about the cam, because I doubt your motor needs a full rebuild. How many miles are on it?
You are doing such a beautiful job, it makes me sick to think you'll eventually pull it apart again. (unless that's part of your fun)
My thought was with a small cam, the engine would have been complete for the rest of the use of the car.
Just keep doing what you're doing. My thoughts are if modifications make the car more fun, but don't alter the flavor of the car, why not?!

[Dan Szwarc]

I would have liked to talk about the cam, because I doubt your motor needs a full rebuild. How many miles are on it?

It's got 98,000 miles. It blackens the oil pretty quickly and burns (or leaked) a decent amount, too. I haven't done a compression test, but will soon.

I'm having fun. I've never done this before. I'm not an expert, but once it's been done, I have done more than most.

This is an experiment. I plan on driving it a lot this summer if I can hit 20 mpg.

I'm off to tune the carb. I'll keep everyone posted on the results.

[Barry Wolk]

It runs pretty good. Not quite as fast as my 20,000 mile '77 TC w/460, but it squacked the tires when I put my foot in it going around a corner. Has a slight rattle on acceleration, but it does get up and go! Good job, Dan.