[Scott65]

I can't see that well... And the condition of those plugs I'd never trust to verify heat range... BUT if the line I think you're referring to was accurate, then I'd say the heat range looks very close... To the OP if you want colder try Autolite 3923, or if you want NGK, BKR6E.

[gtorich]

Originally Posted by steve25

Does your oil have a fuel smell to it?
It does not take many miles of a running rich condition to wash out the rings and cylinders, and before you know it your burning more oil then you should.

Steve, dont notice any fuel smell, my sniffer must be shot...........couple better pics for you i hope.

Also a list of what i have done to the carbs, im not that far off of a stock 389.......hope to get the a/f gauge installed soon, problem with that it works off the cig lighter, of course mine doesnt seem to work.

Wondering if it would pay to get one of those bore scopes and see if a have a broken oil ring or something that i could see.

You can see on the one pic, plugs 4-6-8 had oil even on the porcelain part, some got wiped off with me touching them.

Rich

[gtorich]

Sorry about that upside pic..............no idea why that happened.

Rich

["QUICK-SILVER"]

IMO: The black looks like combustion residue that squeezed past threads and gaskets on the plugs. Have seen it leak between the porcelain and nut on defect or damaged plugs.

Clay

[steve25]

You do not have the needed level of vacuum to keep the power valve in the center carb closed all the way as compared to a stock 389, it’s not just a matter of the jet size as the motor does not idle on the jets.
I bet if you run your finger around the lip of one of your tail pipes it’s black , oily and smells like both gas and oil.

[Formulabruce]

Originally Posted by steve25

You do not have the needed level of vacuum to keep the power valve in the center carb closed all the way as compared to a stock 389, it’s not just a matter of the jet size as the motor does not idle on the jets.
I bet if you run your finger around the lip of one of your tail pipes it’s black , oily and smells like both gas and oil.

EXACTLY !!

[1968GTO421]

Originally Posted by leeklm

"been told im running too rich, right now and i dont have the number in front of me but im only a hair bigger on the jets than a 389., hard to believe im running too rich."

Keep in mind that the KRE heads will burn fuel more efficiently than old iron heads, and may need less fuel. I went from iron heads to KRE heads and new cam, added ~75hp to the engine, and required no changes to the qjet at the time.

Try some leaner jets and see how the engine acts.

Getting your A/F gauge installed will help

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

Good advice ^. Despite popular notions, when you go up in cubic inches you do not need to enrichen the carb(s) if they were correct to begin with. Sometimes you may need to go up in CFM's but not always

[gtorich]

Originally Posted by steve25

You do not have the needed level of vacuum to keep the power valve in the center carb closed all the way as compared to a stock 389, it’s not just a matter of the jet size as the motor does not idle on the jets.
I bet if you run your finger around the lip of one of your tail pipes it’s black , oily and smells like both gas and oil.

Thanks Steve............your right about the tail pipes being black, doesnt seem oily, more like a power...........seems i cant smell anything right..........i"ll ask my wife to take a wiff. lol

Cant remember about the power valve deal, but i did install the Jon Hardgrove springs that he sold to keep the power valve closed.

Im glad you guys are helping out..............this is getting more and more confusing. lol

Im gonna run these 3924 for a few miles, then try some 3923 which i have used in the past and see what comes up.

Today for an experiment i took the car up to about 5700 rpm in 1st gear, ran great, but could see some blue smoke in the mirror.............im hoping that was the tires.

Rich

[gtorich]

Originally Posted by "QUICK-SILVER"

IMO: The black looks like combustion residue that squeezed past threads and gaskets on the plugs. Have seen it leak between the porcelain and nut on defect or damaged plugs.

Clay

Thanks Clay...........besides my usual issues, this is the first time i seen this oil on the porcelain and nut............i dont use much anti-seize, but when you touch the oil, almost feels like a paste.

I have a set of new plugs in now...........although that doesnt mean too much anyways.

Gonna run them for about 300-500 miles and take a look

Rich

[cdrookie]

I'm not saying it's your issue, but here's what happened to me.

I had my new Edelbrock heads shipped directly to someone to port and assemble them. I got them in 2002. I can't remember exactly when but within a year or 2 (or 3) I had the engine running. It sounded good and the plugs were a tan color. Fast forward a number of years and I moved and now have the car in my garage. I got it together enough to test drive and it never ran right. There was always 2-3 fouled plugs. I spent so much money on plugs, different brands, heat ranges, tried different gaps, I rebuilt the engine, swapped cams, different ignition system, carb, jets, PV's, but always the same results. Finally on my last cam change I got new springs to match. When removing the old springs, I saw the builder had the white umbrella seals on there, they were rock hard. Once the engine was back together with new seals....BAM! I was able to start tuning and stuff started to do what you think it would do. In the end I went with a hotter(maybe too hot) NGK plug and I had no more fouled plugs, and it was a whole different car.

I was in denial thinking that the problem wasn't the heads, since they were new. But, just like us, stuff goes bad as it gets older.

[gtorich]

Thanks cd, im gonna check with Dave at SD on what seals are in there, pretty sure they are the vinton ones, but i"ll double check.

Steve 25, dont leave me hanging. lol..............any thoughts of the different pv springs i was using from Joh Hargrove ............today i cleaned the tail pipes out .........seemed like a black power than any oil..........had two people sniff my dip stick, no body could smell any gas..........so not sure whats up with that. Seems no body wants to do this, one guy took 3 beers before he would. lol.

Gonna double check with Dick Boneski on the pv spring, he only lives a few miles from me.

Rich

[steve25]

One thing in terms of checking the power piston spring out is to note how extra fuel come out of the two boosters when the motor is up to Around 4500 rpm out of gear.
You do not want to see fuel dribbling out of the boosters at idle which would indicate that you still need a lighter tension power piston spring.

How much valve lift are you running and in that same vein do you know what those heads have for retainer to seal clearance?

[gtorich]

Originally Posted by steve25

One thing in terms of checking the power piston spring out is to note how extra fuel come out of the two boosters when the motor is up to Around 4500 rpm out of gear.
You do not want to see fuel dribbling out of the boosters at idle which would indicate that you still need a lighter tension power piston spring.

How much valve lift are you running and in that same vein do you know what those heads have for retainer to seal clearance?

Steve...........from my records Int....627....Ext .632..........cannot find anything about retainer to seal clearance.

Never tried 4500 rpm out of gear.........will give it a shot

only other info is the sheet from SD in 2010..........hope its not upside down, not sure why my pics are comming up that way.

Rich

[mchell]

Sounds like the gasket on the plug is not sealing if you’re getting a little oil in the hole…..provided it’s not coming from a leaky valve cover gasket etc..

[gtorich]

Thanks mchell.........i was thinking that also, but no evidence of the vc leaking, and i put in all the plugs the same.......1-3-5-7 no leaks, problem was 4-6-8.

I usually go hand tight, then about another 1/2 turn on the plugs............with these aluminum heads im parnoid of stripping them out.

Rich

[mchell]

Originally Posted by gtorich

Thanks mchell.........i was thinking that also, but no evidence of the vc leaking, and i put in all the plugs the same.......1-3-5-7 no leaks, problem was 4-6-8.

I usually go hand tight, then about another 1/2 turn on the plugs............with these aluminum heads im parnoid of stripping them out.

Rich

I’ve had it happen on occasion…. We tend to be a little light on the torque when seating the plugs in fear of stripping. Plus, some plugs just don’t seem to go in really nice almost feel tight. Also, the tight fit of the socket in the hole can cause a feeling that the plug it seated but it’s not.