I picked up a 59 elcamino awhile back. It has a 327 and a turbo 400. It ran like hell. Barely idled so I did the usual. Checked compression first. All 8 are in the 140 range. I checked for vac leaks and found a few. Intake was leaking for sure. It's a aluminum performer. So I pulled the intake replaced the gaskets and buttoned it back up. Ran a little better. Even got it idling with a lot of idle screw. Smelled like a lot of fuel. Wasn't right. But operable. The tranny was shot. So I parked it. It sat for 4 months. Finally picked up a 200r4 and got back on the project. I fired it up and wouldn't idle today. checked the intake (sprayed starter fluid where the intake and heads meet). And of course it's leaking again. Here is my question. Is the intake warped? The heads warped? Should I re tighten with new, better fastners? Do I takes warp to uselessness? Should I put and throw in another small block ? Your advice is appreciated.
I'd at least pull the intake and throw a straight edge across the mating surfaces. I wouldn't get ahead of yourself looking for another motor before you check to make sure everything is square.
take your time taking the intake off, maybe there are clues to what's going on? Like how much the gasket is compressed, how much overlap there is between the gasket and the ports on both sides of the gasket, how tight the bolts were, etc.
I would pull the intake and lay a straight edge across the flanges. If it is warped you'll be able to tell do the same for the heads. Now you are dealing with an unknown, you have no idea if the heads have been milled and if that is the case thick intake gaskets are probably going to be needed to cure it. if the intake is not warped and the heads check out then that would be the next thing I would try.
I picked up an intake at a swap meet and had similar luck with it...after many tries and much investigation, I found that had been angle milled at some point in its life likely to fit a set of milled heads.
I had a similar misadventure with a SBC intake. Took a couple of times on and off to find it, but nephew was helping and before I could get my tooling from in the shop to check it, he had it on the car already...(the second time) Lots of strange symptoms now, with all the possible combinations and 'travels' SBC parts have made... One is liable to run into anything! That is one BAD EL CAMINO, BTW. Great stance, wires look classy.
all of the above and torque the bolts when you re install the intake, don't just crank them down RFT. Love the wires, makes me want to sell my Radirs
Oaky Lotts of advice here. Get a strait edge? Where? Where does a guy get a set of extra thick intake gaskets? And my last question. Which I have always wondered. How do you torque the middle 4 bolts as my torque wrench never fits in there. Thanks again for the help and the fine words. I dig El Rocho. Just need to get it rolling again.
I use an end wrench. Torque the rest of them, then see how tight they are with the end wrench, and tighten the center ones so they feel about the same. It's not rocket surgery... but like I said, look things over carefully when you take it apart. Until you figure out what's really going on, you're kind of wasting your time.
It seems like it's number 5 and four and number 4 and 6. Shouldn't a aluminum intake flex to the warped head. ... If that is truly the case
A cast aluminum intake is a rather rigid part, it won't flex much. Look at the gaskets to see how much they compressed at the top and bottom, see if it's only clamping on one edge.
Maybe I can add something to this. When Chevy heads are milled to clean up warpage or to increase compression it changes the angle that the intake mounting surface makes with the head. To get it all back where it belongs you need to take off .030"from the head gasket surface then take off .060" from the intake gasket surface and finally take off .090" from the front and rear edge of the intake manifold where you normally run the bead of RTV. It is a lot of work and can be expensive but it will make sure everything is "square". All of the above suggestions have merit but good quality gaskets such as Fel-Pro makes a difference.
I would clean the head mounting surface and the intake mounting surface completely of all gasket material and sealant so they are shiny and spotless. Then, lay the straight edge on both surfaces, like the guys suggested.. Then, I would put the intake squarely on the heads with no gasket and run a feeler gauge all around the mating surfaces to see how much variance there is all around the perimeter. You should not be able to get a very fat feeler gauge anywhere between the two, if you do, it means the two surfaces are not parallel to one another. Also, not all intake gaskets are created equal. We are having good luck with Mr Gasket thick intake gaskets, with sealant around each port (just a little but especially around the water ports) and then we use Permatex The Right Stuff on the end seals instead of the rubber gaskets. It does sound like your mating surfaces are not the same, probably because of a valve job or intake milling. The feeler gauge will tell the story. Also, use a torque wrench and torque them according to the correct sequence (you can find that on line for your motor) and I like to torque the bolts in 3rds. If I am going to 25 pounds, I first go to 10 all around ,then 20, then the final torque of 25. Then I go all around with the torque wrench at 25 an make sure none are under that number. Don
I had problems using Edlebrock gaskets with a Performer manifold on a SBC. I found Edlebrock gaskets were not vey accurate. Switched to Mr. Gasket items and problem solved.
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