1-PM Tuesday Car running great
2-AM Wednesday feels like an erratic misfire.
3-AM Wednesday about 1 minute later. Car barely turns over!๐ตโ๐ซ
4-PM Wednesday Full Scale Hot Rod & Customs okโs car into shop. (Really stepped up on expediting car in)
5-AM Thursday. Problem discovered! Mount for MSD distributor had failed. Distributor bouncing around like lottery number balls๐ค
6-PM Thursday. Spark plug wires, Spark plugs replaced and OEM distributor mount replaced.
7-CRUISING HOME๐๐๐๐บ๐ธ
HUGE THANKS TO FULL SCALE, VENTURA CA๐๐๐
#5...Do you mean the hold down clamp at the base came loose and the disty was rotating around randomly?
Yep! The MSD was installed 2019 and the mechanic used mount from original build in 1978-79. Chromed POT (Piece Of Trash) METAL๐ตโ๐ซ. After 45 yrs, garaged for 42+ yrs, less than 1000 miles.
Oh how I love this car๐๐๐๐บ๐ธ
Back on the road again
If the problem was the distributor, why were plugs and wires replaced too? I see repairs done like this all the time. Did they give you a reason for replacing plugs and wires? Or is that what was "recommended"? I had a friend with a 66 El Camino that kept having a back fire. Took it to two different shops. One guy told him it was his carburetor and put a Holley 2 barrel on it (it is a stock 283). Still happened.
Took it to another shop where they recommended installing an MSD box, plugs and wires... Still did it. He had now spent $1600.00 to fix the car and still had the same issue. He brought to my house and my brother and I looked it over. This car was original down to the smog pump. On the back of the smog pump is the "gulp valve". If the diaphram is torn in the valve, air mixture in the combustion chamber is change and causes the back fire. We took the belt off to test and sure enough, with no air being pumped, no back fire. Removed the smog pump and plugged the holes on the exhaust manifold and sent him back to the two shops for his money back. No one would budge... The actual repair was about $12.00 in 3/8 pipe plugs.
Some of these shops really suck and don't know how to diagnose older cars..
Good questions and indeed plugs looked horribly arced, wires were burned. Over the past two years this shop has stood tall! I truly appreciate the input
HEAT IS THE ENEMY! After a 100 mile round trip from Ventura to LA Airport via Coast Route erratic engine action began. You know, โthat's not rightโ feeling? Last time it was a distributor mount. Went to shop and Chris at Full Scale Hot Rods & Customs had immediately discovered the plug boots had melted due to proximity to exhaust manifold. Replaced all with a great David Freiburger idea! Ceramic Boots on all plugs. Noticed more pep immediately ๐๐๐๐๐๐บ๐ธ AND now no fear of repeat.
Now to compare FiTech Engine heat sensor with dash gauge reading. No way the engine is running as hot as gauge reads. With dash gauge connection immediately between exhaust manifold and rocker cover and very close to driver side turbo the dash gauge temp is surely reading higher than real. Results to come๐ค๐๐๐
Yep! Aftermarket clamp cracked๐ค๐ตโ๐ซ
Drum Roll๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ
Results of dash engine temp gauge vs FiTech temp readingโฆDash gauge shows about 210ยฐ! FiTech hand held controller shows 197ยฐ!!!! That's comforting ๐๐๐บ๐ธ
Soooooo, after about a 2 hour drive there came an all familiar misfire. Iโll describe it as engine has bronchitis. Couldnโt get a regular gallop when acceleration applied. Went to โgo to shopโ and turns out # 8 plug was fuel wet๐ค All plugs swapped out for hottest in the market. That was it. Compression is perfect! I was told in 2019 when I bought the car โit's a project carโ. A really important element about the car is it was never driven prior to my purchase except about 2 miles to evaluate running gear, suspension, brakes etc. So experimental project is the best moniker. My changes to all things mechanical only added to the experiment. Was it worth it? ABSOLUTELY! I expect more surprises and more appreciation at any moment. ๐๐๐บ๐ธ