Issues with C4 and new Blueprint 306

[m_m70]

So I’m definitely thinking it’s the engine.

It's a delicate dance between timing and carb adjustment. When I was running my stock 302 and 1405 Edelbrock it ran good. I wanted aluminum heads so I went ahead and put some Trickflow 170's on, dumped the points and swapped in a later model Duraspark out of a '77 and added some long tube headers. Put it all together and it would run in the garage just fine..........Couldn't get it to move down the street with any load (manual transmission).

Turned out the carb was running too rich for the new goodies installed. Changed out the metering rods and springs to a couple stages leaner, bumped my timing up a couple degrees, and it ran like a scalded ape. Your 4:11 gears with the 32's should be putting a smile on your face.

On your ticking noise......what exhaust are you running? have you snugged up exhaust manifold/header bolts at the heads and flanges??

 

[lars]

This was my understanding as well.

They still do. If you don't get it, call and ask. They forgot to include the dyno run sheet with mine. When I called and asked it was in my email inbox 10 minutes later. For what it's worth, they rated my engine at 450HP but on the dyno it went to 467.

 

[lars]

It's a delicate dance between timing and carb adjustment. When I was running my stock 302 and 1405 Edelbrock it ran good. I wanted aluminum heads so I went ahead and put some Trickflow 170's on, dumped the points and swapped in a later model Duraspark out of a '77 and added some long tube headers. Put it all together and it would run in the garage just fine..........Couldn't get it to move down the street with any load (manual transmission).

Turned out the carb was running too rich for the new goodies installed. Changed out the metering rods and springs to a couple stages leaner, bumped my timing up a couple degrees, and it ran like a scalded ape. Your 4:11 gears with the 32's should be putting a smile on your face.

On your ticking noise......what exhaust are you running? have you snugged up exhaust manifold/header bolts at the heads and flanges??

^^^^ this. Try using a length of tubing as a stethoscope. A leaking header gasket could make a nice ticking sound, but it could be lots of things. Listening for it might help pinpoint where it's coming from.

And my money is on carb tuning. I can't offer any suggestions other than being really nice to m_m70 since he has actual experience with the 1405, unlike me. But I agree that engine should get your attention when you step on it.

 

[bronco italiano]

I could hear the ticking too at start up.
Put a wideband on it and tune that carb in once you know the exhaust isn't leaking.

 

[m_m70]

I could hear the ticking too at start up.

Is it only at startup?? Or does it fade out??

 

[deltabronco]

No video came through on the email.
Adjust your carb for smoothest needle/highest vacuum and drop the rpm's if you can keep it smooth (to 650-700 at lowest).
What base timing did BP want with the cam? I would stay with that for now because of their warranty.

I sent two emails because the first didn’t load up. You should have another

 

[deltabronco]

Is it only at startup?? Or does it fade out??

Nope seems to get a bit louder as it warms up. Passenger side is louder than driver. And you really have me thinking on the carb. I’m really not that impressed when I step on the gas. I feel like I’m driving at end in first gear. And I did confirm 50 mph at 2200 rpm.

 

[deltabronco]

Is it only at startup?? Or does it fade out??

If you send email I can send video

 

[deltabronco]

It's a delicate dance between timing and carb adjustment. When I was running my stock 302 and 1405 Edelbrock it ran good. I wanted aluminum heads so I went ahead and put some Trickflow 170's on, dumped the points and swapped in a later model Duraspark out of a '77 and added some long tube headers. Put it all together and it would run in the garage just fine..........Couldn't get it to move down the street with any load (manual transmission).

Turned out the carb was running too rich for the new goodies installed. Changed out the metering rods and springs to a couple stages leaner, bumped my timing up a couple degrees, and it ran like a scalded ape. Your 4:11 gears with the 32's should be putting a smile on your face.

On your ticking noise......what exhaust are you running? have you snugged up exhaust manifold/header bolts at the heads and flanges??

Running a stock dual exhaust with Duffs ceramic long headers

 

[m_m70]

If you send email I can send video

Happy to take a look. Are you OK with me posting it here so others can chime in as well?

michaeljgrandon@yahoo.com

 

[m_m70]

And I did confirm 50 mph at 2200 rpm.

Is this as fast as you can go or just as fast as you've had it? The RPM's are right for the speed so it doesn't seem to be slipping.

 

[m_m70]

Assuming you are running ported vacuum to your distributor? Have you checked that the vacuum advance is working? I know it's a ton of questions but the checks are easy, fast and best of all free.

 

[nvrstuk]

I just read the entire thread.

-Check compression. This is important because if you had a carb that was allowing gas to pour through it then you washed your cylinders of oil before the rings seated and you have ruined it.

