I just got 496 stroker engine in and car running. Had engine built and was dyno'ed with my carb, distributor and headers before I brought it home from the builder's shop.
It ran great on dyno but now that I have it in the car it idles like crap, rough, stumbles a bit at times on acceleration and seems low on power. I am kind of disappointed. I figured I paid to have it dyno'ed at builder's shop so it would be an easy "drop in and go".

Here is what I've found/checked:

1) Small bit of leaking between head and intake along top. (Bubbles)
2) Oil pressure seems high according to gauge.
3) Had to retard timing to get it to idle smoother and not ping on acceleration. (Was dyno'ed at 32* TDC)
4) Have a MSD Soft Touch rev limiter and it seems to kick in way before 7000 rpm. So I took out pill for now.
5) Pretty bad header leaks. (Flanges are warped and am getting better gaskets)
6) Found out builder had only 6 qts. of oil in 7 qt. pan when dyno'ed, hope no damage from that.
7) Engine doesn't seem to like timing set to 32* anymore. I am getting alot of pinging at idle and under load. Sluggish starting when set at 32*. (10.5 : 1 comp)

Could you guys could give me a checklist of things to check to figure out where the problem is?

I am really happy to drive car after 7 years of resto but am bummed it runs so crappy. I did paint and body work myself but have to admit I know very little about the mechanics. Please help a novice out.

Thanks for the checklist!

Is it missing or popping? Bad gas? Dirty fuel filter?

MSD box grounded? Are you sure your supposed to take the pill out of the msd box while it's running?

Coil wires hooked up right?

The negative 1 qt of oil is not going to hurt anything. No problem there.

Snug the intake bolts down again with a small wrench. Might as well stick a wrench on the rest of the bolts too. Oil pan, timing cover etc will crawl back out after a few heat cycles. Catch the possible leaks before they start!

Wipe some hi-tep copper rtv on the header gaskets and that will cure your leaks.

If you get too lost take it back to the machine shop and ask them for help fixing it.

My guess is that something is amiss in the ignition....

Was anything removed before delivery? (Wires, whole distributor?)

If it ran great on the dyno, it must be something simple that got knocked out of adjustment between the shop and your car.

I'd double check the distributor, wires, etc......

Keep us updated, you'll get this beast running great!!!!!

Anyone have a checklist of things to run through for me??