Would LOVE to get rid of it AND the damn parts car that got dumped on me.They have absorbed over 20 years of my life and storage
Well, I figured out one of the problems with the timing. I was and idiot and set it by the advance mark on the balancer, instead of the initial timing mark. God knows how far advanced it was... maybe 42 ish degrees? Didn't have a chance to drive it, but I noticed that when you rev is for a second or 5 and let off, the timing stays around 12, until the RPM drops below 750. Then it settles back to 10 degrees, where I set it. May have to put a stiffer spring on one of the advance weights.
While working on my Buick, I added this to my bucket list: "Track down and beat the *@$! out of anyone who had anything to do with developing the side post battery."
Took it for a drive tonight. WFO and no pinging now! Seems to run really good at 10 degrees initial (should be 30-31 total). Looking back at my notes, that is where it was last year at this time. Connected the vacuum advance (VA) to manifold vacuum to see how that works. Took it for a spin and seemed pretty happy. Previously I had it connected to ported vacuum. May go back to that though. It seems harder to start with it on manifold vacuum. Fortunately the road that leads up to our hood is 55 MPH, so I don't have to go far to test the wide open throttle pull. I leave it in second and hammer it after the 1-2 shift. Sometimes right before. I noticed some shake in the front end at 65-70 mph and it seems to track the imperfections in the road. I may add some toe in to it, after looking at the chassis manual again. I set it for 1/16 inch. Manual says 1/8 - 1/4 inch. Will try 1/8 first and see how that goes. I'm currently at 1/4 degree negative camber and 2 degrees positive caster on each side, which are not even close to the factory spec, but what I wanted for better handling and steering stability.
Pulled the hood off the Riv in preparation for doing the lifter swap. I know, overkill but if ya have the tools use em. Its so much nicer having all that room and light to work. Also installed the timing cover, fuel pump and water pump on grandmas Buick ( 84 Regal) primed the oil pump. Not holding my breath for this thing to run.
Reinstalled the Q-jet again after reworking it to the specifications I got from Cliff and his rebuild set. Fired right up, but it was late, so I shut it down again. It only ran on the choke. Hope to have some time today to test it a little bit, otherwise I have to wait until Friday.
Not today, but last night. I reset the toe-in on the alignment for another 1/16 of an inch. Now the toe in is at 1/8". We'll see how that works out when I drive it tonight. Got a late start last night, and it was too late to go anywhere by the time I was done. Here are a few photos of the set-up... Note that the tape measure is pulled tighter than shown. I couldn't take a picture and pull on it at the same time.
Pulled the intake off the Riv, removed and inspected the lifters. I see no issues as far as a bad cam lobe. Replaced with new TA 1405 lifters. Will set up the pushrods and install the intake tomorrow If Im feeling it after work.
Glad the cam looks good, given the recent supply problems. From the outside, those old lifters don't look bad at all.
I took the Buick for a drive tonight, to test out the revised toe setting. Seems to drive a lot better now. Went to the grocery store... It still did not want to start when I went to leave the store and it was hot. Started right up when it was cold though. This is aggravating and I may look into putting points back in it...
Nice! I like the setup. I need to figure out how to check my alignment. It’s a fresh frame off resto and I put back the same number of shims in the arms and set the new tie rods to same length. It drives straight but no clue where to start and how to check the alignment.
Thanks! I read a lot of things on line, the chassis manual, and watched a few YouTube videos. It's pretty time consuming. This video helped a lot with how to take the measurements
I love this!! Years ago I'd taken the GS to an alignment shop; it came back with a crooked tiller, etc. etc. I really launched into those guys. I said "I could do a better job using yardstick and a string."
