Nicolas '59 Raven Black Tbird

[jopizz]

Ignition, fuel and vacuum have nothing to do with compression. Compression is rings and valves. Dave is correct. You will never get a good idle with the results you have. Exactly how did you do you the compression test. Did you have the throttle wide open. Were all the plugs out at the same time.

John

[Nicolas]

Ignition, fuel and vacuum have nothing to do with compression. Compression is rings and valves. Dave is correct. You will never get a good idle with the results you have. Exactly how did you do you the compression test. Did you have the throttle wide open. Were all the plugs out at the same time.

John

I know John, but I'm trying to understand why is the engine running rough at all rpm when it was running fine when I started the car and when for a test drive. What happended in between ?

How I did the compression test ?
One by one, placed the sensor, started the car for 3 to 4 seconds and jumped to the next one. I had all spark plugs installed except the one I'm testing.

Values in the correct order.


1 --> 85
2 --> 85
3 --> 105
4 --> 105
5 --> 135
6 --> 90
7 --> 145
8 --> 105

Sequence with firing order :
85 - 135 - 105 - 85 - 90 - 105 - 145 - 105

I tried to change the spark plug wires as I saw some spark coming from my fancy looking wires. So I changed back to normal style. No effect on the engine.

I will open the carb tomorrow. See how it looks in there. Could be some crap inside my carb ?

I will try to call you again Dave but you're line is always busy.

Off to bed now. It's late in Europe !!

Thanks guys.

Nicolas

[jopizz]

If it was running smooth as you say then there are a number of possibilities. Your carburetor may be dirty as you suspect. Is your gas tank new. If not then that's a distinct possibility. It's also possible that you have sticking valves and may have bent a push rod or two. You will only know that if you take off the valve covers. How did the spark plugs look. That will tell you a lot about the condition of the engine. Another possibility is that the valve seals cracked from age as you were running the engine and oil started going down the valve stems and eventually fouled the plugs. There are certainly ignition related problems that could cause it to run rough. However if your compression results are true then you certainly have issues with the rings and/or valves and nothing you do fuel or ignition wise is going to make it much better.

John

[Tbird1044]

Nicolas:
I would pull all of the spark plugs out of the engine and remove the power lead going to the coil/pertronix (that will prevent spark and feedback to the module) Then have someone crank the engine with the throttle wide open. Make sure you get at least 3-5 compression strokes, per cylinder, during the test. Test each cylinder and let us know what you get. If you need to crank the engine over yourself to do the test, you can just jumper the S terminal of the starter solenoid to the battery + to get it to crank.
Nyles

[Nicolas]

Guys...

Good news ! I found the problem.

Coming out of the fuel pump, there was a tubing completely burnt and it could not handle the suction and the angle of its position. The fuel flow was restricted and the fuel pressure was unsifficient.

Fixed the problem and the bird runs beautifuly again. Re-checked the compression and they are all between 110 and 135. I guess the liquid I used to clean the engine did arm the sealing. As my mechanic said, never use this s****, you're engine will lose the sealing effect of the oil on the cylinders surface and you might not be able to start your engine again.

Overheating was certainly due to the engine running lean.

I also fixed the noisy steering by the simple procedure of hanging the front and turning both sides many time. Perfect !
Well... back to the next step.

I now need to fix the problem of the overheating of the headlight switch.

Next steps :
Brake cable
Mounting of the fender skirts
Repair the radiator support
Patch the floor passenger side and rocker panels
Fixe the carpet and passenger seat

Close to the end but still some time consuming tasks to go through.

THANKS A LOT FOR YOUR HELP ! EVERY COMMENT HELPS ME. PLEASE DON'T STOP !

Nicolas

[YellowRose]

Nicolas '59 Raven Black Tbird

Nicolas, that is great news! A pretty simple fix, it seems like. Now you can get on with the other projects! Congratulations.

[Nicolas]

Guys,

I need to replace the brake cable but I can't figure out the procedure. I would save a lot of time with a little guidance. I've been using the search section but couldn't find the answers I'm looking for.

My cable is broken at the junction with the lever under the car and is stucked in the guide.

I will try to replace it with a Lokar cable.

Nick

[Nicolas]

Slowly, slowly, catch the monkey...

[YellowRose]

Nicolas '59 Raven Black Tbird

Nicolas, is that the paint scheme you have on your Tbird now, or what you are planning on doing? I think it really sets it off nicely, IMHO..

[Nicolas]

Ray,
That's the final paint scheme ! Some finition here and there, but that's it. I have to fix the passenger seat and replace the brake cable and I'm good for inspection !