Olafla sent me a Pm and asked if I left something in the intake. Thus clogging up the last 3 cylinders and explaining the 3 clean plugs. I don't think I did, but I may just pull the intake off completely to see if I placed something down in the head. Or maybe it was in the intake and sucked into the head? But I did already have the intake and headers back off to wrap them with heat wrap. Didn't notice it then.

Rick

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2 Mopars come with Spark plug tubes. One is a world class, racing machine. The other is a 426 CI. boat anchor!

12.70 @ 104.6

In your distributor R&R have you tried 180deg off? That got me one time after a cam install.

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O==\=/==O

"A mechanic is Somebody."
- Jim Preston

once you get it to burp a few times
feel the exhaust 2c which ones are lighting off.

old/very old lawn mower gas?

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slant six's RULE!
http://www.usajon.com

I admit I like Olaf's idea... How the heck can those plugs look so different? Try pulling plug wires while running first to see if 4, 5, 6 have any effect? Jon has good idea with exhaust feel, if a split header.

Lou

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Home of Slant6-powered fun machines since 1988

I have seen new unopened in the box spark plugs be dead
i've seen it twice !

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slant six's RULE!
http://www.usajon.com

I don't know, unless there is something in the rear header. That may explain the last 3 cylinders. I must admit I felt a little encouraged that it may be that. These headers hung in my garage and basement for 20 years. Maybe some mud dobbers plugged them up down in the tubes where you wouldn't notice.

Getting company in an hour, so I'll check on this stuff first thing in the morning.

Distributor is not 180 off. I actually had a timing light on it while cranking and it was firing at just about 10 degrees before. Valve cover is off so it is easy enough to verify again that it is up on compression when I install the distributor.

If I don't figure this out in the next few days there may be a fire at my house!

Rick

_________________
2 Mopars come with Spark plug tubes. One is a world class, racing machine. The other is a 426 CI. boat anchor!

12.70 @ 104.6

I've had that happen if fuel puddling occurs on the back runners...but Rick isn't running a long ram...maybe if the carb is indexed with the primaries toward the front of the car, and the secondaries are dribbling a bit making the back 3 rich? If so maybe check the secondary bowl needle and float level if holley, or float level and passages if Carter/Edelbrock.

I don't think it would be a scenario of the front 3 runners having a vacc. leak...

???

-D.Idiot

I've had 3 plugs darken like that when just starting the motor and not running it very long with a 4bbl.

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Official Cookie and Mater Tormentor.

To all of you who said vacuum leak you get the trophy. It was a series of small things that caused it but suffice it to say it was a leak at the bottom edge of the intake.

When I removed the intake and headers to check for obstructions, I noticed carbon leaking by the gasket at the bottom of the front 3 exhaust ports. Since this was a new Cox Brothers, extra thick gasket, I new it could not be faced up correctly.

I spoke to Lou this morning (Thanks) and he said to make sure the intake and headers slide onto the head without any friction. So after cleaning the head surface I slid everything into place with out the gasket and snugged it all up. That is when I noticed number 6 header tube was hitting the intake runner enough that when I snugged up the rear header it pushed up on the runner which would actually rock up the intake and cause a bad seal at the lower edge of the intake.

I also found two additional ribs on this 79 block that run right up to the edge of head. These ribs caught gasket and held it out away from the head. This probably made the leak worse. I ground those off and eliminated the problem.

Finally after I check the intake for flatness and reassembled everything, I noticed a couple of the triangle washers did not look like they were hitting the intake correctly. Upon further investigation, the Clifford headers are about 1/16 or a bit more thicker than the intake flange. So I took all the washers and bent them slightly so that they faced up against the intake evenly. This would have allowed me to think everything was tight when it was really only tight on the headers.

Pictures to follow later. Now I can go back and reinstall all my new stuff that has been removed trying to run down the problem.

Thanks to my slanted family for your help! I feel much, much, much better now!!

Rick

_________________
2 Mopars come with Spark plug tubes. One is a world class, racing machine. The other is a 426 CI. boat anchor!

12.70 @ 104.6

This shows the evidence that the header (and intake) were not faced up flat.


I cleaned up the intake face (again!) while it was out


Look just below the lower stud and you see the rib that the gasket was hitting.



Rib ground away. There is also a second one at the rear of the block

_________________
2 Mopars come with Spark plug tubes. One is a world class, racing machine. The other is a 426 CI. boat anchor!

12.70 @ 104.6

Glad that is sorted out.........

Rattle some windows!

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Yeah....Im the one who destroyed this rare, vintage automobile.....

some more pictures are always good

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Official Cookie and Mater Tormentor.

As I mentioned to Rick on the phone, I am very careful about int/exh fitment with a new combination. I often spend 1-3 hrs fitting everything and regrinding to get it all to fit perfectly. The Aussiespeed was the worst, but I've done this on Clifford stuff quite a bit too.

Congrats, Rick.

Lou

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Home of Slant6-powered fun machines since 1988

One other thing I did notice. If you look at the sealing surface of the Clifford headers, it looks like they run a bead of weld around the port opening and then plane it flat. It was very noticable that the weld was thicker at the top of the headers and thinner at the bottom. This would tend to tilt the bottom of the headers in towards the block/ engine from where it should ideally be. I spent probably 2 hours working on everything to get it to slide into place as it should.

Rick

_________________
2 Mopars come with Spark plug tubes. One is a world class, racing machine. The other is a 426 CI. boat anchor!

12.70 @ 104.6