Hello out there, i got my car a couple of months ago and havent been runing it. Everything was fine but now i started turning it again and it ran no problem, turned it on the next couple of days and noticed i was drinkin gas like there was an tommorrow and the next couple of days it was kicking off alittle smoke from the carb. Ima shut it down until i fix everything. This is my first car and i really cant pay much for a mechanic and i really dont trust them either. Its a 86 with a crate engine(350 ho) and a 5 speed. I need some books on all the mechanical stuff(engine,brakes,etc) and other simple maintence(my friend has a 68 and i would really like to put it back on the streets, has mechanic keeps "fixing" it and it still dont work). What books am i getting, What do you guys use. If i can fix this thing my self i can save alot of cash and might be able to make alittle extra on the side. PLease guys help me out.

 

Get a haynes or chilton's manual - they aren't the best, but they'll do. Search on here for free - most every problem ever encountered is in here, somewhere. Stickies at the tops of the forums are a good place to start too.

Sounds like you need a basic tuneup to start with. Invest cash into a good jack (a $29 walmart job will do fine until you need a transmission), a timing light ($13 at harborfreight.com), and the tools you need along the way, and skip the "mechanic" - there aren't many left in the world, there's only "technicians" now. Mechanics diagnose based on driving a car, and FIX things. Technicians just replace parts according to "the book" - you can do that yourself with a haynes manual and some basic tools, and with the vast resources here on TGO. I've been here for 3 years - I've spent half on tools that I would have on "technicians" - and now I have just about every tool imaginable!

Skip elcheapo parts whenever possible - especially things like sensors and stuff that is hard to get to - you don't want to have to do it twice!

And if searches fail you here - ask us - you don't learn anything without asking first - that's why we are all here - just try the search feature first - most times it's faster than waiting for a reply!

 

We have a family owned and operated shop which I work at, and I can quite honestly say that an honest and good mechanic is a hard thing to find. We're probably the last honorable ones left

I'd suggest to buy some starter tools, you can get some cheap ones at Autozone or Kragen - I bought a starter set of professional ones - $700 bucks and that was just wrenches, ratchets and sockets. Air tools are WAY expensive. I've got a 125 piece set of cheap *** ones from Kragen (like $40 bucks) - they work pretty good for junkyard or a quick fix at home definetly.

Then grab a Haynes or Chiltons manual, do a few searches here and start fixing

 

i'm going to go ahead and poopoo the haynes/chilton. If you're going to own the car for a decent length of time, and plan on doing a fair bit of work on it, go ahead and get the Helm manual. That's basically the manual the GM dealerships had to work on the car. Its an unbeatable manual when it comes to wiring. It's twice as thick as a haynes, and is specific to one year only. My manual is good for an '82 Firebird/Transam, it doesn't mention anything about TPI or TBI or 700R4 trannys, so the info in it, is good as gold. $40 compared to $25, but that's negligeable.

make a post in the carb board in reference to your fuel problem. Find out what carb is there too.

 

Wow - $700? I've been collecting for over 3 years now, I'm pretty sure I haven't spent $700 - but I'm sure you have good tools!

I save cash by getting less expensive, but warrantied tools. Craftsman (Sears), Pittsburgh (Harbor Freight), Benchtop (Walmart). The Craftsman are replaceable in any store, the Pittsburgh & Benchtop are functional, but not really worth the hassle of replacement since they are so cheap and you have to mail them off - I just buy new ones when needed.

And EVERY tool kit needs a can of PB Blaster - it's $4 at Advance/Autozone, and is absolutely necessary for getting stubborn bolts loosened - light years above WD40.

I'd love to get a Helms - never knew about them - but I've managed with a $15 Haynes for most things.

 

Damn, I miss the days when I thought $700 was a lot of money for a complete set of tools. My box alone was $4000, and that's Snap On's entry level line!

 

Tell me about it. One of our employees had a $10,000 dollar "Macsimizer" box with about $30,000 dollars worth of tools in it (and on it)! I'm happy with my cool $700 dollar set of Mac tools. At least I got ratcheting wrenches, those were what I REALLY wanted!! My dad has all Snap-On stuff.. one of his 9mm 1/4" sockets got lost recently.. $20 to replace it!

Craftsman is a good brand for a starter set imo. They're cheap and if they break just go down to Sears and replace them for free. They're reasonably durable as well as long as you aren't using air tools or a 1/2" breaker bar with a chrome craftsman socket Get impact sockets for that!

