The problem I have with my BBC and Flowmasters is the engine doesn't really smooth out until around 2200 rpm. If I cruise under that I can still feel the lope from the big cam. So I tend to keep the engine above that point, which also means I'm in that zone where it's droning constantly.

 

Appreciate the comments sudstoy and clacia, it's quite a triumphant feeling to make that first drive after having the entire car torn apart for so long. Wish I had a chance to drive it more since then but it's been a hectic week. Holiday festivities this entire weekend left me zero time to do anything more. I did learn that the #6 plug wire melted a bit on the header tube when I drove it that evening. I started the engine before we left town so I could switch stalls in the garage and it didn't want to idle properly and seems sort of lethargic when I tried to rev it. Not a big deal, ordered new plug wires (yep, another set) but probably won't be here until mid week. I'm going to try and finish up the front end the next couple days while waiting out the delivery of the new wires.


With the exhaust, I'm pretty much expecting there to be droning regardless of which mufflers are on there. Not having the pipes all the way out after the mufflers doesn't help with that noise/sound much either. Think I'll do some looking around this evening once I finally get a chance and hopefully get a decision made on what I'm going to run next. Shouldn't have any trouble selling the flowmasters since they don't even have a scratch on 'em. If I get $100 for them, that'll at least help pay for one of the replacements. No big deal. Sudstoy, while I agree with you about prioritizing purchases for this Camaro, it's just one of those things that bother me to the point of escalating the "want" to "need" because I dislike the sound of them that much. When I first installed the flowmasters, I almost didn't knowing I would not want them on there but at that stage, I was in agreement with your philosophy. Wish I wasn't so picky about the sound as I'll most likely end up doing this several times before I'm satisfied. I'd have to assume most everyone feels the same way about certain aspects of their cars and this is just one of those things for me.

 

Yeah man for sure, its your car and you have to build it how you want it. That's the best part about building them in the first place! That first drive is something else isn't it? Crappy deal about the plug wires, but at least they don't cost an arm and a leg. First thing i busted on mine was a flaming river steering box and i think its because it got tightened up too much in install, that hurts.

The drone does get old fast. Currently my exhaust dumps before my rear axle straight down to the pavement. Its hard to have a conversation without yelling haha. Im looking forward to seeing the front end back on and more video clips, try to do some drive by shots so we can get the full feel for your build.

 

If you want to avoid another burnt plug wire, I'd spring for boots on the wires! They're much cheaper than plug wires, and will extend the wire life virtually forever! My SBC didn't need them, as nothing is close, but my BBC will eat plug wires quickly! I put a set on mine, and no more worries!
They used to be almost $50 a set, but I see sellers on Fleabay selling them for under $20 a set now!
8pcs 1200° Spark Plug Wire Boot Heat Sleeve Wrap Protector Header Cover Black | eBay

plug wire heat boots | eBay

 

I agree Sudstoy, plug wires are more affordable than a $600+ steering box for sure. However, when you multiply the new plug wires by 3 (as with many other parts replaced already) it gets expensive for what they are. Vall, I have to admit, I'm a bit shocked. What is the world coming to when Vall actually recommends I purchase parts made overseas?! I have given much consideration to plug boots, almost ordered them with the new wires actually. What I ended up doing today was cutting down the billet plug wire separators that I have. There's one plug wire on each side (#5 & #6) that are extremely close to the header tube and I have the billet separators adjusted all the way already. I just cut about an inch and a half further down on those 2 slots to add some room to bring the wires back and out of the way. Looks like it'll work great but if not, I'll order some boots.


