Concerned Engine Issues

[chrismoore701]

Well I changed the oil in my 79 last night, Mistakenly did not keep tabs on my oil level. I drained just over two (2) courts from the pan. 7,700 miles on the motor. I think this was the 4th oil change. Occasional driver. I do fire it up and pull it out of the garage often as I am building another car. Check out the plugs. Should I be concerned? IS there anything I can do? I will keep a better eye on the oil, but is it too little too late?

These are the two front plugs, did not look at the rest. runs good, have always had good oil pressure.

What should I do?

New plugs? E3?

A friend told me to get nonfoulers for the plugs

[cadillac_al]

7700 miles on the engine? Who knows how much it was started and idled in a garage. I would just put a new set of the correct AC spark plugs and see how long they last.

Actually I am a Bosch Platinum guy but I don't want to start a spark plug war. The correct AC's will get you running just fine for a while. The basic single platinum Bosch plugs are kinda hard to find and look up so I just buy them on rockauto.

[MJN]

With such low miles on the engine- was it a rebuild or a new crate engine? Was the correct break-in oil used? It looks like the rings aren't fully seated- I would also suspect a blue haze from the exhaust with that much fouling.
Start with fresh oil change, new set of Delco plugs- R45TS will work and are hotter than R44's, take it for a good ride 20-30 minutes of highway, not around town. Get it working and the cylinders warmed up to seat the rings. If it hasn't had a misfire then I would suspect cap and rotor are probably in good shape still.

[chrismoore701]

This is in a frame off, so in my possession for the last 20 years. Not a lot of idling, but a fair amount of cold starts and stops.

[chrismoore701]

I had a guy build it for me. I am going to call him today. concern is, it has been like 4 years. I will get the plugs in and see if that helps. I used the proper break in oil and procedure.

[geezer#99]

What’s the rest of your engine specs?
Like carb, intake, cam, headers, timing.

[chrismoore701]

Mild build, not sure of the cam

I think card is 600 Holly or 650
proformer basic intake
hooker headers
not sure on timing

[geezer#99]

Those black plugs show a way rich condition. New plugs will help but you need to run it longer to burn off those deposits.

[Palf70Step]

Another issue could be the choke nevers opens fully will keep it running rich. I always tell folks whenever possible if you fire it up run it for at least 20-30 minutes (not idle). Choke may also be sticking since it is not run much.

[Dead Parrot]

Probably OK on the oil level. There is a fair amount of safety margin after the Low mark on the dipstick.

If the vehicle is street legal, put in a new set of plugs and go for a hundred mile drive at speed. Once it is hot, romp on it a few times. An engine that never gets hot doesn't have a chance to burn off the excess fuel from a cold start and any oil that leaks in from the valve guides. You will also get a buildup of combustion blow by stuff in the oil.

Don't be too surprised if the first few times you floor it, it looks like a diesel out the exhaust. The manifolds and exhaust pipes can also get a build up of carbon deposits that will blow out.