come to my rescue.... Skipping...

[Khyron]

all good ideas, I have some things to do later for the charger, I will pick up those spark plugs tonight...

Yes the power valves where replaced when the carb was rebuilt, brand new 6.5's

69 Charger, old fuel cap = lots of venting ;-)

hmmm, fuel pump rod.... i'll have to look into that one.

Main problem will be, when I replace the plugs, the problem will go away and I won't be able to test anything else till it happens again LOL

I wall yank the valve covers and check the pushrods and rockers...

Spark plugs are clean as hell, almost look brand new, one or 2 or lightly toastes... nice clean burn.

[ionracer24]

all good ideas, I have some things to do later for the charger, I will pick up those spark plugs tonight...

Yes the power valves where replaced when the carb was rebuilt, brand new 6.5's

69 Charger, old fuel cap = lots of venting ;-)

hmmm, fuel pump rod.... i'll have to look into that one.

Main problem will be, when I replace the plugs, the problem will go away and I won't be able to test anything else till it happens again LOL

I wall yank the valve covers and check the pushrods and rockers...

Spark plugs are clean as hell, almost look brand new, one or 2 or lightly toastes... nice clean burn.

cool! let us know what happens, i love diagnosing engine troubles..vicariously of course  hehe

[flyinlow]

The car runs fine after you change the plugs ... for a while.  What is differrent about new plugs?  If you put a your car on a Sun oscilascope you can see the firing voltage of each plug. New plugs idling run about 5000-8000 volts to jump the gap . Older,but not fouled plugs, take  a little higher voltage ,say 8000-10000.  This is with resistance wires . Voltages go up under load to 15000-20000 .   Any of these volatages can be fired by a stock ignition sytem ,let alone an MSD system. Mixtures at the extremes of the envelope can increase firing voltages. I am not suggesting you run out and buy a Sun scope , but is you ignition system providing a healthy spark all the way to the plugs?

Is you fuel system providing enough quantity to the carb?

[flyinlow]

If the engine runs fine after a plug change, then acts up after you drive it a few times.

The engine is mechnically ok , except for maybe the fuel pump push rod. Wiped cams and bent push rods do not come and go.

[b5blue]

You did so much replacing is why I was thinking some kind of drain adding up to weaken spark. Good Luck!

[Khyron]

I was thinking the same B5... each piece was replaced as a diagnostic measure, then finally as a "F it i'll replace it all" measure

I ordered my new Plugs that where suggested. I bought a bunch of wire and a new voltage regulator. I'm going to re-wire the entire ignition system then change the plugs and replace the voltage regulator with a higher end consistant one. ... yes, I was a sucker and bought the $50 one LOL

[Khyron]

flyinglow.... great information.... I wish I had a way to test the voltage on the plugs.... i suppose i could put my tounge on the end and have someone crank it over ;-)

on a serious note... i'm gonna have to find a way to test that.

[Brock Samson]

 It's cause your heartless, might i suggest you go intercept a train... 

[Khyron]

It's cause your heartless, might i suggest you go intercept a train... 

lmao! the firebird owner a friend of yours? LOL

[Brock Samson]

 no, i think it's just an inexperianced  kid that got carried away after getting popped with some weed, and panicked after closing on a cruiser at 100+ MPH in the fast lane.. and lost it off the shoulder,.. really tragic.
Sorry to read of your persistant problem off the top I'd say a carb going bad but as I read more,.. i really don't have any idea... 
Sure makes me appreciate that mine runs so damn good without much if any attention...

[b5blue]

I know you have a ton invested in new parts, I went into an intermittent no start problem the same way, swapping out 3 different ECU's, checking wires and voltage, finally gave up and bought new engine harness, A688 kit from Don at FBO and bang! Ran so well I had Don set-up a dist for my build just to really get things dialed in (phased, curved, advance and vacuum advance adjusted) and it purrs like a tiger. Mine to ran for many moons with the exact ignition set up and parts, one thing that pissed me off was it would not start and I would put a 15 year old ECU back in and then it would start! I did find problems in the old engine harness/bulkhead area, but ignition was wired separately off a switch. At one point I replaced the old switch and the new one broke! The car is trying to tell you something.......it's not in the nature of the beast to be unreliable.....like every GM I owned.   

