Hi Falcon67 & other helpful Ford guys!

My '70 Cougar has a 351-C and it had the stock 2 bbl intake and factory 2-V carb. As I have posted here previously, I am installing a Edelbrock Performer and a Holley 600 cfm (Holley 0-80457S) carb. To me at least, this is not as straight forward as it might seem, mainly (probably) because I am anal and I hate to improvise.



Problems:

As I have stated before (http://forums.mustangandfords.com/70/6603137/mustang-fords-drivetrains/1970-351-c-intake-carburetor-choices-opinions/index.html) I ran into a valley pan gasket. I bought a new valley pan gasket and I also have a FELPRO set 1240; which is just intake gaskets and the front and rear seals. Edelbrock and others recommend the FELPRO set. Itried the valley pan gasket and it seems that my intale sits too low and the valley pan gasket is so thin especially at the intake area that I cannot see how it could possibly seal effectively. Also some say, use the RTV instead of the front and rear gaskets. Some say cut the intake section off of the valley pan set and then use the FELPRO as this keeps oil from splashing the underside of the intake. What to do? It is all confusing to me.

Carburetor hook up to a Ford system with an automatic tranny. Ugh! Okay. What is the purpose of the kickdown rod. It does not hook up to my linkage on the Holley (not long enough), so I bought (HLY-20-41            KICK DOWN SHAFT AUTO) to tie the 2 together. Then I saw  on the Holley PDF files to get this: (HLY-20-91 LINKAGE BRACKET). Do I need this? I really do not get how the kickdown operates in conjunction with my carb.

Then: The throttle cable does not hook up to my carb. So I bought this: HLY-20-2 THROTTLE BALL ASSORTMENT). Then there is no anchor point for the cable, and I cannot use the stock bracket with the Holley so I bought this:  HLY-20-88 RETURN SPRING AND BRACKET) that way the square part on the plastic sleeve of my throttle cable will have an anchor point to lock into.

Is there anything else I need to do besides buying some Rogaine to replace the hair that I am pulling out?  

Steve

PS: Heat riser on an edelbrock intake?
     
Falcon67

"The primary purpose of the valley pan is to cut your fingers and generally get in the way.  Use the regular Felpros and forget the pan.  I would also block the heat risers - even if you are in New England.  

>unless you install a set of torque plates which closes
>off a portion of the intake port.
Don't get me started on that junk."  

A couple of pics:




 

A couple more pics:



http://memimage.cardomain.com/member_images/3/web/2931000-2931999/2931144_21_full.jpg

Yes. I do plan to pull the A/C from this car as well. I guess I now see where the blockoff plate will have to go. Darn @! Wish I had ordered that with the other stuff. Maybe I can make one at work.....  

Gasket: Use the FelPro 1240 set.  The valley pan is not needed and the hassle to get it to seal isn't worth the effort.  End seals - lots of us use black RTV now instead of the cork end seals.  It's a little easier.  With the port gaskets set in place and the intake on, eyeball the gap at the ends and compare to the cork end gasket.  If the cork gasket will just slip in there, it's OK to use with a little RTV on it.  That's not really typical because of aftermaket manifold tolerances and factory assembly tolerances.  on engines like I run, the block gets decked and the heads get cut and all that messes with the intake end gaps.  So, the use of black RTV became popular.  

Heat Riser:  If you wish to seal the manifold heat crossover, make a pair of block plates from some .015 or so stainless shim stock and glue that to the gasket just before installing the intake.  The heat riser is the two small ports in the middle of each head.  If you choose to leave it stock, consider using a 1/2 or 1" plastic  spacer under the carb as a heat shield.  The crossover is not usually needed with an aluminum intake since aluminum conducts heat from the rest of the engine really easily.  Unlike the cast iron stocker, which takes a while to heat up.

To use RTV as an end sealer: Set the manifold gaskets in place.  I use a thin ring of Permatex aircraft sealer around the ports to hold the gaskets.  Get 4 long (3-4") 5/16 bolts and cut the heads off.  Thread them into the center holes around the exhaust crossover - these are your guide pins. Clean the end rails, then lay a bead of RTV on both block end rails a bit larger than the gap, making sure you span from gasket to gasket and it gets in the nitch where the head meets the block at the rails.  Let that bead set up for about 15~20 minutes or so.  You want it to begin to skin over and firm up.  When ready to install the intake, wipe a thin coat of RTV on the intake end rails, then use the guide pins to set the intake straight down on the block.  Thread in the 3/8 bolts and snug them down - do not torque yet, no more than 5~10 lb/ft.  Remove the pins and put the 5/16 intake bolts in, snug them too.  Let the RTV set for a few hours at least or over night then torque to final specs.  You end up with custom fit end rail seals.  If you got the bead size right, it'll stay sealed for a good long time.  It's a bit like porridge - not to much or too little but just right.

Kickdown: The purpose of the kickdown is to press the downshift valve in the valve body.  It's just a rod or cable that pushes or pulls against lever/shaft that moves a valve.  The system - lever, cable, broomstick, whatever should have the valve fully depressed at wide open throttle.  That's the basic adjustment, any combination of parts that does that and doesn't hang the throttle open works.  Lokar sells universal C4 kits to do it, but the Holley adapters should work with the stock stuff.  The stock arrangement per your picture shows the rod being pushed as the throttle is opened, so a quick look at the mechanics of the lever system and what moves what should get you on the right track.  

Once you get the throttle connected and the cable anchored, verify that with the accel pedal depressed the carb is at WOT.  That should about do it.  

I suspect Rogain works about as well as octane booster.  

Might have been able to warn you on some of these items, but since I don't run any stock type vehcicles I never have to deal with these issues LOL.