Questions and Answers

Chevy Pickup Glows In The Dark Q. Vincent, I have a 1982 Chevy 4x4 Pickup. It came with a 305 stock. It now has a 1977 350 4 bolt main. I have done a total overhaul. New rings, main and rod bearings, new cam and cam bearings. New water pump, New larger radiator and a 180degree thermostat. I also ported and polished the heads.

The heads are 1971 882XXXX. I used the 1982 HEI distributor with an Accel high out put coil. It has a small 650 holly with a 2" swirl tork spacer from Summit. I put it all back together and installed. I primed the fuel lines and carburetor. After a few minutes the engine fired up fine. I ran it at 1500 rpm for break in.

My problem is the engine started over heating. The headers on both sides on certain cylinders glowed bright red. The engine ran with no miss. It would idle fine. I advance and retarded the distributor with small noticeable changes but didn't solve the problem.

I have new duel exhaust, H pipe and new high flow converters. One converter would glow bright red also. I am a do it yourself mechanic. Please help.

A. Are the head gaskets on correctly? Sometimes you can install upside down and block coolant passages. Does it have the original belt configuration? Is the water pump spinning in the right direction? There could be lots of reasons, especially after all those modifications. The cylinders that turn headers red may be running too lean or rich.