[Khyron]

I know you have a ton invested in new parts, I went into an intermittent no start problem the same way, swapping out 3 different ECU's, checking wires and voltage, finally gave up and bought new engine harness, A688 kit from Don at FBO and bang! Ran so well I had Don set-up a dist for my build just to really get things dialed in (phased, curved, advance and vacuum advance adjusted) and it purrs like a tiger. Mine to ran for many moons with the exact ignition set up and parts, one thing that pissed me off was it would not start and I would put a 15 year old ECU back in and then it would start! I did find problems in the old engine harness/bulkhead area, but ignition was wired separately off a switch. At one point I replaced the old switch and the new one broke! The car is trying to tell you something.......it's not in the nature of the beast to be unreliable.....like every GM I owned.   

good point, well, I did take some of your advice ... last night when I was in the garage smoking a cigar I torn out the wiring for the Voltage regulator and all the wires going to the MSD box... I will rewire all of it tonight and mount the MSB box a bit closer to the battery, I started to thing the same as you "Maybe the wire is just old and not performing up to snuff"

Will have an update for you guys tonight or tomorrow. you should see the spaghetti mess of wiring I have to fix LOL

I would buy a new harness, however all my wiring is remounted and all hidden in fenderwalls, under the dash, and I would just have to splice the new one anyways ;-) may as well replace all the wiring one by one

[flyinlow]

Ok , no more voltages..

Put a phillips screwdriver in the plug boot oft a long wire (#7 or #8 plug , this will give you the most resistance). Start the engine and see if the spark will jump 1/2 inch minimum, bright blue spark.

You can run a long plug wire with a plug inserted. duct tape the plug on top of the hood somewhere it can be seen while driving.  Go for a drive after dark in your 7 cylinder car. It will be missing , but should go down the road. If the engine surges or loses power you can see if the ignition  is still firing.

Crude ,but ,effective....

[Khyron]

hehehe funny yet effective ;-) Well, I just got done re-wireing the entire ignition system with new better wire... Installed new voltage regulator, mounted the MSD box in a safe place,,, and ran out of wire 2 foot before compleating LOL

I don't want to splice because.... well, this is what im trying to undo...

I'll update tommorow.... I'll take her for a spin with just teh new voltage regulator and new wire, see if there is a difference... if not.... i "tape the spark plug to the hood" LMAO

I figure 14 gauge wire since the original was thinner...

[b5blue]

Good Luck!   

[Khyron]

O.k.... after a bit of tweeking the skip seems to be gone, I'm gonna re jet the new carb not that she's running right and maybe some better wires.... One of the wires didn't ohm good and skipped.

[b5blue]

Use Firecores! Firefighter (Ron) has them, best I ever used! Very glad you got it! I did a check, "most cars have a working voltage @ 13.5 to 14.8 volts" considered "normal" generally. (For future reference)      

[Khyron]

I need wires tommorow, can I get them tommorow?

[BrianShaughnessy]

I need wires tommorow, can I get them tommorow?

I didn't know you were still having problems Skippy!!!   

You won't get firecores tomorrow...  his trailer was setup just behind the MA booth at the Nats tho.   I meant to get a set for the 5.9 GC but he wasn't quite organized when we chatted on Thursday and I never got back around. 

But they come highly recommended...  just be sure on your lengths that you need.    You got them funky looms and stuff going on.

[Khyron]

well, 2 nights out now an dthe car is running flawless....hope i didn't jinx myself... I believe I will order a set of the firecores then, im running some cheap temp wires now... I was running teh accell 9.5mm wires and was going to get another set of those, but I would rather give the biz to one of our guys, I can loose the funny looms if it means I can run really nice wires.... so they are pre cut or can I gt a set of cut to fit?

[BrianShaughnessy]

so they are pre cut or can I gt a set of cut to fit?

Your choice.      Contact Firefightin Ron or Rick directly on his website:  https://www.customwiresets.com/home.php