If that is when the car is in gear, that's not too bad. I asked because late valve timing would cause all of your symptoms, including compression readings being on the low end.
There were eight items that needed further attention. The eight items were: Drivers side door panel not entirely attached. A: Replaced broken clips. Door panel attached. Speaker no longer flops panel. Passenger side interior felt not fixed. A: Glued trim to door panel. Not entirely happy with this as I can see the black colored glue sticking out. But, the trim is where it should be located. I'll attempt to clean up the glue on my own. Glove box door not adjusted. A: I fixed this myself. No longer does the top of the door stick out, while the bottom of the door sit below the dash surface. Including the fixed latch, the glove box works perfectly with only a slight push. Driver's side low beam headlight point a little low and off to the right. A: Adjusted. Have not driven at night. Will test this next week. Hard to start after sitting for 3 days. A: I'm told that I need to give the accelerator pump time to spray gas. Two quick halfway pumps of the peddle is too fast. I need to slowly press the peddle halfway and hold for a second, twice, before turning the key. Will test this next week after letting vehicle sit for several days. Wheel alignment pulls vehicle to the right, while steering wheel points to the left. A: Steering wheel no longer slightly points to the left. Steering wheel is at 9-3. However, vehicle still pulls slightly to the right at high speed. Mechanic did say that his equipment show steering on the mark, but that for finer adjustment I may have to go to Les Schwab for more advanced alignment equipment. Slight passenger side window chatter. A: Added additional grease, window doesn't chatter. Transmission kick down. Have to plant foot to the floor. A: Adjusted. Doesn't seem to need my foot planted to the floor to drop to 2nd gear. I also asked about the spark plug gap. The gap is set to .042. After leaving the shop, I went to the gas station and filled up the tank with mid-grade. Burp! On a quick side note, this was the first time I was able to fill the tank after receiving the vehicle back the first time from the mechanic. When filling the tank with the old sending unit, the farthest the needle would move is about a needles width before the Full mark. This time the needle went two needle widths beyond the Full mark. That's an improvement. While heading home on the highway, the road goes up a moderately steep hill. Doing about 55 MPH in 2nd gear, about halfway up the hill the vehicle started bucking, as if someone was repeatedly disconnecting and connecting the coil. I pulled into the slow lane with the intention of pulling off the road, but as suddenly as the bucking started, it stopped and I made it up the hill and ultimately, I made it home without further incident. While home I checked the wiring under the hood, could not find anything lose or shorting out. A long time ago the wires going to the coil were replaced with proper crimps and nuts, they were tight. Later, I put another 60 miles on the vehicle and didn't experience the bucking. In the past I've had this happen two or three times when I've continuously driven from a full tank down to a quarter tank, but that was the first time this happened with a full tank. The venting was supposedly checked and found functioning. I intend to double check the venting next week and see for myself.
Progress! A little fine tuning on various things is always a given - even on a new car. I imagine you've got a lot invested now (not asking for a number by the way) so keep with it and work the small stuff as it occurs. That bucking is a bit bothersome - keep an eye on it and if it starts doing it again we'll think on some things you can check.
The mechanic was cordial about the return. Unless something major happens, I'm done for awhile. Speaking of which, if it ain't one thing, it's another: Fortunately, the sun visor tips are $1.95 a pair over at Dearborn. Thanks.
@ Mike ... re that cutting-out after pulling up the hill, if it does it again, sounds like a fuel filter problem to me. I.e., passes enough fuel under cruise conditions, but a long pull will empty the fuel from the carb faster than it can be replenished.
I suppose it could be the fuel filter, I certainly wouldn't rule it completely out. However, there's a new fuel filter attached to a freshly rebuilt carburetor, a new in-line fuel filter and a new filter sock on a new fuel sending unit. The existing fuel pump pressure was tested and found to be 5.5 PSI, which is on the low end, but still within spec. What has me concerned is the spark plugs. I specifically asked the mechanic what the spark plug gap was set to and he responded with 42, but now I'm having my doubts. Looking up the tune-up specs, the gap should be between .032 and .036 (.034 average) and should use ARF-42 spark plugs. Was he saying 42 as in .042 or was he saying 42 as in ARF-42 - I'm no longer sure. If the gap is set to .042, that seems to me to be too wide for high RPM and a stock coil. I need to pull a plug.
.042 is a bit wide for the older ignition systems, but it shouldn't cause the engine to cut out. When you checked you fuel pump pressure did you blip the throttle to make sure you got a reading while the float bowl was filling?
Where is the in-line filter attached? If it's above the FP and/or near a heat source, you could be running into vapor lock, especially if you're going uphill, as the weight of the fuel is transferred off of the fuel sock and outlet, so when the absolute pressure drops below a certain point, it vaporizes in the line (it can especially vaporize out of the in-line filter due to the suction from the pump. It's why EFI engines eventually had the pumps installed in-tank--to prevent vapor locking.
