The Bitter Pill

This is a tough one to write. Remember in last month’s column when I described damage sustained to the Number 8 cylinder in the small-block I had just dropped into my ’67 C10? I had just changed the accelerator pump nozzle, then all hell broke loose after I started the engine and revved it a few times to see if the nozzle change worked. There was a brief clanging sound that stopped as suddenly as it started, but the engine developed a miss as a result.

- John McGann

Peeking in that cylinder with an inspection camera revealed gouges on the piston and in the cylinder head, so obviously something fell into the engine. What could it be? I didn’t drop anything into the carburetor when changing the pump nozzle, right? Wrong! As you can see in the pictures, that’s exactly what I did. In the passage under the pump nozzle is a check needle. Holley sells them for $12.15 under part number 121-5. They are sold in pairs, but it only takes one to destroy an engine.