Tell me how to fix my Kookie Kar engine

I guess I should start at the beginning. I installed the '50 Cad. engine in my roadster recently. '55 heads. All new, mild Isky roller tappet cam, Chevy roller lifters. adjustable push rods, flat top pistons, Horn manifold with 4 old but rebuilt 97s that are not leaking. New special duel point crab top Roto Faze Joe Panek built for me. Drove it around home for maybe 100 miles. Towed it to LARS Thursday. Drove it maybe 50 more miles Friday. Ran good. Started it up Sat. drove it to the Fairgrounds maybe another 20 miles. A couple of blocks from the gate it died. I bumped started it. It was running kinda ****py but I kept it going for maybe another block by reving it. It died about a city block from the gate. I pulled over, sent my friend in to buy a coil. I changed the condenser and it started so I made it for the gate popping an fireing out of both ends. It died again just inside the gate. Good news I got a "power park." Once inside I put the new coil on that my friend had bought, filed and adjusted the points .20. Same thing popping out both ends and fire coming out of the 97s. Bought and installed new plugs and condenser. No change. Loaded it up on the trailer (no trailer comments needed) and brought it home.
This morning I pulled the valve covers and spark plugs, checked compression, 120# in each cylender on the first pump. Then rolled it to tdc on #1. Both valves were closed and the rotor was pointing to #1 wire. Cleaned and installed the plugs, installed another new coil. tried again. Same thing. Moved the Dist. around some. No improvement. Sounds out of time, blows fire out of the carbs. I guess my next step is to take out the points and look at them.
Any help will be appreciated.
Despite all the trouble I had a great time at LARS.
Gary

 

Maybe Bent Pushrod? I had issues kinda like that and I had 2 bent push rods. But I might be totally wrong.. hum thats weird tho.. Sorry for your troubles.. I live it too... Damm Caddys!!!

 

Sounds like a timing issue, Maybe the chain is loose and it jumped a gear or two.

 

jumped timing?

 

I'll pull the valve covers and see if they all spin good when they are closed Thanks

 

makes me think it might be the distributor,
I would consider putting it on a distributor machine to see what it's doing

love your car by the way

 

Old gas? Fresh gas? Cheap gas or top quality gas?
What was the condition of the inside of the gas tank before you got it running and do you have a decent inline filter in the line?

Being as the distributor had been recently set up by someone who knows what he's doing with them I wouldn't suspect it too much unless the key had been left on for a long period of time before you got it running.

Coil? I have had one that did great on little short trips but ****ped out the first time I took it of town and ran the truck for several hours.

On checking the compression, I was taught to prop open the throttle and crank the engine with all the plugs out so that it hits "five" times on each cylinder to get an accurate reading but 120 on the first pop on each cylinder tells me that the compression is up to snuff.

If you hook the timing light to #1 and crank the engine what does it show for timing? If you can't see anything that way hook the lead to the coil wire so it hits every time a cylinder fires and see if you can check the marks that way.

You didn't say but New or old timing chain and gears ? If you put a socket on the damper bolt and rock the crank back and forth how much slack do you see before the rotor moves?

 

...any chance you're using the repro chinese knock-off rocker arms ..they're notoroius for failing.....the little pocket that the push rod sits in is hollow above (channels the oil from the rocker shaft)..the castings are junk and will sometimes collapse in this area resulting in a "short" pushrod and the symptoms you are describing........



http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=181971&highlight=cadillac+rockers+kanter

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check timing with a timing light!!

 

fuel pump ....getting enough fuel ? if you have great spark the only other thing would be fuel ..check the pump/filter/ regulator .something may be clogged from old **** in the tank ..or just not enough fuel to keep the carbs full...thats my 2c

 

Gas! I have been hung up on timing I haven't checked the gas.
New gas tank. Good gas, I think. New filter but I do have a pressure regulator on it. Think I'll put it back together and check gas stuff.
Don't think it is timing chain because it is a new motor and at tdc on#1 both valves are closed and the pushrods spin freely.
Keep them coming.
Gary

 

I had an engine do that intermittently before. Popping out the carb, and the exhaust. Usually would get worse at higher rpm. Turned out a wire to the distributer was chaffed under the cap and would cause it to misfire. Cesar

 

If you are getting fire up the carbs, it has to be related to timing. I would try putting a light on it to see where you stand. After that, you would have to have an intake valve hanging open to keep the fuel mixture in contact with the spark. Again, the key here seems to be the fact that you are igniting incoming mixture. You need an open valve and a spark to do that.

#1 - Timing
#2 - Distributor
#3 - Stuck valve

BTW - have seen ***embly lube work for awhile on valve train components then wash/wear off. If no oil is following it up (blocked p***age), then no remaining lubrication. Stuck valve, rocker, etc. might result. That would account for it running well, then not at all after sitting or being driven for a bit to get it hot. This ***umes that the timing is correct...your first check in any case! Sometimes the tell-tale sound of missing lubricant is masked by loud exhaust.

 

I'm betting it's ignition related... Sorry to hear of these troubles. At least it looks great!

 

If it is a old non roller lifter valved engine. The oil needs to have ZDDP in it. the Zink will keep the cam lobes and lifters from giving up while breaking in. The government has removed the ZDDP. .

 

Fuel ****. Cleaned everything in the dist put it back together turned up the fuel pressure regulator from 3 to 6. Started right up and ran like new.

Thanks guys and gals. The hamb rules!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks again gary

 

Happy ending!

 

Glad to hear she is well again!

 

Thanks again. I might sleep some tonight.
Gary

 

6 PSI through 97's?! yikes

 

I would go back to the 3 PSI..

 

With 4-97s maybe 6# will work. Think I'll leave well enough alone for a while.

 

What would Kookie do??? (6 psi X 4 Stromberg = Flamethrower, and I don't mean Spalding!)

 

I do have a little less hair on my left arm. The one used to work the throttle.

 

Hey Kookie. I never thought to ask him. He sure had all the answers on 77 Sunset Strip

 

tryed to reply on your p.m you are welcome .....i had the same trouble on my car kept thinking it was spark but it was fuel related clogged fuel filter...who woulda thought ....

 

hhhmmm Where was that shot taken. Didn't he get tossed form some shows for acting up ??

 

Of course when all else fails..you can just park that T over here in my garage.Of course your T might leave with a stock flathead in it instead of that Full House Caddy...

 

On My T With Two 94's I run about 3 1/2 PSI, no regulator, it uses a VW Electric Fuel Pump.

 

They were taken a few years ago at a Pete Paulson car show at his ranch in the delta. I had the roadster apart and heard he would be there and went there just to have him sign the dash. He seemed a pretty broken man. His book (which I bought) talks about his alcohol problems. I haven't heard about any "acting up" thing though.