Sluggish 1978 Sport Regal

[1982Duenezir]

I bought a 1978 Turbo Regal (hot air) and cannot get it to run right. The car sat for years but is in great condition a far as cosmetic, interior and exterior. The gas was bad when I bought it. I drove it home (2 - 3 miles) not able to reach more than 15-20 mph . I know I shouldn't have but the excitement was to much. Below is what I've done and nothing has improved

Replacements:
Gas tank
Fuel filter.
Carburetor.
Spark Plugs.
Spark plug wires.
Rotor.
EGR valve.

I pulled the turbo and it's in like new condition; no play and spins freely.

I am stumped at this point. The car will not go up a 20% grade and won't go over 15mph!!

Is there anything I've overlooked? Any advice is greatly appreciated.

 

[notacarlo]

Did you replace the cap and coil?

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[1982Duenezir]

1

 

[1982Duenezir]

Did you replace the cap and coil?


notcarlo,

Great question! I replaced the cap but not the coil.

Im going to give that a try.

Thanks!

 

[charlief1]

Put you in the B4black section so you'll get the right answers. If you're getting the engine to run at idle it's not the coil. Have you put a timing light on it to see if it's getting advance? It runs so I'd look at the vacuum advance and the turbo control center to see if they're working right.

 

[1982Duenezir]

Put you in the B4black section so you'll get the right answers. If you're getting the engine to run at idle it's not the coil. Have you put a timing light on it to see if it's getting advance? It runs so I'd look at the vacuum advance and the turbo control center to see if they're working right.

Thank you Charlief1,

The car runs, but not in idle. Shakes like crazy but stays on. It will progresively accelerate but does not have horse power to even power the brake booster.

My buddy has a timing light and we plan on doing this next week.

How can I check if the the Turbo Control center is working?

 

[charlief1]

How can I check if the the Turbo Control center is working?

It's just Charlie. You might want to visit Rich's site if you haven't yet. www.beforeblack.net has a bunch of info that will help you The easiest way to figure out if things are working right is with the timing light. Once you get things checked have the timing light pointed so you can check the timing and then knock around the knock sensor and see if the timing is retarded.

 

[Pronto]

Probably wouldn't hurt to do a compression test and leak down test. When a car gets put away for years there usually a reason. More than likely the reason is something bad.

 

[Chuck Leeper]

Car have a cat on it? If so, and it's original, it's likely the old, bead type. Had a Firebird w/ that same issue. Un hooked the cat, ran great!

 

[notacarlo]

I agree Charlie.....but....

(Flame retardant pants on) my Ferd idled and drove fine until I put a load on. Then it would break up. Replaced coil an voila.... It was still a Ford....oh well.

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[b4black]

FYI, there are plenty of 1978 Buick Service Manuals on ebay. Best $10-20 you can spend.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1978-Buick-...anuals_Literature&hash=item2589463ab5&vxp=mtr

 

[1982Duenezir]

Car have a cat on it? If so, and it's original, it's likely the old, bead type. Had a Firebird w/ that same issue. Un hooked the cat, ran great!

The car does have a catalyst. I'll give it a try if the Coil doesn't work out.

 

[1982Duenezir]

FYI, there are plenty of 1978 Buick Service Manuals on ebay. Best $10-20 you can spend.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1978-Buick-...anuals_Literature&hash=item2589463ab5&vxp=mtr

Thanks for the link!

 

[1982Duenezir]

I agree Charlie.....but....

(Flame retardant pants on) my Ferd idled and drove fine until I put a load on. Then it would break up. Replaced coil an voila.... It was still a Ford....oh well.

Posted from the TurboBuick.Com mobile app

Haha! I've got my fingers crossed.

 

[1982Duenezir]

Probably wouldn't hurt to do a compression test and leak down test. When a car gets put away for years there usually a reason. More than likely the reason is something bad.

I agree. i just hope it was put away for other reasons tho.

 

[1982Duenezir]

It's just Charlie. You might want to visit Rich's site if you haven't yet. www.beforeblack.net has a bunch of info that will help you The easiest way to figure out if things are working right is with the timing light. Once you get things checked have the timing light pointed so you can check the timing and then knock around the knock sensor and see if the timing is retarded.

Thanks for the info!

 

[1982Duenezir]

The car does have a catalyst. I'll give it a try if the Coil doesn't work out.

Changed the cap, coil and rotor with no improvement; I'm replacing the catalyst tomorrow, I'm really leaning on your suggestion Chuck (it only makes sense) since the car hasn't improved at all with all my replacement parts. I took a look at the catalyst and it's the original one. I'll update the thread tomorrow with results.

 

[b4black]

You should be able to just unbolt the front of the catalytic converter from the downpipe. Undo the bolts some then separate them a ½" or so. Take a test drive - if the converter is plugged, that should be enough to uncork the exhaust and tell if it's plugged or not. (It will be loud, but not too loud)

If the Air tube is still on the side of the converter, it can be difficult to remove.

 

[1982Duenezir]

None of the above worked. Did a compression test and number 1, 5, and 6 cylinders have little to no compression. May just have to rebuild the engine.

 

[1982Duenezir]

Pulled the valve covers and found bent push rods on cylinders 1, 5, and 6 (low compression cylinders). Replaced all push rods and rocker. Runs like a champ now. Thanks for all the help fellas, super stocked!