Just advice please

[jaydubb350]

Hi my name is Justin I'm new to the forum thanks for having me here. Right now I am just looking for some advice I recently found a 1979 c30 dually manual trans with a dump bed Vortec block vortec heads carbureted intake HEI distributor with an Edelbrock and is solid and very clean by the way. The post that I found said that it had the top end redone but now has no power. So I drove over there with the car that he wants for the truck which is a 09 G6 I definitely want to trade cuz why not that's a great deal. The truck started great the carburetor and choke operated perfectly and idled fine a side of there's a bad misfire and smoke rolling into the cab that smelled like burnt oil. He told me that the guy he had working on it said that there was a cracked head so he went out and bought some vortec heads lifters push rods and roller rockers that the mechanic couldn't get them to fit right for whatever reason. so the guy bought another set of heads lifters pushrods and rockers which apparently worked but when he driving home couldn't get it over 50 and it didn't have enough power to make it over a overpass but didn't have that issue before hand and he doesn't know anything else about it besides it's leaking oil from the back of the intake where it should of been permatex. I didn't want to mess with anything trying to find out what's wrong at his house cuz I'm on a tether i was limited on my out time. So the advice I want to get is after checking the obvious plugs, wires, distributor timing what could be going wrong with it that would not make it okay to drive 30 mins home as I do not have a way to tow it. At that point I would be worried about mechanical I don't know what was touched or done correctly. I'm hoping it's something simple or even stupid like crossed spark wires. I want to get it back to go back through it for my peace of mind and to fix the problem but not at the risk of ruining it. Any advice would be great thank you.

 

[SquareRoot]

Could be anything from a fuel filter to a burnt valve. Gonna take some time to work thru it. I'd drive it around his place for 30 minutes and if it didn't stall I'd go for it. I love the floor mat!. I could curl up and take a nap on that bad boy. @Ricko1966 can give you some more detailed pointers to look for.

 

[DoubleDingo]

To swap heads you don't need new lifters and pushrods. Self-aligning rockers, yes. I bet they wiped the cam if it now has no power. If it were me, I'd either trade with some cash for the car, or walk away. Unless you are dead set on getting and tearing into it. If it does have vortec heads and they didn't install self-aligning rockers, a rocker or more probably rotated off the valve stem.

 

[jaydubb350]

That's a good idea to drive it around first I did plan on that I'm just worried about hurting something...idk why they bought lifters and push rods and rockers I'm not sure I'm not even sure if they were new or not. I did however look at the old lifters and the wear on them was minimum like there is no heavy scuffs or dings or dents I'm not even sure why they thought they had to replace all that stuff but that's what's got me concerned is either I'm not getting told the whole story or the guy that was doing the work shouldn't have been doing it but like I said I do really want the truck the G6 is a POS definitely worth a straight-up trade

 

[jaydubb350]

And I'm definitely looking for any tips or pointers for stuff to look for just in case I don't think to look at something or overlook

 

[DoubleDingo]

You have to pull the valve covers to see if the rocker(s) have rotated off the valve stem(s). I bring up that because I had it happen on mine. I didn't know I needed self-aligning rockers for the vortec heads. If they changed lifters, good chance they wiped the cam. If the old ones weren't marked as to which hole they came from, you can't just reinstall them. Timing needs to be checked. Fuel filter(s) need to be changed. Wouldn't hurt to check for oil in the coolant and vice versa. New air filter wouldn't hurt, but not necessary. Check every single vacuum hose, fuel hose, and make sure the pvc is working. If it has egr, that needs to be working.

 

[jaydubb350]

Ok when I make the trade final I'm gonna take some time to mess with it see if I can't get it right before I take off. It's definitely worth checking the rockers before I leave it's only a few bolts plus I can make sure their all moving accordingly to rule out a dead lifter..

 

[75gmck25]

When you estimate the value of the of the squarebody, you should be very pessimistic - it is a truck with an engine that runs badly, and therefore it needs a new engine. If it was simple and easy to fix, why hasn’t the PO already fixed it?

If it turns out better than that, and the fix is simple, you are ahead. If it turns out to really have major issues, you have not paid for a bad engine.

When you are a buyer, everything that might be bad is considered as bad and in need of major work.

 

[Ricko1966]

Could be anything from a fuel filter to a burnt valve. Gonna take some time to work thru it. I'd drive it around his place for 30 minutes and if it didn't stall I'd go for it. I love the floor mat!. I could curl up and take a nap on that bad boy. @Ricko1966 can give you some more detailed pointers to look for.

Okay the roller rockers wouldn't fit because the vortec heads use self aligning rockers non plain old conventional small block rockers. One of the first things to check is compression because if you find cylinders down,there's no point on doing anything other than finding out why the compression is down. You say you have an intake leak at the rear,if you have intake leaks at any of the ports that are bad enough to lean out cylinders you could very possibly melt down a piston,so check carefully for intake leaks. Check your vacuum at idle,post result.A lot of people spray all around the perimeter of the manifold at the ports and around the base of the carbureator with carbureator cleaner,you'll hear the idle change if you find a leak. Personally if I was you I'd try to arrange a tow, rather than chance melting it down on the way home.Does it rev clean in neutral? If not cup your hand over the carbureator primary,and see if it revs better,if so that's a good indication that you're too lean. Lean enough to melt a piston IDK..

 

[Catbox]

If this is actually a Vortec block, then it would have roller lifters from the factory.
As well as a plastic timing cover.

 

[Grit dog]

You’re trading vehicles. Diagnosing and repairing is not really part of the equation at this point.
Like someone said above, you assume it needs a new engine and you have no reason to believe otherwise based on what you said about the previous owners description of the hillbilly repair attempts.
JMO

 

[SquareRoot]

You’re trading vehicles. Diagnosing and repairing is not really part of the equation at this point.
Like someone said above, you assume it needs a new engine and you have no reason to believe otherwise based on what you said about the previous owners description of the hillbilly repair attempts.
JMO

What's wrong with hillbillies?

 

[75gmck25]

I have done many hillbilly repairs, but it was to my vehicle and I understood the trade-offs. Usually it was an interim fix until I could do the job right. However, I don’t want to take on someone else’s hillbilly repair because I don’t know how many shortcuts they took, or where the risks are.

 

[Grit dog]

What's wrong with hillbillies?

Not a thing.

 

[GTX63]

Here is my opinion based on experience-
He is willing to trade for a POS G6, so he is tired of the truck and wants it gone. That truck will never be worth any less; the G6 will never be worth any more.
I would do the deal asap and get it home. If not towing, I'd have a follow car and take secondary roads with the fewest inclines. Idle it to operating temp before leaving and you'll know within a block if it is going to make it home. Bring tools, fluids and a tow strap. If possible, pull into the nearest parts store parking lot and pull the valve covers so you can confirm rocker and pushrod alignment and lash.
Expect to pull the motor and swap it out, then anything less is good news. Oil rolling down the back of the motor will smoke out the cab.