Alright, i've typed this once already, but my browser freaked out and i lost it, so all the nice detailed posting is gone, and now i'm probally going to make things more condensed since i'm pissed off about losing the good post.

From the top... what i'm dealing with is an 89' 305 TPI engine in a volvo chassis, it has the 700r4 automatic transmission. I'm experiencing several issues, and i'm new to these motors, so i'm going to list everything i can think of in efforts to yield the best ideas/results from you board members who know this stuff better than myself.

Currently the car is equipped as follows:
89' chevy 305 TPI motor w/ 100k or so miles
700r4 automatic transmission
*mods*
- MSD 8.8mm wires
- new ignition coil (external coil, for the non-in cap style dizzys)
- new cap and rotor for the dizzy
- new mallory 255lph inline fuel pump
- new BBK adjustable fuel pressure regulator
- new 160 thermostat


Here's what it's doing, theres more than one issue, so i'm listing them one at a time, and saying what i've changed since then to try and fix it...

1. Low fuel pressure, intially the car when under WOT would drop to 14-16psi of pressure, way scarey for a EFI engine, it was idling around 20-25psi of pressure. All these readings were from a gauge tapped to the stock fuel rail port. To fix this i added the BBK adjustable regulator and mallory pump, the fuel pressure is now 30-35psi, we wanted higher, but if we turned the idle fuel pressure up to 40-45, the pressure would still drop as the RPM's rose, and whenever we would turn the car on the pressure would spike to 100+ psi (pegged the gauge) and lock the injectors up till we bled the pressure, so for this one, i need to know if i could have dicked up the install on the BBK (seemed straightforward enough) or if it could be somthing else.

One thing i think i should mention, though i'm unsure if it has any relevance, is that when i installed the mallory, i noticed the ground for the pump was all the way up in the engine bay harness, that seemed kinda pointless since general rule of thumb is a shorter ground is a better one, so i cut the ground side of the wiring, clamped it off, and grounded the pump near itself on the chassis, didn't know if this would be of significance.

2. Ignition feels like it's all over the place timing wise, the car feels like it goes way retarded, then will go normal or advanced, very non-linear acceleration, lots of bogs/surges/etc... that prompted me to replace the wires/cap/rotor... which helped a little, but it still does it, if you punch it you've got a 50/50 chance of the car accelerating really nicely, or bogging and sputtering, the higher in the RPM's you get, the more likely it's going to do the latter, i haven't had a chance to confirm with an air fuel gauge, but i feel like the timing is just making things way to rich or lean, so for this one i'm asking for suggestions on what it might be, and where/what controls the retard/advance of ignition timing on these engines, i feel the car would drive alot better if i ironed this particular problem out.

3. The transmission, i've read that this transmission needs sensor inputs on vehicle speed and/or engine load to determine when to shift, being that my cars a swap, i doubt those inputs are there, which is further supported by the fact my transmission shifts absolutely retarded.

It will feel as if it starts out from a dead stop in second gear, then downshifts to 1st... then back to second when its right. If i don't intervien and shift manually, the car will go into final drive by 40mph, this could be how the 700r4 is normally, but as i said, this is my 1st time w/ any chevy components, so i wouldn't know.

So if someone could clue me in on how this one works, i'd appriciate it, my old volvo (with volvo motor and trans) used a kick down cable @ the throttle bodie rotor, adjust it one way for late shifting, the other for early, very simple. Nothing has been altered on this transmission as far as i know.

4. Gauges... short of running a full bank of aftermarket gauges (somthing that i'm trying to avoid). I need to know where the stock chevys get there tach signal from, a volvo gets its signal off the ignition coil, i have no clue where it gets it on this engine, as a result the only gauge i have that works in the car @ the moment is the aftermarket water temp, and the speedo since it's driven off the rear differential. I need to know where the tach signal comes from so i can have a working tach.



**additional information**
i didn't wire this cars swap, so anything electrical ya'll tell me, please put it in very generic and easy to understand terms, cause as of right now i know little to nothing about these motors, and the rats nest that is in the engine bay is really freaking me out.

thanks for taking the time to read, and i look forward to some good tech tips from ya'll, cause *** knows i need them right about now, this car would be so much better if these little details were ironed out!

 

I'd start with one problem first...probably the FP...ground shuold be fine, as long as chassis, to body to engine all have good continuity.

Weird on the pressure...you posted about this a few weeks/months ago, didn't you?

Almost seems like something is fubar in the regulator...you don't have enough motor to warrant a decrease in pressure at WOT with that fuel pump....weird part is that you can get 100 PSI...I'd start by taking the AFPR apart and inspecting, making sure it goes together correcly, diaphram is okay, etc, then test...if no difference, then I'd be suspecting the fuelpump....

You did set the system up with correct pressure and return line from the tank?

Also, you say "inline" pump....you're not drawing through any tye of restriction in the tank are you?

One more thing...you have the pump mounted close to the tank? Inline pumps push better than they pull.

 

Is the Check Engine light functioning? Do you have any codes? Is the ALDL wired properly so you can plug a scantool in and see what is going on? Swap diagnosing is fun, especially when someone else has done the installing (or butchering).

There are two cables on the throttle body; one goes to the throttle pedal, the other (with the half-moon shaped tab on it) goes to the transmission. This controls shift points to a certain extent, and definitely should be adjusted before you try driving it further. The 700R4 trans does NOT like heat or low pressures, and could fry.

If you're not getting any codes (and the Check Engine light is working), the timing issue could be related to the pickup coil inside the distributor, or the ignition module. They don't always throw a code when they croak.