I have an '86 Iroc with the 305 TPI. I put the engine back together after buying it dismantled down to the pistons. I threw some headers on and welded an 02 sensor in to one of the middle headers. I also eliminated all emissions and a/c. The car runs great except for when the engine is warm (mostly in summer) and I break down to almost a complete stop, the idle drops to about 500 RPMs and it willl stall sometimes. I am almost positive this is due to two things:

- I have a vacuum leak that I can not figure out for the life of me
- I bought an aftermarket timing cover and never welded the tabs on to it so I can't get it 100% in time

I have the money to get these issues fixed but I don't want to just bring it to any mechanic shop so I can get screwed at 80$ an hour for them to probably not fix the problem. Does anyone know any TPI/CSB/Camaro/Vacuum shops that specialize in those areas in Minnesota?

For others, how would I go about not getting ripped off at a shop for something like this? (Please don't say, "do it yourself". I am tired of working on the motor and am ready to just cough a few hundred up to have it done. Thanks in advance.

Also forgot to mention, it runs very rich.

 

You could just find TDC compression and mark it on your timing cover. At least this way you'll be able to time it. You could be too retarded to keep it running on brake-down. If this is the case, you should also see some improvement in the richness situation. It may be a 2 part issue though.

 

Thanks

 

Well for anyone who is maybe in the same situation as myself, I found a good shop (family owned) who told me it should only be a couple hours worth of work, which is very nice to hear considering most places will take you for as much of a ride as possible and run you about 10 hours.

Anyways, I'm WAY pumped to get my vacuum system done the right way and then get it timed. I am no expert mechanic but did manage to put the heads, intake manifold, plenum/runners, and headers on but it doesn't run the way it should and for the first time since I've bought the car I will actually be able to drive it and feel it's full power. It's actually quite funny, I was using heater hoses and even fish-tank tubing because no real vacuum line came with the car lol. Anyways, I'll post how much I paid and how it turns out.

 

So I had the entire vacuum system, including EGR and cannister parts replaced and the car was timed to spec. It runs SO much better than it did before but still tends to idle too low and stall when warm. My next steps are to move my custom-welded 02 sensor down to the collector of the headers and then test the TPS. It came out to be $400, but much worth it in my eyes as vacuum systems are not my thing.