Got the Malibu on the road, but has no power.

[Phoenyx]

The engine might of been bulit on HALLOWEEN. A 267 dressed up as a 350.

That thought crossed my mind, but I have to say it pulls pretty hard once it revs up. Not like I think it should, but to hard for a 305 or smaller.

 

[Phoenyx]

I was going to say that with that cam your power band is moved up and would feel like a slug down low compared to a stock 305 that was designed to have good torque in lower rpms. But going by your sig it looks like you have a higher stall converter so that shouldn't be that bad especially with those gears but your cam does suggest 2500 and up stall. When trying to break stand, how high are you bringing the rpms up, are you babying it or really mashing on it?

Yeah I was kinda thinking that with the RPM range, because after about 1-2 seconds the thing launches (no 400HP, but a hell of a lot better than the 305 was). And I kinda just babied it trying the brake stand. Now it will break the tires free, but it's about the same, if not a little worse than it was with the 305. The converter seems to be only stalling around 2000-2100, but I haven't really played with it yet (it's my first non stock converter). I also tried just mashing the gas from a dead stop, absolutely no spin at all.

Then I think, maybe it's because of the rear suspension set up (in my sig). But I'm running non performance 195s, so they should still break free without any problem?

I still haven't touched the vacuum advance canister. So I might not be getting any vacuum advance at the moment. And I still need to give the whole advance curve a tune.

Then there's the carb. Problems could be there. It's a fresh out of the box 600 cfm Edelbrock. I have never dealt with one of these. I plan to put a Quadrajet on in the near future (and lucky for me my intake can do spreadbore too. And that reminds me of something else. Because the intake was for either square or spread bore, the mechanic put one of those 4 hole square to spread adapters on. He said going onto a spreadbore intake it needed one (I don't know if he even noticed it was dual pattern?). Could this be causing a problem?

Another thing I noticed is that the engine seems to surge a bit. Only below 2000 RPMs. I've never run a cam this big, so I don't know if that's normal or not?

Also have a bad coolant leak. My lower rad hose looks really scary, and it SEEMS to be coming from there. So I picked up a new one today. Hoping it's that and not the water pump. But if it is the pump, that hose needed to be replaced anyway (the wing-nut that put the engine in was supposed to put all new hoses and belts on. But all he replaced was the p/s belt).

I haven't been able to do to much the last few days, been having bad weather. Even a rain/snow/hail/thunder/lightning storm. But looks like it's gonna be clear for the next 5-6 days.

 

[84sbcregal23deg]

get someone to check WOT with you to make sure that the throttle blades are opening all the way.

 

[Phoenyx]

get someone to check WOT with you to make sure that the throttle blades are opening all the way.

Damn, I was gonna do that and forgot. Thanks for reminding me lol.

 

[DoubleV]

Since you say the guy who sold it to you is a real piece of work, have you considered your engine isn't what it is claimed as being? For example, you list 10.5 CR but it's possible it ain't anywhere close to that. You say the heads have been worked over, but maybe they weren't or worse still maybe they were and they did such a horrible job they actually flow worse. The cam you have may not have even been degreed properly, making it a dog down low because it was installed retarded. Just pointing out your entire build could be a sham, but hopfully it's not. Your car should scream and that includes spinning the tires easily from a dead stop.

 

[Phoenyx]

Since you say the guy who sold it to you is a real piece of work, have you considered your engine isn't what it is claimed as being? For example, you list 10.5 CR but it's possible it ain't anywhere close to that. You say the heads have been worked over, but maybe they weren't or worse still maybe they were and they did such a horrible job they actually flow worse. The cam you have may not have even been degreed properly, making it a dog down low because it was installed retarded. Just pointing out your entire build could be a sham, but hopfully it's not. Your car should scream and that includes spinning the tires easily from a dead stop.

That crossed my mind too. But it does seem to make a lot of power once its up there in the RPMs. I was cruising the speed limit (50kms or about 35 miles) the other day when a nice new black Lambo puled along beside me. Now with my car not being tuned, and the fact it was a Lambo, I wasn't going to try anything. But then all of a sudden he hit the gas, and I couldn't resist so I did the same. Of course he pulled away (it's a Lamborghini), but he couldn't get his rear bumper passed my front one. We only had about, maybe a block to play and I'm sure on a long strait away I would have been left in the dust. But the fact I kept up with him as good as I did, tells me it has to be making some kind of power. There's just nothing on the bottom end.

 

[DoubleV]

Keeping up with a Lambo impressive as it sounds isn't really a true sign of haveing a fast car. What I mean is, maybe this particular Lambo was a 'Lamebo'. Maybe he wasn't trying? Maybe the driver sucked? Or maybe, just maybe, your car truely is fast, but not being able to spin tires and saying 'it seems to make alot of power makes me wonder. It should'nt seem 'OK' or 'pretty decent'. It should feel 'fast' pure and simple.

Many times when a new motor doesn't have much down low but is good up top it's many times a case of the cam installed retarded. Could be other things of course too. I would give it a compression test to see what kind of cylinder pressure you're making.

Maybe I missed it, but is your timing ( initial and total ) and at what RPM is it all in at?