Pulling hair out

[offshore]

The car sounds and idles (850rpm) good with no miss or cut out when the gas pedal is pressed. No smoke out the exhaust either. It will idle like that until it reaches running temp 190 then I pick up just a small miss...not bad but, when I step on the gas the car idle drops and shuts off. It want idle once it is warm.

I verified the carb jetting with Pierce Manifold and everything is good there. I replace the dist. cap rotor, points and the plug wires. I checked the dwell it is at 55 and the timing is set at 10 tdc and the choke appears to be working correctly. I did check the coil and it is putting out about 9 volts and 6 volts when the fan came on.

I need help. I would love to be able to drive the car just a little before summer ends.

Kafer

[So Cal Mark]

is the idle cutoff solenoid working?

[kmead]

So the first thing that comes to mind is float hieght, have you verified that the float is correctly set? Without enough fuel in the bowl it will starve for fuel but likely idle fine.

The next item is the fuel pump, is it providing enough fuel or is the fuel filter clogged and not allowing enough fuel through?

If you just start the car and drive off will it drive normally until it warms up or willl it just die? Just idling to warm up is not the best way to get the car warmed up, driving off is much better.

Is your car a point dizzy? Sometimes a bad condenser can evidence these symptoms.

Not an expert but trying to help.

Karl

[offshore]

Thanks for the quick reply.

There is no idle cutoff solenoid on the carb. I have a 32/36 DFAV with a electric choke.

The fuel pump and filter are only about a month old but I will check them out this afternoon. I put a new condenser on when I replace the dist. cap, points and rotor.

Float height....I know where the float is, what it looks like, and how to get to it but, I do not know how to check the float height. Could you explain how to check the float height?
Kafer

[baltobernie]

Kafer,

Your original post leads me to believe that you have just replaced the OEM carb with a 32/36 from Pierce?

If so, have you tuned the carb per the following? http://www.redlineweber.com/html/Tech/c ... _best_.htm Notice they specify that the car should be fully warmed-up when making adjustments. How many turns out is your mixture screw?

Generally speaking, a carb set too rich will run better as it warms up; if set too lean, it will run worse as the car warms up. By all means, verify float level (I don't have the specs for this model), but I would think you'd see evidence of an improper float level at all engine temperatures, not just when warm.

[mbouse]

i put a 32/36 on the two litre, straight out of the box w/out adjustments.

so, i thought i'd be able to do the same thing with the '78 (1755cc). NOPE. would not idle after it warmed up. would die while coasting to an intersection too. fiddle faddle around with idle mixture had no effect. idle speed either.

swapped the idle jets (main for secondary).

problems gone.

[So Cal Mark]

I've installed several of those carbs and have had to rejet most of them. None have been too rich out of the box

[offshore]

The PO owner put the carb on. I waited for the car to warm up (fan motor came on twice) to around 190 degrees. I started with the idle speed screw in 1 1/2 turns in and the fuel mixture screw out 2 turns.

The mixture screw is 1 1/2 turns out after adjustments.

The original set up for the carb:

Fuel 137/140
Air 165/160
Idle 60/50
E-tube F66/F50
Needle 200
Pump 55mm
Float 38mm

I change the idle jets to 50/50 and the Pump to 50mm. Do I need to change the idles jets to 50/60?

[offshore]

OK...here is what I did this morning. The original idle jets were main 60 and secondary 50. I swapped those around (based on mbouse) and started the car up. It ran for a minute at about 400rpms and then died. I started it back up but, it acted like it was not getting any fuel. I looked down the carb while running (carefully) and I could not really see and fuel being dropped into the carb before it stalled out.

I then checked to see if gas was getting into the carb by moving the throttle linkage gas is squirting in from the pump jet. I then disconnected the fuel line from the carb and the line is full of fuel. The next step....I pulled the top of the carb off and there is about 1/4 inch of fuel in the bowl. Is that the correct amount? I did notice when I pulled the top of the carb off the gasket was coated in fuel. Is that normal?

Mark, you said you have rejet most of these carbs could you give me any suggestion?

[So Cal Mark]

every setup is different, but one jet size change shouldn't prevent the car from running. I'd swap the low speed jets back they were originally. You shouldn't see fuel dripping from the discharge nozzle with the engine idling. Set the idle speed high enough to keep it running, then adjust the mixture screw to best idle. Depending where the mixture screw ends up will give you an idea if the low speed jet is too small or too large, or just right

[offshore]

Mark, thanks for your help and being so patient with me. This afternoon (following your suggestions) I went out to swap the idle jets around and when I pulled the jets out I noticed they were plugged up. I pulled the top of the carb off and I noticed some brown residue in the bowl. I cleaned everything out… put it back together and she started up and ran great. I am getting rust particles into the carb from the gas tank. When I got the car I pumped the gas tank out but that is all.

Is there anything I can do to correct this problem besides pulling the gas tank out and putting in a new one?

[rlux4]

If the rust isn't too bad, a lot of owners clean them out, line the inside with something impervious to gas and get a good as new tank. Pope posted a method a while back about cleaning his, something to do with chains and whips I think.
Ron

[So Cal Mark]

It's almost impossible to get a filter that will keep the rust from the carb. There are some good ones on the market that will filter down to 1 micron, and If you go that route buy one that can be cleaned and reused. And expect to have to clean it often. Best bet is to pull the sending unit from the tank and look into it with a light (NO FLAMES!) to determine how much rust is in there

[launieg]

I used the POR gas tank kit (about $60) and although it is a half a day's work, it did work well. I recommend it. Should eliminate your rust problem, I would think.

[offshore]

Hey...thanks for the help and ideas. I checked on POR gas tank kit. It looks to be a four-step process and will cost about $73.00 for the complete kit. From everything I read it should do the trick.