I was coasting downhill and had the clutch in since there was nobody else around and a little more speed wasn't going to hurt
When I got to the bottom, I let the clutch back out and there began an incredible racket
The car still runs, but it's now hellaciously loud
And it seems to be hunting a little for idle
So, what would you experts recommend as the first places to look to figure out what the problem is?

Thanks in advance,
Charles

how fast were you going when you let the clutch out? what gear?

valve(s) bend?
Andy

something around 70 and in 5th
It shouldn't have bent the valves, but who knows
The revs didn't jump up terribly high though, so...
Any other suggestions?

did it backfire? what kind of noise?

Andy

It was just loud
There wan't any backfire and it seemed to be a relatively normal noise, just louder (akin to pulling the exhaust off and running it open)

well, a backfire can damage your exhaust ...
Andy

Tisk, tisk, yer not supposed to have the clutch in going down hill according to my high school dirvers ed teacher

I am with Andy, exhaust possibly.

Ya
Exhaust was what I was thinking and I've started to pull things apart to look (and replace the exhaust and HEs with a Kerry Hunter setup while I'm at it)
As for the clutch in, it was for my own good
Otherwise I would have been obligated to accelerate even more and who knows where that might have left me

Nope, on a long hill down shift and have the engine help your brakes decellarate, otherwise you will be left with nothing but your brakes slowing you down and when they over heat and they fail you will be screwed. Just my $.02
Kerry Hunter? Man you got some nice stuff. Lucky....

No need to decelerate, just no need to accelerate either
As for the Kerry Hunter, it's used and I got a pretty good deal on it

Some closer listening and looking at a few things led to discovering that it blew out the #3 spark plug
So, a thread insert is really all it needs
Which is good because I would go broke if I needed to tear into the engine (because while I'm in there...)
Thanks for the help
This is why this club is a great place

Thanks
Charles

Aw man, that still sucks out loud. Good attitude, though.

check the rest while you are at it.....

Sorry to rain on your parade, but if the plug blew out, the head is cracked ...................... Bet on it. An insert may work for a while, but in the end you'll need to pull the head and have it fixed right. The Cap'n

Jeez thats what fueled my fire for a six banger....at an autoX lost an insert, yeah the plug had already be serted and it blew it out....no more for me.....good luck

Hopefully the head isn't cracked
But that is certainly something I'll watch for
Seeing as how there were next to no threads left, however, I am left wondering if it wasn"t just an incredibly siezed plug that brought the threads with it in the past (DAPOs)
anyways we'll see
Anyways
Thanks to all of you who answered