NorthVette

Hi all, I'm relatively new to the forum and was lurking to get the feel of the forum (so this would be my 1st message) and you seem like a pretty cool guys, and I was wondering if I could get some help or opinions from the group....?

I have a '79 (RPO-L48) witha "replacement" engine (not sure if it is L48 or ?) that is supposed to have some Edelbrock goodies (cam (I don't know which one), intake-Torker, and carb-1406 (elec. choke-600 CFM); it also has an "unknown distributor" and Dynomax or Dynoflow headers.... Now to my prob...

The car has a backfire, missfire, stalling and a "lopy idle" and a most recently a loss of power... And things are getting worst!

I don't know what to look for anymore (in denial) I've replaced the cap, rotor, wires and plugs, set ing. timing... I fear a top end rebuild...

Any help out there?

TIA :-(

79MakoL82

You may need a distributor re-build. There is a great guy on this forum that does rebuilds by the name of Lars. You may try contacting him if he doesn't respond to this thread. Personally, IMHO, your problem sounds like a distributor problem, not a top end re-build.

Jvette73

You say it has elec. choke. If the choke flap on the carb isnt opening when it should it could cause symptoms like sluggish stalling and bad idle. Check to see if you have 12v at the choke wire connection on the carb. Also the choke spring could be bad itself. You could tie the choke open to see if it improves.

Does the engine make any mechanical noises like valve tapping or knocking? If not then a simple compression test can tell you the overall condition of engine and cylinder pressures. On a compression test its not totally important how high the readings are, but more that readings for each cylinder are close to each other.

NorthVette

But even with an electric choke, would the probs. persist even after the car is up to full temp? All noted symptoms are present regardless of engine temp... And yes, there are mechanical clues for a top end rebuild... A clicking noise is present at idle, but fades away at higher engine RPMs...

Jvette73

If the choke is not opening after the car is warm it will cause problems. Small fix but big problems. Verify that its opening all the way by warm up. A # of things could keep it from opening. Binding linkage, no juice to the wire(key on posistion) bad or disconnected spring.

On your tapping problem at idle. It sounds like you could use a valve adjustment. Unless you have poly locks, its typical for SBC rocker nuts to back off and cause the extra lash in the valves. Valves that are noisey at idle but quiet at speed usually indicate the need of a valve adjustment.

Any exaust leaks from the header flanges or collectors?

You can check for smooth dist operation by connecting the timimg light to each cylinder one at a time.Point the light at your hand and look for a steady, uninterupted, consistant flash pattern. If the the light is skipping flashes or dancing irratically at all, then you have a problem with ignition. Do this check at idle speed. It should be a steady...flash...flash...flash...on every cylinder.

79Corvette02

FYI. Your Carb is a Performer Series Edelbrock 600 CFM w/ the electric choke. The part number is indeed 1406. Contact them and they can send you a manual free of charge. they did it with me and it's great.