- is the gas 10% or 15% ethanol? How old is it? Was the entire fuel system flushed with fresh gas last summer or did the ethanol gas just get replaced when you suspected bad gas. This is also very important.

-then if your timing is appr.10-14 at idle and about 32 at full advance then you need to go back to the carb as I didn't read anything about a missfire- correct?

-Somebody around you has a carb(s) that works on their old rig and in 15 min it's swapped over to yours. Really is that easy. I have 2 loaned out right now to guys.
Then you could eliminate the carb part anyway and your timing, 3 things knocked out already.

-If the noise is a "light tick", SOLVE that potential unknown by driving to an exhaust shop and have the guy that listens to the joints he welds or bolts together as he does this every day and in literally 5 min can determine if there is a small exhaust leak or he can point it to a rocker or lifter possibly.

- You have to narrow this down and you do that with testing compression, distributor timing and then testing with a known carb. You will be really unhappy if you send that engine back and there is nothing wrong with it besides a slight tick which sounds like it could be exhaust. You would be paying shipping both directions and still have to fix the issue. Course if it worked great for them then you'd really have the problem isolated.

Important- -
Do ONE of these things each day or week depending on your schedule. Don't jump all around guessing and throwing $$ at it. Just do one at a time and you will figure it out.

 

[MonsterBIlly]

OK, to save money stop buying parts.

Pain to get it all to fit, sounds like maybe TC was not inserted, then turned, then inserted fully?

Did you have to use TC bolts to pull the bellhousing to the engine block?

I thinknthis is the issue. I had the same issue with a crate engine i bought. I did not have the torque convertor seated all the way. So it squeeled really bad. After it warmed up the squealing would subside some. However after 2 months of light use the engine failed. I ended up trashing the thrust bearing and then the bottom end gave out. This was in a brand new blueprint crate engine.
They did warranty the engine but told me specifically it was caused by a torque convertor issue.

I was extra careful when installing the replacement and everything was fine.

 

[Brush Hog]

I’ve had one loose spark plug cause exact same issue.

 

[Timmy390]

Important- -
Do ONE of these things each day or week depending on your schedule. Don't jump all around guessing and throwing $$ at it. Just do one at a time and you will figure it out.

SO important to not jump around and not have a process to solving this. Start with a list and then walk through it. Take each component and verify then move to the next.

Tim

 

[deltabronco]

Assuming you are running ported vacuum to your distributor? Have you checked that the vacuum advance is working? I know it's a ton of questions but the checks are easy, fast and best of all free.

I am not running vacuum to the distributor. Both ports are plugged. BP recommends not .

 

[deltabronco]

I just read the entire thread.

-Check compression. This is important because if you had a carb that was allowing gas to pour through it then you washed your cylinders of oil before the rings seated and you have ruined it.

- is the gas 10% or 15% ethanol? How old is it? Was the entire fuel system flushed with fresh gas last summer or did the ethanol gas just get replaced when you suspected bad gas. This is also very important.

-then if your timing is appr.10-14 at idle and about 32 at full advance then you need to go back to the carb as I didn't read anything about a missfire- correct?

-Somebody around you has a carb(s) that works on their old rig and in 15 min it's swapped over to yours. Really is that easy. I have 2 loaned out right now to guys.
Then you could eliminate the carb part anyway and your timing, 3 things knocked out already.

-If the noise is a "light tick", SOLVE that potential unknown by driving to an exhaust shop and have the guy that listens to the joints he welds or bolts together as he does this every day and in literally 5 min can determine if there is a small exhaust leak or he can point it to a rocker or lifter possibly.

- You have to narrow this down and you do that with testing compression, distributor timing and then testing with a known carb. You will be really unhappy if you send that engine back and there is nothing wrong with it besides a slight tick which sounds like it could be exhaust. You would be paying shipping both directions and still have to fix the issue. Course if it worked great for them then you'd really have the problem isolated.

Important- -
Do ONE of these things each day or week depending on your schedule. Don't jump all around guessing and throwing $$ at it. Just do one at a time and you will figure it out.

Is this as fast as you can go or just as fast as you've had it? The RPM's are right for the speed so it doesn't seem to be slipping.

No, I just used this as a baseline. It will definitely go faster.

 

[deltabronco]

I could hear the ticking too at start up.
Put a wideband on it and tune that carb in once you know the exhaust isn't leaking.

It’s loudest under passenger side valve cover. Will investigate this weekend.

 

[deltabronco]

Happy to take a look. Are you OK with me posting it here so others can chime in as well?

michaeljgrandon@yahoo.com

Sure