Cool, good info. I realize I am probably barking up the wrong tree when focusing on KS's. I am just trying to think of things that are specific to my car. The battery/computer issue obv being one of them. Another interesting thing to note - when I test drove the car last summer I asked the the previous owner if he ever used 6th. I had never driven a car with this tranny, but was well aware of how extremely small 6th was. His answer was a bit startling. He said yes, all of the time. He said that he tried to get it into 6th as quickly as possible for max fuel economy. Even on the fairly low speed two lane back roads we drove on. The guy had just bought his first house and was strapped for cash so was trying to squeak every MPG out of it he could. To me this means that the engine spent a significant amount of time "lugging". I dont agree with his practices and am not sure what that did, if anything, to the engine/plugs/computer etc. So that is another reason why I was asking about cpu learning etc. Late this past Sunday afternoon I went to pull a plug to see how it looked. First off, everything is factory original - Those wires have never been touched. Took quite a bit of twisting and pulling with a pair of pliers on the boot to crack one loose. So I got one off, loosened the plug and proceeded to drop it as I pulled it out of the head!! Between the exhaust manifold and block!!! I then spent the next two hours searching for it, jacking the car up and looking from the bottom, magnets... you name it. That plug is gone. I am sure I'll find it someday, either on a lift or when i do headers. Long story short, I never got to see the plug's condition and after all the time and frustration didnt bother going for a second one. I ordered a fresh Delco factory replacement plug and a can of Torco just so I can use it this weekend without worrying about it. (not going crazy with the Torco, just a lil' bit to be safe- gotta cruise at least ONE day on this four day holday weekend!!! And by cruising I mean mostly cruising, some "spirited" back road driving and an occasional "let me scare the S out of my wife" ) I will pull another one or two this weekend real quick just to see how they look and report back. I will also be getting a set of MSD wires and a set of the NGK's everyone seems to run, but that will have to wait a week or two for when I have time to tackle all of them. Anyway, I guess I'm either lean or have a lot of carbon build up. Perhaps from the previous owners habits? Should I seafoam the top end of this thing before I change the plugs? Sorry for the crazy long post - I just frustrated and puzzled by this whole thing. Thanks again.

 

Well I threw my new plug in (what an idiot i am for losing the old one) and put a decent plash of torco in my tank and car ran well. I pulled one of the other plugs to take a look at it before I started it though. It looked decent, maybe a little lean???, other than the strange brown spot on the porcelin. What is that all about? What is this plug telling me? My NGK's and MSD set are on the way so i'll obv be yanking all of the others soon as well to see what they look like.