1965 GTO 389 bored 30 over th350 trans power steering new alternator holley 750 double pumper 1" spacer with vacuum port for PCV back vacuum port on holly is used for brake booster edlebrock performer intake mani new gates waterpump (stock 8 bolt) stock 4 row rad from some other car.. not sure
and thats about everything related to the engine
for some unknown reason, a previous owner (2 owners before me), decided to put a 65 GTO 389 in it. (this was all documented but a mechanic) she ran and drove GREAT until about 4 weeks ago. I noticed my temps getting higher and higher and not coming down.
there are a couple things here that I would like opinions on. My timing is off. Hard time cranking and starting. 3 gear heads at different times and shows have said the same thing. ( hey, fix your timing its off) just by hearing it try to start. its also overheating even with just a restrictor plate installed in the thermostat housing.
im assuming after doing everything from coolant to the plates behind the pump. timing is my next suspect? anything I could have missed?
NEXT: when I first bought the car I also purchased a Mallory Vacuum advance unilite and the matching promaster coil from someone abadoning thier firebird project locally.
being that i suspect timing and had these parts I ripped out my old dizzy. (I did notice that cyl 1 was not TDC when the distributor was aimed at it.) brought it to TDC before removing the old dizzy.
my issue is with the new distributor fitment. Its in and I tightened the bolt down and she seats fine. But I couldnt get it to seat all the way until I tightened the fork. Before I went to these measures I purposely tried it in several different spots and I noticed a distict difference in how much snugger it fit. So I cranked it down and now she seats perfect pointing at the general direction of cyl #1.
it is possible that I just smashed something out of the way? or do you think it would have fought me much harder if I didnt have the oil pump shaft lined up right? my gut tells me everything is ok and that I would have felt it in the ratchet handle if it was fighting but it just seemed like it needed to be persuaded to go into the edlebrock mani.
I havent cranked it for fear that i squished something. looking at a replacement pump online it doesnt seem like the little bit of torque I used to get the form down could have bent anything.
im thinking about removing all of my spark plugs and hand turning it. A) to listen for anything that might make a funny noise and B) to make sure all mechanical functions are working.
After that, crank it with the starter and see if I get oil pressure.
I've got a 65 389 in my bird too. Sounds like you're obsessing over the wrong stuff. The distrib to oil pump shaft connection is pretty forgiving. If the distrib is anywhere near seated, the shaft will be lined up properly. The one thing with distribs is if you have some sort of washer or gasket at the seat, the timing will change slightly when you snug the bolt. If you're worried, pull the distrib back out and look down the hole with a light and try turning the shaft with a screwdriver, counterclockwise. Not sure what you're saying about the distrib point to the #1 cyl. You align the distrib and cap based on where the rotor is pointing. The "normal" location for cyl #1 is pointing towards the firewall and driver side but it can be anywhere as long as the plug wires match up.
Bob: thanks. Good to hear that its more forgiving than I thought. Its pouring here right now so I cant even finish anything else or check anything right now. I do follow you on the gasket thing. I do have a new felpro in there due to oil in the area of the hole. its not a leak but its wet enough to collect dirt. I want to seal that up better and I agree, torquing down the bolt will compress that and rotate the gear a hair.
I read to point it at Cyl #1's general direction. what do you think would be better for keeping the wires looking clean?
got everything in and some new wires in and tested it and she doesnt even make an attempt to fire. I metered the coil and it has 1.9 volts. metered my hot wire off the ign. and got 6.9 volts. the clearly has a resistive wire somewhere and i think this is preventing the coil from firing off. any thoughts? I dont think I could have the timing THAT bad where it just cranks and cranks... aside from that, doesnt my optical pick up need a full 12 volts?
got everything in and some new wires in and tested it and she doesnt even make an attempt to fire. I metered the coil and it has 1.9 volts. metered my hot wire off the ign. and got 6.9 volts. the clearly has a resistive wire somewhere and i think this is preventing the coil from firing off. any thoughts? I dont think I could have the timing THAT bad where it just cranks and cranks... aside from that, doesnt my optical pick up need a full 12 volts?
If you have standard point dizzy, it should work with the 6.9 volts, if you have a HEI type aftermarket dizzy, then you need 12 volts. Take a look at this HEI wiring This will give you the basics on what needs to be done with the wiring for non points type dizzys.
well for starters, I had to take it somewhere. aparently I had the firing order wrong (which I disagreed with, because he based his claim on the way he aimed the dis.) I was getting too many backfires out of the carb. It starts. It barely drives. i took it home because I didnt like the shop. So I get it home I find the vacuum line off the advance just hanging. manage to get it on (tight fit with the manifold) and it still runs. the problem is now it falls flat on its face at very slight throttle. it will only DRIVE (it holds idle fine) if I keep tapping pedal in what seems to be clearing out the vacuum and then gas it hard and it drives fine. I cannot make heads or tails of this sh*tty distributor. car ran fine just a little hot before the swap.
no clue what to try at this point. carb has gas at the bottom of the threads from the bowl sight at all times. im stumped and annoyed! any advice or someone that has seen this would be gratefully accepted.
i've also I should mention this isnt consistent. I ran 70 miles with no issues and then it magically started getting hot and once heat soak set in it died. I tried turning the distributor while its on and even hot. what seems to be good while parked drives like crap. havent really driven it since this last near stranding
