Quote: You have a Breather on the other valve cover i take it?
The RH valve cover has a breather that is open air. The LH has a PCV valve ran to the base of the carb. I made an elaborate baffle that sits under the PCV valve to stop oil from splashing up and into it.
I rigged up a long 5/16" fuel hose to test the fuel pressure. I ran it forward through the core support and grille, then along the passenger fender. I ziptied it to the antenna and RH wiper arm, then taped the guage to the windshield. It sorta looked like something from "Back to the Future." It reads 7-8 at idle. About the same at cruise. It drops a little at part throttle, maybe to a steady 7. At WOT it drops to about 5 but hasn't gone below that. I was able to make 2 WOT runs without detonation, then it started in again. I ran it maybe 5 rimes @ WOT, but when it started pinging, I lifted a bit. I was able to go beyond 3/4 throttle without the knock. maybe I'm getting close. It was encouraging to have those 2 WOT runs without knocking. Maybe the cooler engine was more tolerant, or...... When I first went out to the car, I saw more oil laying in the valley pan. There is also a thin film on each head between the valve covers and the intake. I'm curious if the valve covers are leaking at the top or if oil is pushing UP from between the intake, valley tin and heads. The sides of the valve covers that face the intake are also a bit wet in the middle. There still has been no visible oil smoke from the exhaust, but I suspect that all it takes is a few drops of oil to make the engine ping. That much may not even be detectable in the exhaust stream.
First thing today, I checked the intake bolts ro see if they were tight enough. I was able to turn them 1/4 turn MORE. The FSM calls for 12 lbs, but I've always figured that a little more is better. It was directly after tightening them that I took the road test. The manifold vacuum at idle was up to 11.0, compared to 10.0 before.
I'm going to replace the valve cover gaskets since they already had a tiny leak at the back corners on each side. I'll check for any signs of additional leakage. I'm also going to replace the valley pan. I have 2 more new ones here. If I see any traces of oil on the heads or valley pan, I'll at least have that info to build from. It was a shock the first WOT run without knocking. I was hoping that I had fixed it!
