[fyrffytr1]

I put a new battery in as well as a new negative cable and the car cranks quickly even when hot. I also got the radio installed temporarily. It will have to come back out to do some under dash work on the A/C. But, the hole in the dash is filled for now.
I went to my first cruise-in yesterday afternoon and got a lot of compliments on the car.
I finally got my steering wheel boxed up and will send it off tomorrow to be restored. I also started laying out the under dash ducting for the A/C and am missing two pieces. On the passenger side there is a piece of flexible duct that runs to the outside vent. Is it available anywhere? And, on the driver's side I am missing a piece that runs from the flared duct to the outside vent. I will post pics in a separate thread.
It's getting down to the details now. Maybe, one day this thread will come to an end.

[RedDirtRoad]

Phil
PM me your address
I have the hose for the Pass. vent.

-Dominic

[6 Grrrs]

Phil,

I may have the other piece. If someone posts a photo of it, I will look in my A/C parts. I have a bunch of original ductwork. I don't believe I have the flexible piece though, but I have multiples of the hard plastic stuff.

[fyrffytr1]

Thanks to Dominic for providing the flex duct and thanks to GT182 for helping me find the other piece!
I was looking for an old gasket for him when I found the driver's side duct under some other stuff.
Tod, thanks for the offer.

[fyrffytr1]

Boy, I got a big scare the other night! I decided to put the alternator brackets on the back side of the alternator like there supposed to be and got the job done in a few minutes.
Then, I started the car to make sure everything was OK. When I walked back to the front of the car I could hear a knocking that sounded like it was coming from the bottom end around the number 1 cylinder! I checked the oil pressure and it was good so I slowly revved the motor and the knock got faster! And, the car seemed to be down on power. It just didn't idle right and when I gave it the gas it hesitated slightly.
As Y'all know the motor is an unknown. It was supposedly rebuilt before I bought the car but, it had been done back in the late 80s and never driven. I just knew the bottom end was coming apart so I asked some locals for any tips or things to check out.
Almost all of them said to pull the number one plug wire and see if the knock quieted down any. If so, then the bottom end was probably the problem. Well, I did that and the knock did not quiet down any. I pulled other wires and the sound didn't change.
The other thing they told me to check was the fuel pump as it could be causing all the symptoms I told them about.
Since I didn't have any real way to check the pump I decided to replace it. After doing so I crossed my fingers and cranked the car. Man, did it ever sound good! No knock and it idled great. When I gave it the gas it responded.
So, I ended up spending about $20.00 for a new pump (one of the perks of working for a parts place) and it took about an hour to replace.
I am going out to the shop in a few minutes to see if the car will start easier since it sat overnight. Before the pump replacement the car was very hard to start after sitting for several hours. I will update totals next week.
Wish me luck!

[Gr8outdoorzman]

I am in the same boat as you. PO said that the engine was rebuilt and had little to no miles on it. So. Hopefully I will have the same success as yours has been. I did get it fired up. But don't have full exhaust so that's as much as I know of mine. I did figure the distributor was 180 off.

[Greg Reid]

Funny, but I was just thinking....the last 4 Pontiacs I've owned had to have the fuel pump replaced within a year of me owning them. Wonder what's up with that...Coincidence?

[66GTO Jim]

There was an article, maybe in Hi Performance Pontiac mag, about how the ethanol in the E10 gas can harm the guts of a fuel pump. Newer fuel pumps are not affected. But that wouldn't explain why the pumps went bad for you but not the previous owners. Four different Pontiacs, that is strange!

Jim

[Greg Reid]

There may be something to it. Now that I think on it, I don't think any of them had been run very much for quite some time before I got them.

[fyrffytr1]

I run non-ethanol gas in my car. I don't know what happened with the old pump but it was making one heck of a knocking noise. When I pulled it out it was a stiff as the new one!
But, the new one is not knocking.
I do have a weird feeling that this motor may not last much longer. Oh well, I'll deal with that when it happens.

[fyrffytr1]

Well, I made a big purchase at the Perry swap meet yesterday. I found a battery hold down clamp and bolt for the princely sum of $4.00. Then I really got into the big money, I bought 2 orders of french fries and 2 small cokes for $13.00. Add the $5.00 entry fee and $50.00 worth of gas and the clamp ended up costing $72.00!
I am going to order a rebuilt distributor from work tomorrow because mine is acting up. The vacuum advance plate is sticking. I will update totals next week.

