Burnt Valve?

ramcharger said
Pull your plug wires one by one at the distributor cap until you find which cylinder is missing (no drop in rpm). Push the distributor end back in and check the wire for spark. If you have spark, check for a cracked plug. If the plug is not cracked, do a compression check. If your compression is good you do not have a burnt valve. If your compression is low, bring the missing cylinder to TDC on the compression stroke and load the cylinder with compressed air. If you hear air rushing out the exhaust, you have a burnt exhaust valve. If you hear air rushing out the carb, you a have burnt intake valve. If you hear air rushing out the valve covers, your rings or pistons are smoked. If the cylinder holds air, you might have a bent pushrod, collapsed lifter or flat lobe on the cam.
All distinct possibilities, although the only noise is the normal light valve tick from the solid cam. I still think there may be a vacuum leak from the bottom of the 4 bbl adapter that someone installed on the 2 bbl manifold, not to mention the #1407 750 Edelbrock carb drowning the motor! The guy, for lack of better words, must have been quite uninformed about overcarurating a motor of 4.5L/273"! I think throwing a 2bbl back on it that I have on the shelf may help somewhat. The exhaust smells of unburned fuel, which leads to my suspicion. I would try it today, but the local damn parts house can't get a base gasket for 3 days!! Maybe there is a 2bbl base gasket below the 4 bbl adapter that I can reuse for now? Or no gasket at all??!!! Haha. :sad1: