I know I left that sledgehammer...
I know I left that sledgehammer around here somewhere.
It's been nearly a year since our '67 Buick GS 400 ran. We had just added an Air Ride Street Challenge system and were driving it home when we heard a strange noise that got worse when we revved the engine. That noise turned out to be several bad rod bearings that had eaten their way through the journals of the crankshaft. We shipped the engine off to JMS Racing Engines, where the mill was rebuilt and a set of Edelbrock heads were added. Now that we have it back, it's time to make this sucker run again. Stabbing the engine is the easy part, but what about the initial start-up? It seems simple enough, but if you blow it, you'll likely start a fire, kill your battery, or both. Watch and learn.
Trouble Shooting
These are some common new-engine problems and their likely causes. We've made these mistakes so you don't have to. Enjoy!
| PROBLEM | LIKELY CAUSE |
| Engine backfires and will not start | Distributor 180 degrees off |
| Distributor one tooth off |
| Crossed spark plug wires |
| Engine will not idle | Retarded timing |
| Vacuum leak(s) |
| Lean A/F ratio |
| Out of gas |
| Engine idles high | Choke fast idle is on |
| Idle screw screwed in all the way |
| Linkage is bound |
| No return spring |
| Noob’s foot is on the gas pedal |
| Engine cranks slowly | Overadvanced timing |
| Dead battery |
| Loose battery cables |
| Bass-heavy hip-hop playing on stereo |
 The Buick 400 was dyno'd after...  The Buick 400 was dyno'd after it was built, so we know the cam and ignition timing are right. If your engine was not run on a dyno, you will want to line up the mark on the balancer with the timing tab on the engine block. We usually line up the mark with the initial timing setting-in this case, 15 degrees BTDC. To make sure the engine is on the compression stroke, pull off a valve cover and make sure both No. 1 rocker arms are loose or peek into the spark plug hole and look for the top of the piston. On most domestic non-Cadillac V-8 engines, the cylinder that is the farthest forward on the block is No. 1. |  The next step is to prelube...  The next step is to prelube the engine by spinning the oil pump. The best method is to use an old distributor housing that centers the shaft on the pump drive. Since we didn't have the original, we removed a shaft from a Chevy points-style distributor and cut off the rotor end. |  The new tool can be chucked...  The new tool can be chucked into a drill and used to spin the oil pump and pressure-lube the engine. Just make sure there is oil in the crankcase first. Watch the oil pressure gauge or the rocker arms for oil to know when to stop. |