All right first... Good to hear that the interior is good to go. Being plastic and metal the mold should srcub right off on the exterior. Now for the starting problem... It IS a possibility of there being rust in the cylinders. I'd say think about possibly getting some type of cleaner to spray down the spark plug hole and turn the engine a few times without the plugs in to try to clean them up a bit. If there IS rust it's a 50/50 shot you MAY or MAY NOT need to replace the engine. I would actually go for a rebuild because of the block that it is. But also being that it was rebuilt recently before being parked... And I also thing the rust thing is unlikely. I have a '64 Dodge 440 with the 318 Wide block in it and she sat for over 3 years. I put a little gas in her and cranked her right up. (Not for too long there's no alternator on the car right now LOL). Where you have to worry about rust after sitting is the gas tank. I WOULD recommend once you get it somewhere to work on to take the tank off get it cleaned and relined and possibly even consider changing the fuel pump at the same time that way things there are ALL straight. That or just spring for a new gas tank. Now for your last question. I guess it has a possibility of causing it though I'm not a turbo expert. I would still change the pipe for the simple fact that if there's a hole there it my not be sending all the air it should be to where it needs which in turn COULD cause a rich condition... I dunno help me out here turbo people... I'm thinking if the turbo is sucking the air in past the MAF the computer senses the amount sucked in and expects it to all go to the engine therefore compensates with enough fuel. Now all that air ISN'T making it to the engine so there is TOO much fuel for the cylinders? Am I right?

 

I hadn't thought of the gas tank and rust -- glad you brought that up!

With the turbo thing, I think you're right where the computer could compensate and make it run richer. I'm hoping the problem with the car running rich is that easy.

Hopefully I can look at it today try again and see what happens. I sat in the car and just shifted gears and was thinking Wow, I HAVE to get this car fixed up. It's too nice and too sporty (and too cheap ) to let it sit here and rot.

 

LOL lucky bastard... I NEVER was given a car... I've ALWAYS had to pay for mine ... lol Well good luck and let me know what happens. I'll try to help as much as possible to get that car up and running again.

 

The cracked intercooler hose will not cause it to run rich, but will obviously cause poor boost levels....

If I where you, I would start by taking a close look at vacuum harness. Since it sounds like there has been some "shade tree" mechanic working on it in the past, chances are that he gave up on trying to figure them out. Usually (but not always) a rich running condition can be traced back to a vacuum leak, or an unplugged map sensor. These cars are VERY dependant on a fully functioning vacuum system. I'm almost willing to bet that you'll find that the car is experiencing vacuum issues....

Its defiantly a car worth saving if you can....

Good luck.

 

Thanks for the tip on the vacuum hoses! I hadn't thought about that at all. What you said about the cracked hose not making full boost is another issue though. My brother said that not only did the car run rich but it'd never boost much at all. I thought that it might be because it was running so rich, but the hose could be that problem.

 

Yep I'd be willing to bet that's why you're bro never got full boost.

 

Ok, it's been a while but I finally had time to go check the car out some more. Took the battery out of my truck and cranked and cranked and it wouldn't start so I pulled the plugs and cleaned them (sooty black) and it fired right up. Ran awful though. From idle to 2000 rpm it was pouring black smoke worse than a diesel and was kind of backfiring. After 2000-2500rpm's and up it smoothed out and spun up perfect and purred. I wasn't able to drive it because it didn't have the wheels on it yet. I looked at the vacuum hoses and everything and couldn't find anything obviously wrong. I have a Hayne's repair manual but it doesn't help much at ALL and doesn't even have a vacuum hose diagram in it.

Anyone know where I can start checking for the poor idle? I played with the timing from one extreme to the other and it didn't help much at all, but that was just changing it on the distributor. I have been trying to think of something that could cause it to run so extremely rich at idle but possibly great at 2500+ RPM's. Of course it didn't build boost because of that tore up turbo hose, but the motor spun up great.

I appreciate the help guys.

 

This may be the carbon monoxide fumes talking, but I would check out your fuel pressure regulator. Sounds to me like it has stopped doing its job causing it to run pig rich. You can test it by disconnecting the return line (smaller dia line) from the regulator and replacing it with a longer hose and run it into a gas container. Have someone start the car and see if there's any fuel going into the container. If not, the regulator is junk and needs replaced. If this is the problem it's probably causing the poor idle characteristics as well.....

Good luck!

 

Thanks for the tip!

Is the regulator on top of the motor, near the injectors? I saw something near the injectors/intake and thought it might be the regulator but wasn't sure and wasn't sure how to test it until now.

 

Yes. It's located on the passenger side of the fuel rail. The return line/hose connects directly to it.

See HERE