Please help! I have a 1964 Skylark; I pulled the engine and took it a local shop to have it rebuilt. The guy did a pretty good job but I have not been able to get it to run right since. 1st this engine had the power pack option and in re building we opted for the lower compression ration pistons. 2nd I bought a very mild cam, little more lift and little more duration, form TA Performance. 3rd had carb rebuilt buy a local guy at a parts store that specializes in older stuff, he really seems to know that 4GC well. 4th radiator has been boiled out and reconditioned still stock single row. This is what it is doing 1st runs very rough, especially when warm 2nd I have to time this thing at ~24 degrees before top dead ctr. the manual has it at 2 to 5 degrees. 3rd it is running very hot put a gauge on it recently and am running up to 230 degrees at times mainly at a maintained speed of 50 to 60 mph for a few miles or when hot outside. I am running a 160 deg thermostat. Everyone I talk to says it sounds a tooth off in timing, I pulled the timing cover off to check and the timing marks ling up dead on, the mark on the cam sprocket is very faint, so faint that I noticed that it mush have bee the guy that did the work for me marked it with a black marker to make it easier to see. The only thing I can guess is that the cam was ground wrong or the timing sprockets are not right, for it to be off 20 degrees I am guessing it would have to be the crank??? I am getting very desperate; I need to find a shop that can degree this thing?? I am in the Grand Rapids, Michigan area. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. Mike
As I run the car you can see on the temp gauge exactly when the thermostat is opening, good thought but this is 4th thermostat I have had in this thing.
Double check the firing order and ignition wire routing. It should look like this: http://www.v8buick.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=44869&d=1111890926
Firing order is good, I have the original manual and went off that, all new wires etc. I have considered the vac. leak not found anything yet, someone had told me of an issue he had with power brake assist. I am going to try to track that down, plug the port and see how it runs but would this account for the timing being that far off and I notice the difference when I disconnect the vac. advance, would I still be seeing that much of a change if I had a leak when I disconnect the vac. advance? I am also still getting ~24 in from my vac. gage at idle. I do have a power loss, bucking etc, at the shift point (higher revs.) almost like starving for fuel, I opened up the intake on the air cleaner a little the other day and it improved that issue a bit have not made any more adjustments since.
What head gaskets did he use on the engine? If he used the aftermarket composite gaskets, they lower your compression by a whole point. That combined with the low compression pistons give you around 8:1 compression. If that is the case, it is never going to run like it use to and have power.
I have raced that little engine in the past and found it to be very tough and reliable....start with the basics.... How much was it bored???? did you check had confirm that the timing mark on the harmonic balancer was actually top dead center??? how does the timing marks on the old timing gears compare with the new gears marks??? does the vacume advance and the mechanical advance work right.... Slow timing and way over advanced timing both can make an engine run hot.... so can a cracked head or block, or a head gasket that is on wrong..... or not enough radiator,,,, on my power pack 300 i used a 3 core from a a/c car.... and a 7 blade fan and a shroud,,,, no heat problems.... i would be suspicious that you have a combination of problems.... not enough radiator for starters.... and then possibly a harmonic balancer that has slipped or a vacume advance that isnt working,,,, If the engine is timed right at the cam.... I am not thrilled with a 4gc,,,, but then I am a holley guy,,,, edelbrock would work better and easier for you....by you saying that it is bucking at higher speeds ,,, i am thinking possibly over advancing the timing.... Btw a 300 is not a nailhead,,, they just look similar to a nail.... nails only have the dist in the back of the engine.... pm your ph. no. and I will give you a call.....
