1983 Cutlass Calais “The Cripples Cruiser”
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So the other day I was driving the car started misfiring then died out it would crank fine then occasionally pop off like it would start and die immediately then it seemed to stop sparking at all but randomly. Hooked the spark tester and no spark from the distributor so I checked spark between the coil and the distributor and there was spark but not how I like to see it so I tried another coil I had same result. By this point the battery is pretty low but I was still getting 11.51 to the coil which should be plenty to at least run. Pulled the distributor cap and saw that it looks like there was corrosion or material on the contacts so I cleaned it off tried again with same results.
at this point I’ve ruled out coil, voltage, contact corrosion so it’s obvious something is up inside the distributor issue is this is a msd ready to run distributor so I looked for the spare parts and the new magnetic pickup ignition module combo is about 130 which of course is more than I’d rather spend at the moment. I was looking around and noticed there are quite a few HEI distributors on amazon and other places with great prices.
since my build is so mild and accidentally has such low compression I wonder if the MSD is actually worthwhile I doubt it honestly has much effect on the overall performance of the motor.
anyone have any recommendations if I were to swap for one of the cheaper HEI what year I would get it for and of course if it would be worthwhile to recurve it once I do. I’ve found 5 star rated HEI with coil in the cap for as low as around 50 which sounds better than 130 to me at this time considering I’m not having many benefits from the msd.
thanks
at this point I’ve ruled out coil, voltage, contact corrosion so it’s obvious something is up inside the distributor issue is this is a msd ready to run distributor so I looked for the spare parts and the new magnetic pickup ignition module combo is about 130 which of course is more than I’d rather spend at the moment. I was looking around and noticed there are quite a few HEI distributors on amazon and other places with great prices.
since my build is so mild and accidentally has such low compression I wonder if the MSD is actually worthwhile I doubt it honestly has much effect on the overall performance of the motor.
anyone have any recommendations if I were to swap for one of the cheaper HEI what year I would get it for and of course if it would be worthwhile to recurve it once I do. I’ve found 5 star rated HEI with coil in the cap for as low as around 50 which sounds better than 130 to me at this time considering I’m not having many benefits from the msd.
thanks
Yea I personally don’t see much of the difference ignition wise other than easier tuning for timing considering the fact the motor is lacking the other upgrades to make it worthwhile and truthfully not sure I can justify to myself spending 130 just to repair the msd
Bought a HEI distributor off amazon for about 45 dollars and then wired in the HEI two wire pigtail and set it to TDC got everything in and started it started but was way too rich so I tighten the idle mix screws of course accidentally too much so it was idling but under load occasionally it backfired out of the carb and died but other than those times it needs tuning but I didn’t have time because my daughters nap was over so I assume when I get it timed right and the mix right it will stop with the carb backfire.
how do I set initial timing and how do I know the curve and total timing in the distributor since it didn’t come with that info?
how do I set initial timing and how do I know the curve and total timing in the distributor since it didn’t come with that info?
Crank the timing as much as it will take. I run around 60 degrees part throttle on 8 to 1 Olds V8, set idle where ever it falls. I say around 40 with base and mechanical, I think the vacuum canister has around 20 degrees, go off manifold vacuum.
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I’m thinking that possibly now that the MSD distributor gave up and then I replaced with an amazon HEI but still can’t seem to get it tuned or running what I think is right.
There must be something internal there are no vacuum leaks the intake has been resealed and is great and of course the rear passenger plug came out looking like coolant was burning.
Pushrods and tray looked good.
so if I want to get to the bottom of this I’m thinking the heads will have to come off.
they were sent to the machine shop when the motor was built no idea what all was done to them just know my dad said one of the seats I believe was cracked and was welded.
They’re #5s
the short block was done by the machine shop it apparently had to be done .30 over and the pistons are Keith black so we lost a bunch of compression and the short block and heads were assembled by the machine shop however we had to put the heads on and the rest.
when I go to check the heads what should I check for?
Is there anything I need to check on the bottom end?
Can I reuse the head gaskets and bolts or will it require new?
My intake gaskets are fel pro metal gaskets can I reuse them?
thanks
There must be something internal there are no vacuum leaks the intake has been resealed and is great and of course the rear passenger plug came out looking like coolant was burning.
Pushrods and tray looked good.
so if I want to get to the bottom of this I’m thinking the heads will have to come off.
they were sent to the machine shop when the motor was built no idea what all was done to them just know my dad said one of the seats I believe was cracked and was welded.
They’re #5s
the short block was done by the machine shop it apparently had to be done .30 over and the pistons are Keith black so we lost a bunch of compression and the short block and heads were assembled by the machine shop however we had to put the heads on and the rest.
when I go to check the heads what should I check for?
Is there anything I need to check on the bottom end?
Can I reuse the head gaskets and bolts or will it require new?
My intake gaskets are fel pro metal gaskets can I reuse them?
thanks
FYI.....The #5 heads are one of the best factory castings you could have chosen. They flow well and have small 64cc chambers which bump the compression. The dished Keith Black pistons are a good choice and work well with these heads. If you had flattops your compression would be too high for pump gas. I ran #5's on my 403 with dished pistons and always had to run high octane to prevent detonation. Even then it was an issue on hot August day's and I had to cut back on timing.
I heard that previous my dad picked them so I can’t claim credit though to my knowledge the block wasn’t decked or anything so having dish pistons down in the hole a ways like it is has ruined my compression couple with modern head gaskets more so I’m thinking the crack in the head either didn’t seal or the weld broke so now I’m thinking about pulling the head and checking because something is up but I’d rather avoid paying for extra parts to check so I am hoping I can reuse most of my gaskets and bolts to put it back together in the event I am wrong or I can’t afford to repair
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