Where's the smoke?

[ChevLoRay]

My '69 has the original 350 block in it, with later heads. It had another intake, from the engine that the heads came from. With an Edelbrock 1405, it ran rich and would foul #1, before any others ever did. So, I kept a set in the truck, with the tools needed to swap one out.

Later, I changed the intake to an Edelbrock and the carb to an Edelbrock 1901. Still, the #1 would foul, but not as much. I tried different plugs, including AC Rapidfires in the R45TS type. Better, but not cured.

One day, after several months of a mysterious bout of sudden engine dying fits, it died and I had it hauled home. The HEI that was on it when I bought it, was about to be changed for an ACCEL unit, that was essentially a rebuild to their specs. Since that time, my engine has not fouled another plug.

My engine does get rid of some oil, as blowby. It comes out of the oil fill cap, and there isn't anything I can do, except rebuild it or replace it. The exhaust pipes are black, and sooty. The engine isn't running rich, anymore. So, I'm quite satisfied that the ACCEL HEI that I installed is the reason my engine isn't fouling the plugs, any more.