67

After running the timing with it spot on the "ball" I found that I had to change it. Start-ups were harder and the low end had stalling issues. Power was good above 2000 RPM, but with the other issues I had to change it. So I tweaked the timing a little counter clockwise (advancing it). This improved the start ups and low end issues plus didn't take away on the power. So since everything seems to be going good with it right now I decided to try another speed run. I managed to run it almost to 70 while following some other cars, but the good thing is that it could have done more. The biggest thing is that there was no vibration from the driveshaft that I could tell, although the steering wheel had a little, but I think this is because I need an alignment.

Tomorrow I'll be tearing into the car to do some much needed maintenance tasks. Rear seat belts will be one of the first things on the list. I need to adjust the rear brakes and e-brake. The shift linkage will get some new pieces also. If time permits I'll adjust the hood and maybe replace the doors. Oh and a valve adjustment.

Sweet spot

I got the timing light out last night to finely tune the 02. Got it to where the "ball" was steady in the opening and took it around the block. It felt good. This morning it was a little hesitant until it warmed up. But once warm the throttle response was great. I think I also found the valve tick issue. Sounds like it is coming from cylinder 3 intake side. So sometime this week I'll have to get in there and take care of that to quite the engine a little.

Loose CV bolts and retiming again....

This last week my 02 starting making a terrible clanking noise from the rear end. It started on my way back to work after lunch so I had no clean garage to check it out. I first stopped at Lowes and couldn't see anything. Then about half mile away stopped at a Chevy dealer. This time I noticed the bolt on the left outer CV joint was coming out. I did my best to put it in by hand, but could only go so far. I went to ask if I could borrow an allen wrench, but was denied for 2 reasons. The techs don't loan out their tools and they only had standard sizes. So using the trunk boards as a barrier between me and the wet ground I got under there the best I could to try to get it a little farther in. I knew we had some allen wrenches at work so the next thing I did was drive it slowly to work hoping nothing would break. After work I was able to get the bolt all the way in and found at least 2 others that were loose also.

With those in I figured I'd better get home. The clanking was still there though. I couldn't believe it. My next thought was, oh crap, my diff is going. I made it home and was able to check it out that night. Making sure to tighten all the bolts and double check the diff bolts and the driveshaft. Everything seemed okay. I took it around the block and the clanking was gone. So far, it has not returned. My guess is that the exhaust had come loose because of the tranny bracket and it was causing it to hit on something in the rear end, probably the inner CV joint. I did find on Friday that the rear exhaust hanger had also come off lowering the exhaust there also, so this was most likely the cause.

On Thursday I had a little time before work to see what I could do about the timing. I hadn't reset it since the new spark plugs. It felt a little off, like I had to get it to much gas pedal to really get it going. So I tweaked it until it sounded like it was better. It was. Now it revs much easier and faster with less pedal travel. I actually pushed it over 4000 RPM in 1st, 2nd and 3rd with ease.

There is still a little engine noise I'd like to take care of, so I'll be working on the valves again to make sure there isn't too much play in them. It could also be the timing chain making the noise. I also need to replace the guibo with a good one and some shifter linkage and find the low RPM squeaking.

02 is running Great

Since completing the spark plug replacement and oil change and a couple of other needed repairs the 02 has been running great. Also for some reason the front right turn signal is working like it should now. Just out of the blue it started working normally. The last time it did was almost 3 years ago. Also found out that my LED taillights weren't working good. One was dead and the other only had one LED working. I replaced both with regular 1157 bulbs and was amazed by the brightness. When I first started on this project I cleaned and repainted the taillights with chrome paint to increase the reflectivity. It definitely helped. Now I just need to make sure the bulbs stay seated correctly, going over bumps causes the left one to go out.

The 02 is definitely up on power, but gas mileage will suffer since I have to let it warm up before driving in these temps. Good thing it stays in the garage at night. Oh, it also starts much easier now too.

Running great

Last week I had some issues with the 02. The oil was foaming and it started running really rough by Thursday, even though the day before it had been running great. Well, it is now back to running great. The foaming was caused by not driving it enough. My trip to work only takes about 15 minutes normally depending on traffic lights. Apparently when it is dang cold (tomorrow it will be 0) the 02 needs to run a little longer for the oil to heat up properly to burn on condensation. Plus I was running 20W50 which is to heavy for these temps we are having. So I changed the oil to 10W40 Valvoline High Mileage sythentic blend. Also last week I had tweaked the spark plugs to .040 because of my setup I thought it could handle it. Well, it started running really rough and I thought that it had to be the plugs. So those got changed too. And I found out I had the wrong ones in before anyway. I had the BPR6ES not the BP6ES from NGK. I set these to .035. Also I found that probably when starting the car Thursday morning I must have blown a vacuum cap from one of the nipples on the intake manifold causing the rough running. After replacing it and rerouting the fuel line from the firewall to the fuel pump I took it out for a spin (after letting it warm up).

Wow! It hasn't felt that alive since I first got it running almost 3 years ago. Actually it feels even better than then. Now I can't wait for the snow to be gone so I can really see how it goes. I but I could hit 65 easy now.