changed plugs/wires, now it misfires

I have a 1993 w/ LT-1. I recently changed plugs and wires. Upon doing so i took all of the wires off at the same time. (Big mistake). I figured since i had the Chilton repair manual, i could follow the diagram to put the new wires back in their respective positions. Well, I got everything installed, made sure the plug wires were in the right spot according to Chilton, and even had someone else confirm i got it right. The car will start and run, but i can tell it is not running on all 8 cylinders. (Hestitates, can smell gas coming from exhaust). Currently, the wires are attached to the distributor as follows. the right side, from top to bottom, 5, 3, 7, 1. THe left side, from top to bottom, 4, 6, 8, 2. This is what Chilton says, but i suspect that my distributor has a slightly different arrangement. I know that i'm not far from the right configuration, i just haven't tried to mess around with a guess and check method.

also, i was searching through to see if anyone else had the same problem and read that the optispark distributor has markings on it to tell which wire should go where. Maybe I read wrong, if anyone else heard of this or not, let me know.

Thanks,

Benjamin Rodrigue

double check to make sure the wires are going to the right plugs, make sure all boots and snapped on to the plugs, and the opticrap, and make sure none of the wires have melted against a manifold or any other hot spot

Girlfriend Side Of Dist Cap Starting On Top Is #4,#6,#8,#2 Driver Side Is # 5,#3,#7,#1
Vin Code P ( 8th Number ) Firing Order Is 18436572.
On Engine, Cylinders Are Numbered Girlfriend Side From Front Is 2468
And Driver Side From Front Is 1357.
Hope That Helps

on the front of the opti cap the numbers are cast into the plastic as to which wire goes to which cylinder.

Girlfriend Side.....



LOL!!!! guess all our camaro chicks are lesbians ;)

as far as the misfire, double check the connections of the wires to the plugs, and the distributor, also the coil, this means pull them off, and then put them back on making sure you hear the snap. if youre sure you put the wires on right, and are sure they are connected right, start looking for damaged wires. the easiest way to do this, is to narrow id down to a single cylender as the problem. pull the wires one at a time with the engine running, a good wire will make the engine start running much worse, the problem wire will not make much difference. you should be able to narrow it down to a single problem wire depending on how bad its running. look for rub throughs, burn damage, and wire to wire arcing.

also, it is possible that your optispark has been slowly failing and replacing the plugs and wires is just allowing this to show through more clearly. for a quick check, see if you can get a mirror under the water pump, there is a small hole there called the weep hole, if you see evidence of coolant coming out of it, there is a very good chance your opti has bit the dust.