Weird low rpm problem

[DGXSER]

Talk about incredibly idiotic, my brother had a 94 Dodge Dakota..4 cylinder. They put V8s in those I believe..right? and yet, in order to get to one of the bloody fargin spark plugs, you had to remove the blinkin alternator!!! I could have climbed in there and closed the hood with me in the engine compartment and yet can't pull the plugs without pulling the alternator.

[John]

Didja ever change spark plugs in a 76 Chevy Monza with the 305 in it? You had to unbolt the motor mounts and jack the engine up, or cut four holes in the inner fender. How about a blower motor in an early 70's Camaro? You had to remove the right fender or cut a four inch hole in the inner fender.

[DGXSER]

Never did it but heard all about the V8 Monza almost bought one once. But you gotta admit, if you bought a Monza with a V8 you had to expect a tight frickin fit that you would have to deal with. But a 4 cylinder in a TRUCK that you can get a V8 in it. That is what got to me.

[cywelchjr]

Never did it but heard all about the V8 Monza almost bought one once. But you gotta admit, if you bought a Monza with a V8 you had to expect a tight frickin fit that you would have to deal with. But a 4 cylinder in a TRUCK that you can get a V8 in it. That is what got to me.

The real fun one was changing the plugs on a Vega that had a V8 transplanted into it. Had a guy in my unit in the Army had one, 327 with a blower. You just about had to removed the motor to change the plugs, and as I recall, it was pretty fun even to change the oil on that thing.

[John]

If one had a 327 powered Vega, then the fun of driving it was enough to offset the 'fun' of working on it. I would love to build something like that.

[fredintoon]

There's a trick to it

Didja ever change spark plugs in a 76 Chevy Monza with the 305 in it? You had to unbolt the motor mounts and jack the engine up, or cut four holes in the inner fender.

>
Hi John,
only for the back two plugs though. A V8 Monza owner told me this trick:-
Reach in with a hammer and knock the ceramic off the plug.
Now you can get a box-end wrench on the plug body to unscrew it.
Screw the new plug in finger tight, it'll soon seal itself.
Then there's the first V8 Rolls-Royce.
As they'd kept the narrow profile straight 6 hood for continuity of style the plugs were removed by first jacking up the front of the car, taking off the front wheels and then removing the engine access panels behind them.
As the salesmen said,
"What else does your chauffeur have to do on a rainy afternoon?"

[cywelchjr]

If one had a 327 powered Vega, then the fun of driving it was enough to offset the 'fun' of working on it. I would love to build something like that.

It was a bit wild. He had a full roll cage (8 point or better IIRC) for stiffening and wheelie bars on the back (and he needed them, it was tubbed to take to biggest street legal tires he could put on the back) and would lift the front end not only off the line, but at each upshift (auto trans) if you weren't careful. Didn't really corner or stop worth a darn though.

The really fun one was a friend in High School who put a 283 and chevy rear end in a datsun b210 station wagon. That thing was scary.

[Crazcnuk]

And yet, putting a big block in a Monte Carlo (G-body which never came with a big block) has tons of room !

[DGXSER]

And yet, putting a big block in a Monte Carlo (G-body which never came with a big block) has tons of room !

Hey Craz, I am pretty sure it was the same body with a new paint job that became the SS which of course did have the V8. But you are right, we have the same car with the same engine (mine is an 84 Cutlass with the 502 Ramjet). Aside from dealing with my headers, I can at least see and touch all the plugs.

Fred, Interesting you mention having to remove the wheel well covers. I just recently helped my neighbor with a Chevy Blazer change plug wires. Same thing, and it is a V6. You have to raise the car and remove the front wheel and wheel well cover to get to the plugs. Not that bad really, and alot simpler than getting to the plugs on my F150 with the 5.4L

[Crazcnuk]

All the G-bodies came with optional 'small block' v-8s. None came with a big block.

[dbeardslee]

And the award for best diagnostician goes to...

... Randy Rago for his smash hit "Have You Checked Your Pickup Coil Wires Lately?" Yup, that's right. Wasn't a vacuum leak. Wasn't the valves. It was those stinkin' little already-been-fixed-by-the-PO pickup coil wires - one on each coil. Compounding the problem was a handlebar kill switch that hadn't seen daylight in decades. Randy put me on to that little jewel and informed me that all the juice for the coils goes through that switch, so it's kind of important. Be careful if you take one apart - there are two small springs and a tiny ball-bearing that really sail when you disassemble them. With Randy's lightening quick pm responses, a multimeter, and a basic load of motivation, it soon became apparent what the problem was. One wire had a small hole in the sheath, and another had a poorly done solder connection. The problem was intemittent, making it even harder to diagnose. Finally found it by feeling and stretching the wires. What the heck - the valves did need adjustment, and the new carb boots do look great, and I was going to spend that $100 sooner or later anyway, so it's all good. What else can I say but, BOOYEAH!!!