Looking for more pep off the line

Alecb said
It’s been a while since an update, I pulled the engine out of the car to inspect the engine after my failure in LA. Turns out a bolt fell into the intake and was holding the #7 intake valve open. The valve and seat was chewed up, so I got a used set of J heads and swapped the bad head out. While I had the engine out I installed headers and a 3000-3500 stall converter. Holy cow did it wake up! It peels tires without hesitation now and accelerates hard! It also sounds way better with headers over the manifolds.

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Years ago a friend had a back yard mechanic do a carb kit and tuneup on his 62 Pontiac. Smoked like crazy when he picked it up. The guy would do nothing. I was still in high school but a gear head. Pulled the plugs and found one with oil on it. Removed the head and found the imprint of a carb mount nut in the piston. Cast piston crown had a crack in it letting oil into the cylinder. Pulled the oil pan and that piston/rod assembly. Got a new replacement piston installed and new rings for that cylinder. Got the engine machine shop to check the valve seal in that cylinder and it was good. Put it back together with a slight deglaze and he drove it gor years.