hi guys, i just got my 350 running with an economy holley 2 barrel and a HEI distributor. i turned the engine over by hand & felt for compression in # 1 to the timing mark, then i went back and set the distributor timing, there wasent alot of science involved in this though, i just kinda guessed by putting the #1 spark plug nub over where the rotor is, & it fired up the first time but it had a little bit of back fire through the exaust and carb. i herd that my spark plugs & wires may cause too much resistance inside the dist cap. they are the platinum ones i actually think they're double platinum or something. to me it sounds like my timing is set to far advanced, should i move it back a little? & that would be clockwise right?
I don't use the platinums in this application. The old ignition systems weren't designed for them. They take roughly twice the KV to fire over non-platinum. On an old ignition system you run out of max kv quickly. Yes I know everyone sells them, resist! Now I hear Autolite is Chinese. I guess that leaves delco-remy. But no platinum, iridium, whatever on old engines with stock ignition systems. Gotta get a timing light on it next. Break down a buy a cheap one.
I really doubt platinum, iridium, or decent plug wire are gonna cause issue's... Autolite run the best in Fords, that's why Bill Glidden and others run them.... Chevys run good on A/C or Accells. But when I say good your tallkin a 10th in the qrtr..... Your small backfires, are caused by any of the following. Cheap valve not seating, Timing off, Hairline crack in distributer cap causing the spark to migrate, or..... what I think it may be.... A rich mixture and a slight exhaust leak, so when the engine is decelerating, its moving rich exhaust out the exhaust pips, and ****ing in cold oxygenated air, thus causing rumblings which is actually bursts in and unconfined space..... The only thing iridium and platinum plugs will get you is longevity, but at a cost....
Was it backfiring while running or just cranking the motor? You could have some valves adjusted too tight. you could have a couple of plug wires crossed. You could have a vacuum leak. Never heard of platinum or iradium plugs requiring more KV to fire. They use them to make longer lasting plugs. He is running an HEI, should be plenty to fire them if they do require more KV.
er turn the dist counter clockwise smidgen while running might take it out ... and or get it timed the correct way as said above
Well they say a lot of things. Here is a truth you don't run solid core wires with an HEI you run carbon wires or spiral wound wires. Now as for your farting if it is farting in the exhaust and the carb it is not a timming problem. Poor timming will either be retarded or advanced too much and it will either fire in the pipes or the intake not both. So here is the list, bad valves, bad cam, bad control mod, bad plug wired (bleeding across), loose electrical connections causing a miss fire. Sticking valves, lifter/pushrod problems. But you can rule out timming with your description of the problem. Now to all you Ford, Olds, Buick, Cadillac, Mopar, Jaguar, Bently etc guys. Pay attention this is not a Chebby specific diagnosis, this is auto mechanics 101.
Well kick me in the balls and throw me in dog ****!! A ****in 10th? Where were ya when I needed ya? A 10th is a full car length! Now that I got that bit of levity out (don't take it personal), there's no ****in way I ever got anything to run better than a gennie Autolite in my race BBC. Not only did it run better (but not a full 10th better) the plugs lasted forever. I used the same plugs for over 150rnds and changed em "just because". Yes I kept the old ones and still have them. I tried Champs, Accell, A/C, NGK, 2 maybe 3 weeks worth of running and they'd simply fail on random cylinders. "Yeah but in what?" some may ask. 477, iron Merlins, 14.11:1, .714 Comp roller cam, Dart 4500 manifold with a 1050 Dominator, jets were 92 to 95 depending on the time of year. Best ever, 10.32 @ 129.89MPH, 3545# at the starting line, 10.5 tires. The car averaged 10.40s. Went through the traps at 7800. So what does this have to do with the O/P? Not much, but you really should get a timing light and run through the basics. The basics will never let you down, and my ol 477 was living proof. Your problem could be a whole lot of different ****. You might need to rev it up and unstick some valves. How long has it sat around? Did you back all the rockers off while it was dormant? Are you sure there's no cracks in the cap? Vac leak? Crossed wires? Is it just a used HEI? The pickup coils can drive you crazy searching for issues. The little green wire like to break off after a couple dozen years. Or was it the tan one? **** I don't remember, but hit the basics.
