I seem to be getting consistent spark, although not very strong. When I
crank the starter, the voltage at the coil drops considerable down to around
4 volts. This is certainly causing the weak spark.
I pulled all the spark plugs and tried rolling the engine over that way. It
spun at a better speed (closer to normal), and the voltage at the coil
dropped to only 9 volts. The engine seems to be free, ie. it mores with a
wrench on the crankshaft sprocket.
Is the combination of olds block and pistons, with buick heads producing more
compression that what the stock starter can handle? Would the purchase of
one of those gear reduction starters solve my problem? At this point, I
really don't care how much it costs, I just want it finished. Do any of the
vendors have a gear reduction starter on the shelf, ready to be shipped?
On an odd note. I don't seem to smell any gas on the plugs. I can see the
edelbrock pumping gas into the barrels of the carb. Is it turning over so
slowly that it isn't producing enough vacuum to pull the gas / air mixture
into the cylinders?
Thanks,
Glenn
ps. If I screwed up the engine rebuild, and I need to start over, I'll be
soliciting inquiries about the possibility of exchanging all my pieces for a
used Miata
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