Water in cylinders, now what?

[LT1B-Body]

Does it get spark?might be ignition coil under the cap. It will spin but never fire

Nice big blue arc. (At the plug)

 

[LT1B-Body]

I actually have a good running TBI 305 that I may put in.
The only thing is that it's in my Caprice wagon.

Would it be particularly difficult to keep the TBI system?

 

[Ribbedroof]

It was very noticeable compared to my LT1 (I know, LT1, but still)

I like 'em. They make good solid drivers. If GM hadn't gone LS, I think there could have been a lot more development of the Gen II.

 

[Texas82GP]

I had no appreciation for the LT1 until owning one. There are some things I don't care for but they are not gutless turds, at least compared to the malaise era engines I grew up with.

 

[Supercharged111]

I like 'em. They make good solid drivers. If GM hadn't gone LS, I think there could have been a lot more development of the Gen II.

Yes, but it would have been limited and probably would have still fallen short. Maybe not by much initially, but I suspect that the Gen IV+ would have especially suffered.

 

[LT1B-Body]

I was mostly referring to the rocker movement. And the fact that the LT1 cam is fairly large.

I do love my LT1, my stock 4k lb boat of a car will embarrass an older mustang GT in a drag.
I do believe as well that the Optispark has an undeserved rep for unreliability.
That said, pass side plugs and wires are a big pain to change.


Btw What are the stock cam specs for the LG4?

 

[Wageslave]

I actually have a good running TBI 305 that I may put in.
The only thing is that it's in my Caprice wagon.

Would it be particularly difficult to keep the TBI system?

Most TBI systems are pretty independent of the rest of the car that they are installed in. If you start by labeling and disconnecting each individual plug from the engine, then pulling back the wiring harness to the firewall bulkhead, you can pull it all through into the passenger compartment. Then, you can unplug the two connectors that go into the ECU, remove the ECU and whatever mounting brackets are attached, unbolt the ALDL connector from the bottom of the dash and cut any wires that do not lead to the ECU harness (leaving a pigtail that can be soldered to). Then unplug the connector that connects the ECU harness to the dash harness (this will have the +12v power and switched ignition wires along with the check engine light wire. That should be all you need for the electrical.

As far as the fueling, you will need to add a fuel pump either in the fuel tank or in line on the frame rail that can handle TBI pressures. You will also need a return line back to the fuel tank as the pressure is regulated inside the TBI throttle body. If your current mechanical fuel pump has 3 hoses coming out of it instead of 2, you are good to go. Then just cut the two hoses going to the throttle body back as far as you can and take them with you.

Not terribly hard and it is pretty well trodden ground online.

 

[64nailhead]

If you have spark, then check compression. If you have over 100psi then it will fire if you have fuel and spark at the correct time. If no fuel, then poor some gas into it.

Looking at the valves, are the pushrods easily moved up and down a little bit? If yes, then put a fork in this thing unless you complete a full tear down and repair.

 

[LT1B-Body]

Not sure about the pushrods yet, but I tested valve lift with a dial indicator and found around .020 lift.

Closed

Open

 

[fleming442]

I wouldn't waste too much time with diagnosis. Even if you get it running, it's a total crap shoot on the longevity side of the equation, unless you pull it apart for inspection, rings, and bearings. Why waste the money on a 305?

Cheapest, easiest is to grab a running 350, then stab it in.

As far as the cheap <chuckle> LS swap, I thought the same thing when I did my Series 2 swap. For all intent and purpose, it is an LS swap minus 2 cylinders. Almost all of the wiring was the same, and the Series 2 block has all the LS goodies like a roller cam, EFI, cross bolted mains, etc.- just add a counter balance shaft in the cam valley. I think it still cost around $2k, even getting everything (motor, trans, wiring, computer) for some Olds parts in trade. That was 3rd venture into the modern engine retro fit, but I used all factory parts. It also only lasted a couple hundred miles before spinning the #3 rod bearing (90k hard, neglected miles at install).

You need to watch more Roadkill. "Don't get it right; just get it running" - D. Frieburger