UPDATE: Car only misfires upon giving it pedal below 1000 rpms... Anywhere very close or above, and it's just fine. Engine runs a lot smoother and misfires less now..erratic idle and surging and shaking is gone now...threw a vacuum cap on the leaking part of the manifold. Had to fill out financial aid paperwork for college all tonight so I couldn't check the timing. Argh. Maybe the day after tomorrow when I have work off again.

tailpipes
 

If this is a street car (& it sounds like it is) I would suggest putting tailpipes on your car. Your taking away some low end torque having it come straight out of your mufflers. Personally I don't like the sound of straight out of the muffler. A real cop magnet. Loud is not always better. Just my opinion though.

Hmm..I'll give the tailpipes some consideration.. But so far, no cop attention..and I have a friend with a Trans Am with glasspack sidepipes as his only exhaust that's only been pulled over once in like over a year.. Plus I LOVE the loud attention-getting part...as I'm coming, EVERYONE turns their heads and watches me pass..it's the best thing in the world. People I don't know giving me thumbs up... Friends of mine wondering what the hell happened to my V6 Camaro and staring in awe. Teehee.

But yes, it is a street car..and it is low-end deficient. It runs normal up to 3000 or so..3000 to 6000 it's a freaking rocketship and has no problems whatsoever reaching some real nasty rpms. It breathes INCREDIBLE..you can just hear it in the engine tone....nice, clean, soft...all the way up to 6000 and past..(yes, I tested, yes I know I'm an IDIOT)...all I can say is, I hope it's rebuilt...sure as hell sounds like it is considering the car has 147,000! The only engine I've ever heard that sounds this good is my friend's dad's Corvette Stingray, with a bored and stroked, very worked-over 350..I forget the cubes on it but he says it's a small-block 396..but I don't know if I believe that..that's a tad on the high side..probably in the high 380 department...like a 388 or something.

FYI: Checked timing, came out as 18 degrees or so with the spout off..EEEEEK.. Need to get a distributor wrench to fix it...HOPEFULLY tonight. Til then I'm driving the other car..don't wanna blow the thing up.

About the tail pipes, if you do any kind of driving other that at the strip, definately get some. I drove and huor to see my dad with no pipes, and got sick when it was all said and done. You know how people kill themselves with the car running in the garage. It is almost the same concept. The carbon monoxide is terrible. But hey, if you like it, thats your business.

Caymon

The smell is terrible..but I'm ok as long as I get the right combination of things...drive for windows down for a minute, then windows up, vents on high..then a/c, switched to recirculate..then back to windows a few mins later.. If I keep switching, don't ask me why, but it doesn't affect me much.