when things go wierd

osmiumfoot · Member Joined: 11 Jun 2002 Posts: 299 2387.84 points

Been awhile since I've posted here, but the Camaro is still spinning the tires. A buddy has a 64 Impala with a SBC 400 that runs low 13s on a good day. We started a project to put him in the 12s by putting on a pair of dart aluminum heads and a hyd roller setup. Buttoned everything up and lit the fire and I could tell not everyone was pulling their weight. All tubes were hot but found the compression was 210 across the board except for 4 which was 100. Squirted some oil in there and it came up to 200+. Lit it again, rechecked and it was back down so I figured ring. Just as a precaution, I blew some air in and it came out the carb, so we pulled the head and found a piece of metal on the valve seat. Fix that, reassemble, he drives it 20 miles and it quits. Haul it back to my garage, check stuff and no fuel. Find a blown fuse for the fuel pump, find the short, fix it and no fuel. Change the filters and blow the sock off the pickup, light the fire and it runs for a few minutes and dies with no spark. Electrical whodunnit point to the module, so new module, fire it, it runs for 30 minutes and dies with no spark. Another electrical whodunnit and the coil is bad. R&R coil and it finally runs, and runs well. Cars are a mystery.

Paul P · Posted: Wed Dec 12, 2012 10:52 am Post subject:

At least you were able to find the issue and address the problem although the causes are a bit of a mystery as you stated. Definitely a strange string of issues.

clay · Posted: Wed Dec 12, 2012 8:59 pm Post subject:

The aluminum heads were more conductive than the old iron heads and caused all your electrical problems. How's that for internet advice Laughing

. I'm with you and Paul - sometimes weirdness finds you. Glad to see you back around - such a cool name not to use it......Clay

SMOKEmUP · Posted: Thu Dec 13, 2012 11:32 am Post subject:

Is it possible you had something in the fuel which made it into the heads and messed with the valve and then killed the pump. When you pulled the heads to fix it you disturbed the module and coil?

I know it's a stretch.

BTW....Welcome back.

Paul P · Posted: Thu Dec 13, 2012 1:13 pm Post subject:

Yes Holmes that could be what happened. Idea

squeeezer · Posted: Thu Dec 13, 2012 4:47 pm Post subject:

women=still more weird......at least you figured out the car

osmiumfoot · Member Joined: 11 Jun 2002 Posts: 299 2387.84 points

The fuel pump issue was separate I think. The pump still worked, just popped the fuse and we found that short. The fuel wasn't getting to the carb until we changed the filters and blew the sock, so yeah, maybe something sneaked in there. My buddy pulled the heads when I wasn't there, so I'm not sure what care he took with the distributor but he's an excellent mechanic, so..... The cars are getting to be more expensive than women, but faster. ????

10sec.et · Posted: Tue Dec 18, 2012 9:58 pm Post subject: