Welcome to Club SAITO !
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Sincerely, Richard
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My dad took one of these, had a crated Cobra 289 sent to the house and put it in one of these. It was mostly a sleeper except for Baby Moon hubcaps. I forgot the rear end he had to have. The radiator was a cut down from a Cadillac. Ford automatic transmission. (Turbomatic?) It took about a year to build.
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The file is small, but this was the ultimate catapult launch with an unknown top speed. It was a grey Volvo 122. He never trusted me enough to drive it, but he did take me with him to go out and bait polices cars and muscle cars often.
The file is small, but this was the ultimate catapult launch with an unknown top speed. It was a grey Volvo 122. He never trusted me enough to drive it, but he did take me with him to go out and bait polices cars and muscle cars often.
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Barry, if it was two speed automatic it was called a Ford-o-matic., if a three speed it was called a Cruis-o-matic. My brother Ed did similar, he put a Ford Cleveland 351 in a Mitsubishi Starion Turbo. Many people think they have a Cleveland 351 but most are not.
Last edited by Hobbsy; 02-03-2015 at 03:55 PM.
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Turbomatic was GM, right? Slushomatic was Buick Dynaflow, Chevy 2 speed was Powerflow? Also, what was Dodges speed up and release gas and clunk into next gear? No paddle shifter, dual clutch 6 speeds back then!
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That was a Powerglide for the Chevy 2 speed. Had it in a Vega. Fastest the Vega did was 90 MPH and it took a while to get there. That is until a 350 was dropped in it, then it went much faster and got there much quicker. until the car bent.
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At least you fixed the oil burning problem!!
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That was my first Vega, the second one I had the block sleeved, no more oil burning. It was actually a good runner after that. I had the head ported, and grooved for a copper gasket, larger valving, teflon stem seals, and a 4 barrel manifold. Mated to a 4 speed manual trans, and that was a fun car, it had very little rust on it too, the front fenders were solid.
Our running joke was put a 55 gallon drum of oil on the roof and we could drive all week.
Our running joke was put a 55 gallon drum of oil on the roof and we could drive all week.
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That was my first Vega, the second one I had the block sleeved, no more oil burning. It was actually a good runner after that. I had the head ported, and grooved for a copper gasket, larger valving, teflon stem seals, and a 4 barrel manifold. Mated to a 4 speed manual trans, and that was a fun car, it had very little rust on it too, the front fenders were solid.
Our running joke was put a 55 gallon drum of oil on the roof and we could drive all week.
Our running joke was put a 55 gallon drum of oil on the roof and we could drive all week.
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I should have remembered that, I had the Powerglide in a '60 Corvair Monza coupe. I never did high side that car like they said it would if the rear suspension tucked in
on a bump. I actually liked it. Almost got a '64 Spyder Turbo four speed from my sis in law but she over revved it and blew it up.
on a bump. I actually liked it. Almost got a '64 Spyder Turbo four speed from my sis in law but she over revved it and blew it up.
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I would appreciate some advice. I just bought a NIB old stock Saito FA 60 twin. Some proper bench break in tips would be helpful from some guys who have experience with this engine. Thanks for the help.
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I started taking my saito 80 apart to replace the bearings. I had a problem with the puller I use to remove the drive flange. The foot was too thick to fit in the grove in the flange. So I went to my hardware store to see what I could find to help. I found split washers in various sizes. The 7/8" one fit just right over the flange and into the grove. See attached pictures. I used the hose clamp to keep the washer from opening up.
![](http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=2070371)
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BJ what's that old saying..would you risk it for a biscuit ?
Skypup i don't have a 60 twin but try this.Drop some arf down the rocker tubes and squirt some into the crankcase vent nipple and turn it over by hand quite a bit then hit it with a starter for five seconds.Other than that be careful and keep it below 4500 for the first tank after that it's as fast as the engine feels like going,you and hear and feel it.
ps barry over here we had gmh/holden three speed tri-matic auto's in the early 70's hq holdens.Some people used to call the tri-matic traumatic.
Skypup i don't have a 60 twin but try this.Drop some arf down the rocker tubes and squirt some into the crankcase vent nipple and turn it over by hand quite a bit then hit it with a starter for five seconds.Other than that be careful and keep it below 4500 for the first tank after that it's as fast as the engine feels like going,you and hear and feel it.
ps barry over here we had gmh/holden three speed tri-matic auto's in the early 70's hq holdens.Some people used to call the tri-matic traumatic.
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...my old Q-ey f'truck ended up with a 454 in it, driving the back wheels via a Turbo 400 auto.
