Hello everyone and thank you for your help in the past. I am having a new issue I hope to resolve with your expertise.
I just installed a 383 in my 73 Corvette. Motor has like 1500 miles on it so everything is new, plugs, cap, rotor, wires, battery, starter. I took it to the body shop to get it painted, car was running fine. Sat in the shop for like 4 months. When I picked it up and fired it up all this white smoke started coming out of the exhaust pipes and it had a bad miss. I thought maybe it's the gas that had been sitting in it but putting fresh gas did not help. As soon as it warmed up it stopped smoking and the miss smoothed out a little bit but did not completely go away? Has anybody had the same experience? What should I be looking for? This is not exactly my area of expertise.
Timing is set at 17 initial and 31 total. manual trans, 750 Holley dual pumper 4779-C, Stock distributor with Mallory Unilite Breakless conversion. 145 Autolite plugs, Comp XE 284 Hydralic cam, 537-540 lift, Duration 240-246@.50
Hope someone can steer me in the right direction. Thank you so much in advance for your help. Charles

 

white smoke is coolant burning. Blueish white/gray smoke is oil. if ignition system is good from the rotor to the plugs and since engine is fairly new and since it has been sitting for 4 months i would make sure intake bolts aren't loose and letting coolant being sucked in. Of course, sitting in a shop for so long where some mechanics like to "check out and touch things" on cool old rides, could just be loose plug wire.

 

I'd assume that soot(paint particles, dirt, dust etc) accumulated in the exhaust and just needs to be blown out/burned off. I would however, check over the motor thoroughly. Because I don't trust anyone working on my car but me I'd check (1) plug wires seating on spark plug and distributor. (2) Take off air filter and blow it maybe even get a new one. They are pretty cheap. (3) Radiator fluid (4) Battery cable tightness (5) Oil level and color *because of break in not because of body shop. Plus you have to remember that because it left with a problem you're looking for something to be wrong. Now that you know what it sounds like it's stuck in your head. I think it's a plug wire as well...

 

Hello FirebladeDan: Thank you for your reply. I did just about everything you recommended with the exception of the air filter. I have new oil in it, new battery, checked the connections of the wires at both ends. Plug wires are new.Today I replaced rotor and cap, still doing the same thing. One thing I didn't mention in my original post was that while the car was sitting at the shop the old battery died. Well they tried to jump it and crossed polarities on the battery and fried the started. Could that have something to do with it?

 

Wow those people are turds... I'm hoping they compensated you for trashing the starter. You'd better make sure to check all your electrical, hb +lb, gauge cluster, reverse lights, handbrake light etc... The only noise that could come from the starter is a whining noise from the bendix drive eating up the flywheel which is definitely NOT your problem. You would notice this ear shattering zzzzzzzzzz. Let us know if you continue to hear something weird or even take it to the person who built/sold you the motor. Should have a scout's honor warranty if is has almost no miles.

 

You need to isolate which cylinder if any is actually missing ,, Start it and with insulated pliers pull a plug wire off a dist terminal and see if the miss gets worse or stays teh same it it stays the same check that cylinder