What's in your engine?, Found out what's in mine. Options

[Joe Ricard]

If you cam shaft looks like this I bet it is hell of a fast car.

[Phoenix914]

If you cam shaft looks like this I bet it is hell of a fast car.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/av-943.gif)

[r_towle]

I cant seem to see the line that talks about the camshaft.

What IC shows that you had a full rebuild, new seals, reground crank, headwork, and new P/C's

If its FI, and stock, you will need to figure out what Cam was put in there or you will waste alot of time chasing your tail.

When was the last tune up done?
When was the last time you adjusted the valves?
Are you running points, or petronics?
New plugs, wires?
New dizzy cap?

There are alot of ignition items that need to be checked and set properly prior to chasing the FI system.
The FI system is really pretty basic, and it either works or does not...not alot of in between.
The key items that can be checked are the CHT and the MPS.

the rest is all about vacuum lines...all must be present and not leaking or it will run bad.

Really there are alot of simple tests, but the ignition needs to be perfect first. This also means the valves need to be set.

Rich

[Phoenix914]

I cant seem to see the line that talks about the camshaft.

What IC shows that you had a full rebuild, new seals, reground crank, headwork, and new P/C's

If its FI, and stock, you will need to figure out what Cam was put in there or you will waste alot of time chasing your tail.

When was the last tune up done?
When was the last time you adjusted the valves?
Are you running points, or petronics?
New plugs, wires?
New dizzy cap?

There are alot of ignition items that need to be checked and set properly prior to chasing the FI system.
The FI system is really pretty basic, and it either works or does not...not alot of in between.
The key items that can be checked are the CHT and the MPS.

the rest is all about vacuum lines...all must be present and not leaking or it will run bad.

Really there are alot of simple tests, but the ignition needs to be perfect first. This also means the valves need to be set.

Rich

It took me a while to find the camshaft description on there too. It's near the lower right corner written over the line that says "gas, oil, grease."

I have never adjusted the valves, but I probably haven't driven it more than 150 miles, either. A valve adjust is proably in order and i'll see to that soon. It's just that I've been busy trying to stop the decay and get it basically running to this point. The maintenance can now begin! I need to order some new misc. body seals soon and might as well get some valve cover gaskets too. And the right feeler gauge. Maybe I can even buy these locally.

I replaced the plugs and wires, but not the dizzy cap. The ignition system is stock, but I am open to suggestions for an updated electronic system. I've been considering buying a new vac hose kit, just to rule out any problems there. The existing ones could be original for all I know.

This car sat for a long time before it came to me. I believe there is in the neighborhood of 30k miles on this rebuild. The original owner lived in CA before coming here (MD) in the early 90's and couldn't find a decent mechanic here and isn't mechanical himself. So the car sat for a long time in a state of disrepair. I'm slowly breathing life back into it.

Thanks to everyone for all the helpful replies. I now have a lot of things to check and fix to get this beast running right. The vac hoses, the MPS and CHT will come first. Then I'll work on the harder stuff (I've never done a valve adjustment). (IMG:style_emoticons/default/unsure.gif)

[Phoenix914]

Well, for starters there's no F&%#$@! resistor in line with the CHT!!! "Hey, Bubba, wut's this little long skinny thang?" "Dunno, Roscoe. Jis take it off. It's so small it must not do nuthin'." (IMG:style_emoticons/default/WTF.gif)

Looks like a trip to Radio Shack is in order. Do you think that might help the cold running problem?