The standard Holden 10-bolt Salisbury diff carked it on the first decent wheelie. It ended up with a 10 bolt (or was it a 12?) GTO diff in it. Would have loved to have been able to get my hands on a Ford 9" locker diff at the time![Big Grin](images/smilies/biggrin.gif)
BJ
The standard Holden 10-bolt Salisbury diff carked it on the first decent wheelie. It ended up with a 10 bolt (or was it a 12?) GTO diff in it. Would have loved to have been able to get my hands on a Ford 9" locker diff at the time
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BJ
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Dunno if it would be same as the 130t but I have the inst for the 130t in PDF. I will try to convert it so I can post it here
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BJ what's that old saying..would you risk it for a biscuit ?
Skypup i don't have a 60 twin but try this.Drop some arf down the rocker tubes and squirt some into the crankcase vent nipple and turn it over by hand quite a bit then hit it with a starter for five seconds.Other than that be careful and keep it below 4500 for the first tank after that it's as fast as the engine feels like going,you and hear and feel it.
ps barry over here we had gmh/holden three speed tri-matic auto's in the early 70's hq holdens.Some people used to call the tri-matic traumatic.
Skypup i don't have a 60 twin but try this.Drop some arf down the rocker tubes and squirt some into the crankcase vent nipple and turn it over by hand quite a bit then hit it with a starter for five seconds.Other than that be careful and keep it below 4500 for the first tank after that it's as fast as the engine feels like going,you and hear and feel it.
ps barry over here we had gmh/holden three speed tri-matic auto's in the early 70's hq holdens.Some people used to call the tri-matic traumatic.
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smkrcflyer, cool solution. I've been rebuilding engines for years and so far my trusty battery terminal puller has worked up to the Saito 125. Cannot remember if I used it to pull the drive from the 150.
I've seen these sell for as low as $15, but I do enough to warrant treating myself to a better rig one day. Also, with the less expensive models I didn't feel guilty if I had to grind down the ends to help them fit the grooves.
On mine the thread and button can actually back out beyond the brace plate so a longer thread does not make a huge difference, (as long as that thread is not larger than the button hole).
I've seen these sell for as low as $15, but I do enough to warrant treating myself to a better rig one day. Also, with the less expensive models I didn't feel guilty if I had to grind down the ends to help them fit the grooves.
On mine the thread and button can actually back out beyond the brace plate so a longer thread does not make a huge difference, (as long as that thread is not larger than the button hole).
Last edited by Cougar429; 02-04-2015 at 05:33 AM.
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It burned oil so bad it would foul the plug after a few minute run. I found that the HOT plug from my 86 cu in Panhead stroker would fit & run W/O fouling. The engine smoked really bad & I would have to stop 2X to top off the oil during the course of running out the small tank of gas. It did a great job of ridding my yard of mosquitos. After a few tanks of gas, the ash from the burning oil would bridge the electrode gap & require cleaning.
I found an 8HP Briggs W/a new short block for $100. We made a mount from 2" angle & doubled the size of the drive pully. My $125 tiller investment served me well for almost 25 years. Last spring I researched parts & found that all but the OD of the tine shaft bearing/seals would interchange W/a more modern 904 model. I invested another $400 in parts, modified the cast iron worm case for the larger OD bearing/seals & now have a tiller that is far better than anything sold today.
Unlike the front tine tillers of today, the original tines are forged in a saber like profile. They are still in good shape & slice into the soil much better than the bent bar stock tines used in modern front tine fillers. I can walk in the row next to the one being cultivated & run the tiller W/one hand.
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SkyPup, the 4,000 rpm limit at 1/4 to 1/3rd throttle is only for the first 10 minutes, then I do 10 minutes at 5,000 and 10 minutes each at 6,000 and 7,000, re-fuel and do shots to full throttle. There is nothing in a Saitos construction that can benefit from heating and cooling cycles. Others may do it differently but my way has worked perfectly about 35 times.
I had a 1973 Vega Camback wagon that had the two barrel version and a three speed Borg Warner tranny. I used only ARCO Graphite oil in it and it went about 97,000 miles. Built a 2.5 inch exhaust system with a Thrush Turbo muffler on the end.
I had a 1973 Vega Camback wagon that had the two barrel version and a three speed Borg Warner tranny. I used only ARCO Graphite oil in it and it went about 97,000 miles. Built a 2.5 inch exhaust system with a Thrush Turbo muffler on the end.
Last edited by Hobbsy; 02-04-2015 at 06:20 AM.
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SkyPup, the 4,000 rpm limit at 1/4 to 1/3rd throttle is only for the first 10 minutes, then I do 10 minutes at 5,000 and 10 minutes each at 6,000 and 7,000, re-fuel and do shots to full throttle. There is noting in a Saitos construction that can benefit from heating and cooling cycles. Others may do it differently but my way has worked perfectly about 35 times.
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I would, once it starts to crack, there's no going back. You cant drill a crack stop on that without messing up the crankcase oiling. Eventually the crack will go all the way in and you could lose the plane when the engine goes. Unless you know someone who can TIG weld small parts.
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I don't know where that "full throttle at very rich", came from, but the instructions still say, close throttle to 1/4 to 1/3rd after starting, on page 5 of the instructions. For the glow version.