The 1970 455 engine is out and ready for cleaning. 2 questions, please... What is the fitting in the intake water jacket just behind the distributor? It has 3 vacuum ports and some sort of metering rod inside. Is it necessary? And what threads are those... they're almost 3/8 flare, but not exactly. I'd like to use it for water temp if I can. Is the PCV valve necessary? I'd love to not have that big vacuum hose strung around the carburetor, if it's not necessary. If anyone has any tips on cleaning up and simplifying the engine compartment, I would love to hear them... Thanks, Frank Brooks:TU: :beer
The fitting is a thermal vacuum switch, most likely for the vacuum advance (turned off the vacuum to the advance when cold). Shouldn't be a problem to remove and run your temp. sender in the hole. Threads are 1/2" pipe I believe. Don't remove that PCV valve, it sucks any blow-by, unburned fuel, water etc. out of the crankcase into the intake and reburns it. Without it pressure can build in the crankcase and cause oil leaks, not to mention all the vapors and moisture will contaminate the oil that much faster.
Thank you very much for the good advice. One more thing: Is the throttle stop (solenoid) thingie necessary? It's ugly, and my 350 doesnt have it... can I remove it? Frank