"Well kick me in the balls and throw me in dog ****!! A ****in 10th? Where were ya when I needed ya? A 10th is a full car length!" Thx for the coffee on the monitor Highlander, I was thinkin' the same thing. Gonna get me some of those plugs!
well, it was in my 1991 chevy silverado that ran perfectly fine, so when i took it out i diddent do anything with the valves heads or cam, i just removed the TBI manifold & replaced it with a Quadrajet manifold, (currently adapted to a small holley 2bbl.) and used block hugger headers, torqued to about 23 ft lbs. so there is nothing wrong with the cam valves or heads for sure, the only thing i can think of is the timing- or overloaded wires cause its HEI, or carburetion problems, & the carburetor came off my frineds international scout, with a 266 v8, he gave the truck to a tree, (crashed) but it ran fine before that.
Gotta do some diag. For diag you need some basic tools like timing light, vacuum gauge, compression gauge. Just telling us that everything was OK last week, month, year, whatever on parts from two or three different vehicles isn't enough for us to go on.
Without you putting a timing light on this thing, there is no need for any further discussion. If you don't know what you got, no one can help you get what you want!
ok, i got a va***e & compression gauge, might make a trip into town tmo for timing light, how much do they usually cost?
But both of you didn't read, he is runin an economy carb..... Doubt he cares about a 10th Hey highlander... I hope you feel better.....Seems you kicked yourself in the balls !!! But you Michigan boys do know how to drag race.... Good times at Milan.....Great folks.....
actully that econ carb is just on cause i know its tuned, as soon as its runnin good with that, im gonna put on my quadrate
def break out the timing light as others suggested, also make sure everything is set up right on a small block chevy, when up on number one compression stroke, take the cap off and the rotor should be pointing to the number one cylinder and should also be pointing at number one on the cap, I have see MANY times where people do not have their distributor on number one and do all types of stuff to get it to run right and have backfires etc, start with the basics, I bet you will find an issue, how about post some pictures when on number one, rotor should be facing like this when the motor is on number one correctly, timing marks lined up, rotor pointed towards that cylinder etc...the terminal on cap highlighted with red arrow should be number one...many people say, oh you can make your own number one, doesn't matter etc etc, well this is how Chevy did it, set the car up correctly like this and if this is where your timing issues are, they will be corrected with proper set up
I said don't take it personal bud, but I've never seen a 10th from a plug change in a racer. Now, if I had some clapped out hipo driver that ran like ****, took it home and tuned it up, tried again, maybe I'd see a 1/2 second. On a well sorted race motor, a 10th from a plug change would be a company I'd buy stock in the moment it was proven. A year later I could probably go back to racing Just sayin, and again I did say, don't take it personal. If you get to Milan again (I like the 1st Fri/mo Heads Up gigs), look me up, I'll buy us a coffee...or a beer.
hey guys i got it all figured out, i set it at 4 degree timing adavance and put on a 2bbl from a 1965 ford 352 that i just rebuilt, now it runs like a champ. no backfires, no knock or any miss when i romp on it. all it does now is sound like a champ. had it run at idle probably like 600 RPM for like 15 min & it ran great. the computer dyno that somebody looked up said that it would run best at 4 degree retard, but i dont think thats true, what is the logic in that?
I didn't take it personal, especially from the Michigan folks. I have since sold my car. I enjoy Drag racing, and worked on my buddies Alcahol FED and Top fuel FED teams, but my lungs aren't cooperating. So I let someone else enjoy my car. If I get up there to spectate, I will look you up.... Big engines up there..... Glad you got it figured out !! Now you can enjoy it
Timing chain, make sure it's right and also make sure it's not stripped at all. I have a thread up about low compression, my car is backfiring. Was curious in learning the causes and how to fix it. check it out, some good stuff in there.
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