Hey guys this is my neighbors 1970 396 Chevelle SS and I am trying to get it running better. I've never worked on older american cars like this but they are really simple and I am learning quickly.
Symptoms/problems:
Very little power, runs very rich. Black smoke coming from exhaust when revved or accelerating. Left exhaust has very little exhaust flow and right side exhaust seems like a leaf-blower in comparison!
What I've done so far:
- Replaced spark plugs with new ones. Old spark plugs had so much carbon on them it was rediculous.
-Installed new edelbrock carburetor (the one in there was too big for it)
- Attempted to time the distributor better.
- Put lucas total tune-up cleaner in gas to hopefully clear carbon crap out.
I let my dad time the distributor since he's done it before and he noticed something wierd about it. He said that he had to turn it a lot farther than normal to see any effect on how the engine ran. Instead of moving it 2 or 3 degrees to see a difference it was more like 6-8 degrees. We used a light gun (not sure of the porper name) and the needle was way off to start with and he thinks the distributor was installed wrong in the first place. We were trying to adjust it to where it would start pining and then turn it down a few degrees but never got that far.
The distributor was replaced by the previous owner with a unilite electronic distributor.
After timing the distributor there definitely is more power but not anywhere near what it should be!
Can anybody give a suggestion on what is wrong? I wish somebody who knew these engines really well could help us!
Any help is greatly appreciated
Here's a pic!
