Please Welcome a New Member Ed Hesse (1968)

[Christopher Hoffman <imperial67@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Ed,

First off, welcome! Now on to your problem... the all-left-side fouling
suggests a mechanical problem, but maybe not...

Believe it or not, start with the easy stuff. Replace all the plugs with
Autolites (#89, I think, is the correct model number) and never, ever, ever
use Champions in a Mopar again. Put in a good-quality set of new plug wires,
do a tune-up (new points, condensor, cap and rotor, and set timing and
dwell). Make sure the carb is not running too rich (wow, that one bit of
advice goes by too fast... this is really important!). Change the oil and
filter and make sure you put in no more than 5 quarts. Consider replacing
one of the quarts with a quart of Rislone... snake oil perhaps, but my
engine seems to appreciate it and my honest old-timer mechanic believed in
the stuff, and I believed in him (rest his soul). And change the air filter,
check the fuel filter again (modern gas can wreak havoc on rubber fuel
lines), and make sure the breather hose from the valve cover to the carb
intake is clear.

Then, give it a good run, including some nice full-load acceleration to
"blow out its lungs" (also known as an Italian tune-up by Alfa and Maserati
mechanics).

If none of that cures your perhaps not-that-serious-after-all engine
problem, then you'll need to dig deeper. Come back and let us know, and
we'll go from there.

I have to tell you, when I brought my '67 home in 1989, it ran on about 3
cylinders and 5 of the plugs looked like they had gone on archeological
expeditions in Texas oil country. I have yet to remove the heads on this
motor, and following the advice above gave me a strong, smooth motor capable
of a respectable 15 mpg highway. Mine has 125,000 miles, by the way.

Hope this helps!
Chris in LA
67 Crown
78 NYB Salon

> I have a serious engine problem. The engine is running terribly rough with
> black smoke coming from the exhaust. Plugs 1,3,5,7 look normal but plugs
> 2,4,6,8 have heavy carbon deposit.