74 buick electra 225 with the 455 is gutless

**Trudy55** · 05-06-2013, 01:33 PM

My '71 Electra 225 could roast the drive tire at will, and after putting that 455/TH-400 in my pickup it ran low 15's with tons of wheel spin on an open diff and the stock 8.5:1 compression. Point being, your car should certainly have more pep than what you describe. Sounds like you've identified a bad head, but problems with the carburetor or timing advance could also be to blame.

**electraleadfoot** · 03-19-2014, 06:58 PM

Ok a little update. I know it has been a long time but i ended up doing a top end rebuild and had the broken bolts in the head fixed. also got a new tranny pan gasket and filter. Add on new spark plugs and spark plug wires. it will now crank fine but not even seem to try and fire up. It has a hei ignition that i put on way back, but haven't driven it much. now i screwed up and forgot where my vacuumn lines go to when i took it all apart but not sure why that wouldn't let it start. I used an inline spark checker and it's not flashing at all. and according to the checker that means it has something wrong with ignition. I need help or ideas cause i'm getting frustrated and that usually makes things worse. so any help would be greatly appreciated.

**raycow** · 03-20-2014, 07:21 PM

If the same HEI worked before you took the engine apart, my first choice would be a wiring issue that occurred during reassembly. Check for +12V on the power input lead to the HEI with the key switch on. If you have power there, have a helper crank the engine and check for power again while cranking.

Ray

**electraleadfoot** · 03-22-2014, 10:02 AM

Originally Posted by raycow

If the same HEI worked before you took the engine apart, my first choice would be a wiring issue that occurred during reassembly. Check for +12V on the power input lead to the HEI with the key switch on. If you have power there, have a helper crank the engine and check for power again while cranking.

Ray

Yes it is the same hei ignition before the rebuild. Never messed with the distributer at all. Just did the intake gaskets, some head repairs and gaskets there and New filter and gasket for tranny. However I took all the vacuum hoses off and not sure where they all go. I checked the distributer and it turns. My ignition control module tested good. But I will try those too. Thanks Ray for the advice.

**electraleadfoot** · 03-23-2014, 07:32 PM

I tested more and if I did it right everything checks out ok so I don't get it. A thing I did notice is the distributor shaft did not slip out very easily.

**electraleadfoot** · 03-27-2014, 02:58 PM

Originally Posted by electraleadfoot

I tested more and if I did it right everything checks out ok so I don't get it. A thing I did notice is the distributor shaft did not slip out very easily.

Ok replaced the pickup coil and no change. So that brings the list of New or pretty new parts up to this. Pickup coil, coil,cap and rotor, spark plugs, and spark plug wires. Help me here I am frustrated and lost. I have pretty much overhauled the ignition system.

**TexasJohn55** · 03-27-2014, 07:59 PM

Originally Posted by raycow

If the same HEI worked before you took the engine apart, my first choice would be a wiring issue that occurred during reassembly. Check for +12V on the power input lead to the HEI with the key switch on. If you have power there, have a helper crank the engine and check for power again while cranking.

Ray

Have you followed Ray's advice here?

I was real hesitant to jump in on this thread and muddy the waters but here goes anyway.

The original problem of the engine being gutless: I would have suggested that you put a vacuum guage on it to help diagnose, a bad valve may have shown up as a pronounced pulsing at idle. My original thought was that you had jumped time and had very low vacuum due to retarded valve timing. That would also be evident if the idle was extremely low and had to be adjusted just to keep it running. Most often when it jumps time, it won't even run because it jumps more that one tooth.

You mentioned a bent pushtube, did you have a valve job done? Are you confident of getting the distributor back in time when you had it out? You mentioned the distributor didn't come out easily, can you elaborate on that?

Bottom line is you may now have 2 distinct problems.

**electraleadfoot** · 03-27-2014, 08:49 PM

Originally Posted by TexasJohn55

Have you followed Ray's advice here?

I was real hesitant to jump in on this thread and muddy the waters but here goes anyway.

The original problem of the engine being gutless: I would have suggested that you put a vacuum guage on it to help diagnose, a bad valve may have shown up as a pronounced pulsing at idle. My original thought was that you had jumped time and had very low vacuum due to retarded valve timing. That would also be evident if the idle was extremely low and had to be adjusted just to keep it running. Most often when it jumps time, it won't even run because it jumps more that one tooth.

You mentioned a bent pushtube, did you have a valve job done? Are you confident of getting the distributor back in time when you had it out? You mentioned the distributor didn't come out easily, can you elaborate on that?

Bottom line is you may now have 2 distinct problems.

Ya i followed his advice but i am by no means great or patient with electrical things by any means so im not saying i could'nt have somehow done it wrong.

That is possible again not saying im an expert or especially saying that i couldn't have missed something simple. When i start getting frustrated or pissed at a problem then i can sometimes forget about the kiss theory.

No i didn't really have a valve job done. Just mainly fixed broken parts and cleaned off the nastiness on the valves. i marked it and put it back in the same spot when i reinstalled it. the rotor was pointing at the number 1 cylinder. I am not confident of anything right now other then i have a lot of new parts into this one problem. I meant when you take the distributor shaft out of the housing it slid out smoothly a ways and then i had to really put effort turning, wiggling and pulling to get it out the rest of the way. this all with the gear and roll pin out.

What do you mean by 2 distinct problems??

**electraleadfoot** · 04-01-2014, 02:14 AM

I decided to know just in case replace the ignition control module and keep the other as a spare. But still no fire up. I didn't see any fuses burnt out. Im really thinking it has to be a vacuum line thats either not hooked up or not hooked up right. Like I said I have not put the a/c or air pump back on. I also forgot where all the vacuum lines go to and am still searching for a detailed vacuum line diagram for it but it all seems to be 76 and newer. Would a 76 be the same routing?

**henryj11** · 04-02-2014, 12:17 PM

Just a thought. If your car had a points ignition and was changed to an HEI, a commonly overlooked item is the supply (BAT) wire for the points ignition is a resistor wire.
This supplies 9 volts to the system so as to not wipe out the points prematurly. This is nowhere near the current needed by the HEI. This makes for a very weak spark.
This makes for a very weak car. If this is the case, you need to run a wire (at least 2 sizes thicker) from the ignition switch to the HEI bat terminal. These need at least 12 volts and a good bit of amperage to fumction. I've fixed quite a few cars with this problem at my son's shop. Every owner was amazed at the improvement.
Good luck and keep us posted.

Henryj11