Chuck Cole

June set temperature records for nearly half of the month in Washington state. It kept me from working on my way too long project; putting a 68 Ramrod 350 into a 1980 El Camino. For almost a year it has been ready to start. I bought a "brand new" hei distributor from one of the drag racing sponsors and it worked for a few seconds before the control module popped. Of course It was after I had checked the spark so I was looking for, you know spark, air, fuel. I had fuel in, a newly rebuilt Q jet and then I realized one cell of the battery had apparently gone bad in the months of sitting with a battery keeper. Okay a new battery.... Now I had spark and minutes of cranking but still no firing..It gave me a couple of sounds like it wanted to start, revolutions, with direct gas and some starting fliud, but it took the new battery down several times without ever firing. That is when I check the spark on cranking and no spark, and that is when I replaced the module. A friend theorized that the valves may not be opening fully. I was using stock pushrods and as it turned out, I needed slightly more length. I won't tell you how much as it seems to be a secret kept in the Olds vault. Some will say it is too much, some will say it is too little and some will say it is not needed, with stock length being right. In reinstalling the dstributor, I advanced the rotor one more tooth than I had been allow for the distributor turn to get the timing right. This time I could hear the engine trying to fire. After several attempts with the pour down the throat method, it was obvious that the accelerator pump was not working. Off with the carb and back to the rebuilder. The carb is UPS inbound to me tomorrow with some notes.

The point here for me is, new distributor is supposed to work and my job is to get it installed right. CHECK! I bought the most recommended HEI from a reputable source and the correct new wires and AC plugs gapped correctly, yet the module failed. The carburetor is supposed to work properly after a rebuild and it is my job to get it installed tight, with linkage and choke working correctly. A working accelerator pump does not compute with a brand new rebuild. I took the lazy route, having many tell me that with hydraulic lifters, stock pushrods would be fine and they weren't. Even the cam guy said stock! A new NAPA battery tender should not boil a battery and kill a cell, but it apparently did. It was a new in late 2019 Wally-World battery, so again I take my share of the blame for cheap instead of best! It now has a Optima Yellow top. With a new battery, distributor, (professionally rebuilt carb), AND THE CORRECT TIMING, it should have fired in October 2020. When it backfired twice and quit firing, two bent pushrods were the indicators of too short pushrods finally. I asked for help along the way and no one was willing/ I offered to pay with mileage but no takers. I had questions totally ignored in PMs. Today it is close to running, but then it was 17 months ago as well. I have little confidence in the "shops" to know about a musclecar era engines. I live 25 miles from any type of shop and I cannot get them interested in old-fashioned troubleshooting. So my project continues and it will run once I get all of the systems working. At 69, I only hope I get some fun in the sun with it now. Step one is still hearing it run, and breaking in the cam etct It is my last project, that is sure, and what seemed a slam-dunk has been a rim-check in every respect.

bccan

Sounds like you’re experiencing parts and service quality that seems to pervade our modern times. Too bad it also sounds like you might be a bit beyond geographic reach for some help to come and make a house call.

Try to keep on plugging, always keeping track of the basic foundation and settings, unfortunately remembering that you can’t trust anything!

Cmon one or two of you Washingtonians, help Chuck out!

…..

Chuck Cole

Thanks sir! It is sometimes a problem with the parts quality and sometimes my fault for assuming new parts to be working without checking them. In my life the return rate of parts and pieces is about 10 times what it ever was in the 70's. Universal fits take the place of OEM and that starts it all downhill. COVID 19 made a wreck of my progress for sure and I am convinced Oldsmobiles are only a tiny fraction of the Chevs in WA...then take down those more experienced and younger and there is no one to work on my car but me. I appreciate your effort!

fleming442

Dang, Chuck, I figured you hadn't been around because you were driving the wheels off it.
AND, remember, the distributor and firing order go counterclockwise

Chuck Cole

Yes I do