The helms manual is also called an FSM or Factory Service Manual. They're flat out awesome resources, but a bit more pricey compared to the $12 chiltons or haynes. FSMs go for near $50 from the dealer. If you've got the scratch, get one! But keep in mind, they're make, model and YEAR specific. Sometimes engine specific as well.

 

Will the haynes manual help me with my crate. Nothin in my engine bay is stock, from my t5 back is stock. I will grab either the haynes,chiltons ill think about the expensive one. I want to be able to hook up after market goodies aswell as keep my car running good. I think my boy has all the tools at his house but if he dont ill grab some. Wont i need a torque wrench to do engine mods, i noe certain parts need to be torqued down to a certain spec, could i get away with doin it with a regular socket wrench. What other books should i be lookin at, i would love to just learn enuff to take care of my car aswell as my friends rides. I noe i NEED to hook some type of fuel injection to my enigne whether its a multi port or the cheaper system, unless i can hook up a carb to run with no problem(i noe guys ran them all day in the 60's). Im a young guy and im not goin to let those "mechanics" rob me, i rather learn it on my own. What other books should i be reading.


Urbanhunter i wish ur shop was in brooklyn, i would just take it to you. Aint nothin i can do now but learn.

 

I have haynes and helm, just for more points of view. The best part of the helm, IMHO, is the cutaway view of the car, showing WHERE each wiring harness goes, what color each wire is, what gauges it is, where it's hooked to the car, etc etc. When the PO was a real mickey mouser hack artist, finding out what goes where is very difficult. If I had 3 3rd gens it'd be different, but since I only have the '82 TA, these specific details are pure gold to me. ('specially while doing a full restoration)


anyway bk, you have your choice of manuals based on how much you plan on doing on the car, obviously you want a wrench/wratchet set. A digital multimeter is probably going to be helpful, a hydraulic jack and 4 jackstands, a 3' piece of pipe, pliers of all kinds, and screw drivers, a hammer, a big rubber hammer, and a crowbar. Oh, and a nice little angle grinder with a flap wheel and a cutting disc. pb blaster and a few tubes of loctite. You'd be set for all but the REALLY specific stuff with that.

 

One more thing. A torch. One of the small craftsman deals will work fine. No penetrating oil in the world works as good as heat.

 

I mean i have to fix something but i dont know what it is, maybe u guys can give me some direction. I told you above about the smoke. It started up and ran fine but now it throughs off some smoke and there was i couldnt check the radiator cause if i would have turned the cap i would have burned myself up, i mean the thing got pretty hot for 30 seconds i was tryin to kick it on. My friend said he was starting it for a while with out a problem for like a week. I need to change that oil but i dont now what to think of this grey smoke comin out of the carb. I was think that maybe i have a clog in one of my hoses, what go you think(remember i have a crate motor). My friend had problems with his camaro and he just started to hate camaros with a passion.

 

I have no clue about smoke from the carb - carbs work the other way - they suck, they don't blow! Are you sure it's from the carb, and not the intake or exhaust somewhere?

 

First it was comin out of the passenger side wheel well. I turned off and poped the hood. It stoped. I started up and looked and saw it comin from the filter so i turned it off. The pressure in the radiator was high as hell. Could i have a clog in the radiator line somewhere. WHat could it be. Im leaveing the car offline until i figure it out.

 

Well anybody want to make a stab at it. The info i really need is on the basic chevy small block engine, since im not stock the haynes book i dont hink will help me much in the engine bay.

 

hmmm, clogged hoses are rare, but you can drain and flush your cooling system altogether if you want.

let the motor cool, put a drain pan under the rad, open the petcock (little plastic wingnut on passenger side bottom of rad). Drain, open cap to help drain faster. Disconnect bottom rad line, let more drain. disco heater hose from waterpump and intake manifold, let more drain.
Get ready for a mess.

Hook up your hose to your heater lines, flush that out good. Shoot fluid threw one hose, then the other to get out any crud. remove your waterneck and check your thermostat for anything unusual. flush your rad and block if you want. reconnect everything, pour in fluid and try again. Shouldn't take more than 1hr to do all that.

Smoke from the carb? check the pcv system, and watch your vacuum at idle.

 

i wrote about what was happenin, could it be anythingelse.I got ur pretty much standard issue crate with a holley carb. I was thinkin that or the fact that the oil is shot to hell. When i get a chance im goin to drain it all out.

Any other suggestions

 

I need to learn how to do simple things, oil changes and things of that nature, i aint got no daddy to teach me lol. That f***ing bastard. I still havent bee able to drain it but ima do it.

Thanks for the tips guys, hopefully when i get everything runing and all my goodies ill post a picture.