Giving up the wagon! Going to trade for a Cadillac (try)

"Maybe not" Giving up the wagon! Going to trade for a Cadillac (try)

Well, I am at the end of the rope with my wagon... most of you know the engine problems I have had with the 402. I had to have a new cam installed, as well as lifters, but the car is still low on power. At a stop, on a steep hill, it dont even have the power to pull of of its tracks. We have once again adjusted the valves/lifters where they need to be, but still not working right.

We have ajusted the timing by simply turning the distributor, but it helps very little. My dad said we need to check it with a timing light, but I dont have one, nor do I know of anyone with one and I am not paying out another dime to work on this car. I have put out a blooming fortune already. I dont know if they installed the wrong cam or if the guy that did it, done it wrong or what. I am not that mechanically inclined with cars and my dad who is a Chevy man dont really have time to help me, so maybe its best I finally give up and stop hoping to ever drive this car on the road and feel comfortable about it. I have way more in it that one would want to pay cash for... as I have $5000 invested in it.

With that said, I have a soft spot for the 1972 Cadillacs (1st car was a 72 DeVille), so I am going to try to trade it for a already good running 72 Sedan DeVille, or hopefully a 71-72 Fleetwood Brougham, or maybe even another wagon like a 71-73 Buick Estate or 71-73 Grand Safari with woodgrain option thats already road worthy. Either way, I love wagons and will still try to visit here frequently.

Best wishes!

 

Don't give up your dream. If you can't get the '72 Kingswood to perform, there are lots of other wagons out there in excellent condition. Just be patient.

 

I know your frustration. I've dumped alot of money into trying to make old cars run right. Sometimes you just have to cut your losses and move on.

 

One other thing I have learned is that I will never own another big block Chevy again... at least a 396 or 402. This makes #2 and both have costed me a fortune in repairs. My old 69' Caprice had a 396... it had a knock... cam was worn, put in new cam... run much better, then it started burning oil/smoking out of the tailpipes. Took a huge loss on that one.

Looks like this will be huge loss #2.

 

Hey Kingswood, I know how frustrating old cars can be :banghead3:, and spending good money after bad has really turned you against yours.

Give yourself a break from this car for now, and use the time to save a little more money, and to find a really competent mechanic. Some of the older guys really know these engines. I bet soon you will have a good running Chevy wagon.

If you have for sure decided that this isn't the wagon for you,

............................please don't leave the forum...........................

You are one of my favorite guys on here, and it just won't be as good without you! I bet we all feel this way!

 

Hey 72 Kingswood,

First, I have to echo what both Krash and Wix said above...especially the part about not leaving this forum.

But I too have a "request" to make; two actually:
1) If you do sell/trade-in your wagon, please do all in your realm of influence to see that your wagon goes to another good home...one that will appreciate and care for this wagon as much as you have.
2) If #1 seems unlikely to happen, then please pm/email me and give me right of refusal.
Regardless of what you choose to do, good luck. I'm sure I speak for most here when I say we look forward to your updates.

 

reading over your troubles, it makes me wonder if you have the same mechanic for both cars.

i hate to see someoen give up on a wagon, but dont keep it because folks like us are whining. just make sure it goes to a good home. or as mentioned take a rest from it, hunt your caddy, and maybe later drop a crate motor in.

 

Although it is always hard to tell from only reading about engine troubles I really think it is a minor issue. Maybe you already mentioned it in an earlier post (couldn't find it quick (at work at the moment, so cannot spent too much time here right now): do you have Electronic (like HEI) or points ignition?

If points: try to find a dwell meter!!! to check on the gap; or have it done. It maybe takes 10min of labor and makes a differance of day and night!!
(learned it the hard way; engine rough at idle, needed RPM to get going... once going uphill and getting above 3 or 4.000 ft it got worse and worse .. till engine stopped at 10.000 ft) A dwell meter did the trick!!!
Timing light is another good idea: it is a small investment for the rest of your life in classic cars (I even got 3 now) and not another investment into the Chevy
Don't give up ...you're close

 

My wife and I bought our Colony Park,with the intention of never letting her go.No matter what may go wrong with her.Even if she has to sit while we figure out what's wrong with her and save up the money to get her fixed...That "no wagon left behind" philosophy...Check the vaccuum hoses for leaks.Used to have a 74 LTD that had similar problems,it was a leaky vaccuum hose causing the problems...If nothing else,it'll make a cool gazebo for the yard.

