84 Berlinetta now running. One thing, though...
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84 Berlinetta now running. One thing, though...
A story for you! I purchased this 1984 Berlinetta 2.8 for $150. Original owner, and he had beat the poor thing into the ground. It has 400,000 kilometers on it. Long story short, it has body rust issues, and the engine was 'unknown maybe running' condition when I got it. This was by far the filthiest car I had ever seen - Caked-on grime and goo, everywhere, awful. Interior, though, is almost perfect save for the driver's seat. No biggie, as I hate doing interior stuff and the body/engine stuff is easy to fix. Plus: T-tops and a stick. 
Anyhow. One and a half bills and I was on my way. This was about a month ago, and I've had a few hours here and there to get some work done on it. I spent a lot of time just cleaning so I could get in there to get it fired up, and just today (Couple hours of cleaning so far) I managed to get it clean enough to work on.
Okay... replace plugs. Looks like these could be the originals, as the electrodes are burned down to the insulators. Hmm. Oh, and 3 of them are soaked in oil, too. Yay, rings are probably gone! Kind of expected. -shrug-
Looks like the #2 plug wire terminal is broken off on the plug... Good thing I have some spare wires. Replaced that. WD40'd the distributor to get the moisture out, and actually secured it to the distributor, unlike the PO who had it held down with only one clamp.
No burn - turns over OK though.
Time to play with timing- loosen the bolt, and rotate the distributor a few degrees clockwise. Looks like it's shifted from where it's supposed to be, judging from the marks on the hoses.
Tried the ether, no luck. Tossed a few seconds of universal synthetic lubricant into the carb (burns great, and sticks better than ether, as I'm doing this solo.) Crank it for about 15 seconds, it gets faster and faster until a typical old 2.8 sound greets me - Some thunder and shaking, and I rev it to about 3k to keep it running, as it wants to stall out.
But wait!
What's this, the oil pressure gauge hasn't moved! And this noise, above the clank and rattle of the engine - Is that a crankshaft, rattling around madly within the bowels of my car? A loud noise, not unlike the sound of a car's untimely death, greets me. It would seem that the oil pump is dead, and along with it, the crankshaft.
I'd be mad, if I hadn't paid so little. Besides, my machinist has a rollerized 454 in the shop waiting for me... Anyone have a 305/5speed bellhousing lying around?
Anyhow. One and a half bills and I was on my way. This was about a month ago, and I've had a few hours here and there to get some work done on it. I spent a lot of time just cleaning so I could get in there to get it fired up, and just today (Couple hours of cleaning so far) I managed to get it clean enough to work on.
Okay... replace plugs. Looks like these could be the originals, as the electrodes are burned down to the insulators. Hmm. Oh, and 3 of them are soaked in oil, too. Yay, rings are probably gone! Kind of expected. -shrug-
Looks like the #2 plug wire terminal is broken off on the plug... Good thing I have some spare wires. Replaced that. WD40'd the distributor to get the moisture out, and actually secured it to the distributor, unlike the PO who had it held down with only one clamp.
No burn - turns over OK though.
Time to play with timing- loosen the bolt, and rotate the distributor a few degrees clockwise. Looks like it's shifted from where it's supposed to be, judging from the marks on the hoses.
Tried the ether, no luck. Tossed a few seconds of universal synthetic lubricant into the carb (burns great, and sticks better than ether, as I'm doing this solo.) Crank it for about 15 seconds, it gets faster and faster until a typical old 2.8 sound greets me - Some thunder and shaking, and I rev it to about 3k to keep it running, as it wants to stall out.
But wait!
What's this, the oil pressure gauge hasn't moved! And this noise, above the clank and rattle of the engine - Is that a crankshaft, rattling around madly within the bowels of my car? A loud noise, not unlike the sound of a car's untimely death, greets me. It would seem that the oil pump is dead, and along with it, the crankshaft.
I'd be mad, if I hadn't paid so little. Besides, my machinist has a rollerized 454 in the shop waiting for me... Anyone have a 305/5speed bellhousing lying around?
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