Bad Day!!

[67 Wickens]

So we fired up RatSass today and it didn't turn out too good!
Set everything correctly and it fired right up, idling a little fast so we shut it down and re-adjusted things. Fired it up again, played with the timing and carburation abit, still a little fast so we shut it down. Checked to make sure the Mag was set right, checked the timing again and fired it up, still running about 2500 so we shut it down, just after I flicked the Mag switch it back fired and blew the top of the Manifold off!!! Thank God for the throttle cable and fuel and water lines or the manifold would have been on the roof of the house! So back to square 1, not going to make it to the Bass Lake event now... Finding out the true meaning of "BOAT" (Break Out Another Thousand) Haven't heard her run in 10 years, she really sounded good.

[SonnyGlide]

Damn the bad luck, Bra.
that looks nasty, and on a polished tank, U prob wont want to save the tank and have the tangs re-welded to the tank! what about a Fab/sheet metal tank vs. the cast Hi-$$$ one U have to replace?

[Terrible toy]

Reminds me of a hung valve on a supercharged motor. Sorry about the setback, was looking good. Good possibility I will be at Bass Lake, double sorry won't get to meet you.

Bill

[RiverRacer]

Wow sorry to hear, that sucks!..:(

[FC-Pilot]

WOW! Bad deal. Nobody got hurt did they?

Paul

[dry]

Talk about a bad break "no pun intended" i guess your lucky no one got hit by a flying piece of debri! Sorry to hear about your troubles..........

[67 Wickens]

Yeah the most important part was that no one got hurt. Not only by debris but after the top of the manifold came down it was sitting on it's side so the gas came running out of the carbs and caught on fire. Thank god we were quick putting it out and it doesn't appear to have damaged anything else yet...

With that big of a backfire, should I check anything in the bottom end before putting it back together? Any suggestions?

[AquaCraft]

Yeah the most important part was that no one got hurt. Not only by debris but after the top of the manifold came down it was sitting on it's side so the gas came running out of the carbs and caught on fire. Thank god we were quick putting it out and it doesn't appear to have damaged anything else yet...

With that big of a backfire, should I check anything in the bottom end before putting it back together? Any suggestions?

Hey Mike,

I am a long way from a motor expert but have worked quite a bit with things that exploded or blew-up.

Accepting that the backfire happened; I would say you can count yourself lucky the plenum box seperated itself from the manifold as it did.

Since the butterfly's were apparently closed on the carbs the pressure from the explosion inside the plenum box needed to vent itself somehow and the mounting ears were the weakest link.

Since the box seperated itself from the manifold I would be optimistic there is no damage to the lower end and hopefully no bent or damaged valves.

One of the real motor guys will hopefully jump in down this thread with some wisdom/experience on anything in particular to look for.

Thanks for sharing this lousy experience; this is how we all learn. I know the blower guys have pop-off valves and explosion issues but I had never given thought to a large plenum box like yours being an issue; now I will.

Maybe some "breakable-bolts" are in your future if you bolt down another large plenum box?

[Terrible toy]

[QUOTE=67 Wickens;5003]Yeah the most important part was that no one got hurt. Not only by debris but after the top of the manifold came down it was sitting on it's side so the gas came running out of the carbs and caught on fire. Thank god we were quick putting it out and it doesn't appear to have damaged anything else yet...

Glad for that guys.

[boatguy222]

I'am sure glad no one was hurt!

The intake manifold you are running were nicknamed a "Dynamite Box" right after they came out, for that reason.
We had a guy run one on a early 70's K-boat,one year, the next year he ran Crower injection.

[67 Wickens]

I'm looking at the Victor Ram 2 R for a replacement to the bomb in a box that was on the boat. Does anyone know if you are supposed to run the scoop facing the back of the boat or the front with the Victor Ram 2 R? The day before all this happened I had the cover for the boat altered to fit the scoop to face the back of the boat because I had found some literature on the specs of the old TR2 that it required the scoop to be towards the back. Also I saw a few remarks on the Victor Ram under the thread "FI Stuff", any other advice or remarks on the performance of the Victor Ram?

Thanks.

[AquaCraft]

I'm looking at the Victor Ram 2 R for a replacement to the bomb in a box that was on the boat. Does anyone know if you are supposed to run the scoop facing the back of the boat or the front with the Victor Ram 2 R? The day before all this happened I had the cover for the boat altered to fit the scoop to face the back of the boat because I had found some literature on the specs of the old TR2 that it required the scoop to be towards the back. Also I saw a few remarks on the Victor Ram under the thread "FI Stuff", any other advice or remarks on the performance of the Victor Ram?

Thanks.

Hi Mike,

Leave the scoop facing aft; if the engine backfires the flames will be directed out the back of the boat instead of into the passenger cockpit. Edelbrock has a Technical Hotline at: 1-800-416-8628, 7:00 am - 5:00 pm, Pacific Standard Time, Monday through Friday or e-mail them at: edelbrock@edelbrock.com..

[67 Wickens]

Hi Mike,

Leave the scoop facing aft; if the engine backfires the flames will be directed out the back of the boat instead of into the passenger cockpit. Edelbrock has a Technical Hotline at: 1-800-416-8628, 7:00 am - 5:00 pm, Pacific Standard Time, Monday through Friday or e-mail them at: edelbrock@edelbrock.com..

Thanks Mike, I'll give them a call.

[RiverRacer]

I'm looking at the Victor Ram 2 R for a replacement to the bomb in a box that was on the boat. Does anyone know if you are supposed to run the scoop facing the back of the boat or the front with the Victor Ram 2 R? The day before all this happened I had the cover for the boat altered to fit the scoop to face the back of the boat because I had found some literature on the specs of the old TR2 that it required the scoop to be towards the back. Also I saw a few remarks on the Victor Ram under the thread "FI Stuff", any other advice or remarks on the performance of the Victor Ram?

