The first thing to do is call the shop that installed your motor and see what they say. They should make sure that the motor is running right without any problems. Sounds like your carb needs some tuning.

 

Don't get discouraged, August. Frustrating as it can be, even the guys that really know their stuff need help once in a while. Like Steve said, call the shop that did the work, first. If that doesn't get you anywhere, hopefully someone on here that lives close to you will come by and give you a hand. Good chance to make a new friend, too. And if that doesn't work, plenty of on line help to be had here as well. You'll get it going.

 

I just called the shop and an emploee said that the owner wont be there for a week, he is on vacation and all he said was that they re jetted the carb and that the engine was a tooth off.and he cant do anything for me. It cost me 392.00 an hour for this guy, and i cant afford it again. My wife said enough is enough, get rid of it, we have around 70,000 dollars in this car

 

I just called the shop and an emploee said that the owner wont be there for a week, he is on vacation. It cost me 392.00 an hour for this guy

No wonder the guy is on vacation!

IF you own one of these cars, you have to have some sort of basic knowledge of how an engine runs. The reason for this is that it is somewhat of an art form to work on them today, and this is particularly true when it comes to troubleshooting them. THere is no "shop" with a magic bullet that will NOT cost you an arm and a leg. Why? They know there are two types of people that own these cars. The first type is the vast majority here at TC; they know how they work and will not take them to be worked on unless overwhelming circumstances force the owner to do it. The second type are those who can afford a TON of money to throw at problems, and unfortunately, shops will take advantage of that to the tune of almost $400 per hour.

My suggestion would be to get some books, watch some online videos, read A LOT here at TC, and take a cooling off period from the car. Come back to it with a clear head and some knowledge and then start figuring out what is going on with help from this board- AFTER you take it to the guy who "fixed" it so he can fix it right for FREE. You'll be armed with knowledge at that point and you'll be better off either way. Couldn't hurt to buy at least a vacuum gauge and a compression tester if you have 70 large in the car.

 

I don't think I would give up on the shop that broke it in. whether the owner is there or not, You got it from them, you paid them to make sure it was correct!

 

$392/hr. ! that rate is wrong on so many levels!!
..and they rejet the carb and install the distributor incorrectly and don't want to fix it?

if you were here in CT I would be glad to help you out for nowhere near that rate!!
Hopefully,there is a local TCer that can lend a hand..don't get discouraged.

 

Man, do I ever know the feeling but don't give up at this stage in the game. :noway:

 

$392 an hour for what guy to do what work?

Who installed the distributor and the carburetor?

 

Philip,

This may be something as simple as your distributor becoming loose and rotating slightly. That might explain the backfire and that it wouldn't start.

Put your hand on the distributor cap and see if you can move it back and forth (not up and down).

If it is loose, you just need to reset the timing and lock it down.

 

White smoke usually means oil burning. But then, maybe it just looked white.

A tooth off?? What, the distributor, the timing chain?? How did they know this? And why did they let it out of the shop knowing something was amiss.

That seems like a pretty stout billing rate, even the guy that works on my Diesel Motorhome only gets $125 a hour.

It could be something as simple as the distributor moving, or something as bad a rocker arm falling off.

 

My lawyer doesn't charge me that much an Hour $$$$$$$$

WTF ????

 

That's a rip. fix it yourself. Avoid that $392 an hour shop like the plague.

Hope their mechanical ability is better than their arithmetic!

 

$392.00 an hour, I'm speechless. Thats $100.00 more an hour than a crew rate for a union elevator company. I hope you got kissed, you know the rest.


Rocky

 

That guy must be a know it all for that amount of money an hour , never seen one them . Good luck getting Einstein to fix your car , he probably rigged the engine to fail so to suck more money out of you . He should fix it for nothing , really good luck sorry seeing you having trouble , maybe another member or members of TC can help that's near you in your area. Keep in touch with TC for support .

 

If it were me, I wouldn't be letting the guy touch anything of mine. Something sure isn't right.

 

In your post you said that you just installed a crate motor and had a shop do the break in. Who built the engine?

 

He posted that he had a vibration in his motor earlier...

 

I want to thank everone for there support, im going to take some time off of the car and get better educated on the motor, as for the shop im done and no one will touch my car but me. When i get her going ill be sure to come back and let everyone know what was up. Thanks again

 

Just take it step by step, you can get any answers right here on TC that you might need.

 

Lean miss and blown out power valve,thats if its got a Holley on it.

 

Holley has put a check valve to prevent power valve blow out since 92!


Rocky

 

I still do not believe there is any shop in SoCal that gets $400 an hour. Pls explain. You seem fed up because your pile aint right. There are a hundred people here that can help you make it right. And if all your high dollar guy did was drop in your crate engine, set the timing and carb, not sure how he is too terribly responsible for you issues.
But either way. Call some shops. There are dozens around you. get comfortable with one and get it towed in to see what failed. 2014 cars get towed in from time to time as well. It just might be something both simple and easy. Speculation at this point is just going to give you an ulcer.

 

Wow!!! As stated already, don't give up now... Keep your head in the game...

 

Wish I lived closer,I would drop over and see if this was something simple that could be fixed in the garage.

 

Are you sure he charged $392 for 1 hrs work ? I'm not defending his prices but that sounds like maybe he combined all his labor charges for the jet changes,timing settings and break-in ?
Either way its still way overpriced especially since they screwed up.

 

First of all I would like to say I'm sorry some person has done some work
For you and then from what it sounds like has not been available to help you
Out. As someone mentioned before about the two different types of
Owners there are out there I believe what he was saying was a great point
However I don't care what type of owner you are business is business
And sounds like to me this person needs to make matters work.
Knowledge is powerful so yes you are doing the right thing by taking a
Break and coming back. Wish I was closer to help good luck

 

Hey Philip. How far is your location from the Sac area ? If not too far I could stop by and help you out. Im sure its something really simple and would be more than glad to help you out. Short story, when I first got my chevelle, it has a SBC 400 but anyways, the distributor gear was stripped and the timing was jumping around like crazy. It was backfiring and it would run but as im driving itd pop at times and engine would cut out then come back on. Pulled the air cleaner and the bottom piece is covered in brownish stains and the top piece just looks like their was a fire from the carb cooking it up and the air cleaner filter was just all brownish discolored nasty looking. Anyways, picked up a Mallory 85 series distributor for 130 something bucks, dropped her in, timed it to dead on timing, tightened the cap down, replaced the spark plugs (gapped at .035) and plug wires, runs like a champ now. Hope this helps at all, man. Good luck.

 

Since he was inside the carb I would look there first. Sounds like maybe a float stuck and it dumped a bunch of fuel in the engine possibly.