Letting the wagon go... :(

Thanks Bill. Here are the pics I took tonight of the distributor... (that hose has been attached to the air cleaner before someone mentions it... it was off from where I had the breather off last night checking the carb gas stream.






someone had said check a baffle on the manifold... I dont see one...


I am not even sure how to check for restricted exhaust... should I just cut the muffler off around the front floor area?

I think we have checked the timing about 20 times. Its showing to be perfect. Its got brand new points, new plugs, etc. I checked the carb yesterday and there is a stream of fuel from both jets.

Dont know about a jumped chain... when I bought the car it had this issue. I was told it was probably the cam. Sure enough the cam was worn. I had a new one put in, along with new lifters and the problem persists.

Thats the problem about me selling/trading it. I know very little about mechanical stuff like this and I have not even been able to pay anyone locally to check it. I list needing help and they all reply wanting to buy the engine. If someone would trade me a good 350 and install it, I would give them this engine.

True, I wish it were all in one thread. I had posted a thread awhile back about selling it and everyone had talked me out of it... then I put this one and the thread always "veers off" to become a "troubleshooting" thread. lol.

Yeah, people are getting bits and pieces of info this time and not sure from before what I have already done. I have spent enough time and money on this engine alone to have bought a brand new one. This will be the last bb Chevy I will ever own. I had trouble with my 396 in my 69 Caprice, but turns out that a new cam took care of that car. It hasnt been the case with this one.

I am not a very good mechanic and I keep getting info to check the spark, fuel, etc, which I have managed to do and its not been successful, so I am really about to let this car go at a loss and forget it. I have about wanted to start it and hold it to the floor and let her blow. My $4000 cherry.

There is a guy that is a derbier that wants to trade me another car for it. I have delayed and delayed replying to anyone that derbies cars. He said he wont derby it, but they all say that. I would hate to see that happen to this car, but I guess I cant stop it... I dont know if I can deal with this car much longer and may trade it for whatever I can that runs and drives now and whatever will be will be. I would hate to see it crashed up though, but there is no interest here for it in trade for another wagon... There is a guy with a 70 Buick Estate Wagon fairly local thats interested, but that car is a 2-seater non-woodgrain car. I wanted both of those.

Thanks for all of the replies.

 

Tony,

In the first picture, go to the plug wire on the cap that is the closest to the air cleaner (it is very close to the 6 o'clock position) and follow it down to make sure that it is attached to the plug on the #1 cylinder (drivers side, closest to the radiator). Let us know then we can go to the next step.

Bill

 

ok,. back the train up here a sec,.
first thing is to take a video with decent audio of someone in the car with it in gear, video AND audio of the motor (hood open) add a little light throttle so the motor is straining a little etc,.
Is it running smoothly? or missing constantly? i dunno and i need to hear,.
after the motor is straining a little i need audio of the exhaust pipe, so i can hear if its a steady miss or it fluctuates etc,.
Float level in the carb,.(who rebuilt it??) is the fuel filter in the inlet of the carb? is it in backwards? has somebody twisted a fuel line while tightening it up thereby restricting the fuel flow,.somebody replaced a fuel line and used a compression fitting, squeezing the flow there etc,.
timing ,. (has the ring on the harmonic balancer moved therefore giving erroneous timing,.
These are all just internet guess's
With the car running,. you could loosen off the distributor,and rotate it anti clockwise about 1/2-3/4 inch and see what happens,.
this is advancing the timing,.
But first i,d post up a video with decent audio
if 5+7 plug wires are mixed up it'll be a shakey gutless pig too,
18436572,.
if the points are set too tight,. it'll be useless too,.
if you have a weak condensor the spark will be weak,. ( an old hei dizzy is an easy swap,.) and it'll be a gutless pig,.

good luck and lets hear this thing,.there's enough guys here that know there way around an old pig block, we should be able to figure it out,.
a cheap vacuum guage hooked up while idling in gear would be a really good thing too,.

nick

 

Thanks Bill... I checked and it sure is.... its going to the front plug on the driver side.

 

Thanks. I am off on Thursday... I will try to get more video then... maybe even Wednesday evening.

 

Just another thought here. If the ignition wires for cylinders 5 & 7 are crossed the engine will still run reasonably without a really pronounced miss or awful shake.
It takes only a few seconds to check it. Don't ask how I learned this.

There are actually some race engines that have their firing order rearranged like this, I forget the reason for it and it involves more than just switching wires around so don't try this at home.
EDIT; I see phantom beat me to this one.

 

bit off topic,. but gm has switched 4-7 around for better intake reversion characteristicson their newer LS series engines,,.you can order up a custom cam for any older chevy v8 and swith the two so you ened up with 18736542, stock car guys and drag racers have been doing it since the sbc was born almost,.
nick

 

OK, now take out the same #1 plug, take out the coil wire, and have someone crank it over while you have your thumb over the spark plug hole. Once you feel the power stroke pressure, quit cranking right away. It might take a few times to get it right. Then check the line on the Balancer, it should be somewhere close to the Timing Tab. Turn the Engine over by hand to line it up onto 0 on the Tab. Then take off the Cap and take another picture.

Nick has a point when he mentioned "has the ring on the harmonic balancer moved therefore giving erroneous timing", but let's not worry about that right now.

Bill

 

Got it! Will check that tomorrow and report back.

 

OK I'll pipe in here, I think it's a vacuum leak.

 

Tony, I know I said a year ago that I would refrain from posting anymore advice on your threads about your wagon, but here goes...

Ian's lost doggy post got me thinking about the power of flyers. Maybe you could post some flyers at the area auto parts stores, Home Depots, diners, truck stops, grocery stores, etc, for a good "old school" mechanic.

Put a post everyday on Craigslist seeking a good mechanic.

Tell them what you are looking for and needing.

The idea that there just aren't any good mechanics in your area seems unlikely. You just don't know where they are and they don't know that you need them.

Good luck!
David

 

I like that idea, Wix. I think an old school mechanic would be able to diagnose that problem real quick!

 

Pretty sad commentary on the state of modern mechanics, err "techs" when you need to advertise to find someone capable of diagnosing such primative machinery.
"Where is the diagnostic port"

 

LOL True words, Ross!

 

A friend of mine has a burned up '67 Buick Skylark coupe sitting in her garage, her first and only car...bought it new.

She took it to a supposedly reputable shop that had young guys that didn't know squat about carbs, and they "rebuilt it".

Gas was leaking, the car left their shop and it burned up on the way home.

A good 'old school' mechanic is what we need on our 'old school' rides!

David