It runs! This thing damn nearly kicked my ass. I've been trying to get this thing started off and on for about 6 months. It's a fresh rebuild that has sat for over a year. Plenty of spark and fuel but it would not kick off. A new Comp cams cams and I was so afraid of wiping the new cam constantly cranking it. I was sure that I had done something wrong but I couldn't figure out what. I had a friend come over today to check out what I did wrong. Part of his diagnosis was a compression test. 60#s on the pass bank and up to 90# on the drivers side. I thought I had messed up the cam install or something. I was really losing my confidence in my abilities. We squirted some oil in the plug holes and it sounded different. It started and of course the garage filled up with smoke but it was running. We broke in the cam and all is bright and sunny in Davidsonville. I feel like the weight of the world has just been removed from my shoulders. I did not want to go to the garage for awhile. I need to adjust some things but It will start and run now. Even the generator that I rebuilt is charging 14 Vs I had polarized it just in case and sure enough it was charging it's ass off. It turns out that I had done nothing wrong and now that the cam is broken in, I can dial it all in. Sorry for the long story but I had to share my relief. Now I can build the rest of the exhaust system and start the body and paint work. Everything has been on hold until I got this thing running. Did I tell you how tickled I am????
Super sweet, Tommy!!! I know how frustrating it can be to have no idea what could have gone wrong. I'm glad it was simple, and your confidence is where it needs to be!
Good for you man !!! Nothing like the sound of a fresh motor firing up for the first time!! Now ENJOY it. You should be happy. Cheers....
I don't know. I had never experienced anything like this. That's what had me going nuts. The engine was never fired and came from an engine "mill" and sold through Pep Boys. I put the Comp Cams in it and rebuilt the carbs. The old Mallory has been converted to Chrysler electronic ign. So many unknowns but apparently everything was done correctly. I thought so but I was beginning to doubt myself. The book says 170# compression. We were reading 60 -90. That's a hell of a difference. The cam overlap could be part of it. It starts and runs easily now. I'll give the rings a chance to seat and then do another comp test if necessary. My heart sunk when it came up 60# but it must be a lot better now. It sounds good anyway. I hope it will start tomorrow.
It sure is nice when some long standing mystery finally gets solved. We all go through it in one form or another. Right now I'm trying to get an old electric temp gauge working, but it doesn't have the same gravity as your incredible looking motor. Good going!
It could have been lightly rusted faces on the valve seats that were open for a long time. As soon as it fires and runs a few minutes, the rust is gone and the valves seated fine. My Olds sat so many decades that the crank journal oil dried out and they were rusty. I am doing bearings and a crank right now, but decided to swap in a new-but-old Crower. I too, am all shell shocked about wiping a lobe.. Oh, and you might care...I found an original 2 post cowl mount antenna for my 32 today. It has the transparent red ball tip and extends about 8 feet! My car has brazed up mount holes just like yours did.
Much happier subject than what i thought i was gonna be reading about. Sounds kinda like the lifters werent built up. Glad to hear it all worked out!
My digital camera quit a few months ago and I still haven't replaced it. I don't do video. No I don't have a smart phone. I'm too old for that shit. I had to have a buddy add some phone numbers to my flip phone so I don't have to dial every time. Too complicated for my dumb ass. Thanks for the compliments. The nicest thing for me to hear is that it looks like the 60s....early 60s. I went to a lot of trouble to get that look.
Hey Tommy-- Congratulations!!!! I want to hear that sucker now! Maybe the low compression on that one bank was due to gas washing the cylinders down. That oil you shot in there sealed it back up again. Regardless of the reason, it is good news for sure. Al
The cylinder walls went dry from the engine sitting and oddly enough, the compression goes down the drain too. Its one of those things, if it hasn't happened to you, its hard to believe. I first ran into it when waking up dormant stock car engines after a winter's nap. Bob
A ton of gas washing past the rings can do it as well. Give the dipstick the sniff test to see if the oil is contaminated. Bob
Great job, Tommy. I always knew you would get it worked out. I'll be by there soon to see the progress. I kinda hibernate during the Winter....Donnie.
That may be why I was so paranoid. I had a carb problem and ruined a brand new 396 once. So I was very aware of excess fuel. I really didn't crank it too much do to my paranoia. Been there..paid that price. I had lubed the cylinders when I was turning it over on the engine stand. I'll probably never start a new engine again but If I do, it will get the cylinders lubed before I do.
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