Still working on the front end. Wish I could get myself to stop when I should be stopping when it comes to installing things temporarily. Ended up sanding both fenders entirely and decided to spray them the color I'll be going with instead of white. I'll have to remove the paint anyway so I decided to see them (at least mostly) the way they'll be when it's all painted. Just ended up taking a lot longer than it should have for what I'm doing. Anyway, have one just about ready for install, hope to have it on the car tomorrow. New plug wires will be here tomorrow and hopefully the second set of new fender mounting hardware that I ordered. A lot of money spent on bolts and clips but looking at the rusty bolts up against that fresh paint made me cringe and I didn't want to take MORE time de-rusting fender bolts. I'm probably a couple /3 days out from having the front end installed and I'll take a few pics of that. Once I'm able to drive a bit more and get things all adjusted properly I'll get a few more video clips posted for sure. I know one thing that needs to be a priority is figuring out why the gas gauge is not working! New sending unit installed, tested before install but something's not jivin' for some reason. Really hope I don't need to drop the tank, praying it's the ground but I've messed with that several times already with no luck. First things first though.

 

Got another fuel delivery issue - don't even know how that could be possible having replaced almost everything at least twice. Engine will start but will not idle without foot help. Very sluggish with revs. Pressure gauge will only get up to 2-3 lbs when running and when I turn it off I can go out and watch the pressure gauge bleed back down to zero. Carb is not flooding, can barely even smell the fuel. I'm going to check the filters today to see if there's any junk in there. I'm not thinking I'll find anything though, everything is new. With the pressure doing what it's doing, does that seem like a clogged filter or maybe an issue with the diaphragm in the pump? Just curious what others think in lieu of me inspecting the filters today?

 

Don't remember what regulator you're using? There are a lot of poor quality regulators out there, and even the more expensive Holleys don't have a great reputation. I use them, but have had occasional failures with them. I'd be sure my regulator was good, and also the fuel pressure gauge. I've had a couple pressure gauges that started reading erratically when engine heated up, and they got hot too.
The pressure immediately bleeding off makes me wonder if fuel is draining back into the system. Mine stays up for several minutes on both of my cars, and one is mechanical pump, and the other electric.
Might consider removing the regulator as a test, and see if the car idles OK then. If it does, you can simply replace the bad regulator.

 

should you have a check valve to keep the fuel pressure instead of the pressure drops to 0 immediately?

 

This doesn't seem like a regulator issue, but I guess it's possible. The regulator has been replaced already (late last year with the Holley) and the filter between the pump and regulator was clean. I can watch the fuel spray into the carb when I move the throttle too. The stream of fuel doesn't seem terribly weak but tough to say exactly what it should look like. I don't know where the fuel is going either when I shut the engine off and it bleeds back down like that. It's getting fuel, just not enough. 2-3 lbs on the gauge (brand new replacement gauge also) but impossible to tell doing this by myself. Can't keep the engine running so I can check. I ordered a new fuel pump yesterday, only thing that hasn't been replaced already. To me, it seems more like a pump issue than a regulator with the fuel bleeding back off like that. Guess I could try bypassing the regulator to check and see. Really bums me out too, wanted to take a longer cruise today since it's "Collector Car Appreciation Day" today. Fenders ready to install but decided to wait since I'm now having to work on the engine and the passenger side fender would just make it tougher to get at. New pump probably won't be here until mid-week next week either.

 

Well, that one's on me. Still not sure what to think about the low fuel pressure but the reason why the Camaro wouldn't idle properly is because the distributor hold-down clamp wasn't doing it's job! Must've happened on the maiden voyage the other evening. After messing around with fuel filters, regulators and such I was able to start the engine and see 5lbs or so on the gauge. I kept the engine running until it was good and warm and managed to get a 600 rpm idle, just long enough to get out and hit the balancer with a timing light. It was reading a less-than-optimal 5 degrees AFTER TDC. LOL! Dizzy must've rotated when we drove it. I reset the timing and it purrs once again! Quite strange but fuel pressure looked good. Don't know what to think about that but I'm going to swap out the pump when the new one arrives still and hopefully that's that.


Off topic (well maybe not) question - How come my idle goes crazy (high) whenever I connect the vacuum advance hose to the carb? I have yet to get that line connected without a ridiculously fast idle. It's an adjustable canister and I've only got it turned out about 5 turns. Just don't get it? Maybe someone can enlighten me? Please? Sure would be nice to get this Camaro all buttoned up so I can get it on the road.