It must be a bad lifter. I thought maybe the lock nut was bad as the knock would go away for a second when I tightened it but would come back so I took a lock nut off the 327 on the stand and tried that. It didn't fix the knock. The engine is getting pulled out of there by spring anyway so I guess it'll have to make noise until then.

Still have no idea how the battery is keeping the charge with the draw still there either. Don't get me wrong, I suppose this is good news but I want to get rid of that draw. I just can't image the short being on the fuse box feed wire behind the fuse box as I had the draw gone one day a while back and then it came back when I drove the car. If it was indeed because I had moved a wire when working on it and then they have re-touched each other, it certainly wasn't a wire that I moved behind the fuse box. I've traced the wire from the starter all the way to the firewall right behind the box and still not found it. When I repaired the damaged wire right at the firewall behind the fuse box the draw was gone when I cut the wire to fix it with connectors so I know it's in that wire.

 

OK, so, since my post last evening a lot has transpired with this car. I'm really hoping that this is the "real" issue all along and I can get on with the rest of my summer already. I decided at around midnight (don't sleep well) that the car needed some fuel and I really wanted to go for a little ride. I had left the battery cable connected again to see if it would start the next morning and it started right up after sitting all day....still good news. The rocker/lifter knock was still there as well, of course. I drove the 10 miles or so to the only gas station in town that's open all night and just before I pulled in the car sounded suspiciously quiet and smooth. *I need to mention again from several posts ago that the alternator has been squealing when I turn the headlights on but only for a minute or two, then goes away. This time the squeal seemed to last a while longer. Anyway, I turned the car off, got the fuel and when I went to start the car back up to go home, it didn't have enough power to turn over and start, not totally dead but close. I do consider myself lucky as an 80+ yr old gentleman happened to pull in to get gas in his '76 Catalina and had some jumper cables in the trunk. I got the car started and the alternator squeal was pretty intense on the way home and voltage guage was showing about 9-10 volts without the headlights on, 8 with them on. Also on the way home there wasn't a single knock from the rocker/lifter...don't think it healed itself but we'll see. When I got in the garage and turned the car off, I knew it wouldn't restart and I was right, not even enough to turn over once. So, I'm going to put the new alternator that I got weeks ago but decided not to put it in the car after doing all the testing to see if the battery drained with the alternator unplugged. I know this kind of stuff can happen, but strange nonetheless.

 

Bet that will end all your problems!

 

Fingers crossed! Could have been a bad diode, but it's still weird though. In the beginning your alternator was putting out 14 volts, and your battery still drained overnight with the alternator disconnected. That's a magical alternator!

 

Like I mentioned, still think I need to get a preist here for the exorcism...Anyone know one that's a Chevy fan? I could really use some "divine intervention" today, lol! I'll put the alternator in a bit later today and advise on the results. I am quite ready to get some new threads going on the actual restoration of this car...

 

[QUOTE=78 on my plate;561857]Like I mentioned, still think I need to get a priest here for the exorcism...Anyone know one that's a Chevy fan?QUOTE]

Would God allow them to be anything else?

 

Amen BB427...

I got the new alternator in today no problem, the draw however, is still there - 0.30ma. I drove the car to a friends house 15 miles away and when I went to leave 30 minutes later, the battery was dead. After I got it running and driving, I noticed that the headlights flickered a few times for a few minutes. After that, it was fine the rest of the way home. *Question* With the 1 wire alternators, do you have to wire them directly to the battery or can you use the wire from the starter to the alternator like the 3 wire? I'm using the power wire from the starter. When I got home this evening and turned the car off, I waited about 5 minutes and it started again. I left the battery cable connected tonight and will see in the morning if it'll start. I'm still feeling better about the situation but gotta find that draw!

 

You can run the wire from alternator to the starter and then to the battery, if the point on the starter is direct to the battery.

 

It is direct to the battery. I'm using the same wire that's on the starter point that has the positive battery cable on it, just like the 3 wire was. I decided to go out again tonight and try things out. The car started right up and I drove it back to the all-night gas station for some candy. Didn't have any problems this time (amen) and it was a good cruise with my 5 year old. I'm wondering if I didn't get the rpm's up high enough after putting the new alternator on to get the regulator to kick on. I guess the real test will be tomorrow to see if she starts again.

 

I forgot to mention that so far, I haven't had any more knocking from that rocker arm that was giving me trouble the other day. When I put the valve cover back on, it was clanking like crazy. It literally just "went away" last night and I've put about 50 miles on the car since then. Adding that to the list of "why ask why's" and hoping it doesn't come back until it comes off the road end of next month.