We got it running today. I wanted to ensure my distributor was in correctly (I was sure it was but wanted to double check). I hooked my compression gauge to Cylinder #1 and cranked it over...NO compression! Just then my technician friend showed up. The only thing we could think of was perhaps the rockers weren't adjusted properly (we did this by the book too-tightened the jam nut while turning the pushrod until it just gets snug and we then tightened a conservative half turn afer that). Well, we pulled the valve covers and loosened up all the rockers. We cranked it and it fired right up! I cut my old valve covers to help avoid oil splash and we did a quick adustment to quiet them down. I'm going to have to do it again-we were getting so much oil all over we decided to put the new valve covers back on and break the cam in. I hooked up the tach I'm going to use for my in dash unit and let it run for 20 minutes at 2500rpm. I then incremented it 100rpm for a minute until I reached 3500. During the initial run I had the rad cap off- BIG mistake. Coolant poured out of the rad and made one helluva mess. Turned of engine, cleaned things up, put rad cap on and started again. Got the break in period finished and called it a day. Still lots of little things to do like modifying my trans kickdown, fixing a leaking fitting on the intake, cleaning things up, adjusting the valves and timing etc etc. I'm relieved it runs. Here's some pics of the event (debacle?)

Before shot:



The devastating broken pushrod find:


Intake on:

Getting closer:

If it don't go, CHROME IT!

On goes the Holley:



Smokey break in shot:

My mickey-mouse tach:


Well, I can add an in-car cam swap to my "been there, done that" list. Quite frankly, I don't care to ever do one again (at least in the car- on a stand with everything fresh would be nice)! Time will tell if everything holds together. What started as a simple intake swap turned into an expensive nightmare. Isn't that what having old cars is all about?  So much for getting my interior completed!

It sounded quite good, esp at idle!

Great work Todd! And now that you've done one, the next one will be half the work...

Oh, can I give you some constructive criticism? I know of at least one car that has burned because of a long piece of rubber fuel hose. They don't seem to hold up in long pieces. I know it's a pain, but it is likely worth your while to try to bend up something metal that just has the short rubber pieces for the inline filter.

Oh, and love that smokey shot!


-- Edited by Carl Stevenson at 22:00, 2008-05-23

Will do. Now any suggestions on how to get the kickdown to work with this set up? The mounting pad for the cable is too far back from the throttle linkage. I'm sure I'll figure something out but need to know how much that cable can move before kickdown happens. Anyone?

That cable should be pulled all the way out minus a fraction of an inch (to keep from yanking on it) when you are at full throttle. I modified the bracket on my Acadian when it was a TH350. I actually made it up from two brackets. Can't really explain it, but get the cable mounted at wide open throttle and you will see where you need to have the bracket.

Wow, sounds like lotsa trouble, I only owned the car briefly-it smoked at first-likely because it sat nearly twenty years, ran great after that. I put plugs and points in it, changed the oil and filters.I drove the car to the burlington cruise to sort of test it before I would drive it to fall barrie, on the way home it ran beautiful-starting it up in the morning to drop it at the muffler shop for a replacement crossover pipe because it ran so good I wanted it to sound good too rather than have the rusty split cross over-it wouldn't run, barking and spitting with no power to move it, three plugs were wet, the wires were originals so I changed the wet plugs and the distibutor to a HEI with decent wires, still ran poor, fuel filter was plugged, I dropped the fuel tank and man was it full of crud-actually scrapped it off the bottom of the inside of the tank, seemed to be sand in there too-likely the previous owner's ex-wife (it was in her garage five years) I put the tank back in, ran strong but barking through the carb-had to be cam I thought-I pulled the valve covers to find two broken push rods and one bent, the one bent one had the inside of the lifter popped out-I reached in with a magenic (advice from the neighbour-retired GM mechanic) when I tried to lift up the piece it fell right side up in the lifter-I replaced the push rods for a try, and set everything-tightening the push rod with the poor lifter slowly as it pumped up-the car ran great-no miss. lots of power etc.. I only drove it a few more times before selling it to the guy in Guelph-he drove it all the way back-he only complained about the crack in the rubber nose between the bumper. I always thought the push rods bent due to some kind of sabotage but I likely must have over reveved it on the highway-not that I was pounding on it but thats the only explanation to the broken/bent push rods-trust me I was frustrated for a while too-trying to make it run right-but it did run good, then the rear wheel cylinders started leaking.

now two cents of advice, check and double check the valve springs and what you can see of the valves, there could be more damage.

on the positive side it also never used oil so if it runs good now it'll likely be a good bottom end.

did you say poor threads on a rocker arm stud ? was it one of the ones with new push rods ? I don't remember anything like that, maybe someone else had problem prior.

 Oh, and one more I remember putting a new 160 thermostat in the car when I quickly flushed the cooling system-the old one was OK (it was a 195) but this car sat twenty years so I was afraid the theromstat could fail-someone after me must have pulled that thermostat for some reason. it never ever got hot for me-very strange-I believe you need a thermostat(or part of one) for some restriction of coolant flow.

positive no matter what-it appears to have an incredibly good body for a Canadian car-better to change mechanical parts than weld sheet metal and grind rust.

Good luck, hope all goes well-don't pound on it wuth that 4 bbl !

Ken

No you are not  theres lots of was to fix it     Big block  Diesel  Electric  no problem....

Not a lot of demand on ebay for a 2bbl intake and carb from a Canadian Pontiac Todd!!!

Carl Stevenson wrote:

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Not a lot of demand on ebay for a 2bbl intake and carb from a Canadian Pontiac Todd!!!

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It is all in marketing. Sell it as a date code matched set for that Concours restoration!