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

Congrats Kingswood on the progress you've made so far! I love these wagons and am I'm SO you stuck with it.

You and your Chevrolet will have a stronger bond as a result of your determination and your first road trip together will be all the more rewarding; and enjoyable for both of you. Thanks for keeping us posted!

 

Thanks for that.

Also, if anyone knows what the "dwell reading" for a Chevy V8 is supposed to be on, please LMK. Dad said its .30, but I want to be sure! :confused:

 

30 degrees dwell angle / .019" point gap

http://www.accel-ignition.com/pdf/ACCPointsDist.pdf

http://www.hotrodders.com/forum/setting-points-sb-chevy-28120.html

 

Thanks Rob. Well, I started the car this evening... I was going to take it down the road in the neighborhood and see how it would so, but it was running very poorly again (I had poured some gas in it). My dad seems to think it has water in the gas. It was missing and spluttering and when I tried to back it back up the hill, it even "backfired" and stalled. :banghead3: It started right back up, but it was still very low on power. He said this would probably cause it to be low on power.

Also, we are going to go ahead and put in new points and set the dwell again. All else I know to do is put some gas treatment in the gas tank and get the water out. Remember this car has set for years.

Thanks again!

 

It's pretty humid up there isn't it? The tank could be loaded with water, maybe even rust. Pick up something to loosen the tank strap bolts and drop it. Maybe some new straps or siphon it empty and drain it, then flush it out, with a tank flushing chemical. At least pull the fuel line at the tank and empty it, then put new gas in.

I'd pop in some gasline antifreeze in the tank to control the humidity after you get it cleaned up. It has 'dryer' addititives to neutralize the humidity.

 

Yes, very humid most of the time... its 100% humidity right now @1:10 AM and 71°.... its steamy out.

The gauge was showing it was almost empty and when I poured in the 4 gallons, it was between 1/4 and empty. Not sure but what was left may have been water.

I will try those tips! I am just hoping that the bolts are not so rusty that they wont turn... that was the deal on my 73' Pontiac. I needed to remove/lower the tank to get to the ground wire and the nuts on the tank straps would not turn. ( I still wonder if I can gain access from inside the trunk to those wires via load floor panel?

Cars dont rust bad here in the way they do up north, but the high humidity does do a number on things like nuts and bolts.

Thanks again.

 

That is excellent advice...Norm is right on!
Your tank may be contaminated with water, or have rust, dirt and sludge in it from all these years of sitting. I would also make sure to change the fuel filter.

Just be sure to use caution when dealing with gasoline, and gas tanks!

 

I don't know how and where the fuel filter is situated on your 400.... from the Buick 455 I know they are a PITA to change without tearing up the fuel line ... and since both are GM

Do you have enough gas coming into the carb when starting the engine?

 

Rob, there is a filter right where the line goes into the carburator...it has a quadra-jet, but I am not sure if they all were the same or not. We had also put on an inline filter. It seems to be getting plenty of gas... dont seem to be "starving" for fuel.

Well to further update, we put NEW points on it today and set the dwell to 30.0 - right on the money and the timing is set perfectly. I could be mistaken, but when we first started it and dad started setting the dwell, the engine started to sound super smooth, but kinda had that faint miss again, but could never get it really smooth again, but the dwell did set at 30.0 and hold. THEN, a little earlier I replaced all of the spark plugs (which I did when I first bought it), but I was not sure if I had properly gapped them or not when I last did them. I removed them and they were gapped at .040 and were supposed to be .035 and they were "gassy" smelling. I put in new plugs, set the gap properly and it seems to run smoother, but I am still disappointed in the power. It will still not pull up the steep part of our driveway from a dead stop. I drove it to the end of the driveway and stopped at the end and at one point, it was even like it was still in 2nd gear, so I stopped and pulled it down in 1st and it was a little better but not much... it still would not pull up that steep hill from a stop. Then it was shifting fine, as I could feel it shifting into 2nd around 20 mph in the driveway. Dad is now wondering if perhaps it could be the carburator causing it. I dont know.

My dad said he thinks its just where this car is so heavy (almost 4900 shipping weight) and its only a 215 hp engine, but I still think it should be better, especially with the towing package. I cant imagine towing even a motorcycle with this car.

I then had to move my Grand Ville and "showed" my father how much more power the Grand Ville had, because it lunged forward and it would squall the tires if I wanted it to... not so with the wagon. I know the Grand Ville is a 455, but its a '73 and probably not much more HP than my wagon, but the wagon is about 300 pounds heavier.

To be honest, I dont know what else to do. Maybe I just need to "get brave" and take the car out on the main road and hope it dont break down or something. Maybe I could tell more about it then.

I honestly dont know what to do now except scratch my head :banghead3:... or cry.

 

Here is the grade that the car wont pull up from a stop... here is the "bend" first of our driveway...



and the grade.... I have to get a running go in the wagon... the Grand Ville will pull this hill easily.

 

Don't know the newer GM trannies, but it probably has a vacuum valve to assist the shifting points. That's one part. The other is the Distributor Vacuum advance vacuum valve. If either one is old or toast, that will make it shift like sludge.

The hesitation sounds like valve seals need replacing. Try another distributor valve to start with, and then the tranny vacuum valve. Seals aren't a big deal, but you could find out for sure with a vacuum gauge, if its seals or valve stems, etc.:
http://www.classictruckshop.com/clubs/earlyburbs/projects/vac/uum.htm

 

Norm, would this cause it to be LOW on power from a dead stop? I need to find someone with a vacuum routing diagram for one of these cars.

 

The clue, for my suggestion, was that it pulled itself together when you dropped it into a lower gear and it picked up some oomph. Yeah, that would do it. One of those vacuum valves isn't getting enough vacuum (carb or Manifold source) or isn't working right.

One way to test them is to put the vacuum line (engine off) to your mouth and try pulling the valve back, or a manual vacuum pump (cheapies work fine). A vacuum gauge is the best when the engine is running.

 

Yes,an additional vaccuum problem could cause the car to have problems moving.When my family's 74 LTD was having it's vaccuum hose problem,top speed on level ground was 15 to 20 mph.And it had to be pushed up a hill no steeper than the one in your pictures.

 

Gas sitting in a carb for a long time gets all sludgy and clogs the small orifices.
Have you tried some Seafoam in the gas?

Could be the rings are stuck or sludged or caked up from sitting.
Valve seals dry up and deteriorate.
Dry and wet compression test a hot engine. Well, warm anyways.
Some Auto-rx might work, but you have drive the thing a few thousand miles for it to work.
http://www.auto-rx.com/