Guys,

I have a Super Six carburetor on my /6 (it was off a 77 Aspen, but it is now in a 75 Dart).
One thing about these that is a pain is that the fast idle cam is plastic, and it wears out, so after you kick it off fast idle, it idles lower than it should, which usually means stalling. (Either that, or you have to turn the fast idle screw in so it screams when you first start it cold.)

Did Carter BBDs ever come with METAL fast idle cams? If so, what year cars should I be looking for to pull one off of?

Thanks!

Carter BBDs did indeed come with metal fast idle cams through about...I'm going to say '72 or so. I'm not sure I understand the difficulty you're having, though. The fast idle screw is used only to set the fast idle, not to set the curb (slow) idle. The curb idle screw is used only to set the curb (slow) idle, not to set the fast idle. It sounds like your curb idle screw is missing, forcing you to try to set both the fast and curb idles with the one (fast idle) screw.

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

What happens with the plastic fast idle cam is that the lower steps wear off. The highest step of the cam is OK, but the middle and lowest steps (which are used as the car slowly warms up) wear down because the material is made of plastic. It gets worn away, so that the engine is idling slower than it would if the material had not worn off.

At this point the engine is still not warm enough for the slow idle screw to be what is setting the idle speed.

I'm figuring if I use a metal fast idle cam, then I will not have this problem of the plastic wearing away. Looking at a lot of other Carter BBDs, which also use plastic fast idle cams, the material also wears away on the middle and lowest steps of the cam.

I'm not sure why they chose to use something other than metal for this piece.

The 77 fsm mentions a Fast idle cam position adjustment. Maybe tweaking that will help. Changes cam position relative to choke opening.

I think they probably used Nylon because it is long-lasting, self-lubricating, light, and inexpensive to mould into a shape like a fast idle cam. Perhaps they ought to have used nylon screws as well, but remember, when we drive old cars, we tend to wear out strange things. Ignition keys...dashboard chrome...and fast idle cams.

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

Yeah really.
For most people, the first time a car stalls on them, they just junk it and go plunk down another 25 grand on something new.

They'd never bother to drive it until something like the windshield wiper bushings broke.

I wanted to post what the REAL problem was with the Carter BBD on my slant 6.

It turns out it was NOT a worn out plastic fast idle cam (even though it is worn somewhat).

The real problem was that the vacuum kick setting (how far the choke plate opens once the car starts cold) was too wide.

This made the engine stall when time I kicked it off the fastest idle.

I made the opening a little narrower (i.e. making the mixture richer), and now the car runs perfectly when the engine is cold.

Good work getting it running correctly again. Glad to read the forces of goodness, light, and smooth idle triumphed over the forces of rottenness, evil, and stalling.

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