 

yeah bro, your killin me with your decision. I like what you have to say here, and I like how you always comment from the restoration point of view on "wecrash". I do realize that life is life though, and you gotta do what you gotta do. I also have spent around $5000 on my wagon project. $700 of that was on an attempt to save a 73 clam from the derby....Anyway we learn fom our mistakes. Turns out my latest rough idle problem was fixed by a new $15 vaccuum advance on the carb. this apparently advances the firing/timing as you accelerate. This along with new plugs and carb tuning made mine screech the tires. All done by a good mechanic (im a novice). I think one thing that makes it easier for me is I live in a big city with thousands of mechanics to choose from. Do what you gotta do, sounds like we are all behind you whatever your decision may be. By the way I doubt there is any caddilass forum that is as friendly as this place....

 

there is a good caddy forum, if you have a newer caddy, but the Lincoln and Caddy forums arent geared for us old car guys. Their forums are mainly people telling other people to find a good shop .. haha

 

Thanks for all of the replies and advice.

Thanks! I wont leave... wagons are still my passion of old cars.

Thanks and will do and will do.

Actually, my dad did the engine on the 69' Caprice with the 396 and it ran good after that (new cam). That kinda turned me against it. It probably needed new rings from the start, but we didnt put them in, because it didnt seem like it needed it.

On this wagon the son-in-law of a old friend of my dads did the work on my wagon. He just threw it together.

Thanks for that info and advice. I mentioned this to my dad and he said he thought my car was a 1974 and had electronic ignition, but I reminded him it was a late 1971 model and has points. We put new points in right after I got (before the cam) thinking it was part of the problem, but we didnt use a dwell meter. I dont even know of anyone that has one, nor do I have a timing light, but maybe can "rent" them from a parts store? I told him about this and he said we would check it. Hopefully it will work and I can keep my wagon!

I did notice the other day when I had it running again, that the missing and rough idle has come back. Maybe thats the issue.

Well, the vacuum lines were all wrong before.... the moron that did the work didnt run anything correctly. With help from folks on a 1968-82 Corvette forum (some Vettes had a similiar engine) , I think I have them right now, so I am told. I never could find a factory diagram of how the vac hoses on the carb run originally on a 402 big block Chevy.

Yeah, despite this being a metro area (500,000 people), there are not many good independent mechanics. I once put an ad on the local craigslist for a mechanic, but got alot of strange people replying.

I am going to try that info from 75Riv and see what happens... I will try that vacuum advance if this other dont work. Screech the tires... that would be nice, but my car is lucky to pull up a hill. Thanks for that information.

---

Thanks to all! I will update soon after working on the car more tomorrow. If all else fails, it will be traded (eventually for another 71-73 GM clamshell woodgrain wagon, 73-74 Country Squire wagon ( I like those too) or 1972 Caddy) and hopefully to a good home.

 

Update - thanks to 75RivGS, I have a timing light and have it timed properly. All I need now is to borrow a distributor wrench from my grandpa and tighten it down. I dont have one and my dad said I needed one to do that. ?

I also borrowed a nice dwell meter from one of my uncles... I am not at all familiar with how it works or anything, but my dad does (so he said - haha) and I let him do it. It was at .24 and he said a Chevy is supposed to be around .30. Thats all Chinese to me and I have no idea, so I am hoping he knows what he is talking about. I didnt have time to take it down the road to see if it had more power.

However, it did seem to still be slightly missing when I would hold it at a little higher acceleration, so I am not sure whats going on. When I hold it steady around 2500 rpms, the engine will slightly flutter side to side, as if it has a slight miss. My 73' Pontiac dont do this, so I dont think its normal.

Maybe its the carburator? It dont have that hesitation now though when I first accelerate. Remember, the car has been setting for years, so maybe I just need to drive it some and see what happens.

I definitely have to get it to a muffler shop, as I have a bad exhaust leak and its hard to hear whats going on with the engine. Where the pipe meets the first part of the muffler is broken.

I will continue to work with it and see what happens.

Thanks again for all of the tips/replies/advice.

 

Congrats Kingswood!

I am glad that you are back at it with your Chevrolet. You needed a break.
I know you will get this beauty sorted out.

There are a lot of really smart, mechanically-inclined guys on here (not me, I don't know didly-squat about engines:confused, and you are so wise to avail yourself of their good advice. Good going!

You will "See The USA In Your Chevrolet"! I just know it!

 

Glad I could help out on that aspect...Our 74 LTD had a diagram of the vaccuum hoses on the top of the radiator fan housing.But it was only seven years old when my family got it.And I'm sure replacement housings don't have the diagrams.Haynes and Chilton books may have them.You could check at your local library.Many at the Forums have suggested getting factory shop manuals.They're the books the dealer mechanics use when they need info on fixing cars.