[fyrffytr1]

I got the new distributor in and the vacuum advance is working like it should. But, not before giving me grief! I took the passenger side plug wires loose from the cap to move it out of the way, making it easier to get the old distributor out. And I set the points gap before installing the new one, then checked them after getting the new distributor in.
I hooked the plug wires up correctly then tried starting the car. It wold turn over but not start. I knew I had installed the new distributor just like the old one came out so I rotated it a little and hit the starter. Still no go! So. I moved the distributor a little more with the same negative results.
I double checked all my connections and everything was right. I was about to pull the distributor back out when I noticed that the vacuum line to the power booster was disconnected from the back of the carb. I forgot that I had moved it out of the way as well! Anyway, I hooked it up, hit the starter and the engine fired right up.
I checked the dwell with my 30+ year old Sears engine analyzer and it was real close to 30 so I set the initial timing to 10 degrees btdc and tightened everything up.
Then I took it for a short test and it ran great.
I cleaned the car up and took it to the local cruise-in where I got many more compliments.
Well, it came time to crank the car and head for home but, when I did the car started idling like it had a radical cam in it.
When I got home I rechecked the settings and they were still dead on. But, now the motor surges at idle and the tach varies by about 100 rpm up and down. When I give the motor gas it revs right up and runs smoothly. It just won't idle right. Do Y'all have any ideas to fix this?

[Greg Reid]

Sounds like a carb issue or vacuum leak to me Phil....but you probably knew that much already.

[Chris Lance]

Tip: don't concern yourself with initial timing....you need to see what it is fully advanced ( with advance vacuum unplugged). Not sure yet about Pontiac, but Buicks like to have 32-34 degrees at full advance. I'm sure if you search the forum you'll find some info on this topic. Initial timing is really secondary.

[fyrffytr1]

Originally Posted by Chris Lance

Tip: don't concern yourself with initial timing....you need to see what it is fully advanced ( with advance vacuum unplugged). Not sure yet about Pontiac, but Buicks like to have 32-34 degrees at full advance. I'm sure if you search the forum you'll find some info on this topic. Initial timing is really secondary.

Thanks. I am getting use of an advance timing light this week and will check total timing. I was told, in the street section, that I should be looking for around 36-38 degrees at full advance. That is with the combo I am running. I may have to back it down a few degrees depending on how the car runs.
I found a cracked vacuum line(new!) and that fix helped the idle. I just wish I knew more about the engine as far as pistons and cam go.

[Greg Reid]

Originally Posted by fyrffytr1

I just wish I knew more about the engine as far as pistons and cam go.

Well....you know what to do...lol

[fyrffytr1]

Well, I got the advance timing light. Now, I have to read the user manual to see how it works. Good news is it belongs to me now so I can take all the time I need. It's an older Snap-on model MT1261A. The owner gave it to me because he no longer had any use for it.
I posted a question about setting the initial timing in a different thread but haven't had any replies yet.
But, from what I have read I need to have the initial timing set at some point so I can determine what total advance is. That's according to the Snap-On manual.
I also found two small drips under the car. One is coming from the transmission cooling lines at the transmission and the other is a coolant leak that I haven't located yet. Both are very small leaks.
Here's another tip for Y'all. Don't try to tighten down any fitting within a foot of a hot exhaust pipe!
I may just write a book on the wrong way to work on a car!

[fyrffytr1]

My surging problem was caused by a bad carb base gasket. Put a new one on and hooked the vacuum line to a manifold port and the surge was gone. I still have to adjust the timing a little but it is getting better.
I have to get all my recent receipts together and I will update totals then.

[fyrffytr1]

Well, I went a whole week without working on the car. But, I did put the top down and drive it! My buddy took his 57 Chevy convertible and I took the GTO to another friend's house so he could take pictures. He has them enlarged to poster size and puts them on the wall of his shop. Here's mine and my buddies.

[Old Blue 66]

After reading this thread for the last few years, its GREAT to see the car on the road and YOU enjoying it. Super nice work!