I just picked up a 91 Firebird, the 3.1L has 81,000 miles on it. The guy I bought it from thought it had a blown head gasket. Now the ultimate plan is to build this into a True 10.5 drag car, and I already have the Procharged BBC waiting for it. But for fun I thought it would be cool to leave the 6 in it while I do all the chassis work- so here goes.

I got the car to start by moving all the wires CW 2 places- so #1 wire is on, what would be #3 position on the dist. cap. With the wires in the factory places the car just cranks but doesnt even try to start. I checked timing with the tan wire connector unplugged and it's set at 10* BTDC. I had it idling (at about 1000rpm) for 20 minutes or so- no signs of a blown head gasket (oil clean, temp about 190, no bubbles in the radiator). BUT if I try and give it any throttle it instantly dies. I checked fuel pressure- at 38lbs. So where do I go from here? The computer isnt giving me any codes either..
Thanks!

 

Quick update- I checked the ohms on my injectors, 3 of them were 12.5, the other 3 were 12.3 Now I'm scratching my head....

 

tps or clogged fuel filter maybe.

 

LOL I'd just put your blown BBC in it... wouldn't you rather spend time on the chassis? Not sure what kind of chassis work you'd do to create a 10.5 car while you're driving the car around! But start with check the usual: fuel/air/spark, and narrow it down; a Haynes manual will walk you through most of that.

 

Tom- yeah I know hat would be the smart thing to do, but it sure would be more fun driving the car around with a full cage, slicks and skinnies and a chute hanging off the back of the car! BUT I put a vac gauge on the car and the needle just bounces between 14"-21" so that tells me I have internal engine problems- just gonna part it out now