New car...first time at track....need help

Old 04-09-2009, 05:27 AM
  #1  
maydayneal
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Default New car...first time at track....need help

Hey guys....

KCIR had a test & tune session last night. Took the new Nova up there and made some passes. Did a great burn out....staged up and hit the gas at the green.

Thats when the gremlins appeared.....so thought I would tap the experience and knowledge here for some things to begin checking on to figure this thing out.....

So when the car launched it almost immediately nosed over and sounded like I had a bad miss and would not climb above about 5500 RPM....in first or when I went to second. In park you can rev the engine to 7K with no problem....so the problem seems to be under load.

Thought I might have a fuel pressure problem....we checked the gauge at the carb and it reads about 6.5 pounds...now that is in park with reving the engine up to 6000 rpm....again not under any load.

We checked the timing at 3000 rpm and it was at 28 so I adjusted it up to 34 degrees advanced.

Ran again and really no change.

The car is also having some difficulty starting and idleing....especially in drive.

Car specifics:
78 Nova backhalfed on 9" ladder bar. Running a small block 358 with a PG.....Holley 4150 750 cfm carb..huges 6000 converter. Ignition is an MSD 6AL w/Mallory blaster coil. I was foot braking the car last night and not using the trans brake yet.

I plan to check on some things today....here's my thoughts

* Check carb - verify butterflies wide open at full throttle (peddle)
* Pull & check all plugs
* Check valve springs for any valve lash
* Recheck timing

Any other thoughts/suggestions about things you would check? I figure its a process of elimination.

BTW...even with the problems....loved it!!....and working out the bugs is all part of the game.

Thanks!
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Old 04-09-2009, 06:39 AM
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bbchevy
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Default ???

Check and see what Chip is in the 6AL Limiter??
Later
G 8)
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Old 04-09-2009, 07:08 AM
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TheYellaBrick
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Sounds like fuel starvation...

Ya have a healthy flow of fuel when you WOT with engine off?
Accelerator pump intact / sufficient ?
Float level correct ?
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Old 04-09-2009, 08:03 AM
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mopar1968
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Jet extenions :?: :?:





'' JUST MY TWO CENT'S WORTH''
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Old 04-09-2009, 10:10 AM
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CamBirdRacing
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Put bigger squirters and accel pump cams on the carb. Like Mopar said, jet extensions on the rear and make sure your vent tube plastic thingy is on the front metering block. If it's a Holley.
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Old 04-09-2009, 11:49 AM
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curtisreed
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Originally Posted by mopar1968
Jet extenions :?: :?:





'' JUST MY TWO CENT'S WORTH''
And float level.

Curtis
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Old 04-09-2009, 11:54 AM
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maydayneal
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Default Re: ???

Originally Posted by bbchevy
Check and see what Chip is in the 6AL Limiter??
Later
G 8)
No chip at all.....adding a 3 step this weekend. My assumption was that there would be no limiter with no chip.

Bad assumption?....cause a problem?
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Old 04-09-2009, 12:40 PM
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fishmanjoe
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HEY MAYDAY,It sounds for sure your motor is starving for fuel.fishmanjoe
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Old 04-09-2009, 04:07 PM
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maydayneal
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Dang guys.....I think I just figured it out. The throttle cable is a little to long and when you put the peddle to the floor the rear butterflies barely open and the squirter is not pumping......the front is wide open but the rear is not. So thinking about that would have me believe that the front half of the engine is getting plenty of fuel and the rear is not ...the engine is trying to come up on the RPMs...but the rear cylinders are crapping out due to fuel starvation.

Am I tracking??

Kind of embarrasing :roll:
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Old 04-09-2009, 05:27 PM
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curtisreed
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In your first post you said you verified that the peddle was bringing it to wide open throttle???
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