Would that explain it? Fast as a carbed car, but ran awful because the last owner did a bad job matching the carb up, and the car had a failing fuel pump, switched to TBI again, did complete swap back... except I don't think we did anything with the distributer (opps!) and now I can't start it unless the timings unplugged (it sputters and kills within 10 seconds when it's on), and it goes 0-60 in 14+ seconds. Car runs good, but timing... eh... it's terrible. I hope this is the last post I ever have to make about my timing!!! I've posted on this so many times I've lost count. Please give me good news!Can I damage my engine by running it this way?

 

In general the ECM needs to see distributor reference pulses (DRP). Without them it really doesn't know when to fire the injectors. This may be the issue with using the carb distributor. Unless of course it is for a CCC setup. Those are ECM controlled for timing.

Anyway, best bet is to get a stock GM small cap TBI distributor. Many vans and pickups ran these systems. Some cars also did, in the Caprice and f-body family. Also check the classifieds here on TGO for one.

If you have a u-pull-it yard nearby a distributor will cost 15 - 20 bucks. Grab the coil with it as it is remote mounted (another 5 bucks?). Look for one that has a GM ignition module and the magnet in the star wheel is in decent condition.

RBob.

 

Did you ever verify that the timing was set with the EST disconnected?

 

I called the shop and they said they "thought" it was. We'll check that first.

 

???? Shop? Why wouldn't you check this yourself before posting so much about it????? I'm lost....

RBob.

 

Lol... ummmmmmm. Well it's stored and I want it to be fast and ready to go come spring. I have what I have, you know? That's all the info I thought I needed.

 

If the shop had to think about it, they probably didn't do it correctly.

 

Lol. Idk. It was kinda funny when I picked it up, they had no idea who had done what on the car, the owner had left to go to a baseball game. When I brought it there, it didn't even run, the fuel pump pressure was zilch. It sat on their lot for over a week and a half before they did any work to it. So anyways, I go pick it up, and we had given them a list I had typed out of things to do, and half the things weren't done. They hadn't fixed my AC or horn (still not fixed), or replaced my power steering hose (the hose on it was spraying fluid all the way across the engine bay!!! lol). So we I asked them who had done the work, and it was going to be a wild goose chase just to find every different guy who had. It seemed to me that a different guy was working on it everyday. So it comes time to pay up, and they say "450 bucks, that's with us keepin' that carb of yours"... it was an Edelbrock 650 CFM, looked like it was put on recently.

So then I go to start it, and it starts and then dies. I try again, same thing. Then a mechanic comes running out and says, "Oh, we forgot to tell you... you can't start the car like you used to now. You have to open the hood, unplug the timing cable, climb in the car, turn the ignition, run back to the engine, and then plug the timing cable back in." I was getting p*ssed. "So I'm like, why do I have to do that? This is ridiculous!" and of course, his response, "Well, we couldn't figure it out... the last owner of this car must have crossed some wires or something..." by then I was almost laughing, as I watched my poor car degrading in front of my eyes. So then we start the car up, and all we hear is "tick tick tick tick tick tick" and my parents who were even more p*ssed than I was, and know how to do nothing but put gas in their cars were like "What the hell is that noise?!" and yup, the mechanic explained again that he had forgot to tell us a lifter started ticking... By this point, I was so angry that I just wanted to leave. I know they changed the oil, maybe they put the wrong weight in. I was getting really tired of this "We forgot to tell you" BS. So we fire the car up, and the mechanic runs out and gives me one last suprise, he tells me I have about a half a gallon of fuel left in my car (my gas guage sending unit needs to be replaced). So that was just great... we did make it to a gas station though. As I was leaving, the mechanics were putting Sea Foam in an old truck and gunning the motor. They had forgot to take it out of the garage, and they were all running out of there laughing their butts of as smokey exhaust came pouring out of the garage doors... I wondered if these people even graduated from highschool! Lol. So like I said, on the way home, and for the next week, the car was extremely slow, and the timing was terrible. Then the car dies... again. Fuel pump lost all it's power, had to bring it back. They replaced the fuel pump for $200, pretty good deal. Had no more issues with it dying anymore. I also had the shop run a switch to the bottom of my dash (by the fuses) to control my timing cable. The owner was their this time and thing were under much more control. That's the last maintenance work that was done on my car, except a new catback exhaust, the old original exhaust was rusted all the way through.

I have called Steve (owner) and he was around a lot of the time that my car was worked on, and recalled most of what was done. He did say they had to keep adjusting the dizzy to get it right. He's a good guy, and he has performed miricales with my RS disaster. The local junkyard calls my car "The car from hell" lol.

Amazingly enough though, Steve's actually did a pretty good job swapping that TBI setup back in. That shop has a large client base, and is highly recommended by a lot of people. I'm taking the car back for a new fuel guage sending unit in spring. For the most part it's a pretty decent shop, just a few nutcases working there lol.

I think I'll leave the distributor and timing to someone else, though lol. I have $4,500 into an RS that is now appraised at $3,000. All it needs now is new tires, starter solenoid, dizzy, fix the ticking lifter, fuel guage, fix odometer, AC, a new cigarette lighter, a new dash pad, working CD player, and some minor body work and I could list it for upwards of $4,000. I've done so much to that car!

Sorry for writing such a novel of a post!