Not making the power? - NJFBOA - Home of New Jersey's Camaros and Firebirds

BigAls87Z28 · 09-19-2006, 05:15 PM

Ok, well when I first got the car, it felt very sluggish. It was kind of a dog everywhere, and it feels as thought my Maxx has better acceleration then the Camaro does. I also remember my 87's massive torque producing TPI set up throwing me back into my seat a lot harder then the 72 does.
Even with the headers and full exhaust, It still feels sluggish? Id say that right now, in a race that the Maxx could be the 72 in the 1/4. There just isnt a lot of thrust. Ive tried to advance the timing a bit and that didnt do much. I dont know Im just not gettign the right mixture, or possibly that the 350 motor is just a doggish 170hp random crate motor, and I shouldnt expect much from it. I dont know where the motor came from, or the specs on it. I know it has the edel carb and intake on it. I should have looked at the casting numbers on the cyl heads when I have the valve covers off. I guess I expected more power out of the car. I cant really drive it that much now with the oil leak still, but Im bored and wanted to see if anyone had any ideas that I could do, without adding more parts, to possibly change this.

enRo · 09-19-2006, 05:44 PM

Have u done a complete tuneup on it yet? Back when my LG4 had 8 working cylinders, it was very very sluggish. I flushed out EVERYTHING, gave it new plugs/wires, all new fluids, new filters and wow o wow what a complete difference.

qwikz28 · 09-19-2006, 05:47 PM

what about a compression test? its possible that the motor may need to be refreshed

WayFast84 · 09-19-2006, 06:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigDaddyKane

Have u done a complete tuneup on it yet? Back when my LG4 had 8 working cylinders, it was very very sluggish. I flushed out EVERYTHING, gave it new plugs/wires, all new fluids, new filters and wow o wow what a complete difference.

word,

but my full tune up was also !air !a/c headers

what gears does it have?

IROCdan330 · 09-19-2006, 07:15 PM

gears are irrelevant at this point...if it had poop gears and was making the right power it would have top end...

what size carb is on this thing al? and is it tuned properly?

also, what accessories are spinning off the engine? (does it have a/c or power steering?)...

does the engine sound fine or does it sound castrated too?

WildBillyT · 09-19-2006, 08:13 PM

What are the numbers off of the block? Could it be a 70's smogger motor?

enRo · 09-19-2006, 09:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WayFast84

word,

but my full tune up was also !air !a/c headers

what gears does it have?

how the hell would u know. last time i checked u were 15

BigAls87Z28 · 09-19-2006, 10:29 PM

All new plugs, all new MSD wires. I didnt do a cap and rotor. The engine, Ive been told, has less then 1k miles on it. I am gunna try to check the casting numbers off the block, see if I cant see whats going on.
I only have the WP, Alt and PS running.
I belive it has a 600cfm Edel carb on it, dont know if its tuned or not. Engine runs fine, has a 2 open vacuum lines, but dont think thats going to effect much.

j0n · 09-19-2006, 10:48 PM

plug the vacuum lines
leakdown test
find the casting #s on the block
pop the valve covers and get the casting #s off the heads(this takes no time at all)
what do the plugs look like?

j0n · 09-19-2006, 10:55 PM

on second thought, scrap the above...just spray the ****in thing till it explodes and buy melissa's zz4 as a replacement

79CamaroDiva · 09-19-2006, 11:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by j0n

on second thought, scrap the above...just spray the ****in thing till it explodes and buy melissa's zz4 as a replacement

enRo · 09-19-2006, 11:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by j0n

plug the vacuum lines

thats a must

Ian · 09-20-2006, 06:19 AM

plug the vac lines. do the cap and rotor or at least pop the cap and see if its okay in there. check casting number on the back of the block as well as the front casting pad. pop the valve cover and see what heads ar on there. hopefully you dont have a 1975 LM1, 155HP 350

bad64chevelle · 09-20-2006, 06:46 AM

Al I When I had the edelbrock carb on my car my motor had a deadspot from 2000-4000RPMs, Granted, the two motors are most likely very very different, but you may want to see if you could borrow someones carb and see if that makes a difference. However, that carb works GREAT on my dads 307. If you want a hand working on it, let me know its an easy enough ride. Ill come down and maybe can get an extra carb to test out on it. I agree with the others, finding out what the engine is may be your best bet at this point. If were starting out with a smogger motor, we will most likely not get anywhere without tearing it apart.

BonzoHansen · 09-20-2006, 08:41 AM

I'm not sure what casting numbers will tell you (unless is not a 350). It's kind of moot, it’s likely been rebuilt. You’d have to take it apart. Casting #s don’t tell you bore, stroke, cam, etc.

Start with basics. Check for & plug all the vacuum leaks, get timing set right (I’d probably do cap & rotor too), and get the carb adjusted. Too bad you didn’t do compression & leakdown before the headers went in.

http://www.edelbrock.com/automotive/....html#contents

Has it got an HEI or points?

Diva, ZZ4???

WildBillyT · 09-20-2006, 05:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BonzoHansen

I'm not sure what casting numbers will tell you (unless is not a 350). It's kind of moot, it’s likely been rebuilt. You’d have to take it apart. Casting #s don’t tell you bore, stroke, cam, etc.

Start with basics. Check for & plug all the vacuum leaks, get timing set right (I’d probably do cap & rotor too), and get the carb adjusted. Too bad you didn’t do compression & leakdown before the headers went in.

http://www.edelbrock.com/automotive/....html#contents

Has it got an HEI or points?

Diva, ZZ4???

I was figuring that if it has a late model casting number (1xxxx) then it's less likely that it's a total bitch smogger motor...

IROCdan330 · 09-20-2006, 06:20 PM

i think heads are a big issue...not necessarily block...

i say do a compression test on at least 1 accessible cylinder just to see what kind of numbers it will show. for all you know youre running like 8:1 and you do have a smogger. or its one of those goodwrench truck engines...

i also say plug the vacuum lines and tune the carb.

johnjzjz · 09-20-2006, 07:46 PM

early chevys the dist vacume is manifold ( full time ) and some the vacume is ported ( only when you open the throttel ) the difference is 50 HP if you have it pluged in wrong -- do u know what dist type you have ???????? --- jz

WildBillyT · 09-20-2006, 07:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by IROCdan330

i think heads are a big issue...not necessarily block...

i say do a compression test on at least 1 accessible cylinder just to see what kind of numbers it will show. for all you know youre running like 8:1 and you do have a smogger. or its one of those goodwrench truck engines...

i also say plug the vacuum lines and tune the carb.

A compression test will not tell you compression ratio. It will tell you cranking cylinder pressure. It can hint at a static ratio but it's not definitively related.

Ian · 09-21-2006, 12:33 AM

I only said to check the head casting number and the block casting number incase they both match, then he might have a good indication of what he's working with assuming it hasn't been rebuilt to the hilt.

BigAls87Z28 · 09-21-2006, 02:12 AM

It does have HEI. I have thought about getting a tune up kit from MSD or equivilent with a stronger coil and new cap and rotor. I think Im going to pull the plugs soon and see what I find.