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Eight months of no-shows, low-ballers, and tire-kickers have destroyed my motivation to try selling the white B6T car for now, so I threw plates and insurance back on her yesterday and set to work. She fired right up after I charged the battery, checked the basics, and did some preventative maintenance like a fresh oil change.
Issue #1: White Smokescreen
On a very cold, steamy, and wet day after eight months of exhaust moisture buildup and having pressure washed the heck out of the engine bay, I expected a fair bit of white smoke. It was more than I expected though... and because it isn't that thick or smelly, I think my head-gasket is probably okay for now. My theory is that I just had to cook the moisture buildup out of the exhaust baffles and soundproofing. Perhaps there's a buildup of moisture in the intercooler I should check/drain as well. It is still pretty impressive white/clear smoke on cold start-ups though, even after putting an hour or two of driving on her.
Issue #2: Blue Smokescreen
Imagine what your tailpipe emissions would look like without valve stem seals. Eight months of neglect created a billowing cumulonimbus monstrosity of blue oily smoke. After five minutes of idle/warm-up and three blocks of driving, it was gone. Is this the norm for eight months of sitting stationary? My guess would be a combination of gaskets re-sealing, seals re-oiling, and fasteners re-torquing themselves. Could have also been residual oil buildup in the catalytic converter from back when I had blown turbo seals. Either way... it seems to be mostly gone now.
Issue #3: Bipolar Engine
0-4000RPM is smooth as silk... great pep, spool-up, and idle - drives like a brand new motor and pulls a lot harder than my 289 Cougar. That said, under very specific conditions, she falls flat on her face: full boost, full throttle, and high revs. Fuel pump is a fresh 255LPH Walbro, fuel filter is a fresh Fram unit, and boost is still factory governed. Given this never happened before, I'm leaning towards (pardon the pun) crappy gas. She's 2/3 full... half of which is eight months old and the other half of which is 87 octane. Thoughts on this one? My strategy is either to top it up with 94 or just run it down and start back on 91 again.
Issue #1: White Smokescreen
On a very cold, steamy, and wet day after eight months of exhaust moisture buildup and having pressure washed the heck out of the engine bay, I expected a fair bit of white smoke. It was more than I expected though... and because it isn't that thick or smelly, I think my head-gasket is probably okay for now. My theory is that I just had to cook the moisture buildup out of the exhaust baffles and soundproofing. Perhaps there's a buildup of moisture in the intercooler I should check/drain as well. It is still pretty impressive white/clear smoke on cold start-ups though, even after putting an hour or two of driving on her.
Issue #2: Blue Smokescreen
Imagine what your tailpipe emissions would look like without valve stem seals. Eight months of neglect created a billowing cumulonimbus monstrosity of blue oily smoke. After five minutes of idle/warm-up and three blocks of driving, it was gone. Is this the norm for eight months of sitting stationary? My guess would be a combination of gaskets re-sealing, seals re-oiling, and fasteners re-torquing themselves. Could have also been residual oil buildup in the catalytic converter from back when I had blown turbo seals. Either way... it seems to be mostly gone now.
Issue #3: Bipolar Engine
0-4000RPM is smooth as silk... great pep, spool-up, and idle - drives like a brand new motor and pulls a lot harder than my 289 Cougar. That said, under very specific conditions, she falls flat on her face: full boost, full throttle, and high revs. Fuel pump is a fresh 255LPH Walbro, fuel filter is a fresh Fram unit, and boost is still factory governed. Given this never happened before, I'm leaning towards (pardon the pun) crappy gas. She's 2/3 full... half of which is eight months old and the other half of which is 87 octane. Thoughts on this one? My strategy is either to top it up with 94 or just run it down and start back on 91 again.
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