The mighty 318.

[Unkle Krusty]

The story so far. I have a 77 camper van. Got it for free, and managed to spend about $15,000 and stopped counting.
We have been to the Arctic Ocean and Yellowstone, and all around Vancouver Island. This year we are going to Alaska.
We have 10 ply tyres, bilstein shocks, a rebuilt steering box and all kinds of other stuff.
The engine. I used all Edelbrock stuff. Manifold, carb, cam, lifters, springs, chain as suggested by them. But I had an annoying tick. So I took off the inlet manifold and the pushrods, lifters and studied the cam. It all looks good to me.
One piston was not firing and I suspect it is the new plug wyres. They emit stray electricity that I felt up my arm, and could see zapping thru the rubber insulator. I am looking for words of advice and encouragement, and any thoughts on what to do as I put it back together.
One pushrod has some wear marls on it, but not serious, and I did not study it enough when removing.
Compression is a low of 150, and a high of 160. No pics of the rockers until next week.
No metal bits in the oil filter. Cam looks good to me. I have not turned the engine by hand yet.
Next week after Valentines. We have enough power, just, for the job.

The 727 is working fine, as is the new radiator and all the other new parts.

 

[R413]

Firecore spark plug wires are excellent. He has them made to fit the stock wore looms on muscle cars, or you can tell him the length you want each wire.

Nice positive click on the plug, not leaving you wondering if they are on correctly.

 

[Unkle Krusty]

Firecore spark plug wires are excellent. He has them made to fit the stock wore looms on muscle cars, or you can tell him the length you want each wire.

Nice positive click on the plug, not leaving you wondering if they are on correctly.

Next week I will return the new plug wyres to the auto store, and check the continuity of the wyre to the plug that was not firing. I used the correct plug wyre removal tool, and pulled each wyre and listened for a change in the engine. One wyre in particular, was shorting directly thru the rubber insulation to the head.
I could see spark travelling thru the rubber, to the head, and often feel the zap going up my arm.

The hydraulic lifters feel quite solid. Not sure what pressure is required to collapse them. More than I can press down with a screwdriver. I will also check the wear pattern on the original cam, and the lifter pressure on the old lifters.

Later I will ask about the benefit of rollers for the rocker arms, or stay with original type fixtures. The push rods are adjustable.

 

[Don Frelier]

If you have autolite plugs I wouldn't be surprised if one didn't fire.
Did you try swapping 2 plugs?

 

[Unkle Krusty]

If you have autolite plugs I wouldn't be surprised if one didn't fire.
Did you try swapping 2 plugs?

No, I did not swap plugs. I will check next week for brand, might be Champion. The heat range has been suggested as 5, using NGK grading, and that is quite hot. I have wondered about that. 6 or 7 seems more reasonable to me. I do not run the Tukvan in the winter months.
I will need to put it back together before anymore running can be done.

 

[493 Mike]

Just sounds to me like a spark issue. Perhaps plug or wire. It is easy to overthink these things.
Mike

 

[R413]

Just sounds to me like a spark issue. Perhaps plug or wire. It is easy to overthink these things.
Mike

You can see zapping from the wire and fell it up your arm.

So your have at least one bad wire. It's a van, not quick or easy to remove the engine cover. Spend some money on quality wires.

 

[Unkle Krusty]

Yes, I will be back to the auto store next week for some decent plug wyres. The 318 is apart for me to check the cam and valve gear and compression. Shown above. 150 to 160, save you looking. And I had an annoying tick, origin still unknown. Taking the weekend off for Valentines. Back to work next week. Might have more to report

 

[R413]

These are best quality, what you need on a van

340 Chrysler Small Block Factory Fit 7mm Spark Plug Wires, Black FF-1202-7

 

[Unkle Krusty]

Thank you R413.