Quote: Life is full of mistakes, Dave. Sure, I've made a few. If I knew everything, I wouldn't be here asking for advice. A thread like this would have only had 4 responses if all the ducks were in a row and the car ran perfectly. I have had great luck with almost every other car I've owned because they were either stock or only slightly warmed over. A high performance engine raises the stakes beyond what I have dealt with. Part of the problem is that I have trusted some people that gave poor advice. First off, the vendor that sold me the stroker assembly. * "Sure, it will run fine on pump gas." Of course it will. Its just that everything in the combo has to be tuned more carefully since the high compression raises the stakes. " Detonation, huh? I suggest a smaller cam and some thicker head gaskets to lower compression." The above two quotes came from a respected vendor. This was my first foray into a high compression stroked engine and I relied on others to steer me through it. I am not pissed, but I'd like to know what all the mistakes you think I've made? Carb jetting? Its an experiment process. What works for one engine isn't right for another. Distributor timing? Same thing. I wrote that the engine ran warm during the cam break in. Who hasn't had that happen in warm weather? So far the only real screw up has been the oiled intake gaskets. Maybe it was due to my insufficient torque, maybe the intake and head have a slight misalignment I cannot see. Some guys install their valley pans with the paper gaskets, some do not. Maybe some look at a thread with 150 responses and automatically think the OP is an idiot that can't get his junk figured out. If you are the type to make snap judgements, that is too bad. There has been some great advice in this thread that may help others in the future.
Don't feel bad at all. I have made a few of these 'epic saga' threads myself when I had some hard-to-find issues with my Charger. It happens and that's why Moparts is here. If some don't care to keep following your progress, then they can always stop reading the thread.
I still stand by that at least part of your issue is vacuum leak related. It fits the whole lean fuel mix and really low vacuum you are experiencing. The jetting you were going to in order to richen the mixture up seemed pretty high to me but I am not a pro on carbs by a long shot.
12ft-lbs of torque on the intake bolts ain't squat. I'm not sure what you read (or mistook) but 30-35 ft-lbs would be more appropriate. It is important not to over-torque on these aluminum heads but 12 is wayyy too loose. I never use the paper gaskets with the valley pan. I just run a bead of copper RTV ont he sealing surfaces and bolt her together. Finger tight all around then snug the intake bolts down to maybe 15 ft-lbs in crisscross fashion then repeat to 30 ft-lbs or so. Don't worry about the RTV oozing out...you can cut it off when it cures and any inside the intake ports will blow out your tailpipe when you crank it!
