Continuing with Wilson's problematic 72 Skylark

that is my plan of attack! Thanks!

I keep hearing that BBB are hard to get aftermarket manifold to seal. Are you guys running the valley pan or is it just better to get good intake gaskets (TA Performance or the like) and just run those?

 

If it hasnt been milled too much its no problem using the steel valley pan, and if so the appropriate gasket will solve that issue as well, no secret to it really

 

That's the thing hugger, I don't know if heads have been milled or not.

One other thing I am going to check is to verify if the distributor is getting 12 VDC. This car was an original 350 car and converted to a 455. Both were points back then, correct? Wasn't there a resistance wire in place to cut voltage in half or am I thinking of the earlier Buicks?

 

If your not going to use the valley pan you need a splash shield

 

Check my reply on resistance wire removal. And replacement. My 70 was a 350 car now 455. Same distributor w a fear change and crane electronic conversion. 12 volts from firewall 12 gauge replaces red resistor wire you need fuse box clip from tray 1 Bin 2 in any old school GM parts dept. trust me. Then a 12 or 14 gauge wire from starter R position to coil and attaches to wire from firewall on positive side of coil. 22 volts cranking and ign on.
Same on my Chevelle as my GS.
Chris

 

Guys,

Got a little time to mess with 72 yesterday. Checked voltage to coil. Noticed new wire was run and measured 12.56 VDC with key on.

Turned in needle screws all the way in and then back out 2 full turns. Turned key and motor fired right up. Still running extremely choppy. Gotta dig into timing but I am thinking it's gonna be either pushrod adjustment or whiped cam lobe.

I'm gonna drain oil and cut oil filter to check for metal.

Hoping for the best.

 

Larry,

Best to use the spash shield and TA gaskets then?

 

Sounds good. Thanks for the information!

Chris

 

Chris,

Verified that the resistance wire was changed. 12 volts with ignition key on. I am assuming you meant 12 volts and not 22...?

I didn't verify cranking volts.

 

The motor has an HEI conversion. Looks to be just a stock distributor. Car has MSD wires on it but I haven't dug into see if its just a stock coil or not.

 

I will take a look. Just by looking at the distributor housing, it looks like a stock GM HEI distributor due to the GM "white metal" they used to cast their distributors. it has a red cap on it so I am thinking that owner prior to me put a MSD cap/rotor along with MSD wires.

Will verify coil and module to see what they are.

 

That's what I thought. It has full time voltage @ Key-On-Engine-Off.

Fired that car up again real quick last night. Didn't want to start and it puffed out of the carb. :-(

Once I got it running, definitely ran better but still has no throttle response. I pulled all 8 spark plug boots off while running. All 8 wires have spark. Definitely noticed an RPM drop on every cylinder... except #6. I need to commit more time to it but something is telling me this top end is gonna have to come apart.

I am going to do compression test and cylinder leak down testing tonight or tomorrow.

 

:ball:ray: Xing my fingers for ya brudda!

Have you pulled the VCs and looked to see if the rockers are moving the same while idling? Would be a good indicator you may have a wiped lobe.

 

Hey Josh!

Nice seeing ya over here too! :laugh:

That is my next plan of attack. I am going to pull plugs and turn motor over by hand and measure rocker movement with a depth gauge. See if that #6 is moving like #2, #4, and #8.

I just gotta find time to get down to my shop and invest some time.