Finishing LPG removal / fixing the PCV system

Tonight I fully finished removing the LPG kit that was in my car before. The only thing left was to connect the 2 PCV hoses. These photos show the result of this in a couple of pictures.

The little cap sitting on top of the air cleaner used to seal off the PCV port on my carb. I forgot to put it away before making the pictures ;-)

The valve cover I replaced and the 2 hoses I hooked up.

And then it was time to see if the engine would still run. It hadn't run for a few months so it didn't start right away but eventually... it did! :-)

See for yourself:

Removing and re-installing a valve cover

In my attempts to remove the tube (PCV to air-cleaner) sticking out at the back of the valve cover I was a bit rough and actually broke it. Since I wanted to take it out without hard bits of plastic falling in between the rockers etc. I decided to remove the whole cover so that I could replace it. Since I had never opened up an engine like this, the seemed a bit daunting. But hey, I gotta start some where :-)

The screws came out easy but the cover was quite stuck to the cork gasket. Eventually I managed to get it off but most of the gasket was still stuck to the engine. Great...

After screwing around with a stanley knife to scrape the cork off a friend told me about a special tool used to scrape off the remaining bits of the gasket. It's actually called a gasket remover. Wow...

So the next day I came back with the gasket remover and within 30 minutes I had cleaned all the remaining bits of gasket off the engine. I made very sure that no bits of cork fell in to the engine.

I also cleaned the valve cover and ripped out the old hose connector.

And replaced it with a new one.

Then I had to put in a new gasket and attach the cover again, too. Because everything was falling off (the gasket is really floppy) I put bits of metal wire in the screw holes to keep the gasket in place.

The wires also kept the cover in place. I then removed one piece of wire at a time, replacing it with a screw. Eventually I got the whole cover firmly attached again.

This was a nice little job and the first time I saw some of the inside of the engine. Nice!

Identifying parts

I have decided to ditch the LPG kit. I want to make the car run on fuel only again. It'll make the car lighter, cleaner and simpler. All good things if I want to be able to work the car myself. So tonight I went over to have a look and learn about how things are hooked up.

This is the scariest bit; the connections with the tank. The right side is where LPG comes in to the tank. The connector is a valve so I should be able to just unscrew that. On the left is where LPG comes out and goes to the engine. The tank is closed by an electronic valve. With power off, it should remain closed when disconnecting things. But I think I'll try and get the tank as empty as possible.

I also wanted to check out a few things about my engine. What type it is and what carburetor sits on top. Never looked before but it appears I have an Edelbrock intake manifold.

An Edelbrock Performer LB 351-2V to be exact. No idea if that's good but it's probably better than the standard manifold...

(Click on image above for a much bigger version)
The engine compartment is a mess because of all the LPG crap in it. I want that filter gone and the original blue cap back on there. Also, the airco pump used to be where the air filter is now.

Another thing I wanted to figure out is wether my car is fitted with a 351W (Windsor) or a 351C (Cleveland) engine. For some reason people seem to favour the 351C over the 351W but from what I've read they are both fine engines. Advantage of the 351C is that it's a bit stronger "out of the box" and can be improved by screwing around with its own parts. The 351W is not as strong but has a lot more "after market" parts available for it. I guess the 351C doesn't need that many after market parts...

I read that the early seventies models all were equipped with the 351C type (if it had a 351 that is...). Anyway, one way of telling the difference between a 351W and a 351C is by counting the bolts that hold the valve cover. The 351W has 6, the 351C has 8. On mine I counted 8. And the remains of the yellow sticker also still show a bit of "351C". I'm pleased.

It was fun to learn about my car. I learned stuff :-)