sdb8976
Member
What I have is a stockish 318, old style rv grind camshaft, stock exhaust manifolds, topped with a Holley 4160 600cfm/dual plane air gap (I know, I know) intake. Disclaimer: I had no idea what I was doing and a little bit of money when I did this stuff 4 years ago or so.
Recently found the base plate was cracked pretty good on the carb (not actually my fault, thanks mr "certified mechanic"). Never had issues driving it, but it was running rich as all hell to compensate for the leak. Took it off, replaced the plate/rebuilt the carb, put it back on. Retuned the carb. Now, it still idles okay, in and out of gear, but it's got a slight wobble to the idle rpm, and it shakes randomly like it's misfiring every so often. Anything above 800-1000 rpm is smooth as glass. Good spark from all wires and coil.
I drove it every few days for a month or two after rebuilding the trans, dealing with the slight stumble off idle/part throttle due to my intake choice, then pulled the plugs, and they're all ashy white. So now it's running lean? It starts up with no problems whatsoever, once it's warm I only have to crank it once and it fires immediately. It's definitely a bit down on power, but I'm not convinced that's not due to the non-rebuilt motor with 350k+ miles on it. No cat at the moment, the exhaust smells fine. I never notice any sort of smoke from the exhaust except light oil smoke after it's sat for more than a day or two. I've tried the good ole spray and pray with starting fluid while it's running, never noticed any change in rpm, even when spraying directly on the throttle plate bores. Engine never climbs above 195f even in 95+ degree heat.
Should I just leave well enough alone? Buy new plugs and run it for a while and see what the deal is? Low compression?
I'm hesitant to put too much effort into it as I'm saving to go big block/rear end upgrade, yet that's more than a few months away. It would be nice to be able to know I'm not about to melt my motor if I wanted to drive it to work and around town semi-frequently. Any advice appreciated.
Recently found the base plate was cracked pretty good on the carb (not actually my fault, thanks mr "certified mechanic"). Never had issues driving it, but it was running rich as all hell to compensate for the leak. Took it off, replaced the plate/rebuilt the carb, put it back on. Retuned the carb. Now, it still idles okay, in and out of gear, but it's got a slight wobble to the idle rpm, and it shakes randomly like it's misfiring every so often. Anything above 800-1000 rpm is smooth as glass. Good spark from all wires and coil.
I drove it every few days for a month or two after rebuilding the trans, dealing with the slight stumble off idle/part throttle due to my intake choice, then pulled the plugs, and they're all ashy white. So now it's running lean? It starts up with no problems whatsoever, once it's warm I only have to crank it once and it fires immediately. It's definitely a bit down on power, but I'm not convinced that's not due to the non-rebuilt motor with 350k+ miles on it. No cat at the moment, the exhaust smells fine. I never notice any sort of smoke from the exhaust except light oil smoke after it's sat for more than a day or two. I've tried the good ole spray and pray with starting fluid while it's running, never noticed any change in rpm, even when spraying directly on the throttle plate bores. Engine never climbs above 195f even in 95+ degree heat.
Should I just leave well enough alone? Buy new plugs and run it for a while and see what the deal is? Low compression?
I'm hesitant to put too much effort into it as I'm saving to go big block/rear end upgrade, yet that's more than a few months away. It would be nice to be able to know I'm not about to melt my motor if I wanted to drive it to work and around town semi-frequently. Any advice appreciated.
