I have a 88 firebird with a 350, 041 heads(69-70 z-28 heads).and a edelbrock tuned port fuel injection setup. I just bought the car and am having problems.
It's supposed to be a 10:1 motor with a edelbrock performer rpm cam.
First thing is I have to run A LOT of timing! I set the initial at 10 degrees and its popping through the intake so I put it at 16 degrees and it seems fine!
I am currently running 45 degrees total and have ran it all the way up to 60 degrees with no detonation that I can hear but no gain in power either!
Also the edelbrock tpi is running off the factory computer and is way rich I believe due to the raw fuel smell inside the car. Can I adjust this?
Also I did a compression test and only got 130 psi. Seems really low for a 10:1 motor. I'm not sure what cam is in it but it seems pretty big. Can I be losing that much compression due to the cam? I can run the car on 87 with the timing I listed above! I do live at 5500 feet.
Any help will be highly appreciated as I am going nuts. My guess on hp is 250 maybe. I got beat by a mustang last week that just had rear gears! Although he was a 5spd

 

if it's got that cam, then that's a big part of your problem... it's just a crappy street cam for a 350ci small block..
which Edelbrock tuned port setup is on it- i hope it isn't one of their "TBI to MPFI" setups that used the stock TBI ecm with a different chip to batch fire the 8 individual injectors because those were designed for stock mid 90's trucks...

post a couple of pics of the engine, preferably with the air cleaner off if it's got the TBI air cleaner on it..

 

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First up if you have a computer you can't adjust the timing ;the timing is set by what ever is on the tune in the computer.
The more you advance the dist , the more the computer pulls the timing back to what it is programed at.

You won't get any knock because the computer has a knock sensor that detects knock long before you can hear it and retards the timing.

No
But you can get a custom tune done to suit your setup ( within reason ). If the cam is too wild you will be on your own

 

All speculation.
Unless you have proof that it is at that CR and without knowing the cam specs ,all guesswork.
Also age of engine ? if it is on it's last legs then the comp may well be down

 

yes, you can adjust the timing.. you just need to find the wire that goes from the ecm to the ignition module that you unhook before setting the initial timing. i don't know where it is in F bodies, but in other GM cars and trucks it's usually a tan wire somewhere in the vicinity of the ecm under the dash... you are still stuck with whatever timing curve is in the ecm with that setting being the baseline, however. you can gain a ton of power, throttle response, and efficiency on a stock engine just by adding initial timing...

 

130 psi is low, but not problematic. A smaller cam would help. And do you have any idea what your own axle ratio is? If you have 2.73:1, then that is part of your problem.

 

If you have 041 heads, you're most likely closer to 9.5:1 than 10:1. The computer is going to keep retarding the timing because you have detonation, try some higher octane gas (91). If you throw in a big cam and don't tune it, it's not going to make much power either. Your biggest problem is the computer, regarding not having power.

 

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/diy-...al-timing.html
https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/post...418-post2.html

 

130 psi is really low even with that cam. There might be something else wrong. Did you check all the cylinders or just one was 130? Maybe the cam is out of time bleeding off excess pressure? Try doing a leak down test.

 

I'll get a pic of the engine tomorrow and for the rear endall i know is it is out of a newer camaro. I'm guessing the v6 as it is 1 legged. I checked the front two cylinders when I did the compression test as the rest are a pain due to my headers both were 130. Now about the computer. If I wanted to tune it how would i go about that. i dont even think there is a aftermaket chip in it. I have a place in town that dyno tunes cars but would they be able to do anything with the stock computer? Novaderrick it's a tuned port type design. I was told the motor was recently rebuilt and i believe it is due to the gaskets and oil psi i have. the edelbrock part number is edl-35273 mine is just the intake assembally and i have no idea how to tell what injectors are in it. The computer appears to be stock but has a sticker saying it was remanufactured. I really dont know to much about cars and definetly dont have a leak down tester or even know where i can borrow one from.

 

Unlikely , most places only tune modern engines like LSX's these days .
You may have to go to one of the online tuners that specialize in TPI and TBI computers

 

Heres a pic of the engine i.e. intake manifold setup. Another question I have is there is a set of wires that look like a fuel injector plug. All my injectors have plugs on them though? The plug is on the driver side by the #5 cylinder i believe. What is this for because it is not plugged into anything? Really I have a couple wires that aren't plugged into anything. I have 2 single wires by the rear of the motor on the driverside that aren't plugged into anything either.

 

The cold start injector your new intake doesn't have

 

k

 

It was rebuilt and you only have 130psi?

 

Put that cam in a brand-new, zero-miles 8.0:1 Goodwrench 350, in Denver ( why does nobody ever remember to correct for elevation? ) and I'm sure it wouldn't crank 130 psi.

 

Ive got the solution !
Get a set of those fake ones that hang down from the back bumper of those big 4x4 pickup trucks = WIN !

 

He has a 9.5:1

 

Make sure the timing advances when you rev it.

 

I hooked up the timing light with the brown wire unhooked to check for total timing. Is that what you mean. I used a timing light that you can move the dial and then rev it to 3500 and see if it's on 0! Someone mentioned that the computer will retard the timing due to the knock sensor, is this new enough for that. I'm not sure what year my block is but I think it's a older one! I dont know how much this matters but when I did my compression test I only pulled one plug at a time instead of all of them but I did hold the gas to the floor while cranking

 

It won't advance w/ the brown unhooked, see if it advances when it's in normal mode. It should go off the scale.