Thanks.

Regardless of what you run if you're not going to use flame arrestors, a metal scoop facing backwards will satisfy the local LE, and may also save you from burnt eyelashes or worse!.. If you're going to run carbejemators you need to know that the Victor Ram is a Pro Stock manifold and only works at very high rpm's, it does not have a plenum!. With injectors it don't matter power is all the same!.. You might consider the old Wieand with the top that bolted on the outside, it has a plenum and it pulls hard from 3500 on up!...

[67 Wickens]

Regardless of what you run if you're not going to use flame arrestors, a metal scoop facing backwards will satisfy the local LE, and may also save you from burnt eyelashes or worse!.. If you're going to run carbejemators you need to know that the Victor Ram is a Pro Stock manifold and only works at very high rpm's, it does not have a plenum!. With injectors it don't matter power is all the same!.. You might consider the old Wieand with the top that bolted on the outside, it has a plenum and it pulls hard from 3500 on up!...

I did see the range on both the Edelbrock and the Weiand. Edelbrock says 4500 - 8000 and Weiand says 2500 - 7800? They both have the bolt on tops and under the bolt on top they look pretty much the same. The only real difference I can see is the port size / height, edelbrock to weiand is the Edelbrock is .18" x .07" smaller than the weiand. The overall height of the manifolds are about the same. Could they really be that much different? 2000 rpms? The cam I'm running ranges 2200 to 6200. Thoughts?

thanks again for the input.

[RiverRacer]

I did see the range on both the Edelbrock and the Weiand. Edelbrock says 4500 - 8000 and Weiand says 2500 - 7800? They both have the bolt on tops and under the bolt on top they look pretty much the same. The only real difference I can see is the port size / height, edelbrock to weiand is the Edelbrock is .18" x .07" smaller than the weiand. The overall height of the manifolds are about the same. Could they really be that much different? 2000 rpms? The cam I'm running ranges 2200 to 6200. Thoughts?

thanks again for the input.

Nope they are totally different, the top on the Victor is flat take it off and it's wide open, on the Weiand the top has a plenum, that makes the difference. With the cam you have the Victor will be a dud!..

http://www.v-driveboat.com/vweb/attachment.php?attachmentid=452&stc=1&d=1212678470

[67 Wickens]

Now I see it on that one. Here's the weiand and Edelbrock I was looking at. They don't seem to have as big of a plenum as your picture shows. I really appreciate the info on the Edelbrock, I would hate to have purchased one and been unsatisfied. :( Thanks again for saving the day!:D

[RiverRacer]

Actually with your cam, an Air Gap would be better!..

[AquaCraft]

Agreed! That AirGap will meet the maximum RPM specs of '67 Wickens' cam and should be a TON more snappy on the bottom end where the motor will spend 98% of it's time running.

[RiverRacer]

Agreed! That AirGap will meet the maximum RPM specs of '67 Wickens' cam and should be a TON more snappy on the bottom end where the motor will spend 98% of it's time running.

And not to mention only one POS carbejemator to mess with!..:D

[67 Wickens]

And not to mention only one POS carbejemator to mess with!..:D


Is one of the ones I posted an "AIR GAP" ? I think this Hilborn is the way RR wants me to go...

[67 Wickens]

It is ALIVE! My dad and a friend spent the better part of yesterday bringing our "Dynamite Box" back to life. As you can see in the pictures they welded the middle plate and the top box together making them one piece. We put it together today, reset all of the timing and fired her up. It was so nice, low idle not fast like it was the other day, ran nice and smooth. Picked up my seats today too.. I'll post some pics as soon as we get them in the boat.

[BradP]

Congratulations!:D

[RiverRacer]

Congrats looks good, glad to hear it's running again!..

[RiverRacer]

Is one of the ones I posted an "AIR GAP" ? I think this Hilborn is the way RR wants me to go...

Nope, the air gap is a dual plane single carb manifold!.. Injectors, nahhhh I would never suggest that!..:D

[warpt71]

Injectors, nahhhh I would never suggest that!..:D

All I have to say to that is, BS!!!!! :D :D :D

[shooter2]

It is ALIVE! My dad and a friend spent the better part of yesterday bringing our "Dynamite Box" back to life. As you can see in the pictures they welded the middle plate and the top box together making them one piece. We put it together today, reset all of the timing and fired her up. It was so nice, low idle not fast like it was the other day, ran nice and smooth. Picked up my seats today too.. I'll post some pics as soon as we get them in the boat.

Congrats on getting it fixed up and running again. You can tell by the tone of your post that you are very happy, not like the one that started this whole post. I bet you can't wipe the grin off your face right now. Most of us on here have experieinced this feeling before and it is an awesome feeling. Makes all the heartache and hours worth it. You did a great job on this boat and you should be very proud. Now go out and pound the crap out of it(well maybe not too hard) and have some fun, you deserve it.

[67 Wickens]

Congrats on getting it fixed up and running again. You can tell by the tone of your post that you are very happy, not like the one that started this whole post. I bet you can't wipe the grin off your face right now. Most of us on here have experieinced this feeling before and it is an awesome feeling. Makes all the heartache and hours worth it. You did a great job on this boat and you should be very proud. Now go out and pound the crap out of it(well maybe not too hard) and have some fun, you deserve it.

Permagrin is correct! I can now see some upcoming trips to the river..:D:D:D:D

[ls6vdrive]

still going to make it to bass Lake?

[RiverRacer]

All I have to say to that is, BS!!!!!:D

Now is that a nice thing to say, sheeeezzz!..:rolleyes::D:D