[78w72]

Originally Posted by Shockwave78

Had no idea those were still made, I was just looking at the pictures in the pontiac manual thinking "where the hell am I going to get the gm tool for this"

Most parts stores rent the valve spring remover tools for free, just pay a deposit you get back when you return it, they have different styles but even the smaller screw type will work ok for stock springs. They might have the tool for screwing into the spark plug hole & connect compressed air too... if you cant find one I have one I would loan you.

An additive like lucas oil stabilizer should help with oil burning & consumption but definitely wont stop it if its due to worn valves/guides. A slightly hotter plug may also help prolong the oil fouling but again wont stop it. Use a thicker oil if you dont drive in too cold of weather, 10/40 or a 15/40 diesel oil is ok, dont use 20/50 if you use the lucas though, would be closer to 25/55!

Another budget option for the guides is to have them knurled... this isnt ideal and & wont last as long as doing it right with new guides, but you can get many years of use from a knurled guide and is much cheaper to do, but since you gotta pull the heads anyways then might as well save up to do it right.

Another thing to consider for the oil burning is the home re-ring & hone... if you didnt get the hone crosshatch right or got the rings fully seated after start up they could be part of the oil burning issue, especially if the cylinders were out of round at all. My first engine rebuild at 15 or 16 with my Dad on a SBC in a 77 formula that burned oil pretty bad, it was a garage re ring & new bearings, but had the heads rebuilt by a local shop... got it all back together & it ran great but still burned some oil just nowhere near as bad, likely from the amateur hone & re ring job.