Fresh Rebuild Woes

[JBraxton]

Hello, Recently built my stock engine, and Am having some issues getting it run well (and my standards aren't very high)
OG mag case, line bored on the crank, stock cam journals.
Reconditioned rods, new 85.5 pistons and cylinders
Engle 110 cam (didn't particularly want it, but my machine shop forgot to give me my old cam, and I was rushing on a Saturday to find a stock one to no avail)
Single port heads that were fly cut to level of indents from the previous cylinders, they could have used new guides, but opted to make do. Hand lapped valves
new Brosol h30/31, with all the jets a size or two up,
New Coil
Old 009 with new points.

The car just feels poor, really bad acceleration, I'm short shifting on hills i shouldn't be and still struggling to get around. Cheapo compression tester said 125 on all cylinders which seems okay. I'm sure the timing needs some adjustment, but what im focused on most right now is what seems like a strange spark issue. At idle, pulling the spark plug leads for 1 and 3 make a large difference, but 2 and 4 make very little if any difference. It doesn't shake like its running on 2 cylinders, but it sure has the power to match. Practically everything has been replaced but the physical 009, any way its causing these issues? I'm at my wits end, my rebuild snowballed hard, and i just want this car to run right as its my daily (fairly dumb). Would love some suggestions, Thanks.

[Bruce.m]

Given it’s two cylinders on the same side. I’d check the intake manifold for an air leak at the head. Spray brake cleaner or similar at the joint and see if the engine behaviour changes.

Are you getting a spark from those two leads? Are they swapped around?

[V8Nate]

I agree with Bruce sounds like it could be an intake leak. Also check your valves if they are tight on that side that can cause loss of power and or missfire

Sent from my SM-S918U using Tapatalk

[Ol'fogasaurus]

Mr. B, another thing to check.

You are running an 009 dist. As I remember, there were two styles of 009 distributors built and one was not as good as the other (I run an 009 too). If you have a shop close to you that can do it, have the dist. spun to see if that part is working properly. I changed mine over to a different points setup which works very well where and how I drive.

Its been a long time but I think mine is a Bosh unit.

https://www.bing.com/search?q=009+distr ... 76&pc=LCTS

Lee

[JBraxton]

Thanks for the replys guys, I don't think it's an intake leak, as I have double checked with brake cleaner already and couldn't sense any changes. Triple checked my valves yesterday, and they were all at 6 except for one that was a touch looser. I have spark on all cylinders. I pulled the plugs on 2 and 4 while the car had more revs to rule out a odd carb issues, and the engine still reacted much less then pulling the other plugs. So strange, spark on all cylinders, matching compression, and still feels weak. I haven't checked my dwell past setting the points to the factory spec, could that cause an issue on only certain cylinders? Doesn't seem like it could to me. Still scratching my head.

[Bruce.m]

If it’s running on 1&3, those are evenly spaced so it won’t sound as rough (shake) as uneven spacing.

Those plug leads are also opposite sides on the cap. Check the cap for any issues / damage.

Were the spark plugs on that side wet?

Any chance the dissy drive is clocked wrong & the distributor is not correctly indexed?

[Ol'fogasaurus]

Yes, check the cap as, if I remember correctly, the cap (ad rotor) can be a problem itself. On a new build new plug wires and plugs are usually something done at the same time.

Obvious but sometimes being excited can cause... whoops! Been there done that!

Lee

[JBraxton]

Cap and leads are new, haven't checked to see if the spark plugs are wet, but I have gone from NGK to Champion to Bosh over the course of this trouble. There's a small chance the dost drive is spun around, but I checked it previously. Could a VW engine run on 1cyl? When I unplug one of the "better" running cylinders it still runs.

[JBraxton]

Hey guys, did a leak down test as suggested by some good air-cooled guys in my area. 2 cylinders tested great at a 2psi difference from input to result (my tester doesn't show percentages) and two tested as a 10 psi difference at 80psi Input. Strangely the two weaker cylinders, are the ones that are running and make the largest difference when pulling the plugs while running. I think I have to yank the engine and rear the heads off to inspect. So strange.

[Ol'fogasaurus]

Checking for wet plugs is a good idea.

On the distributer check the points and capacitor for condition.

Timing the 009 Distributor - vw-resource.com (https://www.bing.com/ck/a?!&&p=69274f9e ... RtbA&ntb=1)

Look for "timing the distributor" as it discusses some things like the plug locations on the cap may be in the wrong position.

Lee

[Phil69]

My 2p worth.
If you're running a 009 you need to swap the leads around #1 is #4 if I recall correctly.
I had the exact same issue. I just kept swapping the leads around on the cap till it ran right.
I lost my eyebrows to a backfire and got a shock from a lead that wasn't seated properly but all's well that ends well.
I very much doubt it's anything serious.