1983SS

So after searching on everything I can think of I am still no better off. I am looking for some help...I have an 83 Camaro that came with the stock carb'd 305. I have nice little 355 that I had built, RPM heads/Cam Wieand intake and a BG carb (or a performer 650 carb), Keith black pistons ect..I can not get this thing running right, I can tell its a timing issue. The car has very little power and I am sure the fact that we cant get the balancer setup right is the problem. The car has an aftermarket timing cover with the two oclock timing tab. I know stock is the 12 oclock indicator, but there are no provisions on this cover (edelbrock cast cover). I have a lot of time and money tied up in this car and need to get it going. I dont understand why with an all new motor and distributor (accell HEI) I cant get this thing dialed in. I have run the piston up to TDC on compression and marked the balancer but still cant get anywhere. Should I swap out the balancer and cover and go with a stocker? I am getting desperate and could really use a hand. I am not an auto mechanic but am a pretty decent Harley wrench. I have checked all the obvious (to me) things; plug wires distributor timing, cam gear alignment, valve adj (car has great compression). Thanks in advance Guys and sorry for the long post.

Jered

five7kid

iTrader: (14)

The proper way to determine TDC is with a piston stop. Put the timing stop in the spark plug hole, turn the engine over (by hand) until the piston comes up against the stop, and mark the damper where the "0" is on the tab. Without disturbing the piston stop, turn the engine over the other direction until the piston comes up against the stop again, mark the damper where the "0" is on the tab. Exactly in the middle of your two marks is TDC. Mark that permanently.

However, if you have a stock damper, you might as well get an aftermarket damper made for the 2 o'clock timing tab (closer to 1:30, but whatever) that is already marked for full timing. Given the sloppiness of manufacturing these days, especially with stamped parts, going through the TDC steps still isn't a bad idea.

Assuming you aren't using a computer controlled carb, total mechanical timing should be around 36 degrees BTDC. Depending upon the cam, initial timing could be anywhere from 8 to 20 degrees BTDC (probably closer to 20 with an RPM cam). Personally, I prefer vacuum advance on manifold (full-time) vacuum - helps improve idle quality.

Gumby

here are my timing notes, once your sure where your marks are at.

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/tech...ing-notes.html

sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

First thing to do is PUT DOWN THE TIMING LIGHT; second thing is, ADJUST THE TIMING.

It's real simple:

Drive the car. What's it like? What does it do? etc.

Stop the car. Loosen the bolt. Turn the dist one way or the other. Tighten the bolt. Drive the car. Is it better or worse?

Better: Stop the car, loosen the bolt, turn it some more the same direction. Worse: stop the car, loosen the bolt, tunr it back to where it was, and then about that same distance farther, the other way. Tighten the bolt. Drive the car. Better/worse?

Repeat until no further improvement is obtained.

NOW pick up the light, and see where the mark is, and whenever you disturb it for any reason, you know where to put it back to.

It's just a car. It's not rocket science. The ENGINE will know when the "timing" is right, and I can tell you right now, it's not using a light to find out. Give the engine what it wants. If I may quote someone in a completely different field, "If it RUNS good, it IS good". Don't outsmart yourself.

You will eventually find that the REAL problem is right here:

You will NEVER be happy with it as long as that POS is in it. Get rid of that, and put in a GOOD, modern cam; you will find your "timing" problems will magically get a whole lot better.

1983SS

Thanks for the direction guys I will tackle it this weekend, just have to pick up the piston stop. On a related note exactly what is so detrimental about the RPM cam? it seems like it works fine in the cars with the complete RPM package. Is it some issue with the general profile, lift, duration? Thanks again for taking the time to write a response.

Gumby

I will agree that once ya get the hang of it, I have had good luck with the drive n twist method.

Ive only picked one up as of late to try and better tune things.
which is why I need notes

sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

No; no more so that it "works" "fine" in any other combo. It's just as crappy no matter what heads, intake, and carb are around it.

It's one of a series of cams that came out about 40 years ago. EVERY generic cam mfr makes (or sells) copies of those old grinds. You can buy the IDENTICAL EXACT SAME cams on Summit for example (K-1102, K-1103, K-1106, K-1107 is the RPM one, etc.) for about a third of what Vic charges. The lowest 2 are "The RV Cam"; the next one is the "mild cam" you've heard tell of; the 3rd one doesn't really have a name; and the 4th is also the "RPM cam".

They were decent enough cams in their day, but that day has long since come and gone. That particular one makes good power, as far as that goes; but for the power it makes, there's MODERN cams that will make the same power with a tiny fraction of the "big cam" aggravation (bad gas mileage, poor idle, ZERO leave, poor fuel economy, no torque, bad cold weather manners, excessive fuel consumption, and oh yeah, bad gas mileage); or, flipped the other way, if you're willing to accept that specific level of "big cam" hassle, you can get cams that will make ALOT more power. It's just ... obsolete. The human race has come a long way since that thing was first created.

In short, it does nothing well, and everything else poorly.

Besides that, not too much wrong with it.

1983SS

"In short, it does nothing well, and everything else poorly."

Thats an awsome quote..sad..but it made me laugh

, when I get it running and decide if im going to keep it (baby on the way) maybe I will through a different cam in it one weekend. I will have to look at the invoice (its been five years)to tell head CC but I think they 64CC. Any suggestions on a cam?

Thanks again.

sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

What is the rest of the car? (gears, converter, approx weight, etc.)

What does the car do well or not do well now? What do you or don't you like about the cam? What would you keep about it? What do you wish it would do better? What would you give up to fix it? (i.e. would you be willing to give up a little power for some gas mileage, give up some streetability for more power, or whatever)

What is the car's primary use?

Yes I believe those heads are 64cc; you can find their complete specs on Edelbrock's site.