About week and a half ago, I finished installing my new engine, radiator, etc. When I first turned it over, it fired but ran rough and didn't idle. The next day after adjusting the timing with the distributor, it ran smooth. Just bump the key and it would fire right up and idle great.

I got the engine from DD. It is bored .060 over, cammed, ported heads, etc. He loaned me a 1 bbl carb to run the engine until I got my 2 bbl back from the rebuilder.

But, since this car hadn't run or been driven in at least 2-3 years, I had to go through the brakes, replace the u-joints (one was actually half way broken and the other was really loose) and drain and change the filter in the trans (I didn't want old trans fluid running through my new 2800 rpm stall converter).

The next couple of days, I would start it to hear it run. Ran great. Last weekend I did the brakes and stuff. It was HOT, 115 outside, at least 120 in the garage. While it was on jack stands doing the brakes, I got a tach, put the red and balck wires on the battery, green on the neg side of the coil (didn't work on the pos side) and it was idling about 500-600 rpm.

Sunday I finished, went to start it. It ran like crap, hard to start wouldn't idle. Mon, tried to adjust the distributor again, got it to idle, but still ran rough, took it out for a test drive anyway. Stalled after about 1/4 mile, hard to start again, after a couple of stalls, hard to starts, got it back in the garage. Yesterday went to start it again to try too dial it in, horrible rattling noise. Yes it has oil, antifreeze, all fluids check out.

What the heck happened between Saturday and Sunday and Monday?

I am going to pull the spark plugs today and clean them, but I don't have a 13/16 plug socket, which I will get today. When It doesn't start, the gas just floods all over the manifold. Doesn't seem to leak when it runs.

BTW, I got my 2 bbl back yesterday. Looks great. I had the super six manifolds surfaced. All even and shiny and ready to install.

"Car hadn't been run or driven in 2-3 years" suggests old gasoline and accumulated crud and/or water in the fuel system. Also remember you are using a "get-by" 1bbl carburetor. I'm guessing DD loaned you a working used one rather than a rebuilt...

Idle of 500-600rpm is too low, especially for a new engine. Did you follow correct break-in procedure with regard to engine speed?

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

You may be right about the gas, although I siphoned it out through the fuel line at the fuel pump, then poured in a couple more gallons of fresh gas and siphoned that out, then put a filter over the gas inlet (where you put in the gas pump) and let it evaporate for a few days. Didn't see any floating matter or discoloration in the gas that came out. I filled the tank the day before I tried to start it for the first time, so it would settle before I tried to start it.

As far as the "break-in" DD had run this engine in a car for approximately 1,000 miles, before he replaced it with a different engine and sold me this engine.

The engine ran fine on a stand at his house with this carb, but he had to change the base of the carb before I took it to make it compatable with the linkage I was going to use.

OK, so it's well broken in, no problems there. Sometimes carb base swaps don't work out as well as we wish they would. I don't think you have a serious problem on your hands, sounds more like some minor fuel and/or ignition factor interfering with proper running.

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

I agree with Dan. Sounds to me like a worn carb or mismatched base plate creating a big vacuum leak. Or possibly a cracked distributor drive gear.

Would fouled plugs (after the several rough runnings) making for bad detonation, make loud rattling noise? After I started it last night to try and dial it it, the sound was scaring me like it was gonna blow, so I just shut it off and had a couple of beers.

I thought I might just go ahead and put on my 2bbl. The carb rebuilder (Savas Tuning, Portland, OR), asked me a bunch of questions about the cam and other modifications so he could custom build the Cater BBD for the lower manifold vacuum (he especially needed the cam duration at 0.050" of valve lift) and ability of the engine to absorb more gas.

He actually called me after he received my carb in the mail and said it was a parts house reman (I got it off a 77 Volare wrecking yard car, carb was in BAD shape). After he got it apart, he said there were mismatched needles and mismatched and missing springs. He had to track down another core to make the carb correct. He also sent me one of the "good", black, base gaskets with the shiny surface.

Oo. I don't like "loud rattling noise". Was this at idle, or under load?
Wow, that's excellent!
Let's have a(nother) Bronx cheer for "remanufactured" carburetors! Pfffft.

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

Oo. I don't like "loud rattling noise". Was this at idle, or under load?

quote]

I started it, sounded really, really bad, I shut it off immediately, checked the oil and stuff, tried again, same sound, shut it off and had a beer or three.

High pitch rattling? Low pitched rattling? Crank hitting the oil dipstick? Windage tray? Did you remember to put oil in it? Loose valves? Something get dropped into a cylinder? Something loose around the flywheel? Something dangling and hitting the fan?

By the way, if you want to check out Savas Tuning, here is his web address
http://www.savastuning.com/

Another option for the west coasters

More like a low banging, I am going to check it out more thouroughly tonight. Has oil, The valves were adjusted before I got the motor, even checked the adjustment at DD's. Windage Tray? don't know what that is.

A low banging, if you are sure it is not a knocking rod, *might* be an exhaust leak.

A windage tray fits between the crank and the oil in the pan. You most likely don't have one (but double check with Doug).

Cross your fingers that it is just the dipstick.

OK, this is going to sound stupid, but when I got the engine, it didn't have the long maifold bolts that go all the way though the bottom of the exhaust manifold to hold the linkage bracket. They weere shorter than normal and only went about 2/3 of the way through because DD was using some other sort of linkage I guess. I tried to put short bolts in the bottom of the exhaust manifold to hold the bracket, but the bottom threads of one of the holes was kind of stripped. So, I thought I would just take out the shorter manifold bolt and put in a longer one that would stick out the bottom.

Well, the bolt snapped when I tried to take it out. So I put the linkage on anyway with a little thread lock on the short bolt on the bottom, just temporarily so I could get it running. Therefore, the manifolds were only held together with two instead of three bolts, since I was going to put on my 2bbl manifold in a couple of days anyway.

It has probably worked loose and has an exhaust leak? Tonight I will replace the intake and exhaust manifolds with all new bolts, my newly machined manifolds and newly rebuilt carb and see what happens.

OK, everthing is good. DD suggested the converter bolts had come loose, and sure enough, they had. Tightened them down and the banging sound is gone. The rough running was nothing more than a clogged carb needle. Took it for a test drive. Runs great.

The brake light came on, looked at the wheels and the right rear was leaking brake fluid. It has all new springs, new shoes, I knew I should have changed/checked the wheel cylinders when I had everything apart. Oh well, I still I feel much better now. Thanks for all the help.

Re: the Super BBD- how did you diagnose that the problem was a clogged needle, precisely where is it located, and exactly what did you do to fix it?

Was this related to the gas spilling out of the carb and all over the manifold when it wouldn't start? Why would that happen instead of the
gas flooding into the engine via the throttle bores?

My current carb came with a strongly-worded warning about not messing with the fuel intake because it contains the hair-trigger needle, requires two wrenches to remove or adjust, and I don't know right from wrong anyway. The kit that I got said nothing about how to check out or adjust the needle position.

Thanks